Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told a German newspaper that Serbia would not hold a referendum on whether or not to join the European Union, which Belgrade hopes to do in 2020, Reuters reported. Asked by Bild am Sonntag newspaper about reports Russian President Vladimir Putin is using his influence in Serbia to push for a referendum there on the EU, Vucic said: "I don't know anything about Putin but I know that some Serbian parties are openly calling for that." He added: "My answer to that is clear: There won't be a referendum no matter how many initiatives there are for that." He said that before Serbia's recent parliamentary elections, he had made clear that his goal was to join the EU. "We won with an absolute majority. We'll do everything we can to reach this goal now. If we were to leave this path, Serbia would end up going the wrong way," he said.
