The European Commission’s tougher tone is expected to build on the European Parliament’s latest resolution on Serbia. For the first time, the resolution listed concrete cases of violations of freedom of assembly and expression, and issued a warning to Expo 2027 participants to reconsider their participation due to the state of the rule of law and corruption in Serbia.
Within a short period of time, Serbia has been heavily criticized by Europe. After the adoption of the European Parliament resolution, which gave the most negative assessments of the reforms in Serbia, criticism from Brussels is increasing more and more. On November 4, the European Commission will publish the enlargement reports for all candidate countries and, according to information from N1, the report on Serbia is expected to be the most unfavorable since the beginning of the accession negotiations. If this report is really so critical, it would be a blow to the regime in Serbia and December is expected to be a key period when Serbia will have to decide for or against the European Union.
EC REPORT
The publication of the European Commission’s (EC) annual report on Serbia’s progress is expected in early November and, according to the coordinator of the National Convention for the EU (NKEU), Bojana Selaković, it is expected to be tougher than the previous one. In the annual report, the European Commission assesses the progress of each candidate country in fulfilling the membership criteria, particularly in the areas of the rule of law, democracy, institutions, public administration, economy and harmonisation with the EU acquis. The report also provides recommendations that the country should implement in the coming years, highlighting weaknesses and areas that require greater commitment.
OBSTACLES
According to RTS Brussels correspondent Dusan Gajic, the report claims that not only has there been no progress in Serbia, but there have been obstacles in the key area of the rule of law. This area is essential for all other chapters and a further delay could complicate the accession negotiations, which have already been blocked for four years. The list of objections from Brussels also reportedly includes the lack of reaction to the Banjska incident and Serbia’s stance towards Russia, as well as the anti-EU rhetoric of the Serbian authorities. As expected, Belgrade will be told in the annual report that now is the time to make a clear geostrategic choice, to determine whether it is committed to EU membership or not.
DEADLINE
These assessments will be presented to the member states in December, when they will decide on the next steps for Serbia and other candidate countries. Vladimir Medjak, from the European Movement in Serbia, explains to Nova.rs that the withdrawal of the recommendation to open Group 3 negotiations is a serious step backwards for Serbia. “This has never happened, and I do not remember when the European Commission has withdrawn a recommendation, regardless of the opinions of the member states. This recommendation was given in 2021 and its withdrawal would be a serious message that things have changed. If the EC withdraws its recommendation to open Group 3 and our Minister for European Integration, Nemanja Starović, said that he has received the green light to open the group, then the minister should resign, because he lied,” Medjak says.
CONSEQUENCES
The European Commission’s tougher tone is expected to build on the European Parliament’s recent resolution on Serbia. For the first time, the resolution listed concrete cases of violations of freedom of assembly and expression, and issued a warning to Expo 2027 participants to reconsider their participation due to the state of the rule of law and corruption in Serbia. If the European Commission’s assessments are in line with those of the European Parliament, Serbia could face a difficult period with serious consequences for its ambition to join the European Union.
