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For the first time since 2014 and since the beginning of negotiations on accession to the European Union, Serbia will not open new chapters for a calendar year. Even if the conclusions on the Western Balkans were not blocked in Brussels due to the conflict between Sofia and Skopje, they do not foresee the opening of new chapters with Serbia. Experts from the European Union say that this is a clear sign that the union is not satisfied with the political situation in Serbia, especially with regard to the rule of law, the judiciary and freedom of the media.
Good news for German MEP Viola von Cramon it is bad and worrying for Serbia, says Srdjan Majstorovic of the Center for European Policies (CEP). However, he adds that it is only a consequence of the problems that have been hidden for years, and refer to the basic values of the European Union, which are not respected in Serbia.
“Obviously, our country as a candidate has these problems when it comes to the independent judiciary and the media, which do not dare to report critically, down to the influence and pressure on the academic community. These are issues that will now be much more in focus. “Part of the reason Serbia does not open any chapters can be found in the fact that Serbia is not believed to be sincerely committed to membership in the European Union,” Majstorovic warns.
Besides the rule of law, two other sets of issues are disputes between Serbia and the EU, according to Marko Savkovic of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence. A foreign policy in which Serbia often decides completely differently from the Union, as well as the eternal problem of Kosovo, in which again there is no progress.
“There is a great need, I think the ruling circles in Serbia, for this rather bad outlook to change. Well, we also had this situation with the Assembly, so Ursula von der Layen had to react. We will see from January if that will be the case”. says Savković.
For this reason, the announced continuation of the dialogue between the government and the opposition under the patronage of the European Parliament is the only solution for Serbia, concludes the researcher at the Center for European Policies, Strahinja Subotic.
“The European Union is dissatisfied with the way Serbia conducted this year’s elections. The European Commission clearly notes that the ruling party, together with the mainstream media, repressed the opposition and thus prevented fair elections,” recalls Subotic .
Annual European Union aid to Serbia through donations and various pre-accession funds is measured in tens of millions of euros. More than 60 percent of Serbia’s exports come from European companies that have invested in Serbia.
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