EU plans reset with Serbia as elections loom

“From what we hear it is not clear who will be … the candidates for the future elections,” Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho told journalists on Monday.

EU warns that cash could be withheld

Serbia has officially been an EU candidate country since 2012, but has been warned it could lose more than a billion euros in funding as a result of democratic backsliding and its close relations with Russia.

The EU is the largest provider of financial support to Serbia and allocated more than €586 million in non-repayable grants from 2021-2024. It has made as much as €1.5 billion more available conditional on reforms. According to the Serbian government, the country has received more than €7 billion in funds and investments from the EU since 2000.

Now, Serbia is pushing to open the third of six negotiating “clusters” in the coming weeks.

“Serbia has just adopted a set of judicial laws fully aligned with the recommendations of the Venice Commission,” said Danijel Apostolović, Serbia’s ambassador to the EU and chief negotiator.

“Opening of Cluster three would be important both for Serbia and the EU. It would mark a turning point in Serbia’s accession process and finally allow us to break the vicious circle in which we have been trapped for years.”

Cluster three, which covers competitiveness, economic growth, industrial policy and alignment with the EU’s Customs Union, is seen as a “less sensitive” area that could be advanced despite the big differences between the two sides, said one of the officials. The Commission has recommended that Serbia begin accession talks for the past five years, but has faced opposition from member countries — which need to give unanimous consent.

Diplomats from two capitals skeptical of Serbia’s progress, however, warned the opening of a new cluster remains unlikely. “Going back to square one by undoing the damage you’ve done is the bare minimum; it can’t be enough to merit a reward,” said one.