EU integration process of Serbia: a vicious circle of high politics?
EU integration process of Serbia: a vicious circle of high politics?

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the development of relations between the EU and Serbia, which have been subjected to evaluation in both the Copenhagen criteria and the high-political conditions in the domains of post-conflict recovery, statehood-challenges and territorial integrity. The research question is: how has the EU focus on high-political challenges reflected on the deepening of relations with Serbia and the country’s membership credibility? The author aims to show that the focus on high-political challenges correlates with the fact that the EU’s approach-towards the WB has remained primarily aimed at stabilization, rather than democratization. Through the Europeanization theoretical approach, comparisons in applying the conditionality principles through the “eastern” EU enlargements, as well as the realist paradigm, the author intends to explain the European focus on the high political domain additionally. As a result of largely prioritizing the high-political challenges and stability aspects over the fundamentally important areas such as the rule of law, the judiciary, etc., the transformation process in Serbia has been insufficiently deep and has remained incomplete in those domains. Likewise, the successful overcoming of some high-political-challenges has not speeded up the lengthy European path but has largely resulted in less negative conditionality. In conclusion, the author considers that the overcoming of the specifically demanding and high-risk challenges in the political domain should be more proportionally compensated, which would be beneficial for maintaining progress in reforms, especially in case the EU’s focus in the upcoming years turns from stabilization towards democratization.

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