Serbia’s EU Accession Path: European Ontegration without Democratization?
Serbia’s EU Accession Path: European Ontegration without Democratization?

Author(s): Jana Juzová, Nikola Burazer, Oszkár Roginer
Subject(s): Political Sciences, Governance, International relations/trade, Politics and law, Comparative politics, EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development
Published by: EUROPEUM - Institut pro evropskou politiku
Keywords: Serbia; EU accession; democratization; rule of law; corruption; judiciary independence; media freedom; organized crime; human rights; political crisis;
Summary/Abstract: In almost 11 years of candidate status and almost 9 years of accession negotiations, Serbia has made very little tangible progress towards membership in the EU. By December 2022 it only managed to open 22 out of 35 negotiating chapters, provisionally closing only two, which were both closed on the same day in which they were opened. European Commission noted very small progress when it comes to preparedness for membership since 2015, and Serbia’s own reports on adopting the necessary EU legislation show significant delays. Even more disturbingly, Serbia is arguably a less democratic state than it was at the time of opening accession negotiations, witnessing significant deterioration of its democratic institutions and major political crises, including a parliamentary and election opposition boycott from 2019 to 2022.

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