Kos: Brussels increasingly concerned about Serbia, new payments being assessed

European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, said that the European Commission is still assessing whether Serbia meets the conditions for "payments under European Union financial instruments."

"We are increasingly concerned about what is happening in Serbia. From laws that undermine the independence of the judiciary, to the repression of protesters and repeated interference in independent media," Kos emphasized to the daily Politico.

She wrote that Serbia faces the possibility of losing up to 1.5 billion euros in financial resources from the European Union and that the European Commission is considering suspending them due to democratic backsliding and Belgrade's close ties with Russia.

The article recalls that Serbia is not a member of the EU, but since it began membership negotiations in 2014, it is entitled to receive funds and grants to assist Belgrade in implementing reforms.

In recent weeks, there has been an initiative within the EC to withhold these funds from Serbia, four EU officials working with countries in the enlargement process, whose names have not been made public, told Politico.

It is also said that Danijel Apostolović, Serbia's ambassador to the EU and chief negotiator for accession, has stated that he is convinced that there will be no suspension of funding and that Serbia is not giving up on its goal of becoming a full member of the European bloc.

The EU has publicly criticized the legal reforms pushed forward by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Politico recalls.

When the contested changes to the justice laws were approved in January, Kos warned that this constituted “a serious step backwards, as these amendments were approved in a very hasty and non-transparent manner.”

Brussels called this "a vote to limit the independence of the judiciary."

The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's legal advisory body, is expected to give its opinion on these legal changes at the end of April.

This opinion could serve as an impetus for the European Commission to freeze funding for Serbia, two EU officials told Politico.

They also pointed out that Kos has stated that it will demand that Serbia harmonize its laws with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

Politico also included Apostolović's assertion in the article that Belgrade has made it clear that it will follow the Venice Commission's recommendations as soon as they are published.

The EU has allocated more than 586 million euros in non-repayable grants to Serbia from 2021 to 2024, as well as an additional 1.5 billion euros in funds contingent on reforms.

According to Serbian government data, the country has received more than 70 billion euros in funds and investments from the EU since 2000, Politico writes, adding that Serbia "has long walked a fine line in its relations with the EU, simultaneously maintaining closer ties with Moscow while receiving money from Brussels."

"As a candidate country, we also expect Serbia to be with us in foreign policy and to align more closely with our positions," Kos said of this, without explicitly mentioning Russia.

Politico added that Vucic, who has maintained close ties with Moscow throughout the war in Ukraine, has complained about the slow pace of EU membership negotiations.

"The EU has lost patience with Belgrade in recent months, following a critical report on the country's enlargement process in November, which warned of backsliding and an anti-EU narrative at the 'highest level' of Serbian politics," Politico writes.

Tensions escalated further in December when Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić did not attend the EU-Western Balkans summit, Politico reported.

Politico added that in March, Serbia faced criticism after reports of violence and irregularities during local elections, which were held in ten municipalities, as well as after police intervention at the Belgrade University Rectorate, when there were clashes between protesters and police.

The EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans was adopted by the European Commission at the end of 2023, and aims to strengthen the region's rapprochement process with the EU, as well as foster reforms and regional cooperation.

Due to the failure to fulfill the obligations foreseen by this plan, Serbia has already received about 50 million euros less.

Meanwhile, for four years, Serbia has not opened any new chapters in EU membership negotiations. /REL