What reforms must Serbia implement to speed up its European path, and what are currently the biggest obstacles? What will change for the average person in Serbia once it becomes part of the European family, and can we motivate young people to see Serbia’s future within the EU?
How can trust be regained among key European partners in Serbia’s commitment to reform and the European course, especially when we often hear about the EU’s "enlargement fatigue"? On these and other important topics, Serbia’s Minister for European Integration, Nemanja Starović, spoke to EUpravo zato.
Serbia has been on the European path for years, but the pace of reform is slow and often full of contradictions. As the new minister, what do you plan to do in the first 100 days to change that narrative?
"Accession to the European Union is certainly not a sprint, so it’s unrealistic to expect any monumental results within the timeframe you mentioned. We are currently focused on implementing specific steps we have committed to, such as the appointment of the REM Council and amendments to electoral and media legislation, in order to meet all the prerequisites for opening the third cluster of negotiation chapters by the end of Poland’s presidency of the EU Council.
Our ambition is to accelerate the implementation of reforms so that by the end of this year we are prepared to open the second and fifth clusters of negotiation chapters, thereby significantly advancing toward the end of the marathon that the EU accession process, unfortunately, resembles."
Enlargement policy
EU officials often cite the same key "obstacles" to accession, such as judicial independence, media freedom, and the rule of law. We heard this recently from Enlargement Commissioner Mariya Gabriel. What are currently the biggest challenges, and how do you plan to overcome them?
"Our state administration has worked hard in recent years to implement reforms specifically in these areas, and this has been recognised by the European Commission, which in the past four annual reports gave the green light to open the third cluster of negotiation chapters. However, this still hasn’t happened due to the political considerations of certain member states, and that is where the real obstacles to Serbia’s faster progress toward full EU membership lie.
It is up to us to continue implementing reforms so that we fully align our legislation with the EU acquis by the end of 2026, but with a clear understanding that this alone will not be sufficient without a more affirmative political attitude towards Serbia’s accession to the EU in certain member states."
At a time when there is increasing talk within the EU about possible enlargement by 2030, does Serbia have the institutional capacity to meet all the requirements on time?
"There are differing political perceptions of our country in the capitals of EU member states, but what no one genuinely disputes is that Serbia has adequate administrative capacity for implementing reforms and EU accession, which significantly surpasses the capacities of some other candidate countries currently labelled as frontrunners in the enlargement process.
As for the pace of negotiations, I have already outlined what we intend to do on our part by the end of the year, but I would not speak in terms of expectations because that would imply the pace depends solely on our performance, which is not the case."
In recent years, we have often heard some European officials question whether the EU is ready for enlargement. What message does that send to Western Balkan countries?
"It is evident that for over a decade, there has been insufficient political will for EU enlargement in key member states, often justified by the EU’s limited absorption capacity and the need to reform decision-making processes. However, recently there has been a shift towards viewing enlargement through the lens of security and geopolitics. With that in mind, there is now enthusiastic momentum behind the accelerated EU paths for Ukraine and other countries of the former Eastern Partnership. It is very important, both for us and for the EU itself, that Serbia and the other Western Balkan candidates are not overlooked or bypassed, as that would undermine the credibility of the enlargement policy."
Growth Plan for the Western Balkans and financial support
The public often voices doubts about seeing any concrete benefits from European integration. What will change for the average person in Serbia if we accelerate the European path?
"There is undoubtedly a certain level of enlargement fatigue in Serbia, just as there is enlargement fatigue within many EU member states, which is why no new member has joined the EU since 2013. Still, our path toward membership has already brought numerous benefits in terms of stability and predictability, which are essential prerequisites for development.
This might seem abstract to some, but on the other hand, everyone can see the results - 1,500 projects across Serbia have been implemented with EU financial support, with more than four billion euros allocated from the EU budget. That certainly deserves respect and gratitude. As Serbia progresses on its path to membership, EU support for our development will increase significantly - which is the core idea behind the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which is already being implemented."
Serbia is expecting the first instalment from the Growth Plan - what reforms and conditions must be met to receive the rest of the funds, and is there realistically both the will and the capacity to achieve that on time?
"Serbia has been granted pre-financing of the Growth Plan in the amount of 111 million euros, and that payment is expected in the coming days. In addition, we have already submitted a request for the disbursement of the first tranche of 68 million euros, in accordance with the segments of the Reform Agenda that we have successfully implemented.
The mechanism that has been established is precisely designed so that the funds - more than 1.5 billion euros allocated to Serbia through the Growth Plan - are disbursed in stages, based on the implementation of specific parts of the Reform Agenda. This serves as an additional incentive to carry out the necessary reforms that are guiding us toward EU membership, and I am confident there is strong political will within Serbia’s leadership to achieve that."
Youth and civil society
How do you plan to bring European integration closer to young people and motivate them to see Serbia's future in the EU?
"The biggest challenge is not opposition to European integration among some young people, but the fact that the majority of them simply do not consider it an important or relevant issue. A baby born during the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003, when the Western Balkan countries were promised a future in the EU, is now a 22-year-old young adult. That person has spent their entire life witnessing Serbia’s path toward EU membership - a path whose end is still not in sight. The experiences of other countries show that when the outcome was more certain, support for EU accession grew significantly."
How do you plan to restore the trust of key European partners in Serbia’s commitment to reforms and the European path, especially in light of the noticeable slowdown in the process in recent years?
"I believe there is no room for improvisation here. It is up to us to work diligently on implementing the Reform Agenda, while at the same time developing political dialogue with all EU member states, without exception. Unfortunately, it sometimes seems that the path to EU membership is not solely merit-based, as is often stated, but also influenced by political perceptions. That is why we must not shy away from continuously promoting and advocating our policies across every corner of Europe, using tools of both traditional and public diplomacy."
Will your agenda include strengthening cooperation with civil society and independent institutions as guarantors of European values, and how do you intend to ensure their constructive contribution to the negotiation process?
"I am ready for and genuinely look forward to fruitful cooperation with non-governmental organisations and civil society groups that represent and promote European values. They are natural partners of the Ministry for European Integration in our joint work on Serbia’s EU accession. However, I must point out that a part of the civil sector has become so politicised and ideologically driven that European values and the accession process have been completely subordinated to a kind of struggle against the current government. This does not reflect the role the NGO sector should play, and I do not see how we could cooperate on that basis."
How to restore young people's trust in the EU?
It is our responsibility to explain to them that the EU represents a natural space for our economic, political, and cultural development. It is up to the EU to send clearer messages through future political decisions regarding the timeframe for Serbia’s accession to full membership.
