Dragana Djurica, head of the European Movement in Serbia, calls the current state of the accession process "catastrophic." The European Commission delivered its annual assessment on Wednesday, confirming dramatic backsliding for Belgrade while Montenegro made substantial progress. Djurica argues this is not a progress report but a document on failure, describing it as one of the worst reports Serbia has received since negotiations began. The Commission notes that Serbia did not make any substantive progress in accession negotiations during the reporting period. Instead, the country saw increasing societal polarisation, including in the pre-electoral context. While Serbia advanced work on alignment with EU acquis and technical standards, negative trends related to the fundamentals of the accession process ran counter to the authorities’ declared objective. Alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy remained low, and Serbia failed to implement all obligations stemming from the EU-facilitated Dialogue. The recent parliamentary elections provided the newly elected government with a strong mandate for reforms. Progress now depends on the incoming administration’s efforts to reverse these negative trends and prioritise democratic criteria, the judiciary, and fundamental rights. The new leadership must restore respectful democratic dialogue and demonstrate a clear, unambiguous commitment to EU values, including alignment with foreign and security policy and efforts towards reconciliation.
The Commission adopted its annual Enlargement Package this week, slightly delayed from its original October 28 date. Ursula von der Leyen promised indicative roadmaps for the four most advanced candidates: Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine. These roadmaps set out concrete milestones for the next year, borrowing from the experience of the 2004 and 2013 enlargements. Montenegro has provisionally closed 21 chapters and could close the remaining ones by the end of this year, subject to member states’ agreement. Work on its accession treaty is well under way, and Brussels has already presented the financial package. Albania opened its last remaining cluster and met interim benchmarks on rule of law chapters, paving the way for the provisional closure of four more. It aims to conclude negotiations by 2027. Moldova opened four clusters over the past year and met conditions to open all remaining ones, targeting early 2028. Ukraine also opened four clusters despite the war of aggression, with the Commission assessing that it meets conditions for all remaining clusters. The focus for Kyiv is on meeting interim benchmarks under the rule of law and delivering on action plans for national minorities. North Macedonia continued work on opening benchmarks for the fundamentals cluster but has yet to adopt necessary constitutional amendments. Bosnia and Herzegovina increasingly disengaged from its EU path ahead of general elections, with political posturing and anti-EU narratives rising. Kosovo saw its reform process stall amid an institutional crisis, though the Commission lifted measures against the country following a political agreement on the election of the President. Turkiye remains a candidate country, but legal actions against elected officials have intensified, widening the gap between its declared objective and its backsliding on fundamental political criteria. Georgia’s process remains de facto halted, with the ruling party undermining democratic principles and enabling state capture. The Commission insists membership is earned on merit, pitching enlargement as an investment in collective security as much as peace and prosperity.
