Serbia is facing another political blow from Brussels: it will not receive a guiding roadmap in the process of joining the European Union. The decision, which is expected to be formalized with the enlargement package at the end of October, is seen as a clear indication that Belgrade is no longer being treated as one of the countries at the forefront of integration.
Brussels highlights the countries that are moving forward, Serbia left out
The European Commission is expected to publish roadmaps at the end of October for Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova, countries which, in Brussels’ assessment, have made the greatest progress on the path toward membership.
Serbia’s absence from this list makes its decline in the integration process even more visible, confirming that the position which once presented it as a leading country has weakened significantly.
Marta Kos: the Serbian government’s seriousness will be tested after the elections
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has clearly linked Serbia’s further progress to the concrete actions of its government after the elections.
According to her, Serbia will have to meet more conditions, and only then will it become clear whether the authorities in Belgrade truly have the will to move closer to the EU, or are content with political rhetoric without measurable steps.
No cluster opened since 2021
The stagnation is not new. Serbia has not opened any cluster in its accession negotiations since December 2021, which has pushed the process into a prolonged deadlock.
According to publicly released assessments, this deadlock is not related only to the formal pace of negotiations, but also to the limitation of opportunities to benefit from instruments and funds linked to gradual integration into the EU.
Warning of lost benefits and deepening isolation
Strahinja Subotić of the European Policy Centre in Belgrade describes the absence of a roadmap as a serious warning that Serbia is falling behind in the integration process.
According to this assessment, the risk no longer lies only in stalled negotiations, but also in the loss of benefits connected to gradual membership in the European Union.
Rule of law remains a key obstacle
Also mentioned in the background of this development is the deterioration of the situation in the field of the rule of law, one of the areas in which Serbia has long been under critical scrutiny.
According to experts, if this approach continues, Serbia risks remaining at the back of the line among countries seeking EU membership, while other candidate countries advance at a faster pace.
The enlargement package, which the European Commission plans to adopt on October 28, is expected to provide a clearer picture of how deeply Serbia has fallen into this political and institutional impasse.
For now, the signal from Brussels appears clear: for Serbia, there is no longer any political bonus without tangible results.