EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos
has called on Serbia's incoming government to ensure the country
gets back on track towards EU membership. She warned that
accession was at stake unless the country tackled key issues.
Deep-rooted corruption.
The European Union's enlargement chief, Marta Kos, has backed
calls by protesters in Serbia to tackle corruption and boost the
rule of law, as she insisted the country get back on track in
its bid to join the bloc.
"Serbia has to be brought back on the European track," Kos said
in an interview with the European Newsroom (enr) published on
Wednesday. "What we are demanding from Serbia on the way of the
EU accession is nearly exactly the same as what the protesters
in Serbia are demanding," she said.
The Balkan nation - which is a candidate country to join the EU
- has been rocked by its largest wave of unrest since the 1990s
as students have led anti-government demonstrations.
Protests started in November after a deadly roof collapse at a
train station sparked an outburst of public anger over
deep-rooted corruption. The pressure from the protests led to
the resignation of the prime minister and the collapse of the
government.
Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić claims the student-led
protests are threatening peace and stability, accusing the
protesters of being paid by "foreign intelligence agencies".
This month Vučić proposed a political novice, Đuro Macut, an
endocrinologist, to lead the government. Macut has until April
18 to convince parliament to approve a new government. If he
fails, Vučić may be forced to call new elections.
Serbia's accession negotiations at stake.
The EU has had a sometimes spiky relationship with Vučić as he
has maintained Serbia's close ties to Russia despite the Ukraine
war.
Brussels has warned Belgrade of the risk of damaging its bid for
membership, but it is wary of alienating a key country in the
volatile Balkan region at a time of deep geopolitical friction.
Meeting Kos and European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen in March, Vučić promised a media reform and an electoral
reform, said Kos.
"If Serbia fulfills this, then of course it will be possible to
move forward and open the cluster," Kos said when asked whether
Serbia can expect the opening of at least one cluster for EU
accession this year and when it will receive the Interim
Benchmark Report (IBAR), which measures an EU candidate's
progress in the area of the rule of law.
Kos said that the EU is also talking to civil society
organisations and stated that she had asked Vučić to help them
be included in the EU accession process.
"I asked Mr Vučić really not to undermine the work of civil
society organisations, but to help them being involved in the
accession process," she said. "And this is a precondition, and
we really hope and wish that Serbia will get back on track."
Kos announced she will visit Belgrade at the end of the month.
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