Serbia should demonstrate its commitment to the EU’s policies and standards and is expected to reconsider its relationship with Russia on the economy, defence and Kremlin disinformation, according to a report to be voted early this week by the European Parliament’s foreign policy committee (AFET). Read more.
The committee will vote on the draft document from 13-14 June, after which European Parliament lawmakers will proceed to vote on it in July. The draft, which is based on a 2021 report by the European Commission, was supplemented with numerous amendments.
On Serbia’s progress toward EU accession, the committee writes that it depends on how Serbia progresses in adopting the chapters on rule of law and fundamental rights. Full alignment with the EU’s foreign, security and defence policies, including sanctions against Russia, and progress in the normalisation of relations with Kosovo are also key.
The Commission’s report on which the draft document is based pointed to Serbia being one of the few European states that failed to join international sanctions against Russia. It also urged Serbia’s new authorities to demonstrate “a genuine and unambiguous commitment to the values, standards and rules of the EU.”
Serbia should also urgently align with the EU’s positions and decisions on foreign and security policy, including sanctions against individuals, groups and entities from Russia and Belarus, as well as reconsider its economic cooperation with Russia, the document also writes.
Lawmakers also regretted that the Belgrade-Moscow continue to operate normally while the EU had closed its airspace to Russian aircraft.
