Progress towards EU membership entails not only adopting reforms, but also implementing them thoroughly and fully, warn MEPs in a report on Serbia adopted on Wednesday by 468 votes in favour, 116 against and with 79 abstentions. There is a persistent gap between Serbia’s legislative alignment with EU rules and its actual implementation of reforms that is continuing to undermine the country’s progress, says the report.
MEPs also stress that each country’s path towards EU integration must be assessed on its own merits and that no country should be linked to another or treated as part of a package.
Respect for effective democratic mechanisms
MEPs argue that Serbia’s EU accession negotiations should only advance when there has been measurable and sustainable progress in areas such as the rule of law, free and fair elections, the fight against corruption and organised crime, judicial independence, media freedom, public administration reform, and the improved functioning of democratic institutions. Concerned about its “appeasing approach” towards Serbia, MEPs want the Commission to reflect any significant regression in the pace and intensity of reforms in Serbia in the financial support the EU provides under its pre-accession funding instruments. They also note that normalising relations with Kosovo is a condition for support under the reform and growth plan.
