European Commission published its annual enlargement reports yesterday. We report the key findings of the Report on Serbia in the area of democracy, rule of law and economic criteria:
The conduct of elections requires tangible improvement and further reform. It is vital that all outstanding and recent recommendations by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Council of Europe bodies are fully implemented, in a transparent and inclusive process and well ahead of any new elections.
Parliament’s ability to ensure the exercise of necessary checks and balances is constrained by issues of effectiveness, autonomy, and transparency, including in terms of the oversight of the executive and the law-making process. Parliament’s new composition is more pluralistic than the previous legislature. Debates continued to be marked by tensions between the ruling coalition and the opposition. Parliamentary rules of procedure need to be revised, and the Code of Conduct to penalise offences by parliamentarians should be applied.
The institutions in charge of the EU integration process are in place and work efficiently. However, the legislative recess that was linked to the calling of an early election led to a slowdown of the reform process and posed a challenge to the functioning of administrative structures responsible for the accession negotiations. Serbia continues to declare EU membership as its strategic goal. However, the authorities are yet to ensure a more proactive and objective communication about the EU and Serbia’s accession process.
The government was in a caretaker capacity between 1 November 2023 and 2 May 2024, when the new government was appointed. The recommendations by independent bodies need to be followed up more closely. Implementation of the programme to reform the local government system continued to make slow progress.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Serbia operate in a difficult environment. Further efforts are needed to ensure systematic, genuine and meaningful cooperation between the government and CSOs. Verbal attacks and smear campaigns against some CSOs continued, including by high-level officials. The transparency of public funding to civil society needs to be significantly improved.
Serbia is between having some level of preparation and a moderate level of preparation in the area of judiciary. Limited progress was made, notably in the adoption of by-laws to the laws implementing the constitutional amendments. Adoption of the Law on Judicial Academy is still pending, whilst the Government has decided not to amend the Law on Seats and Territorial Jurisdiction of Courts. Several judges and prosecutors were elected in 2023 and 2024 whereas a considerable number of vacancies remain to be filled. The current system of recruitment, transfer and promotion of judges and prosecutors has not been comprehensively revised to ensure that careers are fully based on merit. Undue pressure on the judiciary remains a concern. Four vacant positions at the Constitutional Court still need to be filled. Serbia is yet to show a genuine commitment to investigating and adjudicating war crimes cases.
Serbia is between having some level of preparation and a moderate level of preparation in the fight against corruption. Overall, some progress has been made during the reporting period on last year’s recommendations. Serbia adopted the new anti-corruption strategy (2024-2028) in July 2024. Serbia still needs to adopt and begin implementing the accompanying action plan. On the recommendations by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), Serbia reported, in December 2023, on the recommendations of the fifth evaluation round. GRECO has assessed that of the 24 recommendations, one recommendation has been fully met, and 10 have been partially met.
The number of final convictions for high-level corruption cases, of new investigations as well as the number of new indictments has increased, yet obstacles remain for establishing a robust track record. Serbia joined the regional project on trial monitoring of organised crime and corruption cases. Overall, corruption is prevalent in many areas and remains an issue of concern. There is a need for strong political will to effectively address corruption issues, as well as a robust criminal justice response to high-level corruption. Targeted risk assessments and specific measures are also needed to address corruption in the most vulnerable sectors.
Serbia’s legislative and institutional framework for upholding fundamental rights is broadly in place. This framework needs to be consistently and efficiently implemented. Regarding freedom of expression, Serbia has some level of preparation and has made no progress on the recommendations from last year, which therefore remain valid.
Serbia has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption and has made limited progress in addressing last year’s recommendations. Authorities continued to cooperate actively with CEPOL, Eurojust, Europol and INTERPOL, notably in drugs trafficking and the fight against organised crime groups. There has been insufficient follow-up in investigations and prosecutions for the 2023 attacks in the north of Kosovo.
Serbia has a good level of preparation and has made some progress in developing a functioning market economy. An appropriately tight monetary and fiscal policy has helped disinflation, while economic growth is on a recovery path. The reform of the public sector wage system continued to advance slowly. There are still structural challenges in State aid, competition, and public procurement; and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have a significant presence in the economy. The private sector is hampered by weaknesses in the rule of law, in particular in tackling corruption and judicial inefficiency. Last year’s recommendations were implemented to some extent but are still mostly valid.
Serbia is moderately prepared and has made some progress in coping with competitive pressures and market forces within the EU. The structure of the economy is favourable, with a growing manufacturing and service sector that benefits from sizeable FDI and close economic integration with the EU. However, the quality and relevance of education and training does not fully meet labour market needs. Public investment has remained high, which underscores the need to improve public investment management. SMEs still face a number of obstacles, including an uneven playing field with large companies and foreign investors. The green transition needs to quickly pick up speed to support the competitive position of Serbian companies in global value chains and to continue to attract investors. Last year’s recommendations have been partially implemented and remain partially valid.