Despite the expectations of the Serbian authorities, Serbia has not yet opened Cluster 3 – Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth – because there is no consensus among all EU member states that the country is ready to move forward in the accession process. One of the EU member states that opposed the opening of a new cluster in December last year was Sweden.
Swedish Minister for European Affairs, Jessica Rosencrantz, visited Belgrade last week, and in an interview with the European Western Balkans portal, she stated that Serbia has not made sufficient overall progress in the reform process, particularly in the area of the rule of law and fundamentals.
European Western Balkans: During your visit to Belgrade, you met with the President of Serbia. After the meeting, the President stated that you had some different views on some topics, so can you explain what were the topics at the meeting?
Jessica Rosencrantz: I’m here because I think that there is momentum in the EU enlargement process. Now is really an opportunity for candidate countries to do the necessary reforms to also make progress.
Sweden is a supporter of enlargement, but we are always emphasizing the need for a merit-based approach. Candidate countries must do the necessary reforms, especially on fundamental values, which are at the core of EU membership.
What I stressed in the meeting with the President is that there is momentum, there is a possibility for candidate countries to advance, but I stressed that we see an overall lack of reforms when it comes to fundamental reforms.
We want to see more reforms in this field. I was very clear that this is something that Sweden and the EU expect.
We’re concerned about the democratic backsliding that we see and also about the pressure on different important actors in civil society and academia.
EWB: For more than four months, Serbian authorities have been accusing the West and EU countries of organizing a “color revolution” in Serbia. Did you address that during the meeting, and why doesn’t the EU speak out more strongly against such claims?
JR: I was also clear on that. Sweden wants the leadership to refrain from such accusations.
What is true is that Sweden and the EU are supporting Serbia on its way towards EU membership. In many ways, Sweden is doing it by supporting reform processes since 1998 with around 300 million euros. That support is given to civil society, but also to state institutions that need to carry out the reforms. For us, this is important to really support Serbia’s path towards EU membership, which requires more than enacting new laws, but really to have a fundamental and inclusive approach for the whole society in this process.
Accusations on the West or the EU are simply not true. We want to see the leadership refraining from such accusations.
EWB: Sweden was among the countries that did not support the opening of Cluster 3 for Serbia in December. Our authorities are expecting that that will happen during the Polish Presidency. Will you support the opening of the new cluster with Serbia?
JR: Making progress in the negotiations depends on which reforms Serbia is carrying out. It is important to see that Serbia is doing reforms on fundamental values, on the rule of law, on media freedom… Those are the key issues in also being able to advance in the negotiations. This is very important for Sweden, and this is really important in the negotiation process.
The progress being made in these areas will also be seen in the lives of people, depending on which reforms are carried out on the fundamental values. We need to see more overall progress when it comes to the fundamentals, like in the area of freedom of expression. Especially in the past four months, we have not seen sufficient overall reform progress when it comes to the rule of law. I was here in Serbia to encourage authorities here to carry out further reforms.
I want to be very clear that Sweden is a friend of enlargement. We are a friend of Serbia’s accession to the EU, but it requires fundamental reforms, and that’s what I discussed during the meeting with Serbian authorities.
EWB: But are you concerned about the situation in Serbia, especially when it comes to media freedom and civil society?
JR: I am concerned about two things. The first thing is the lack of overall progress in reforms that need to be done, especially in the areas of the rule of law and fundamental values. But I am also concerned about the democratic backsliding that we are seeing.
EWB: How do you assess the EU response to the current crisis in Serbia? Many Serbian citizens are expecting some more concrete reaction from the EU.
JR: I think that the enlargement process also enables a dialogue between the EU and Serbia on what is really required for membership. Through this process, we are clear on what we expect from Serbia, and that is why I’m here—to be very clear that we expect more reform work on the fundamentals.
We are concerned about democratic backsliding. So I would say my being here is part of making sure that Sweden and the EU are engaged. We are clear about what should be done in Serbia and to raise our concerns.
EWB: You also visited Montenegro and other countries of the region. How do you assess their progress?
JR: I’m glad that we have momentum. I’m glad that everyone is now talking about enlargement. We see large and strong support among EU member states. I’m glad that we have several countries that are doing real reform work.
I believe that Montenegro has the most ambitious timetable. They say they want to be the 28th member by ’28. It could be done.
What we are saying is that we’re encouraging further reforms, and it would be really good to have inspiring front-runners showing that it is possible to do the necessary reforms and to become a member. So I’m very glad for several candidate countries now really stepping forward, doing the important reform work that needs to be done.