BELGRADE – European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos visited Serbia on 29 and 30 April, meeting with the state officials, ruling and opposition MPs and other social actors, including protesting students.
During a doorstep in Belgrade, Marta Kos said that she had discussed the urgent need to implement the reforms Serbia committed to in the non-paper on opening Cluster 3 with representatives of the Government of Serbia and the National Assembly.
She explained that Serbia had pledged to adopt and implement three media laws, an electoral law, as well as appoint new members of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM).
Kos emphasised that the European Commission and the European Parliament are closely monitoring developments in Serbia, as it is a candidate country for EU membership.
“I love to stress that Serbia’s choice is to become part of the EU, and that choice comes with responsibility, commitment, and deliverables. That is what I want to see,” Kos said.
She added that the EU accession process is a transformative one and that the EU will support Serbia in implementing the necessary reforms.
“Doing the reforms is about the transformation process. It’s not because someone in Brussels is telling them to do it or just ticking boxes,” she said.
Answering the question about the potential consequences if Vučić’s decides to attend the parade in Moscow on May 9, Kos said that May 9 May 1945 and 9 May 2025 represent two completely different situations.
Timely meeting with @predsednikrs.
Momentum for #EUEnlargement is real, and we want Serbia to seize this once in a generation opportunity to help complete our Union.
For this, concrete steps on democratic principles and reforms are imperative. The time to deliver is now. pic.twitter.com/75VPdTIJ5s
— Marta Kos (@MartaKosEU) April 29, 2025
“It is up to President Vučić to decide whether to go to Moscow or not. But if he goes, many EU institutions and member states will take note of it. Then I would have a much more difficult task helping Serbia remain firmly on its EU path. But it is his decision,” Kos concluded.
On Wednesday morning, Kos laid flowers in front of the Novi Sad railway station, which collapsed on 1 November, killing 16 people and triggering massive social unrest in Serbia.
“I came to Novi Sad to honour the 16 lives that were lost in a tragedy that could have been prevented. My heart goes out to the victims and their families”, Kos wrote on her X account.
Kos subsequently met with the protesting students in Novi Sad, writing in a post after the meeting: “I hear you”.
“I want to reiterate that what the EU asks from Serbia closely aligns with the demands of the citizens protesting. Most importantly, I want you, the young generation to benefit from the many opportunities the EU has to offer”, Kos wrote.
To the students of Novi Sad: I hear you.
I want to reiterate that what the EU asks from Serbia closely aligns with the demands of the citizens protesting.
Most importantly, I want you, the young generation to benefit from the many opportunities the EU has to offer. pic.twitter.com/Ff6FiQcA6J
— Marta Kos (@MartaKosEU) April 30, 2025
On Tuesday, Kos met with the state officials of Serbia, including the new Prime Minister Đuro Macut, President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. A day later in parliament, she also met with the representatives of the ruling majority and the opposition.
Speaking at the conference with PM Macut on 29 April, Kos said that she called Serbiato work with Europe on reforms, on the establishment of an independent judiciary that can effectively fight corruption, and on an electoral framework that will ensure that the will of the Serbian people is heard.
“What we are asking is very close to the demands of the citizens who are protesting,” said Kos.
In an Instagram post following the meeting with Kos, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić wrote that they had a “good conversation” with a special focus on reforms and the implementation of the European Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.
“I emphasized our full readiness to accelerate reforms, not because of bureaucratic demands, but because we believe that they bring a better life to our citizens,” Vučić wrote.