Thewesternbalkans
On 17 January 2024 in Strasbourg, Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, delivered speech on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell on the elections in Serbia.
During the intervention, the European Commissioner Renders has pointed out the Commission’s position on the parliamentary and local elections in 65 municipalities, including Belgrade held on 17 December 2023.
According to the statement of the OSCE/ODIHR, the elections, though technically well-administered and offering voters a choice of political alternatives, were dominated by the decisive involvement of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, which together with the ruling party’s systemic advantages created unjust conditions.
In their statement of 19 December, High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi took note of the report and concluded with concern that the electoral process requires tangible improvement and further reform.
Commissioner Renders underlined that the rule of law and the proper functioning of Serbia’s democratic institutions remain at the core of Serbia’s EU accession process as they are enshrined in the EU’s Treaties, and the Copenhagen criteria. The revised enlargement methodology clearly sets out that progress on the ‘fundamentals’ determines the overall pace of negotiations.
The EU Commission expects that all credible reports of irregularities are followed up in a transparent manner by the competent national authorities. This also includes allegations related to the local elections in Belgrade and other municipalities.
Following the adoption of the final OSCE/ODIHR report and recommendations for future elections, The European Commission expects Serbia to implement them quickly, ahead of future elections. The EU stands ready to support Serbia in implementing those recommendations.
The EU Commission has followed closely the protests in Serbia after the elections, underlines the importance of upholding the right of peaceful demonstration, and insists that violence is not the solution and is unacceptable. Police action must be proportionate and respect fundamental rights within the rule of law.
The European Commission calls on the Serbian political leadership to ensure now a constructive, inclusive dialogue across the political spectrum. There is no space for disinformation narratives in a healthy democracy.
Serbia remains a candidate country negotiating its accession to the European Union. In this context, the EC expects Serbia to demonstrate unequivocally its determination to advance the accession process by accelerating its work on the implementation of EU accession related reforms across the board and to deliver real and tangible results. This includes in particular the area of rule of law and the normalisation of relations with Kosovo through the swift implementation of all EU-facilitated Dialogue commitments, including the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation and its Implementation Annex.
The commissioner also reiterated the European Commission’s strong expectation that Serbia will step up its efforts towards full alignment with EU Common Foreign and Security Policy positions and restrictive measures, as a matter of utmost priority.
Comments: Commissioner Reynders’ speech in the European Parliament is an element of the reporting of the activities of the individual European Commissioners before the Parliament. There are several elements in this speech that deserve attention:
A reminder to Serbia that last December’s elections were not fully in line with European norms and there is a need for changes in the country’s electoral code.
More importantly, however, Serbia is a negotiating country and is expected to accede to EU decisions within the Union’s foreign and security policy.
Of course, the implementation of the unsigned Agreement on the normalization of relations with Kosovo remains on the agenda.
With this statement through the EP, European Commissioner Reynders clearly traces the directions of future pressure from the EC on the Serbian state leadership.
