Despite the efforts of the Hungarian presidency of the European Union, accession talks with Serbia remain blocked, while Montenegro and Albania made progress in the accession process on Monday and Tuesday.

The Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council tried to gain the approval of EU member states to open negotiations with Serbia in Cluster 3 – Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth. This cluster includes eight negotiating chapters, five of which Serbia had already opened before the change in negotiation methodology, and two of those five were closed. The European Commission assessed that Serbia is technically ready to complete the opening of this cluster, but political consensus among the member states is still required to proceed.

According to the new methodology for EU accession negotiations, adopted in early 2020, individual chapters are no longer opened separately. Instead, the negotiating chapters are grouped into six clusters, each covering a thematic area, while chapters are still closed individually.

Eight countries withhold consent for further progress in negotiations

In recent weeks, Serbia has been discussed four times at the meetings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), which consists of ambassadors of the member states.

However, eight countries, including Croatia, withheld consent for further progress in the negotiations.

Instead of the green light for opening the remaining chapters in Cluster 3, Serbia was sent a letter requesting its negotiating positions for two chapters: Chapter 16 on Taxation and Chapter 19 on Social Policy and Employment, but not for Chapter 10 on Information Society and Media. This letter represents the most progress that could be achieved in terms of consensus among the member states, but it is only the first step, as the joint EU position still needs to be aligned. A consensus of all EU members is required for every step in the enlargement process.

The statement by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp on Monday shows that this will not be easy, as he openly announced that his country would oppose further progress in Serbia's negotiations due to insufficient progress in the rule of law and normalisation of relations with Kosovo.

“Serbia is not yet ready for the next step and has not made enough progress in the area of the rule of law,” Veldkamp said before the start of the meeting of EU foreign ministers. He added that Serbia has not moved forward in aligning with the EU's foreign policy, while other countries in the Western Balkans have already aligned. Veldkamp also expressed hope that other member states would join the Dutch position.

In addition to the letter to Serbia, the ambassadors of the EU member states also agreed on conclusions regarding enlargement, which will be formally confirmed by the Council for General Affairs on Tuesday, i.e., the ministers for European affairs of the member states.

The conclusions state that “Serbia's progress in the rule of law and the normalisation of relations with Kosovo will continue to determine the overall pace of the accession negotiations.”

Considering Cluster 3, the conclusions state that the Council will reconsider opening this cluster once Serbia achieves marked progress in the rule of law and the normalisation of relations with Kosovo.

Diplomatic sources reveal that Germany submitted a separate statement listing all the conditions for opening this cluster, ranging from clarifying the Banjska case to aligning with the EU's foreign policy, including sanctions against Russia. The European Commission also issued a statement, announcing that it will assess Serbia's progress in these areas next year.

Serbia, which commenced EU accession negotiations in January 2014, has so far opened negotiations in 22 out of 35 chapters. Of these 22 chapters, negotiations have been closed in two: Science and Research, and Education and Culture. Since December 2021, when Serbia opened negotiations in Cluster 4, Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity, there has been no further progress in the negotiations.