SERBIA ON ITS WAY TO THE EUROPEAN UNION: CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:`Table Normal`; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:``; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:`Times New Roman`; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} On January 19th the European Parliament ratified the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia. This can be seen as a first step to Serbia’s eventual EU accession, even though sixteen Member States will still have to approve the SAA. Signed in April 2008 its ratification was launched only two years later as many Member States doubted Belgrade’s willingness to fully cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The latter remains a sensitive issue as Enlargement Commissioner Füle pointed out in Belgrade only recently. The European Parliament also showed its approval of the readiness of the Serbian government to engage in a dialogue with Kosovo. The European Union seems to be ready to welcome Serbia as a candidate member in spite of enlargement fatigue and economic crisis. In the meantime people in Serbia show signs of scepticism about EU membership. Support for EU accession has dropped to a meagre 57%, the lowest level of support since 2002 (when the Serbia EU Integration Office started these surveys), while a third of the respondents fears that the EU will stop the enlargement process altogether in the near future or may even fall apart. What are the challenges and obstacles to tackle during the accession process for both sides, Serbia and the European Union?

Speakers
- Aleksandra Cavoski, professor at the Faculty of Law at the Union University,  Belgrade and visting professor at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade
- Vladimir Pavicevic, lecturer at the Department of Political Science at the University of Belgrade and Programme director of the Belgrade Open School
- Tomasz Banka, Secretary Delegation for South East Europe, Enlargement and EEA Unit, European Parliament
 
Moderator
Claude Weinber, director Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, European Union