Relations of Serbia and European Union: Socio-Historical Determinants and the Contemporary Political Issues

Abstract

This paper deals with the relations between the Republic of Serbia and the European Union, with special attention to the key issues in the process of its accession to the EU, as well as the political moods of the Serbian citizens towards that membership. There are many problems and misunderstandings in the process of Serbia’s accession to the European Union which are expressed through conflicts of different interests, the EU’s asymmetrical and ultimatumbased relationship with Serbia, a different perception and assessment of reality in Serbia, the value system and other cultural factors. These problems are manifested through many issues, and essentially, they stem from the consequences of the break-up of Yugoslavia and the political conditions for Serbia’s admission to EU membership, such as: the support of the secessionist processes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, first in case of secession of Montenegro from the FR Yugoslavia and then of Kosovo and Metohija from Serbia, as well as in the issues of Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. The core standards for EU membership from Copenhagen and Madrid remain in the shadow of these problems. This is one of the reasons why in Serbia the skepticism towards its membership in the European Union has been on the rise. Other contributing reasons for skepticism include the current processes within the Union, such as economic, monetary and institutional crisis, Brexit; the strengthening of conservatism and separatism, as well as the increasingly noticeable initiatives for the reorganization of the Union. That is why Serbia’s path to EU membership has become more complicated and why it seems more and more like a road without a final destination.