Overview
- In Belgrade, Ursula von der Leyen urged tangible steps on rule of law, the electoral framework and media freedom as prerequisites for Serbia’s EU path.
- She pressed Serbia to adopt EU sanctions on Russia, noting 61% alignment with EU foreign policy and Serbia’s status as the only European country, aside from Belarus, not sanctioning Moscow.
- Von der Leyen invited President Aleksandar Vučić to Brussels in about a month to review implementation, welcoming recent moves on a unified voter register and the REM Council.
- Serbia’s reliance on Russian energy complicates alignment, while the U.S. sanctioned oil firm NIS last week because of its majority Russian ownership.
- Accession progress remains slow, with 22 of 35 chapters opened and two provisionally closed, as months of protests over corruption and a fatal Novi Sad canopy collapse spotlight governance concerns.