Serbia

Can the European Union accept Kosovo or Serbia into its ranks in the foreseeable future? Is the EU27 not worried enough about financial military support for Ukraine? What can the EU do to support the European car industry? Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute Viktor Daněk commented for Dvacet minut Radiožurnálu.

The relevance of public discussions, progressive regulations and the development of skills to act and exist amid a digitally transitioning news media sector cannot be overstated. From the legislative and practical viewpoint of content manufacturing on one side, and access to reliable information on the other, challenges brought by the digital disruption in the news media sector are a burning issue for all stakeholders. This handbook provides an insight into the state-of-play in Western Balkans in relation to (in)compatibility with the EU values and media standards in an emerging, but still largely unregulated, news market. Writes Tamara Filipović, Lamija Kovačević and Oszkár Roginer-Hofmeister.

Opposition activists and critics of the Serbian authorities have read with concern the draft revision of the Criminal Code prepared by the local Ministry of Justice. This proposes, among other things, to introduce new penalties for "Publication of material used for the investigation of the commission of criminal activities" and also stipulates that if a person accesses the material using information technology, he or she can be punished by imprisonment for up to one year. Oszkár Roginer-Hofmeister, project manager of the EUROPEUM Institute, commented on the text for Radio Slobodna Evropa.

The prospect of EU enlargement by the end of the mandate of the future European Commission looks more optimistic than at any time in the last decade. And barring the full membership of one new state, it is realistic to expect that at least one country will have concluded membership negotiations by the end of this decade and is just waiting for an acceptance date. Jana Juzová, a senior research fellow at EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Radio Slobodna Evropa.

With Ukraine’s defence against Russia heading toward a stalemate in the second half of the year and increased pressure inside the EU to deliver on its promises to provide the country with needed financial and military support, Serbia’s ambiguous relationship with Russia and the West has been brought increasingly into the spotlight in 2023. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), ruling since 2012, and President Aleksandar Vučić have been responsible for continued democratic backsliding and have failed to align with the Union’s foreign policy during Serbia’s lengthy EU accession process, pushing the situation closer towards a tipping point in Serbia-EU relations. Senior researcher at EUROPEUM Institute, Jana Juzová, describes this in more detail in her article for the European Institute of the Mediterranean.

The project aims to equip civil society organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia with comprehensive knowledge of media pluralism, media freedoms, and access to information necessary in the digital transition of the news media sector.

Listen to Ziga Faktor, Deputy Director and Head of the Brussels Office, on the Serbian elections.

Although Serbia has been a candidate country for EU accession for eleven years, its efforts are at a standstill. Our researcher Jana Juzová commented on the situation for the French media outlet Libération. In her article, the media outlet also mentioned a policy paper on which Jana Juzová collaborated with Oszkar Roginer, our project manager and researcher.

Because of the current political situation in Serbia, there will be early election in December. Will they change anything? Our research fellow Oszkár Roginer-Hofmeister has commented on the issue in an interview with RTVS.

Serbia's refusal to recognise Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence in 2008, is at the root of many problems within the region of Western Balkan. It hinders both countries’ EU membership paths, creates destabilisation in the Balkans, as visible in the recent unrest in northern Kosovo, and hinders regional economic cooperation. Writes our intern from our Brussel's office Costanza Celoria.

Serbian society is divided. For several days now, Belgrade has been experiencing streets full of protesters. Why are people taking to the streets and what is the mood in Serbia? In an interview for Za obzorem, our researcher Jana Juzová reflected on this.

Our senior researcher Jana Juzová commented on the protests in Belgrade for Ranní Plus Český Rozhlas.