European Parliament issues poor report card for Serbia and calls for faster reform pace

Criticism of judiciary, media, and foreign policy

The report formulates concrete demands: Serbia must overcome the standstill in the areas of judiciary and fundamental rights and reverse setbacks in freedom of expression. In addition, the resolution calls for a comprehensive agreement on the normalization of relations with Kosovo as well as full alignment with the common EU foreign policy. Otherwise, the tenor suggests, the country will continue to drift away from the Union.

Several Austrian MEPs voiced criticism. Andreas Schieder, head of the SPÖ EU delegation and rapporteur for Albania, assessed Serbia's report card as a clear "insufficient" and described accession as having receded into the distant future. Schieder criticized Belgrade's foreign policy missteps, including the failure to participate in EU sanctions against Russia, and called for the swift implementation of judicial and electoral reforms. Asked about the grading system for enlargement candidates, he stated: "Die Erweiterungskandidaten bekommen Noten."

Voices from Austria

Helmut Brandstätter, the liberal Renew Europe group's rapporteur for Serbia, also spoke out clearly. The media situation in Serbia is "besonders schlimm." Brandstätter announced that he would travel to Serbia with an EU delegation in the autumn to take part in a round table with media representatives, non-governmental organizations, and politicians. Regarding Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who recently announced his resignation as well as early presidential and parliamentary elections, Brandstätter predicted: "Er wird sicher keinen pro-europäischen, sondern anti-europäischen Wahlkampf machen."

The role of Belgrade was also highlighted by Reinhold Lopatka, head of the ÖVP EU delegation. In a statement provided to APA, Lopatka wrote that EU enlargement was in Austria's economic and security policy interest, especially regarding the Western Balkans. On Serbia, he said verbatim: "In Serbien liegt es aber mehr denn je in der Hand der Regierung unter Präsident Aleksandar Vučić, ob das Land wieder auf den Weg in Richtung EU zurückkehrt. Oder ob es doch eher in Russlands Einflusssphäre drängt. Beides ist nicht möglich." Picula added that no enthusiasm should be expected in Serbia if Montenegro joins the EU as early as 2028.

Ukraine and Moldova receive better grades

In the same session block, Parliament also dealt with other candidate countries. For Ukraine, the MEPs adopted a resolution that commends the extraordinary efforts to strengthen democratic institutions during the war. Progress in judicial reform and the fight against corruption was expressly welcomed, while simultaneously calling for it to continue. The Ukrainian government is pursuing the goal of concluding accession negotiations by the end of 2028, which the EU Commission supports at a high pace of reform. The Commission gave Ukraine a better report card than Serbia and praised in particular the reforms of the public administration.

The MEPs also assessed Moldova in a nuanced but fundamentally positive light. Sven Mikser, rapporteur for Moldova, described the country as one of the frontrunners, highlighted "beeindruckende Dynamik in den letzten Jahren," and noted at the same time: "Das Ziel ist noch nicht erreicht." Moldova has adopted roadmaps on the rule of law, public administration, and the functioning of democratic institutions, which the Commission assessed positively. Lopatka saw Moldova "deutlich vor manchen anderen Beitrittskandidaten" on anti-corruption and economic reforms.

Montenegro as a frontrunner

In contrast to Ukraine and Moldova, the verdict on Montenegro was approving but with the handbrake partially engaged. The report on Montenegro describes the country as a frontrunner making good progress on the EU path, with the prospect of concluding accession negotiations by the end of 2026. The resolutions on all three Western Balkan countries thus reflect the range of European expectations: from clear criticism of Belgrade's reform standstill, to measured acknowledgment for Montenegro, to cautious optimism for Kyiv and Chișinău.

Overall, with the reports and resolutions, Parliament makes clear that it does not view enlargement as a foregone conclusion. The task is to demand reforms, acknowledge progress, and at the same time send clear signals to the governments in Belgrade, Kyiv, and Chișinău. Which of these signals will take effect is likely to be decided in particular with regard to the announced Serbian election campaign and the delegation trip to Belgrade planned for the autumn.