EditEP rapporteur: Vučić is doing nothing to bring Serbia closer to the EU
The situation of facade democracy suits the Serbian president completely, says MEP Tonino Picula
The European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula, said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is doing “nothing” to move Serbia towards EU membership.
Picula pointed out that Serbia is lagging behind in fulfilling “so-called fundamental requirements, such as a functioning democracy, a constitutional state, the rule of law, an effective fight against corruption and organised crime, as well as full freedom of the media”.
He stressed that Serbia is not complying with either the EU’s foreign and security policy or the specific condition for normalising relations with Kosovo.
“When all this is put on one side of the equation, EU membership cannot be on the other,” the rapporteur told the Croatian news portal Telegram.
According to him, Vučić is only one of the “accomplices” of this situation, because – despite internal protests and pressure from part of the EU – he manages to find a “modus operandi with the stabilocracy in the EU institutions”, which formally support the enlargement policy, but do not put real pressure on it.
Serbia under Vučić is sometimes described as a “stabilocracy” because his regime prioritises political stability and cooperation with Western powers over democratic principles, consolidating power through media control, electoral manipulation, and suppression of opposition while maintaining a pro-European facade
“This situation of facade democracy suits him completely, but we will see how long he can maintain it”, Picula added. He believes that Vučić can still feel comfortable because “the EU is an ATM for him”. The rapporteur stressed that the EU participates in 60% of Serbia’s trade exchange and is its largest financier, without whose funds “the country would collapse”.
Regarding the other Western Balkan countries, Picula pointed out that Montenegro is formally the leader in the process, but Albania can quickly catch up, because in his opinion Tirana clearly has the political will to work for its membership.
He warned that Podgorica should worry about the so-called “pairing with Vučić’s Serbia”, which “certainly has no great interest in seeing Montenegro progress towards EU membership. Due to the strong pro-Russian and pro-Serbian component of the political scene, Montenegro manages to block itself on its way to the Union, he said.
Montenegro has made notable progress toward EU membership since gaining candidate status in 2010 and starting accession talks in 2012. It has opened all 33 negotiating chapters and closed six of them, positioning itself as a leader among the six Western Balkan candidates.
EU enlargement in the Western Balkans: Montenegro’s momentum and Serbia’s challenges
As a Croatian MEP and former rapporteur for Montenegro (2019–2024), Picula has closely monitored the country’s EU accession process and its political landscape.
While Montenegro has made strides as a NATO member since 2017, some political factions maintain ties with Russia, resisting EU pressure to adopt sanctions or distance themselves from Moscow.
Edited by g.g.
Caption: Tonino Picula in the European Parliament, 7 May 2025 [European Parliament Multimedia Centre]
Updated: June 8, 2025 - 06:41
