Serbia, under the leadership of Aleksandar Vučić, is increasingly seen as moving backwards on its path toward the European Union, with concrete institutional actions contradicting public promises of reform.
Although Vučić has pledged to align Serbia’s justice system with recommendations from the Venice Commission a key condition for EU progress and access to European funds recent developments suggest otherwise. In the High Prosecutorial Council, government representatives, including the justice minister, have reportedly blocked discussions on implementing these recommendations.
This move is viewed as a direct obstruction to the functioning of key judicial institutions, including the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office, raising serious doubts about the government’s willingness to combat corruption and organized crime.
According to Rodoljub Šabić, this is yet another scandal demonstrating that the current власти are not interested in genuine reforms but rather in maintaining a pro-European façade. He argues that control over judicial institutions remains a top priority for the government, while European standards are sidelined.
Meanwhile, the European Union has warned that Serbia may not benefit from funds under its Growth Plan—estimated at around €1.58 billion—without tangible progress in judicial reforms.
Instead of advancing, Serbia is increasingly perceived by international partners as a destabilizing factor in the region. Domestic policies and interference in independent institutions are eroding trust and distancing the country from European standards.
In this context, according to Nova, Vučić’s pro-European rhetoric is increasingly seen as a strategy for financial and political gain, while in practice the country is drifting further away from EU integration.
