In the reporting period (November 2025 – April 2026), Serbia moved visibly further away from its goal of European Union membership, slipping from stagnation into open backsliding. It is no longer merely a matter of the authorities persistently refusing to fully implement priority reform measures, but of actively dismantling what had previously been praised — albeit imperfect — as a success, such as judicial reform. 

The abuse of institutions, centralisation of power, selective application of the law, and suppression of critical voices have continued unabated. The student movement and the opposition are calling for snap parliamentary elections as a way out of the current social and political crisis, yet the authorities still have not dared to take that step.

The implementation of the action plans for Chapters 23 and 24 has been almost entirely overshadowed by the Reform Agenda, which itself is being implemented equally poorly in the area of Fundamentals. It is particularly important that timely, increasingly clear, and direct messages are coming from Brussels regarding the negative trends in the country and their departure from European values and standards.

Recent public opinion surveys show that many Serbian citizens perceive the EU primarily as a geopolitical actor rather than a values-based community, and remain sceptical about the EU’s intentions towards Serbia in the enlargement process.

The prEUgovor coalition once again emphasises the need for European officials to improve communication with the public in Serbia and for the EU to become more actively engaged in resolving the current political crisis in the country, in order to restore citizens’ trust in its normative and transformative power. prEUgovor also recalls that the credibility of the enlargement policy depends not only on the reforms undertaken by candidate countries, but also on the pace at which the Union prepares itself for future enlargement. The coalition therefore calls for this process to be accelerated and for candidate countries to be included in discussions on the necessary reforms.

You can see the prEUgovor coalition's report HERE.