Swedish Minister Expresses Concern over Serbia’s Democratic Backsliding

Swedish Minister for European Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz said during an April 11 visit to Belgrade that she had expressed regret to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic over the absence of reforms in the rule of law sector, as well as her concern over declining democratic standards and pressure on the media and other public and political actors.

I am in Belgrade. EU enlargement is at the top of my agenda.

Meeting with President Vučić, I stressed the momentum in the EU enlargement process. An opportunity to seize. Sweden and the EU support Serbia on its path to EU membership, but we regret the lack of reforms.

We now… pic.twitter.com/iay9oOcPZR

— Jessica Rosencrantz (@Rosencrantz_J) April 11, 2025

After her meeting with Vucic, Rosencrantz said in an interview with N1 TV that she had informed the Serbian president that “the EU and Sweden expect Serbia to carry out the necessary reforms, especially those concerning the rule of law as a fundamental issue.” “We have also underlined that we regret the absence of reforms in this area, and are concerned about the decline in democratic standards and pressure on the media and other public and political actors,” said Rosencrantz.

The Swedish politician noted that the EU was willing to expand and that Serbia should take advantage of the opportunity - but not before it implemented reforms. She also commented on the accusations that the West was behind months-long protests in Serbia, which the government in Belgrade described as “an attempted color revolution.”

“Let me first say that this is not true. I made clear during the meeting that we want government officials to refrain from making such accusations. What is true is that both Sweden and the entire European Union are contributing politically and financially to reform processes in Serbia,” said Rosencrantz.