EU Enlargement Commissioner to Announce Freezing of Serbia’s Access to Funding

Marta Kos (BETAPHOTO/EC - Audiovisual Service/Martine Perret)

At the April 20 European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos is expected to announce that the Union will freeze Serbia’s access to EUR1.5 billion-worth in funding due to Belgrade’s adoption of a controversial set of judicial laws in January.

According to the Brussels portal Politico, Kos is expected to state that Belgrade will not receive a cent of EU grants for aiding Serbia’s alignment with the EU, at least until the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission publishes its opinion on the so-called Mrdic Laws, at some point this month.

Danijel Apostolovic, Serbia’s ambassador to the EU, told Politico on April 10 that Belgrade will accept whatever the Venice Commission recommends, which could entail changes to the six contentions laws or even their abolishment. This matches Kos’s plan to demand that Serbia “align its judicial laws” with the Commission’s opinion.

According to Politico, “the EU’s patience with Belgrade has worn thin in recent months, with a scathing report on the country’s enlargement progress last November warning of backsliding and ‘an anti-EU narrative’ at the ‘highest levels’ of Serbian politics.” Meanwhile, Serbia has received over EUR7 billion in EU funding and investments since the year 2000, yet continues to maintain close ties with Russia, the Brussels media outlet stressed.