Marko Antic
ID#100048067
EUR 301a
Prof. Kolarov
EU Evolution and expansion and its effect on my country
Joining the EU requires not only a shift in national politics, but also the willingness to
conduct the necessary reforms, be they political, judicial or economic.
The promise of joining the European Union has affected the politics of candidate
countries aspiring to be part of the European club. The countries that have proven themselves
capable of joining, and have done all the required reforms, were accepted as members of the
European Union. The economic giant offers many opportunities for its members, encompassing
economic assistance in various areas. However, great importance is put on the process of
joining and the path a country must take in order to be positively evaluated by the competent
institutions of the EU responsible for accepting candidates. The association-stabilization process
can prove to be difficult in the sense that the politics of a candidate country must go through
certain changes that might encounter resistance, be it from the people themselves, or the
structure of the institutions that have been in place for decades. The acquis-coomunaitre, for
example, requires not only cooperation between the government and major political parties in
parliament, but also institutional readiness and a will to comply with EU requirements.
The process of getting the candidate status for Serbia has not been easy. Serbian-EU
relations were extremely difficult and Serbia’s path toward eventual EU membership had been
facing many obstacles. Its former province of Kosovo is one of the major issues that seriously
harmed Serbian politics. At the moment Serbian industry and employment is completely
dependent of the European Union, considering the fact that Serbian economy has not yet
recovered from the sanctions during the 1990s. “Brain drain” is just another problem on the list
that Serbia is currently facing, furthermore, public perception in Serbia does not favor Serbia’s
progress toward the EU. Despite all the problems, several years of political, judicial and
economic reforms along with the capture of the war criminals Ratko Mladic and Radovan
Karadzic led Serbia successfully toward the status of candidate country. On the other side it is
highly probable that Serbian fate will look more like Turkey’s than Croatia’s, when we talk
about the accession to the EU.
Serbia was identified as a potential member of European Union, along with five other
Balkan countries during the Thessaloniki European Council summit in 2003. In the years that
followed, a European partnership for Serbia – which set out the priorities for the country’s
membership application - was adopted in 2008, and was formally applied in 2009. Year 2010
was important for Serbia since the process of ratification of the Stabilization and Association
Agreement began. In March 2012 Serbia was officially granted the EU candidate status.
The violent dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1990 as well as the conflict over its former
province of Kosovo in 1999 caused a great deal of damage for Serbian politics. Furthermore, the
uncooperative behavior from the part of Serbian officials towards aiding the EU in tracking
crime suspects posed yet another obstacle for the country’s membership. Nevertheless, Serbia
has made considerable progress in modernizing its political and economic system.
Serbian serious open conflict is definitely Kosovo. After accepting Cyprus in the EU, with
its territorial dispute with Turkey, the European Union has learned a valuable lesson and
certainly does not want to adhere further non resolved and disputes. Serbia’s conflict with
Kosovo has been and still is the main difficulty for the acceptance of the Serbian membership.
For Serbians, Kosovo is very important, it is one of the holiest places for them. The
independence proclaimed in 2008 is supported by United States and some of the European
powers, on the other side it is still not approved by other nations, such as Russia, Chine and
Spain. Despite this support, the situation is still unsatisfactory and highly unstable for Balkan
region.
Joining the EU will affect Serbian trade and markets. Serbia signed the SAA1 in April 2008, which
clearly states that within six years both contracting sides should establish the free trade zone, which
includes full and free movement of goods, without tariffs and taxes of equivalent effects. Considering
the fact that more than the half of Serbian export is to the EU countries, which directly implies that the
EU is Serbia’s most important trading partner, it is obvious how important this is for Serbia and its
further integration. Not only referring to effect of full trade liberalization between the EU and Serbia,
but also referring to Serbian industry and employment policy and possible compensation policies.
At the moment, Serbia is at the doorstep of the European Union, and Europe is the economic
solution not only for Serbia, but also for all the countries that once belonged to former Yugoslavia. The
question in whether, in the current context of European crisis, the adhesion of countries with battered
economies is still a valid horizon, not because it is not strategically convenient, but because Europe
cannot afford it. The Serbian economy has not yet recovered from the sanctions imposed by the UN
from 1992 to 1995 and from the infrastructure damages caused by NATO’s 1999 bombings. The fact is
that unemployment rate is very high as well as the levels of corruption. At the moment Serbia is highly
dependent on foreign investment.
“Brain Drain” is another major problem that is affecting Serbia. Young people in Serbia are
facing many difficulties, such as unemployment, low wages, obstacles to career development and many
more, which directly affects brain drain in the country. With the free movement of Serbian citizens
throughout Europe without visas, came also he “flee” of young individuals and intellectuals seeking
better opportunities outside Serbia. While the country is attempting to fulfill the necessary
requirements to fully join the European Union, the current situation does not seem promising enough
for some and, thus, they choose to go rather than wait for the situation to better itself.
For many Serbs, the process of joining the European Union and acceptance as a western liberal
democracy will bring closure after the painful period which they went through – referring to the bloody
wars with its neighbors. For other European governments, bringing Serbia close will help lock in those
liberal democratic values and help prevent another conflict. Although it might seem that the European
Union is the solution for all of Serbia’s problems, the nation does not completely agree with it. It would
be a mistake to think that progress toward the EU is popular in Serbia. Even after the decision of
granting Serbia a candidate status, Belgrade was plastered with posters of ultranationalist leader
Vojislav Seselj, who is currently on trial in The Hague. The posters were saying that Serbia will not join
1
Stabilization and Association Agreement
the EU, implying that a vocal minority of Serbs would rather see their country turn toward Russia. The
terrifying fact is that the support for accession is just over 50 percent.
Gaining membership will further involve making difficult political decisions and risking
unpopularity, as Bulgaria discovered when the EU forced it to close down economically important
nuclear reactors as a precondition to its accession in 2007. It currently seems unlikely that Serbia will be
allowed to join the European Union without recognizing Kosovo’s independence. The issue is a matter of
extreme sensitivity in Serbia.
The first step for Serbian integration into the European Union has already been taken. It is not
important only for Serbia, but also for entire Balkan region, which has fallen into deep poverty. In
Serbian case, it is highly probable that its fate will look more like Turkey’s than Croatia’s, and that,
throughout the entire process, which will undoubtedly be long condition of choosing Europe or Kosovo
will be mentioned many times. Given the current situation, the candidacy for the integration of Serbia,
with a so called frozen conflict, is expected to remain for some years. Meanwhile, Europe faces the
challenge of achieving a more ambitious negotiation between the parties in order to resolve problem
such as improvement of their relations.