EU says Serbia could lose access to a billion euros over democratic backsliding

BRUSSELS -- BRUSSELS (AP) — Serbia could lose access to around 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in European Union funds if it fails to halt democratic backsliding, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos warned on Monday.

International monitors have said they had witnessed violence and irregularities during last month’s local elections in 10 Serbian municipalities.

“We are increasingly worried about what is happening in Serbia,” Kos told EU lawmakers. She said the European Commission is “assessing whether the country still fulfills the conditions for payments under the EU’s financial instruments.”

Kos said the commission’s concerns range from “laws that undermine the independence of the judiciary, to crackdowns on protesters and recurrent meddling in independent media.”

Serbia qualifies for a big slice of an EU fund to promote growth in countries trying to join the bloc if they carry out reforms. Kos said Belgrade has received 110 million euros ($130 million), but that still “leaves around 1.5 billion under a question mark.”

The EU has stepped up efforts to integrate Western Balkan nations since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, fearing Moscow could try to destabilize a region still feeling the effects of its own wars in the 1990s.

Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic claims he wants to lead his country into the EU, but he has maintained close relations with Russia. He defied EU warnings and attended Russia’s Victory Day parade alongside President Vladimir Putin last year.

Experts from Europe’s main democracy and constitutional affairs body, the Venice Commission, visited Serbia last month for talks with political leaders and top court and legal officials to assess concerns raised by the president of Serbia’s parliament.

It is due to hand down an “urgent opinion” based on its findings in coming weeks. Kos said Brussels expects Serbia “to fully align its judicial laws with the Venice Commission’s recommendations and to restore the independence of its media.”

“Serbia has to deliver,” she said.