Serbia has recently experienced a political upheaval, with violent protests rocking the country and undermining President Vucic’s political credibility.

Serbia is a candidate for EU membership, but Belgrade must take a series of substantial steps in the remaining open and unresolved issues, such as European foreign policy, the rule of law, the conditions for free and fair elections, the judiciary, corruption, and the fight against organized crime. Above all, Belgrade’s international positioning must be reconsidered, especially in light of the ambitions of external super-players such as China and Russia.

According to Serbian law, Vučić cannot run for another presidential term, and many protesters and analysts expect him to assume the more powerful post of prime minister and cede the presidency to a loyal ally, following the pattern played out in Russia with the Putin-Medvedeev handover.

Meanwhile, the country’s institutions are demonstrating their unwillingness to distance themselves from the EU: the President of the Serbian National Assembly, Ana Brnabić, stated that Belgrade has supported Ukraine since the outbreak of the war and has provided Kiev with over €60 million in aid, in the form of direct financial and humanitarian aid, but not military aid. “We were the only country in the Western Balkans that, during the harshest winter months, supplied energy equipment to Ukraine, given the similarity of our electrical systems, as well as generators and spare parts. Even when such equipment was not available on the market, we supplied it from our reserves. In this way—and many are unaware of this, especially in the European Union—a very close relationship has developed between Serbia and Ukraine,” she explained in an interview with Euronews.

It was an opportunity to reaffirm Serbia’s path toward European Union accession, Brnabić, who in Brussels presented the results of Serbia’s reform efforts in the European integration process. He also quelled widespread rumors of excessive closeness to Moscow when he noted, “We Serbs are not Little Russians; Serbia is an autonomous, independent, and sovereign state with almost a thousand years of history. Yes, we have traditionally maintained good relations with the Russian Federation, and these relations continue to this day. But this is not a relationship without disagreements: I must emphasize that the Russian Federation has repeatedly criticized Serbia, for example, for voting at the United Nations to condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as for the assistance and support we provide to Ukraine.”

The EU Commission is calling on member states to open Cluster 3 of accession negotiations with Serbia in July, citing progress made in foreign policy, the rule of law, and electoral law reform. This initiative, however, is likely to encounter resistance from several countries. Serbia has not yet aligned itself with EU sanctions against Russia for its large-scale invasion of Ukraine, but the Commission emphasizes that Belgrade has cooperated with the bloc to counter sanctions evasion, provided significant support to Ukraine, and intensified political contacts at the highest level with Kyiv.