European Parliament: Serbia's EU progress and access to funds only if it adopts sanctions against Russia

(Patria) - The European Parliament in Strasbourg adopted a resolution stating that accession negotiations with Serbia should only progress if Belgrade supports sanctions against Russia and makes significant progress in reforms. Additionally, MEPs also supported making EU funds for Serbia conditional in the same way.

As published on the European Parliament's website, no alternatives should replace enlargement, and the decision-making process in the accession process should also be reformed, with new members being accepted by qualified majority instead of unanimity. It is also added that accession negotiations with candidate countries should be concluded by 2030.

"MEPs demand that democratic reforms and the rule of law be at the forefront of the enlargement process, along with improved monitoring, reporting, assessment, and conditionality. In the recommendations of the new EU enlargement strategy, adopted by MEPs, it is demanded that EU funding from its funds and their tangible results be made more visible in candidate countries. They also want the EU to work on preventing third parties from interfering in the political, electoral, and other democratic processes of candidate countries," the statement said.

The N1 European correspondent assessed that this is a non-binding resolution, but a strong political message about the direction in which the EU is thinking.

The author of the resolution, MEP Tonino Picula, said that the European Parliament has always been the most significant supporter of enlargement.

"By adopting firm recommendations on how the future enlargement policy should be implemented, we can once again set the tone and standards that will allow the EU to grow and thrive. We want to ensure that the EU remains an evolving community of European states, open to the accession of similar democracies that share common values and interests," Picula said.

The resolution was supported by 502 MEPs, 75 were against, and 61 abstained.