Kos confirms Serbia will not receive funds from Growth Plan due to setbacks in judiciary

(Patria) - European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has confirmed that Serbia will not receive financial funds from the Growth Plan as long as the controversial judicial laws are in effect.

"For now, we have halted all payments from the Growth Plan because Serbia has regressed in the area of the judiciary, and until it rectifies this, it will not be able to receive financial support from the EU," Commissioner Kos stated on Friday, April 30, speaking at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

The controversial, so-called "Mrdić laws", adopted in January this year, represent a step backward for the European Union in Serbia's integration process towards the EU. Commissioner Kos has also warned on several occasions that these laws limit the independence of the judiciary.

On April 24, the Venice Commission assessed that recent amendments to the set of judicial laws in Serbia remove previously existing safeguards for the autonomy of the prosecution.

This expert body of the Council of Europe has issued nine recommendations to Serbia on how to rectify the shortcomings. The European Union is demanding that Serbia fully implement all recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding judicial laws and simultaneously suspend the application of these laws until they are amended.

From the funds of the Growth Plan, Serbia is entitled to a total of 1.588 billion euros for the period between 2024 and 2027.

This includes grants and loans intended to support reforms, and funds are disbursed twice a year based on progress achieved.

Serbia received slightly more than half of the allocated funds from the first disbursement of the European Growth Plan in January, as it was determined that out of seven planned reforms, only three were fulfilled.

Instead of the planned 112 million, the country received 61.1 million euros.

Of the planned amount, almost 400 million euros relate to direct budget support, while the rest are loans for projects in the areas of infrastructure and public services. The European Commission has previously emphasized that the amounts to be disbursed are not fixed, but depend on reform results, and that there is a possibility of reducing or suspending funds for countries that do not meet the conditions, RSE reported.