Montenegro Aims to Close EU Talks This Year. Serbia Must Restart Its Own
Brussels says enlargement has new momentum. Serbia, with no new negotiating cluster opened since 2021, now has a government-in-waiting the EU says it is ready to help.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has said Montenegro aims to complete accession negotiations by the end of 2026. Serbia is far behind: it has opened 22 of 35 negotiating chapters, and in July member states failed to agree on opening Cluster 3.
“Serbia will have to deliver more”
Kos repeated on 7 October that Serbia would have to do more and that much would depend on the next government. The Commission has tied progress to electoral reform, the election of a new media regulator and other commitments.
A reset after the vote
After the 25 October election, Kos and EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas welcomed the historic turnout, urged a swift transition and named electoral reform a priority. Many of the Student List’s demands — independent institutions, transparent procurement, accountability — overlap with what Brussels has asked of Belgrade.
The limits
Alignment with EU foreign policy is harder. The Student List has said it will not impose sanctions on Russia, a long-standing EU expectation of candidates. How it reconciles that with an accelerated reform agenda will decide whether Serbia can rejoin the leading group.
Sources
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