EU Report on Serbia 2026: Backsliding Noted, a Strong Mandate for Reform

The European Commission on Wednesday, 4 November, published its annual report on Serbia as part of the 2026 Enlargement Package. It found no substantial progress in accession negotiations over the past twelve months and recorded backsliding in several areas, while noting that the October parliamentary elections gave the incoming government a strong mandate for reforms.

Where the Commission saw backsliding

According to the report, as summarised by the Commission and by the Beta news agency, Serbia slipped back in public administration reform, freedom of expression, education and culture, and external economic relations. The Commission said work on aligning laws with EU rules and technical standards continued, but that negative trends in the fundamentals of accession ran counter to the authorities' stated goal of joining the EU. The past year, it said, was marked by rising polarisation in society, including during the pre-election period, and by mass protests over corruption and lack of accountability that followed the 2024 canopy collapse at Novi Sad railway station.

On media, the report found that conditions for journalists had worsened further, that media laws were applied inconsistently and that market concentration had grown. It said the newly constituted Council of the media regulator REM had not acted effectively or in time on election-related irregularities, and repeated that last year's recommendations remain unfulfilled.

Cluster 3, foreign policy and Kosovo

Serbia has opened 22 of 35 negotiating chapters since 2014 and provisionally closed two. The Commission repeated that Serbia has met the benchmarks to open Cluster 3 (competitiveness and inclusive growth), but said the overall pace depends on the rule of law and on normalisation with Kosovo. Alignment with the EU's common foreign and security policy remained low; the report notes that Serbia does not apply EU restrictive measures against Russia, Belarus and Iran, though it welcomed some recent alignment with Council decisions and statements. It also criticised the official support given to the burial of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić in September.

On Kosovo, the Commission said domestic politics on both sides held back implementation of the 2023 agreement on the path to normalisation, and that Serbia must implement all its dialogue obligations.

What the EU expects from the new government

Presenting the report in Belgrade, the head of the EU Delegation, Andreas von Beckerath, said the EU is ready to work closely with the future government and that Serbia could again become one of the leading candidates. He said he expects the Student List to start on its priority reforms soon. In Brussels, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the incoming government has a chance to “turn the page” on democratic institutions and human rights.

The Commission said progress will depend on reversing the negative trends and putting democratic institutions, the judiciary and fundamental rights first. Von Beckerath is due to present the report to the National Convention on the EU and later in Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac.