Renew wants to suspend accession talks w • Table.Briefings

Serbia has so far not joined the EU sanctions against Russia. In a letter, members of the liberal Renew parliamentary group have addressed EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging her to put accession talks with Serbia on hold for the time being and to freeze the associated funding. But the consequences could further complicate the EU’s difficult relationship with the candidate country.

MEPs cite as a reason that Serbia is currently „dangerously slipping into authoritarianism,“ which conflicts with its intention to join the EU. Talks should remain on hold until Serbia realigns its policies to EU values with „credible, concrete and unambiguous measures.“ The letter continues that „these are not just EU values, but the values on which the post-World War II international legal order was founded.“ The background to the initiative is not only internal Serbian developments – but also the lack of commitment to the EU position on the Ukraine crisis.

Renew wants to suspend accession talks with Serbia

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