Eight EU States Block Opening of Serbia’s Cluster 3 Accession Talks

Eight European Union member states – Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden – voted against the European Commission’s proposal to open Cluster 3 (competitiveness and inclusive growth) in Serbia’s EU accession negotiations. The Commission argued that Belgrade had made sufficient progress on judicial reforms, media freedom, election law and alignment with EU foreign‑policy, including assistance to Ukraine and efforts to prevent sanction‑evasion by Russia. However, the dissenting delegations cited persistent problems with the rule of law, corruption, media independence and Serbia’s refusal to adopt EU sanctions against Russia. Because any new negotiation chapter requires the unanimous consent of all 27 EU members, the dissent was enough to halt the proposal.

The stalemate was highlighted in a diplomatic briefing where a source said the opposition made it “impossible” for negotiations to move forward soon. While Germany and France continue to back Serbia’s accession, the European Parliament’s S&D group has called for suspending EU financing until substantive reforms are achieved. The issue will be revisited at the next COREPER meeting and at the EU Council on general affairs scheduled for 14 July.