Serbia faces EU negotiation block as eight members oppose further talks

Eight EU member states – the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Croatia – voted against opening a new negotiation chapter for Serbia at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels. Denmark, Luxembourg and Latvia expressed reservations, while France supported the continuation of talks. The EU requires unanimity for opening or closing negotiation clusters, and the European Commission highlighted Serbia’s progress on media freedom, election law and cooperation with Ukraine, but noted remaining concerns over rule‑of‑law reforms and respect for EU sanctions on Russia.

Separately, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told a parliamentary presidents’ conference in Belgrade that he does not expect Serbia, North Macedonia or Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the European Union in the near future, stating that the EU is unlikely to make expansion decisions in the coming years and that the Western Balkan countries must continue reforms.