Serbia's bid to join the European Union has made little progress in recent years, with Brussels pressing Belgrade on rule-of-law reforms, relations with Kosovo and alignment with EU foreign policy, including sanctions against Russia.

Serbia became an EU candidate in 2012 and opened accession negotiations in 2014, but has not opened a new negotiating cluster since 2021. In July 2026, EU member states again failed to reach unanimity on opening Cluster 3, covering competitiveness and inclusive growth, underscoring the lack of momentum in the accession process.

The EU has said Serbia needs to strengthen judicial independence, media freedom and democratic institutions and make progress in normalising relations with its former province, Kosovo. Its refusal to impose sanctions on Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has added another obstacle.

The European Commission said on September 28 that Serbia, as an EU candidate, was expected to align with the bloc's foreign and energy policies, including its plans to gradually end imports of Russian oil and gas.

"As a candidate country, Serbia is expected to align its policies with EU objectives, including energy and foreign policy, and to be a reliable partner striving for the same strategic direction," European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier told Radio Free Europe.

The comments followed a September 26 telephone conversation between former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Russian President Vladimir Putin, one day before Vucic resigned as president to lead the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) electoral list in an October 25 parliamentary election.

Serbia's current short-term agreement for Russian gas expires on September 30. More than 80% of its gas imports come from Russia, and Belgrade has not agreed a long-term supply contract since its previous three-year deal expired in 2025.

Mercier said relations with Russia could not continue "as if everything is business as usual" given Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Accession talks have lost momentum

Serbia has opened 22 of the EU's 35 negotiating chapters and provisionally closed two, according to the European Commission. But no new chapter or cluster has been opened since 2021.

Brussels has repeatedly linked further progress to improvements in the rule of law and the normalisation of relations with Kosovo.

Belgrade argues that it has made progress on reforms and that the pace of enlargement reflects a lack of political will within the EU.

No Western Balkan country has joined the bloc since Croatia in 2013, despite an EU commitment made in 2003 to bring the region into the Union.

The prolonged process has contributed to declining enthusiasm for membership in Serbia. A Eurobarometer survey conducted in 2025 found that 33% of Serbian respondents supported EU membership, the lowest level recorded among the Western Balkan countries surveyed.

The EU nevertheless remains Serbia's largest economic partner, accounting for nearly 70% of foreign direct investment inflows in 2025.

Kosovo remains central to accession

Relations with Kosovo are another longstanding obstacle. The EU has made normalisation between Belgrade and Pristina a key condition of progress towards membership. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

Vucic has repeatedly criticised Pristina for failing to establish an Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, as envisaged in the 2013 Brussels Agreement brokered by the EU.

In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, Vucic said Serbia had fulfilled the obligations assigned to it under the agreement, while the commitment on the association remained unimplemented.

The dispute has reinforced frustration in Belgrade over the EU-mediated dialogue, while Brussels continues to regard normalisation as an essential part of Serbia's accession process.

Mladic funeral adds tension

Relations with Brussels were further strained this year after the funeral in Belgrade of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić, who died on August 27 while serving a life sentence after being convicted of genocide and other wartime crimes.

About 16,000 people attended the funeral on September 7, which was also attended by several Serbian officials.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticised images from the event, while EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos cancelled a planned visit to Belgrade and said Serbia was at a "turning point".

Kos said Serbia's accession process required it to confront its past, strengthen the rule of law and clarify its strategic orientation.

The episode came after EU member states had already blocked the opening of Cluster 3.

Belgrade proposes phased accession

Frustration over the slow pace of enlargement has led Serbia to advocate a new model of integration.

Vucic and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama proposed in February that Western Balkan candidates should be gradually integrated into the EU single market and granted access to the Schengen travel area before obtaining full membership.

The proposal would allow candidate countries to receive some of the economic benefits of EU membership without initially receiving voting rights or representation in EU institutions.

Vucic reiterated the proposal at the UN General Assembly in September, saying full EU membership remained Serbia's strategic priority but that the region needed a more tangible path towards integration.

"We have therefore proposed that the Western Balkans be gradually integrated into the EU single market and granted access to the Schengen area even before attaining full membership in the EU," he said.

The proposal would not replace full membership, Vucic said, but would provide a way to overcome what he described as a prolonged deadlock.

The idea comes as Albania has moved substantially faster through the accession process and aims to complete negotiations by the end of 2027, with a stated goal of joining the EU in 2030.

Election unlikely to settle EU question

The October 25 parliamentary election could change the composition of Serbia's parliament, but the main issues affecting accession will remain.

Vucic resigned as president on September 27, ending his second term early, and is seeking to return to executive office as prime minister if the SNS retains power.

The SNS is expected to remain the largest party, although it is likely to lose support compared with its 48.1% vote share in the December 2023 parliamentary election.

A stronger opposition presence, including from the student movement that emerged from anti-government protests, could increase parliamentary scrutiny of the government and pressure for reforms demanded by Brussels.

But regardless of the election result, Serbia would still face the same core accession issues: strengthening the rule of law, normalising relations with Kosovo and bringing its foreign policy more closely into line with the EU.

For now, Belgrade continues to describe EU membership as its strategic objective while maintaining close energy ties with Russia and expanding economic cooperation with China.

That balancing act, combined with the EU's own enlargement fatigue, has left Serbia's accession negotiations at an impasse.

This article is part of a series on EU enlargement. Read other articles in the series here: 

Is there new hope for unblocking North Macedonia’s EU path?

A cancelled concert in Gori shows how far EU-Georgia relations have fallen

EU considers a new path towards membership for the Western Balkans