The Rocky Road of Serbia to the European Union’s Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice

Abstract

The article assesses the Serbian Government’s progress in policy areas of the European Union Negotiating Framework for the accession under Chapter 24 – Justice, Freedom, and Security, like migration, asylum, police, customs and judicial cooperation, and the fight against organized crime, terrorism, and drugs. It builds on a research synthesis of monitoring results from 2013 to 2021 by prEUgovor – a coalition of seven civil society organizations with extensive expertise in examining accession negotiation policies. The research findings show that Government’s performance is advanced in policy areas where the European Union’s insistence and political calculation of national policy-makers exist to benefit domestic and international politics. Serbia performs migration and asylum reforms better than policing and fighting organized crime. Police reform is essential for Chapter 24 but is not targeted at the crucial European Union call asking police to be held accountable and immune from organized crime and political influence.