CHALLENGES FOR SERBIA’S INTEGRATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: DOES THE EU NEED A NEW APPROACH?
Irina Ionela POP
Abstract. In the last years, Serbia‟s determination to join the European Union seems to have decreased. Whether the official positions and the state documents consider the European integration a strategic national interest, recent criticism from both parts have occurred. Therefore, through this article, we intend to discuss the challenges for Serbia‟s integration in the European Union, focusing on: the adhesion to the rule of law‟s principle, the problem of Kosovo, and the Ukrainian war. In conclusions, we will try to argue that it is hardly to imagine any European Union‟s progress with Serbia under the current strategy. However, all the variables must be carefully quantified, and maybe, in the light of Russia‟s aggression in Ukraine, we need a geopolitical approach at this moment, promoting stability and reconciliation in the Western Balkans.
Keywords: Serbia, European Union, integration, rule of law, Kosovo, Ukrainian war, Russia.