"For now, we have stopped all payments from Growth plan because Serbia has regressed in the field of justice, and until they fix it, they will not be able to receive financial support from the EU," said the European Commissioner for Enlargement yesterday. Marta Kos at the University of Friborg, Switzerland.
Kos gave a lecture "How geopolitics changed EU enlargement" at the University of Friborg. Answering questions from the audience, she also referred to the situation in Serbia, the Savremena politika portal reports.
"Serbia is very polarized today. It has been a candidate for membership for more than ten years, and unfortunately we are seeing a setback, especially in the part related to the values I spoke about earlier, the rule of law, democracy, freedom of expression and especially freedom of the media. There is a future for Serbia in the European Union, but the course must change," said Kos.
She noted that geopolitical orientation is also important.
As a reminder, Serbia faces the possibility of permanently running out of money from the Growth Plan in the amount of more than one billion euros, if it does not fulfill the recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding the disputed laws.
When Belgrade takes concrete steps, the European Commission will make an assessment and make a final decision on the payment. Until then, the funds from the Growth Plan intended for Serbia will be frozen.
If the Commission's decision is negative, the payment will be permanently suspended, and the money intended for Serbia will be redirected to other countries included in the Growth Plan.
Source: Contemporary Politics
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