How good the conclusions of the Summit of the European Union and the Western Balkans in Tivat would sound, so that the messages addressed to Serbia could be read with a lot of optimism - if only this were the first time. In this way, the messages are clear, positive, instructive, the European Union is there, close at hand if there is a will. As German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz said: "Serbia must clearly and unequivocally decide where it stands at the moment." She can decide for herself, there is no pressure, there is no blackmail, all that is needed is to sort out the relationship to the common foreign policy, to change the two or three laws from the judiciary and to strengthen the electoral conditions, and now, the clusters are opening themselves.
By the way, Serbia is, as the citizens could hear in the statements of the officials - on the right track, the president of Serbia and the government are trying really hard, Europe extends its hands to them and considers that it is not complete without the Western Balkans... Admittedly, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, repeated that the accession process is based on merit, but that has already been said so many times.
Those who understand the diplomatic vocabulary a little better claim that the tone of the messages is now a little different, sharper and unyielding, but again not dramatic. It is repeated and repeated that the dynamics of integration depends on Serbian institutions, if they care. Otherwise, the leaders of the member states can play this game that Serbia wants to join Europe and the EU supports it forever.
WHO EVEN WANTS ACCESSION??
The meeting in Tivat was the eighth such Summit of the EU and the Western Balkans since the decision was made to hold it once a year. If you compare what has been heard so far and what kind of messages have been sent to Serbia only in the last eight years, it will be seen that today in Serbia it is the most difficult to be a pro-European citizen or politician. It simply became too difficult to explain what exactly European officials were satisfied with at the beginning of June 2026, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he believed that the President of Serbia would continue reforms.
What is this optimism based on, if only a day before the Montenegrin government returned a plane full of, as Vučić himself said, "activists" who were sent to make Vučić feel better in the neighboring country? The President of Serbia said the day before that European officials never know "what is really in his head", what he thinks about European integration, but it is somehow an open secret both for those officials and for Serbia that - since he leads it - Serbia is, to put it mildly, stagnating on the European path and constantly regressing in some areas. All the same, the messages of the summit are such that anyone who wants to can hope for improvement, upload what was not heard and interpret how Vučić lost the support of the EU and that he is now in a trap.
And he can also, as a not very small part of Serbian society, breathe a sigh of relief - because European integration was never even the goal of this government. On what basis can it be concluded? Based on a comparison of what we have heard so far and what has actually been done.
HISTORIC MEETING OR ALREADY SEEN?
Tivat may be a historic summit, but for Montenegro, which has been told that it has done everything and that it is practically the next member of the EU, and that too full-fledged. When it comes to Serbia, in short - the door to the EU is still ajar, but progress depends on reforms. Serbia must not fall behind its neighbors now that enlargement is again a priority, harmonization with the EU's foreign policy is expected, to which every supporter of the current government will say that it is only in order when Serbia becomes a member.
Until then, there will be no sanctions against Russia, and it seems that this condition is only mentioned pro forma. When it comes to the foreign policy of Serbia itself, many take as the main message of the summit exactly the statement of Chancellor Merc that Serbia must make a choice, stressing that balancing between Russia, China and Europe is no longer possible. What the public does not know, and would do well to know, is what the continuation of this sentence reads and whether it was said behind closed doors.
Balancing is not possible, even though Vučić came from a visit to China just a few days ago, gave an, to say the least, courtly interview about US President Trump, repeated that there are no sanctions against Russia and was greeted with hugs and praise in Tivat. If the German chancellor declares that it is no longer there, it is missing or Germany will... What exactly will it do?
VUCIĆ WASN'T EVEN AT THE PREVIOUS SUMMIT
If we go back a few months, to the previous EU Summit - Western Balkans in Brussels, held on December 17, 2025, Serbia decided not to send its representatives.
"For the first time in the last 13 or 14 years, neither I nor anyone else will go to that intergovernmental conference. No one will represent the Republic of Serbia, so the Western Balkans will be without the Republic of Serbia," the Serbian president told RTS at the time. The decision was made after Vučić announced that before the meeting with EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Kosta in Brussels, he would propose that "the entire Western Balkans be accepted into the EU together", but since he did not meet with approval, he became angry. No new chapters, no rapprochement, nothing to talk about.
Even without Serbia, the joint Brussels Declaration was adopted, from which it was read that the main condition for Serbia is harmonization of foreign policy, including sanctions against Russia. The normalization of relations with Pristina was mentioned, and the financial support from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans is directly conditional on reforms in the rule of law, the judiciary, and the media. And it's still in effect. Officially, the money is not suspended, but Serbia does not receive it.
And that's how statistics work - the last summit was boycotted, Vučić appeared at this one - that's progress. Immediately after the last summit, Serbia adopted the so-called "Mrdić laws", which further restrict the work of courts and prosecutor's offices, and now the government has promised to correct it. When she removes the problem she caused herself, without taking a step forward, she can expect praise again. Ursula von der Leyen stated that Cluster 3 will be opened if Serbia adopts laws on justice, electoral legislation and Rome in the coming weeks. As if the fact that, for example, there is no Remo is an elemental disaster, and not a pure political decision of the ruling coalition. The only serious difference is that there is pressure from the region, because Montenegro, and even Albania, have lower successes on the European road, and Serbia's stagnation is even more visible.
KOSOVO, MEDIA, THE RULE OF LAW, KOSOVO, MEDIA...
Let's go even further back, for example in 2022, when the Summit was held for the first time in the region - in Tirana. In the first year of the war in Ukraine, it was necessary to show unity, a package of one billion euros was announced to help the region in dealing with the energy crisis. And what were the main messages for Serbia then?
One would not believe it - harmonization of foreign policy, fight against Russian disinformation, relations with Pristina and for Serbia to admit that the EU is helping it (to bring it closer to the citizens, I guess through the media). In the Declaration from Tirana, with which Serbia agreed, there was talk about freedom of the media and expression, about the necessity of supporting civil society (which probably meant that the party founded several gong non-governmental organizations that exclusively deal with slandering the opposition and later students). In the following four years, Serbia did not implement anything that was signed.
At the beginning of the practice of such summits, the European perspective, development and cooperation were discussed in Bulgaria in 2018. Serbia was represented by President Aleksandar Vučić and then Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. The then President of the European Council Donald Tusk said that for the Western Balkans "there is no other alternative or plan B" and that the region belongs to the European family.
Serbia was asked that European integration remain its firm strategic choice, and the condition of all conditions in 2018 for Serbia was essential progress in the dialogue with Pristina and the achievement of a legally binding agreement on the normalization of relations as a prerequisite for membership. The Sofia Declaration explicitly underlined that progress depends on the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the fight against organized crime and corruption. At that time too, media freedom was mentioned and the key role of civil society in the process of democratization of Serbia was highlighted. Eight years later, somewhere on the seashore, the president says that he will see to it that REM is solved, but that the ruling structure cannot give up control, because REM will then turn off their favorite television. This already shows a complete misunderstanding of the concept of Remo and how it should work.
EUROPE HAS NOT CHANGED ITS ATTITUDE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY
Before the practice of EU officials meeting with their Balkan counterparts, two meetings were held that laid the foundations for the European integration of the region. 26 years ago in Zagreb, the first meeting outside the EU territory, and in 2003 in Thessaloniki, when the famous Thessaloniki Declaration on the European perspective of the region was adopted. Even then, it was clearly stated that the speed of this process depends on each country in the region individually and its readiness to implement reforms.
"We all share the values of democracy, the rule of law, respect for human and minority rights, solidarity and the market economy, fully aware that they form the very foundations of the European Union. Respect for international law, the inviolability of international borders, peaceful resolution of conflicts and regional cooperation are principles of the greatest importance, to which we are all committed," reads the first point of the Thessaloniki Declaration, which Serbia has not formally renounced even 23 years later. Essential - it can be seen by opening the cluster. And due to the fact that in the first few days after Tivat, neither a meeting of the Committee was scheduled to unblock the election process for the Remo Council, nor were changes to any key law included in the procedure. And the new deadline for starting something and for Serbia to still receive funds from the Growth Fund is the end of June.
