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The European Commission is currently evaluating whether to suspend €1.5 billion in EU funding for Serbia due to rule-of-law concerns and contentious judicial reforms introduced by Belgrade in January, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told EU lawmakers on Monday.
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Kos said she was particularly concerned about legal amendments that introduce major changes, creating a flawed form of autonomy for Serbia’s anti-corruption prosecution and weakening the independence of the judiciary.
“We are increasingly worried about what is happening in Serbia. From laws that undermine the independence of the judiciary to crackdowns on protesters and recurrent meddling in independent media”, she told MEPs.
As a candidate country for EU membership since 2012, Serbia is eligible for EU funding to support its required internal reforms.
However, Serbia’s path toward the Union has slowed due to its close ties to Russia and to President Aleksandar Vučić’s crackdown on an anti-government and anti-corruption protests that began in December 2024 after a concrete awning collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad, killing 16 people.
Tensions with the EU have been fuelled by Serbia’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In May 2025, the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticising Serbia’s failure to align with EU foreign policy. While Serbia has condemned the war of aggression, it has continued to refuse to impose sanctions on Moscow.
The European Commission said it is awaiting the assessment of the Council of Europe on the judicial law approved in January. The so-called Venice Commission, a body of the Council of Europe, visited Belgrade on 16–17 March to prepare its opinion.
“We will continue to support Serbia on its EU path. But we expect the authorities to fully align its judicial laws with the Venice Commission’s recommendations and to restore the independence of its media”, Kos said on Monday.
“The Venice Commission will issue the urgent opinion in the coming weeks”, the Council of Europe said in a press statement in mid-March.
