European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has said Serbia would probably be unable to join the European Union unless it aligns more closely with the bloc’s foreign and security policy, including its approach to Russia.
Asked by TVP World whether Serbia could become an EU member while continuing to reject sanctions against Moscow, Kos said it would “probably” not be possible for a country to enter the bloc without alignment on strategic foreign and security policy interests. She added that Brussels had not yet begun discussions with Serbia’s next government, which has yet to be formed following last weekend’s parliamentary election.
The remarks put an early foreign-policy question before the Student List, the movement that defeated the coalition led by Aleksandar Vučić in the October 25 snap election. Preliminary results from Serbia’s Republic Electoral Commission gave the Student List 52.71% of the vote and an estimated 140 seats, against 39.17% and 104 seats for the Vučić-led United Serbia list. Those figures are not yet final: the commission ordered repeat voting at 53 polling stations on November 1.
Serbia has sought EU membership while maintaining close political and economic relations with Russia and declining to join the bloc’s sanctions introduced after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
That position has repeatedly drawn criticism from Brussels. The European Commission’s most recent Serbia assessment said Belgrade’s alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy remained low and specifically noted that Serbia had not adopted the EU’s restrictive measures against Russia. Earlier in October, Kos said Serbia would have to demonstrate greater commitment to “strategic alignment” if it wanted to advance its membership bid.
The Student List has not presented a single, unequivocal position on the sanctions question.
Jovo Bakić, a university professor and candidate on the list, told RT Balkan after the election that he opposed sanctions and described Russia as an important historical partner of Serbia. He argued that Serbian measures would have little economic effect on Moscow while carrying significant political symbolism.
Ilija Srdanović, the Student List’s lead candidate, took a less categorical position in an October 27 interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He said Serbia would continue pursuing European integration and argued that relations with Russia, including the sanctions issue, should be subject to an open domestic debate. Asked directly whether the existing policy could be reconsidered, Srdanović said Serbian citizens should ultimately determine the country’s approach.
The difference leaves the incoming majority facing a potentially difficult balance. Continuing Serbia’s refusal to adopt EU sanctions could constrain its accession prospects, while changing course would require the new leadership to revisit a policy that has survived years of pressure from Brussels.
Kos’s comments do not amount to the announcement of a new, separate accession rule. Rather, they apply the EU’s existing demand for alignment with its common foreign and security policy directly to Serbia’s position on Russia.