Possible Date for EU Accession and the Years Ahead
Possible Date for EU Accession and the Years Ahead

Author(s): Duško Lopandić
Subject(s): EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: Centar za Evropske Politike CEP
Keywords: Serbia and EU Accession;
Summary/Abstract: The recent announcement by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, on EC's plan to prepare a Strategy for a successful EU accession of Serbia and Montenegro as front-runner candidates in the Western Balkans in 2025 perspective is very important for Serbia and the rest of Western Balkans. His speech represents the first occasion when an EU representative mentioned even a possible date for EU's future enlargement - 14 years since the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki, almost 8 years since Serbia lodged its membership application, and 4 years since the accession negotiations with the EU were opened. Consequently, the ongoing accession negotiations, characterised by unclear timeframe, have become slightly more focused in terms of deadlines. At the same, Juncker's speech puts naysayers at bay. An increasing number of experts, domestically and internationally, have often given their estimates that Serbia negotiates EU accession in vain and that the EU enlargement is a never-ending story - a la turque.

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