As part of the PolitiKAS debates program with Young MPs, on October 31, 2022, the third debate was held in the premises of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Belgrade, entitled Negotiations on Serbia’s accession to the EU and the revised EU methodology: familiarization with clusters.
The young MPs had the opportunity to learn about the history of the EU, its institutions, and the accession procedure, which was presented by Assistant Professor Ivana Radić Milosavljević from the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade.
“European regional integration represents a broader process that does not only include processes that take place within the EU, but also includes all European countries that are connected to the EU in various ways,” said Ivana Radić Milosavljević. It is a process that implies simultaneous expansion in areas of activity, acquisition of new competences, strengthening of EU institutions in existing competences, and expansion in a geographical sense.
During the discussion, the expansion of the European Union to the Western Balkans, which has been struggling with challenges in meeting the requirements for EU accession for many years, was discussed. In addition to the overview of the open chapters and the reforms carried out so far in Serbia in the context of European integration, special attention is paid to the new methodology of the EU accession process, the so-called cluster division. It was established that the “new methodology” can speed up the process to a certain extent, but that the greatest responsibility lies with the states to make greater efforts in fulfilling the necessary conditions.
As for the accession of new members of the EU, in addition to the approval of the member states, it is necessary for the citizens to agree with each new enlargement, most often through the parliaments. The role and importance of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in the negotiation process for EU membership were analyzed. The work of the National Assembly related to European integrations, which implies the active participation of deputies in the Parliamentary Committee for European Integrations, was highlighted. The importance of participation in various initiatives and conferences, such as KOSAK, the Conference of the European Affairs Committee of the Parliaments of EU Member States and Observer States, was also pointed out, which enable young MPs to represent Serbia and work on improving the European perspective. The next PolitiKAS debate will be held on Friday, November 25, 2022. The topic of the debate will be the securitization of various crises and the power of parliamentary debate—the impact of the war in Ukraine. The project is organized by the RESECO think tank and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, with the support of the Eduardo Frei Foundation.
