Serbia

Serbia, with a population of 6.9 million, has been advancing towards EU accession since 2012, when it received candidate country status. Despite some progress, Serbia still has three major hurdles to overcome: improving internal political dialogue and reforms, reaching a comprehensive normalisation agreement with Kosovo* and ensuring better alignment with EU foreign policy. Although Serbia voted for Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council, it has not applied any of the EU's sanctions on Russia. In April 2022, Aleksandar Vučić was elected for a second term as President, and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) coalition, led by Vučić, won the parliamentary elections. Snap elections in December 2023 brought the SNS a larger-than-expected victory. This 'At a glance' note has been produced at the request of a member of the European Committee of the Regions, in the framework of the cooperation agreement between the Parliament and the Committee.