Paper Titles & Abstracts

Over two decades, European involvement in Serbia has shifted from protecting and separating other republics and peoples from Serbia and the Serbs (intervention) to supporting the post-Milošević Serbian leaderships in the processes of democratization and Europeanization (integration). However, the Serbian elites' obvious lack of commitment to EU accession has significantly affected Serbia's progress, resulting in ever-growing corruption, underperforming economy, and postponement of politically important decisions. The outcome of the 2012 elections in Serbia brought the Progressivists to power, causing immediate concerns amongst many commentators (including the ones in the West). It is true that their background is not the most desirable one (President Nikolić himself was a long-time member of the Serbian Radical Party), but in contrast to the Democrats, the Progressivists sounded as they could offer something new and, more importantly, better with regard to the future of Serbia. Once in office, their rhetoric has started favoring Serbia's cooperation with both the EU and Russia, often leaving an impression that the later is an alternative in case the EU will condition Serbia's EU membership upon recognition of Kosovo's independence. This paper argues that Russia should not be viewed as an alternative, but as an additional opportunity. With regard to economics, the EU is still Serbia's biggest trade partner, accounting for 56% of domestic exports. However, given the worrying economic situation across the EU and in Serbia, the new government has to explore opportunities that will eventually improve the living standard of the citizens of Serbia. Still, the paper argues that there is a valid risk that the Serbian-Russian economic partnership could also mean the beginning of a strong political partnership, capable of affecting Serbia's EU perspective.