The limits of EU conditionality in the context of Serbia’s political cooperation with Croatia

Petrović, Miloš and Baštovanović, Darko (2025) The limits of EU conditionality in the context of Serbia’s political cooperation with Croatia. In: Hrvatsko-srpski odnosi i manjinske politike u komparativnoj perspektivi. Institut za istraživanje migracija, Zagreb, pp. 60-72. ISBN 978-953-8580-04-8

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Abstract

This paper aims to examine the scope and results of the political cooperation between Belgrade and Zagreb in the context of the European Union’s enlargement policy. The author argues that the conditionality instrument in this regard has shown its limitations over the past decade. Apart from being a consequence of external developments (such as the crisis mode of the European Union), this is a result of the profound political changes between the two observed actors. On the one hand, the asymmetry between Croatia and Serbia has increased as a consequence of Zagreb’s EU accession and subsequent progress towards the inner circles of integration. On the other hand, conservative and occasionally anti-European ideologies, sentiments, and actions in Serbia have distanced it from what used to be its main strategic goal. This reveals the preference of political elites for short-term political maneuvers, which produce immediate or quicker results, over the longer-term planning required for Serbia’s EU accession. The authors consider that the democratic underperformance in Serbia correlates with the lack of intention to accede to the European Union (and, by default, cooperate more closely with member states like Croatia). The authors use the comparative method and Europeanization approach to illustrate how the EU’s actorness did not accomplish a convincing and comprehensive reconciliation between the two largest former Yugoslav countries, as a result of aforementioned aspects.

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