Serbia applied to join the European Union (EU) in 2009 and has been a candidate for membership since 2012, along with nine other states. Serbia is the largest country in Southeast Europe seeking entry into the EU.^[4][5]

Quick Facts Serbia to the European Union, Status ...

Accession of Serbia to the European Union
Status	Candidate negotiating
Application European perspective 21 June 2003 Potential candidate 21 June 2003 Membership application 22 December 2009 Candidate status 1 March 2012 Screened & negotiations commence 25 March 2015
Negotiations Clusters open 6 Chapters open 32 Clusters closed 0 0% complete Chapters closed 3† 8.6% complete †Chapter 25 – Science and research and Chapter 26 – Education and culture are provisionally closed. Chapter 34 - Institutions is currently not applicable.
Memberships & Treaties Association Agreement 1 September 2013 Economic and monetary policy EU Free Trade Agreement 1 September 2013 World Trade Organization (WTO) Undergoing accession process.[1] Euro & the Eurozone The euro is widely accepted in Serbia, although it has no formal approval, and the official currency of the country is the Serbian dinar Travel Schengen visa liberalisation 19 December 2009 Energy Energy Community Member since 9 August 2006 Euratom Serbia is not a member. Serbia does not have any nuclear power, but it does have a moratorium on the development of nuclear energy.[2] ENTSO-E Elektromreža Srbije is a member. Foreign and military policy North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Individual Partnership Action Plan since 15 January 2015 Main article: Serbia–NATO relations Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) 1 August 1975 (as Yugoslavia) Human rights and international courts Council of Europe (CoE) since 2003 (as Serbia and Montenegro) International Criminal Court (ICC) Serbia and Montenegro deposited their instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute on 6 September 2001. The Rome Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002.[3] International Court of Justice (ICJ) Main articles: Bosnian genocide case and Croatia–Serbia genocide case
Impact (27+1) Population 446,828,803 455,052,321 1.5% Area 4,233,262 km2 1,634,472 mi2 4,310,736 km2 1,664,385 mi2 1.8% (excluding Kosovo) HDI 0.896 0.890 0.67% GDP (PPP) $25.399 trillion $25.572 trillion 0.68% GDP per capita (PPP) $56,928 $56,196 1.29% GDP $17.818 trillion $17.256 trillion 0.4% GDP per capita $39,940 $37,920 5.3% Gini 30.0 30.1 0.39% Official Languages 24 25 Serbian 1

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After initial popular support for Serbia's entry, it has held unfavorable domestic approval with support weakening since 2014.^[6] International support for their accession is similarly mixed with concerns over Serbia's claim over Kosovo, regional geopolitical tensions, foreign policy alignment with Russia, and domestic policies.^[7][5] Serbia's issues with democratic backsliding has been identified by the Financial Times as a long-term obstacle to the state's entry into the EU.^[5]

Serbia refused to join international sanctions against Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In response, the European Parliament passed a resolution that stated in part it "strongly regrets Serbia’s non-alignment with EU sanctions against Russia, which damages its EU accession process."^[25]

Serbia was initially supportive of accession in the past due to better relationships with countries in the European Union, as well as for economic reasons. In the last decades because of the support of Kosovo's independence by most European countries, the economic crisis, the better relationships with the United States in addition to giving sanctions against Russia during the Russian invasion in Ukraine, support for EU membership went down. Serbia has become more opposed to the Western NATO bloc and prefer better ties and relationships with, for example, Russia for its shared Eastern Orthodox Christian Slavic traditions and China with its large economy and similar soft alliance with Russia.^{[citation needed]}

A 2023 NSPM poll released in July recorded that 46.7% were against joining the EU, compared to 43.7%. The rest did not answer or refused to give the answer. Another poll recorded the question "If recognizing the independence of Kosovo were a condition of joining the EU, do you think that condition should be accepted?", 77% answered no, compared to only 12.7% who said yes.^[45]

An October 2023 Smart Plus poll found that if a referendum on joining the EU would take place, 44% would vote in favour of joining the EU, with 30% voting against, 15% undecided and 10% abstaining.^[46]

On 1 January 2008, the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreement between Serbia and the EU came into effect. On 19 December 2009, Visa requirements were lifted for Serbs travelling to Schengen countries.

• Human rights in Serbia
• Yugoslavia–European Communities relations
• Open Balkan
• Craiovia Group
• CEFTA