EVROPSKA UNIJA, DEMOKRATSKO USLOVLjAVANjE I SRBIJA

Gajić Sandra (Универзитет Монтескје у Бордоу), sandra.gajic@u-bordeaux4.fr

Since the end of the Cold War, the European Union (EU) seeks to promote democracy in its relations with candidate and neighbouring countries. Democratic conditionality (political criteria) subordinates participation in European Union and the establishment or pursuit of cooperation to democratic conditions (the protection of human rights, rule of law…). It is a relatively recent principle in European law and after the break-up of Yugoslavia, this new foreign policy has become all the more essential. Under this policy, the negotiations with Serbia became serious after the fall of the Milosevic regime in 2000. On 29 April 2008, the EU and Serbia signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement and Serbia is undertaking political reforms (regional cooperation, normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia…) supported by the European Union. Despite the fact that EU democratic conditionality has been acknowledged as one of the most powerful foreign policy tools, there is a rapidly growing concern over utilisation of conditionality. There is no precise definition of the political criteria, it is simultaneously a political and legal concept. This flexibility allows a differential application towards the candidate and third countries. Therefore, this concept can be exploited by EU member States who can give priority to their economic and geostrategic interests.

Ključne reči: European Union, democratic conditionality, political criteria, Republic of Serbia