Timeline: Serbia - EU Negotiations

Serbian Deputy PM, Bozidar Djelic, with EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele | Photo by FoNet

October 10, 2005:
Negotiations with the EU start in the palace of the former State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in the presence of Olli Rehn, then European Enlargement Commissioner, Svetozar Marovic, President of the State Union of Serbia-Montenegro, prime ministers Vojislav Kostunica and Milo Djukanovic of Serbia and Montenegro, and David Gowan, British ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro (Britain was then presiding over the EU).

May 3, 2006:
The European Commission suspends accession talks with Serbia and Montenegro after it is deemed that the country is not fully cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, ICTY, in arresting and extraditing war crimes suspects.

June 3, 2006:
After Montenegro declares itself an independent state, Serbia continues the process of EU integration separately.

July 2006:
Serbia adopts an action plan for improving cooperation with the ICTY.

June 13, 2007:
EU negotiations resume in Brussels after a year of stagnation, following the arrest of a war crimes suspect indicted by the ICTY. Zdravko Tolimir was the assistant commander for Intelligence and Security of the Main Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, VRS, at the time of the Bosnian Serb massacre in Srebrenica in July 1995.

September 10, 2007:
Serbia and the EU agree in Brussels on the text of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, SAA.

November 2007:
The Netherlands and Belgium block implementation of the SAA, insisting that Serbia must first fully cooperate with the ICTY.

April 29, 2008:
EU foreign ministers sign the SAA with Serbia in Luxembourg. The implementation of the agreement is conditioned on Serbia's full cooperation with the Hague tribunal.

September 8, 2008:
The Serbian parliament adopts a law on ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA.

November 2009:
The EU Council of Ministers agrees to lift visa restrictions on three Western Balkans states, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, to countries of the so-called Schengen area, starting on December 19.

December 22, 2009:
Serbian President Boris Tadic travels to Stockholm to officially submit Serbia’s application for EU candidacy.

June 14, 2010
Serbia obtains a green light from the 27 EU foreign ministers after they decide to submit its SAA to the parliaments of all the EU member states for ratification. Twenty of the 27 EU member states have ratified the document to date.

October 25, 2010:
The EU Council of Ministers forwards Serbia's candidacy application to the European Commission, after which the Commission sends Serbia a pre-accession questionnaire.

January 31, 2011:
Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic returns the EU questionnaire, which was more than 5,000 pages long and came in 37 volumes, to the EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele.

May 26, 2011:
Serbia arrests its number-one war crimes suspect, the former Bosnian Serb commander, Ratko Mladic. Mladic’s continuing liberty was seen as Serbia's main obstacle on its EU path.

October 12, 2011
The European Commission has released its annual report on Serbia's progress. The report praised the country's reforms but conditioned further progress towards membership on reopening constructive dialogue with Kosovo.

December 9, 2011
EU foreign ministers are supposed to decide on whether to grant Serbia EU candidate status.