Public perceptions towards regional cooperation and EU integration

Serbia’s cooperation with some neighboring countries is hampered by conflicts during the 1990s, while citizens’ attitudes are burdened by a negative perception of neighboring countries’ political influence on Serbia. This have not been surprising, taking into account a very belligerent narrative about other regional actors that have dominated the pro-government mainstream media landscape in Serbia in recent years. Citizens are either unaware of the current level of cooperation with Kosovo security institutions or are dissatisfied with certain segments of cooperation. An exception to the dominant view on security cooperation is that most Serbian citizens would accept assistance from Kosovo security institutions in case of a state of emergency or natural/ humanitarian disaster in Serbia.

Serbia is an EU candidate country and EU integration remains formally the priority of Serbian foreign policy. Still, the lack of viable EU perspective and the dubious messaging by the Serbian leadership has seriously weakened public opinion support. As a result, the number of those who are opposed to the EU membership has risen, and so has the number of those who are indifferent towards the fate of the EU. On the EU path, the Kosovo dispute is seen as the biggest challenge the country must address before it can become a full member of the EU. This is one of the reasons behind the growing negative attitude towards the Union, because the preservation of Kosovo within Serbia is seen as the most important political issue.

This publication is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The views presented in this report are perceptions of the respondents and do not necessarily represent the views of Kosovar Centre for Security Studies and Belgrade Centre for Security Policy. Opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily represent the views of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).