"Clinically Dead"

According to Professor Stefan Surli, citizens don't believe their countries will ever become EU members because they think there are hidden conditions that cannot be fulfilled. For Serbia, that condition is the normalization of relations with Pristina, and the dialogue is, as he says, clinically dead at the moment.

He says that the year 2030 can be both realistic and ambitious, as emphasized by Charles Michel. Surli also mentions that Michel's statement surprised him because there is a great responsibility when dealing with dates.
"Of course, politicians, especially those at the top in Brussels, have avoided announcing something like this, knowing the methodology that full membership, alongside all those criteria, requires the unanimous agreement of all member states. For that reason, we had certain years - even Juncker once stated that if Serbia and Montenegro meet all the criteria, a realistic date would be 2025," Surli pointed out.
According to him, that currently seems like an entirely unworkable scenario. Surli says that the year 2030 can be both realistic and ambitious, as emphasized by Charles Michel.
"I would even add most optimistic because experts dealing with the EU accession process state that according to the current methodology, it takes a minimum of five to seven years to complete the entire complex process," he said.
Immediately after Michel's statement, the European Commission also issued a response, seemingly distancing themselves from his assessments, stating that they hadn't had prior consultations about that timeline.
"I think it's very important that we still discuss a certain year, as it serves as an orientation, providing predictability to the process, but of course, we should take that year with caution...