Do we now stand closer or further from the EU, and how far have we, as a country, progressed from 2014 to this very day? Coalition 27 has presented a new Shadow Report that, among other things, analyses financial investments in environmental protection during the period from 2014, when Serbia started its accession negotiations with the EU, to 2023.

Coalition 27 presented the Shadow Report on November 18^th, 2024, at an event held at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia that convened representatives of the civil sector, EU delegations, experts in the field, and media. The event was inaugurated by representatives of Coalition 27 and Antoine Avignon, speaking on behalf of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Serbia, who highlighted the relevance and quality of the Report. Mihailo Vesović from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia also addressed the attendees, followed by contributions of economic experts and professors.

This year’s report is titled “Years Go by, We Stand Still,” because this phrase encapsulates the Coalition’s assessment of the progress made over the previous decade on Chapter 27: Environment and Climate Change. What is new about this year’s report is that, in addition to covering key events concerning the environment and climate change, it also offers an answer to the question of how much money Serbia has invested in environmental protection since the start of the negotiations.

Analyses show that over the last decade, the state has invested in environmental protection with only around 30% of the funds planned within the National Environmental Approximation Strategy (NEAS) of the Republic of Serbia; additionally, only 20% of the planned investments in infrastructure have been made. This is well below the level of investment needed to make significant progress in the field of environmental protection. If investing in environmental protection is a luxury that Serbia cannot afford, can we then afford the luxury of hospital treatments, environmental degradation, and slow progress?

Coalition 27 would like to emphasize that this document was adopted in 2011 and that the estimation of the costs of approximation was, therefore, rather conservative, given that data in more recent strategies and plans confirm that the final sum is far greater. For instance, less than 10% of the planned amount was invested in improving water quality. In other areas of environmental protection, such as waste management, there have been actual costs and investments but also insufficient capital expenditures, which is why Serbia, despite significant costs, is still not even close to establishing an efficient waste management system based on the principles of a circular economy. We should also take into consideration the fact that the sum collected from environmental taxes, according to the data from the draft document of the Environmental Protection Strategy (September 2024) is 3.9% of GDP, whereas the amount invested by Serbia in environmental protection from 2021 is approximately 1% of GDP per year.

Coalition 27 also reminds us that the Government of the Republic of Serbia is yet to establish an operational Green Fund that would finance environmental reforms, despite the fact that it has been insisted for a while that Chapter 27 is the most demanding one in terms of finance. In addition to this, this is one of the key recommendations of the European Commission, which is repeated year after year in its reports on Serbia. The Fund for Environmental Protection was founded in 2009 as an institution with the authority to collect funds from environmental taxes and charges and invest them in projects to improve the state of the environment. This provided an institutional basis for the “polluter pays” principle because companies were obliged to remit fees directly into the Fund, which would then direct them toward projects via tenders. In 2012, the law repealing the Fund for Environmental Protection was passed, which meant that the environmental tax would be directed into the national budget, and as of 2021, the Green Fund ceased to exist either as an independent institution or as a budget fund. This has greatly reduced transparency and made it impossible to monitor how the state spends the funds collected on this basis.

For the public to be able to influence, in reality, the decision-making processes concerning the environment—in addition to resolving the issues of the closed nature of institutions, nontransparent processes, and adopting and amending the existing laws—what is essential is the support, as well as an open relationship with the civil society in Serbia. Having this in mind, the Coalition does not share the optimism from the European Commission’s Progress Report on Serbia, 2024, and believes that Serbia has made progress – unrealistic and unjust – in many areas. Our country should also significantly strengthen its administrative capacities in the environmental sector on all levels of governance, including inspection teams and judicial bodies.

Coalition 27 would also wish to appeal again for adopting the recommendations specified in the latest Shadow Report concerning air quality, water protection, forestry, chemical and waste management, nature conservation, noise, and industrial pollution, but also horizontal legislation governing the area. These offer clear overviews of the current state of affairs, of the strategic and legislative framework, as well as of the implementation of regulations in practice.

To answer the question of whether we now stand closer or further from the EU, having such an objective in mind, without a strategic approach, clear ambitions, and investments therein, modest progress is sometimes nothing but groping in the dark, especially if we consider the fact that as much as one third of the total EU legislation that candidate countries must implement before accession relates exactly to Chapter 27. In addition to the obvious lack of political will and (non)inclusion of pundits, the main reason why the results are so disappointing is probably the fact that financial investments in environmental protection have, despite the ambitious plans, remained constantly low throughout the observed period.

The Shadow Report “Years Go by, We Stand Still” covers the period between May 2023 and April 2024, and it includes detailed recommendations for every area of Chapter 27.

Download the Report in Serbian HERE. 

Download the report HERE.

Photographs by: Zorica Popović 

The presentation of the Shadow Report of Coalition 27 is organised as part of the ECO SYSTEM Programme supported by Sweden. The event was also supported by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.