Safeguards Against ‘Trojan Horses’ in EU Will ‘Bite Hard,’ Warns Enlargement Chief

Safeguards introduced to rein in member states that do not adhere to the EU’s rules and values will “bite hard” to curb “Trojan horses” inside the bloc, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has told TVP World. Kos said the EU had introduced the safeguards in light of its experience with Hungary’s former pro-Moscow leadership. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “If the new member states follow our rules, they will not even feel them,” she said. “But if they will go against them, then those safeguards will bite hard. So this is the main philosophy of these new safeguards.” Kos was speaking after Sunday’s parliamentary election in Serbia—which has a history of balancing between Brussels and Moscow—was won by a political movement that grew out of widespread student-led protests against public-sector corruption. In addition to problems with democratic fundamentals such as an independent judiciary, Serbia has been held back in its bid to join the EU by shortcomings in its “strategic alignment in the field of foreign and security policy,” Kos said. She said if a candidate country is not strategically aligned with the European Union, “meaning being together in fighting Russia, especially in Russia’s war in Ukraine,” then it will be “very, very difficult for the country to advance,” in the accession process. Other Topics of Interest Vučić’s Defeat Is Not Yet a Victory for Serbia’s European Future The victory in Serbia of the Student List raises many questions for the country’s future and its relationship with Ukraine. But Kos added that these issues can be addressed only when the new government has been formed in Belgrade. Aligned with EU The student movement that triumphed in Serbia’s parliamentary election has demands that tally with those of the EU, Kos said. Describing the Serbian election result as “excellent,” Kos said the students’ demands—rule of law, democracy and free media, as well as fighting corruption—tally with “what we are demanding from Serbia in the accession process.” “Serbia has been a candidate [for EU membership] for more than ten years, but... instead of advancing in the process, they were backsliding,” Kos said. “So this winning of the student list could be a new start for Serbia on the European path.” TVP World is Poland's first English-language channel where you can find our guest interviews, world news from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region.