Georgia and Serbia, both candidate countries for EU membership, have seen large waves of civic mobilisation in recent months. While the immediate triggers for public protests differ, the underlying drivers are similar: democratic backsliding, rising corruption and informal governance, and mounting authoritarian practices. In contrast, the countries’ European future played a significantly different role in galvanising public outrage.
The EU’s response to these alarming developments has also varied. Brussels has been more vocal in Georgia’s case, while taking a noticeably softer approach towards Serbia. Yet, in both instances the reaction has been fragmented and slow. This raises a key question: can the EU’s revived enlargement policy – reignited by geopolitical urgency — withstand this serious challenge to its credibility?
This explainer unpacks recent developments in Georgia and Serbia, assesses the EU’s response, and argues that how Brussels chooses to engage with civic mobilisation in its candidate countries will be a defining test of the credibility, and future of its enlargement policy.
This paper was written as part of the REUNIR project.
