Recent Articles

Read more about our latest published articles.

Review’s Archive

Corresponding Author:
Miroslav N. Jovanović, University of Geneva, Global Studies Institute, Dušan Sidjanski Centre of Excellence in European Studies, Switzerland

Should Serbia Join the European Union, and what Cost might this Entail?

Volume 75 - Issue 2, May 2022
(pp. 163-188)
JEL classification: F13, F15, F50
Keywords: Serbia, EU, Enlargement, Brexit, Mini Schengen, Open Balkan, Project Fear, Kosovo

Abstract

The Government of Serbia repeatedly declares its priority of joining of the European Union (EU), advancing a silly and politically suicidal declaration that there is no plan B for Serbia. But enlargement is not part of the EU’s real agenda, in spite of its meaningless and politically empty declarations to this end. The EU has much more important issues to solve, including its own survival. The economic, political and social costs of Serbia joining the EU are enormous and manifold. The Government of Serbia and EU-paid lobbyists emphasise material gains and EU solidarity. This may be music to the ears of a population in a relatively poor country such as Serbia, but the costs it will imply for Serbia are almost never mentioned. This is insidious and dishonest, and hides the reality that for Serbia the EU no longer provides economic or political fuel from which any attractive mileage can be gained. What will Serbia get in return for its EU membership? The EU is unstable (Brexit; the future of the EU is in question; economic catastrophe created by the euro) and dysfunctional (countries have mostly not been able to agree on anything of substance for more than 15 years). As Serbia shall never join the EU as a full member, the country should have a plan B and look at the experiences of Switzerland, Israel, Singapore, South Korea and even Britain. There exists life and prosperity outside of the EU.


Read the full article

Download the article in PDF format to read and print.


Bibliography

Jovanović, M. (2012), “Is the Eurozone Rescue Strategy Tantamount to the Rearrangement of the Deckchairs on the Titanic?”, Journal of Economic Integration, 27(1), 33-79. <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2026854>.

Jovanović, M. (2015), ‘The Eurozone Greek Tragedy’, Law and Politics, 1, 7-24. <http://ssrn.com/abstract=2744505>.

Jovanović, M. (2019), ‘The Slow Motion Train Crash of the Eurozone Monetary Alchemy”, St Petersburg University Journal of Economic Studies, 35(3) 360-396. <http://ssrn.com/abstract=3499667>.

Jovanović, M. (2021), The Eurozone at Twenty and Beyond: What else Could Go Wrong?’, in: D. Chryssochoou, C. Gortsos, V. Hatzopoulos, A. Passas (Eds), “Liber Amicorum Constantine A. Stephanou European Governance in Times of Uncertainty”, Nomiki Bibliothiki: Athens, pp. 106-126.

Jovanović, M., J. Damnjanović and J. Njegić (2018), “Among the Central and Eastern European Countries of the European Union, who Gained and who Lost?”, Economia Internazionale/International Economics, 71(3), 317-370. <http://ssrn.com/abstract=3225571>.

Macleod, I., I. Hendry and S. Hyett (1998), The External Relations of the European Communities: A Manual of Law and Practice, Clarendon Press: Oxford.

Minford, P., V. Mahambare and E. Nowell (2005), Should Britain Leave the EU?, Edward Elgar Publishing: Cheltenham.

Minford, P. and D.  Meenagh (2020), After Brexit, What Next? Trade, Regulation and Economic Growth, Edward Elgar Publishing: Cheltenham.

Stiglitz, J. (2016), The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe, W.W. Norton & Co.: New York.

Register your account

First-time users should click on “Register your account” and enter the requested information. Upon successful registration, you will receive an e-mail with instructions to verify your registration.

Submission Guidelines

Authors’ login

Use the assigned user ID and password to login. Please, do not register again. Usernames and passwords may be changed after.

Quick search by author:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Back to the top

Institute for International Economics
of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce


Istituto di Economia Internazionale
Camera di Commercio di Genova
Via Garibaldi, 4 (III piano) - 16124 Genova (Italy)
www.ge.camcom.gov.it