Macut: Extra Efforts Needed in Energy and Justice for Reform Agenda

Prime Minister Djuro Macut said Serbia must put in additional effort across three areas, energy, home affairs and the judiciary, if it wants to meet the obligations of the Reform Agenda on time. The message came as the window opens to activate funds from the European Union’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, an instrument from which the region expects a measurable financial boost.

Macut made no secret of the fact that some areas are falling behind the planned pace. The prime minister voiced dissatisfaction over the delays and said that meeting commitments on time is not a formality but a condition for continued reforms and for access to money that is meant to drive investment and economic growth.

Why energy, the police and the judiciary?

The three areas the prime minister singled out were not chosen at random. They are the sectors Brussels has watched most closely for years when assessing a candidate’s progress. Macut said this is precisely where work must intensify:

• energy, where structural measures and alignment with EU internal market rules are expected
• home affairs, an area that gauges the state’s capacity to enforce its own rules
• the judiciary, traditionally the most sensitive part of any negotiation with the Union

The Reform Agenda is a document that ties a state’s concrete steps to disbursements. In other words, money from the Growth Plan does not arrive automatically but only once clearly defined conditions are met. That is why any delay in one of the areas directly slows the inflow of funds, a point the prime minister put front and center.

Meeting obligations on time is essential for the continuation of reforms, for economic growth and for activating funds from the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

Macut’s assessment comes at a time when the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans is being cited as one of the key pillars of the region’s European prospects. For Serbia, the largest economy in the group, this means funds that can help finance infrastructure and development projects, provided the agenda’s steps are completed.

What does admitting delays mean for the reform path?

The fact that the prime minister publicly mentioned the lag suggests the government is turning its intention to speed up work into a priority. Acknowledging that something is behind schedule is a rare move in domestic political messaging, where progress is most often presented as linear and unobstructed. Macut, however, placed the delays at the heart of his message and tied them to a very concrete consequence, slower access to money.

The open question is how quickly the government will make up the lost ground in energy, home affairs and the judiciary, because the timing of the first visible effects of the Growth Plan for citizens depends on it. The Reform Agenda has defined the obligations, and it is now up to the executive to show that talk of additional efforts is matched by faster delivery.

Do you think Serbia will manage to meet the Reform Agenda obligations on time and unlock the EU Growth Plan funds?