EC to Serbia: Establish convincing track record in organised crime cases

It added Serbia had continued implementing actions in that area, "including trafficking in drugs and human beings, the fight against terrorism, the prevention of corruption and judicial cooperation in criminal matters."

"Member states report in good general cooperation with Serbia in the field of security. Serbia continued cooperating with Europol and Eurojust and engaged in joint activities with several member states. Progress is still needed in implementing the Joint Action Plan on Counter-Terrorism with the Western Balkans, as most of the actions contained in the bilateral arrangement are still not completed. More efforts are needed to prevent all forms of radicalisation leading to violent extremism and terrorism," the report said.

Following the report, the EC recommended Serbia to "establish a convincing track record of investigation, prosecution, and convictions in organised crime cases, including drugs and money laundering, based on proactive investigations (including systematic tracking of money flows and their confiscation as well as the efficient use of special investigative measure to collect relevant evidence)."

Regarding the cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), both the Agency and member states reported good collaboration with Serbia on returns and readmission as well as a generally good situation "in the field of border management, irregular migration and asylum."

According to the EC latest reports, last year, "2 835 applications for international protection were submitted by Serbian nationals in member states, a decrease of 57 percent compared to 2019. The recognition rate slightly decreased from 4.8 in 2019 to 4.6 percent in 2020.

The number of illegal EU border crossings by Serbia's nationals fell by 28 percent to 21 percent.

"However," the report added, "the number of Serbia's nationals found to be irregularly staying in member states increased by 23 percent , with 16 775 persons in 2020 compared to 13 635 in 2019. Refusals of entry issued to Serbia's citizens are on a downward path, evidenced by yearly decreases registered since 2018. The number of Serbia's nationals refused entry was
7 315 in 2020, compared to 8 300 in 2019, a decrease of 12 percent."