Between the past and the future : Eurosceptic political parties and the EU integration of Serbia

Serbia has been an official candidate to become a member of the European Union since 2009 but accession negotiations only began in 2014. Since the start of the accession process, Serbia has been perceived as one of the most Eurosceptic countries of the post-Yugoslav space. The central issue present in both the public and political discourse is the status of Kosovo and the evaluation of the 1999 NATO intervention, hence anti-EU attitudes are fuelled by nationalism, populism and anti-establishment rhetoric. The political arena is divided between the advocates of 'direction West' and their adversaries, who not only underline their anti-EU stance but also a need to strengthen ties with Russia and China. Both attitudes are embedded in the past and make great use of contemporary history to motivate and justify their claims. This chapter aims to map and analyse the Eurosceptic rhetoric of the relevant political actors and examine to what extent their arguments are identity and history driven, as well as what is the alternative they propose.