EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos warned: the Western Balkans could lose 700 million euros from the Growth Plan if reforms are not completed by June 2026. Serbia faces an even bigger problem - 1.5 billion euros in frozen funds awaiting compliance with conditions on judiciary, media freedom, and fair elections.

Kos was clear: "If reforms are not completed by June, the region could permanently lose 700 million euros." Permanently - not temporarily, not "we will see." Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol went further - funds for Serbia should have been suspended long ago, and leniency toward Vucic is a failed policy.

For Macedonia, the message is twofold. First, EU money does not arrive automatically - it demands concrete results. Second, if Serbia, which is furthest along in negotiations, can lose 1.5 billion, imagine how fragile the position of countries behind it is. Are EU conditions an instrument for reform or a stick to beat whoever steps out of line?