China has a substantial and contentious presence in Europe. In the western Balkans, the EU’s frustration at China’s rapid advance has placed Serbia — one of the chief beneficiaries of Chinese investment — on the horns of a dilemma.
Is it worse to hand over control of strategic infrastructure and technologies to foreign investors, or to turn funds away and risk losing any hope of joining the EU because the economic reforms required for membership have failed to materialise?
Such is the virtually impossible situation that Serbia faces as the European Parliament last week formally adopted new regulations establishing a framework for screening of foreign direct investments into the EU. In essence, the new framework allows the EU to screen purchases by foreign companies that target Europe’s strategic assets: and even non-EU states such as Serbia that aspire to join the bloc may feel pressured to comply.