Abstract
This study juxtaposes the perceptions of Serbian citizens about forests and forestry with the European Union (EU) forest related policies. The paper is aimed at identifying if both their understanding of the problem, victim, causer, helper and preferred solutions is aligned. Given Serbia’s status as an EU candidate country, understanding how national perspectives align with supranational policies is crucial for policy formulation and acceptance. The results are used to estimate if there will be acceptance of EU forest related policies within the candidate state Serbia. The perception of Serbian citizens towards forests and forestry was monitored over a period of twelve years by means of a representative survey (2012, 2016 and 2024). These findings are contrasted with document analyses of forest related policies stemming from EU. Results indicate limited alignment between the Serbian population’s perspectives and the EU’s forest related policies. Although both recognize the state of forests to be problematic and see the forest as a victim, there is only little correspondence when it comes to causers, helpers and preferred solutions. Based on the results, we conclude that tailored approaches of EU to forest related policies in candidate countries, integrating region-specific preferences, would strengthen a democratic approach of the EU and lead to a higher level of acceptance within candidate states. This is well in line with the principle of subsidiarity.