Humanities & Social Sciences 12 (2016 9) 2971-2977 ~ ~ ~ УДК 327.7 Women’s Rights Issues in EU-Serbia Relations Galina A. Nelaeva and Nadezhda V. Dubiv* Tyumen State University 10 Semakova Str., Tyumen, 625003, Russia Received 09.11.2016, received in revised form 22.07.2016, accepted 29.11.2016 Starting from 1995, in the aftermath of the Beijing Conference, when the states discussed the question of the necessity of gender mainstreaming at all levels of policy-making, the European Union starts to promote the issue of gender equality not only at the EU level but also as a part of its foreign policy. <...> Women’s rights issues become an indispensable part of the accession process in its relations with candidate countries. <...> The article considers the issue of incorporating gender aspects into the accession process in Serbia. <...> Several problematic aspects are identified: protection of minority women (particularly, Roma), rights of most vulnerable women (single mothers, women with disabilities). <...> Background: EU enlargement in the Balkans European Union in its relations with candidate countries has continuously insisted upon the necessity to protect human rights. <...> In the 1993 Copenhagen Criteria it was stated that applicant states must have not only functioning democratic institutions and market economy, but they also must respect the rule of law, ensure human rights protection and minority rights protection. <...> Women’s rights form an indispensable part of the idea of human rights protection. <...> The process of EU enlargement to the Balkans has been more complex and difficult than the previous enlargements due to various reasons: first of all, post-Yugoslav states faced numerous problems related to post-war reconstruction and © Siberian Federal University. <...> So far in this quest for membership Croatia has been the most successful country having joined the EU in 2013, while other post-Yugoslav states face uncertain prospects as far as full membership is concerned. <...> This article looks at the issue of gender equality and women’s rights more generally in the context of Serbia’s accession process. <...> Women’s Rights Issues in EU-Serbia Relations Theoretical framework: women’s rights issues in the accession process When discussing the issues of EU enlargement and EU <...>