In Serbia, security forces brutally oppress the demonstrators. Criminal gangs are also said to be being used. Is this straining Serbia’s relations with the European Union?
The situation in Serbia is tense: every day there are new reports of police violence against demonstrators, arrests and accusations that the Western Balkan government government is hiring criminal gangs against its civilian population.
Since a tent of the train station has collapsed in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people, protests against the Serbian government have continued uninterrupted. The demonstrations have been peaceful for a long time – but in recent days, violence has escalated on the streets of the capital, Belgrade, and other cities. The country’s right -wing populist President Aleksandar Vucic now wants to act even more harshly on the protesters.
How is Brussels responding to the latest escalations in the EU candidate country?
European Union Ambassador to Serbia, Andreas von Beckerati, called on a statement “all parties to reduce tensions”. Any suspicion of exaggerated use of force by the police must be properly investigated.
Asked by DW, the European Commission said it is closely monitoring the situation in Serbia. The EC’s stance is clear: “The right to peaceful demonstrations and the freedom of the rally must be respected and the authorities must protect participants in gatherings from damage or violence,” said Guillaume Mercier, a commission spokesman. However, these statements are not enough for many politicians and observers. For months, they have called for a tougher attitude against the Serbian government and President Vucic.
Criticism from the European Parliament
One of the critics is MEP Tonino Picula. As a rapporteur for Serbia in the European Parliament, he devotes a lot of time to the country. The Croatian Social Democrat criticized Brussels on Wednesday, speaking about the N1 television station that covers the entire Western Balkans for disapproving a more unified and critical attitude towards Serbia. “The EU currently has neither the motivation nor the capacities to act differently on the regime of Aleksandar Vucic. Unlike Ukraine, the unity needed to exert pressure is missing here,” Picula said.
Both Brussels and Belgrade interests can also play a role here: in 2024, the EU signed an agreement with Serbia, providing access to the Serbian lithium. Moreover, Serbia has cleverly used its friendly relations with Russia, says Antigona Imeri of the Center for European Politics Studies, a group of experts based in Brussels. Fearing an approach with the regime of the early Russian President Vladimir Putin, Europe has been very gentle: “This EU mitigation strategy has failed, it should now urgently use a different tone.”
Only 40% for the EU
But even after the recent escalation of violence, the EU continues to act with the “usually worked” method with Serbia and failed to clearly make the government responsible. “This is understandable from a geopolitical perspective, but it becomes problematic if it gives the impression that it goes to the underlying values of the Union,” Imeri said.
The impression that is created undermines the trust of many people in the EU – and the trust in Serbia is already relatively weak: in a spring 2025 survey conducted by the International Republican Institute, only 40 percent of respondents said they would vote for their EU accession. Meanwhile, more than half say they no longer believe that the EU is seriously interested in the Western Balkan states to unite.
EU Serbia’s most important economic partner
Not all experts consider Brussels’ strategy to Belgrade problematic: “I think it’s too early to appreciate the EU’s position on this issue,” says Nina Vujanovic of Brussels research organization in Brussels. The EU has signaled that it is monitoring the situation and should continue to do so.
Instead of pressure, Brussels should focus on economic incentives-then the risk of Serbia’s departure to Russia would be low: “Serbia has a much greater economic interest in implementing EU reforms than in rapprochement with Russia”, according to Vujanovic. The country has long been economically closely linked to the EU: over 60 percent of Serbian exports go to the EU and over 60 percent of foreign direct investment in Serbia come from there.
Economic means can certainly be pressured against Vucic and its regime: the EU has promised Serbia a staggering amount of 1.6 billion euros by 2027-but these funds are linked to the implementation of reforms. “The EU can cut these funds or delay their division if it determines that a country is not fulfilling its obligations,” Vujanovic explains.
So far, Serbia, who has been a candidate for EU membership since 2012, seems to be far from implementing the reforms needed for EU membership. An EU report on the rule of law in Serbia, published in July, found, among other things, that strong political pressure on the judiciary and civil society associations continues to be exerted. There are increasing concerns about the safety of journalists in Serbia.
It is precisely against this situation that all students and many other citizens in the country have taken to the streets for months – despite the risk of police arrest or injury. If violence during the protests continues, the EU can be put under increased pressure to take a clearer attitude towards Belgrade.
