On the Ground Updates from Serbia

By Thomas Cline-Fedorus, Senior Research Analyst and Europe Team Lead

Date: September 23rd, 2025 

Executive Summary:

This report will outline the background information regarding the recent anti-corruption protests in Serbia. It will then discuss the European Union’s recommendations to Serbia as a candidate state for European Union accession. Then, this will discuss the European Union’s lack of response and its recent response. Following the discussion of the European Union’s response, there will be a discussion of Russia’s response. Following the discussion of both regional actors, there will be a discussion of the interviews that were conducted on the ground in Serbia regarding the anti-corruption protests. 

Background: 

On November 1, 2024, a roof collapsed at a newly renovated train station in Novi Sad. The roof collapse killed fifteen people and injured two. The event in Novi Sad led to student-led protests demanding anti-corruption reform in Serbia, pushing back against populist rule and a return to a more progressive and free democracy. Demands of the protesters include early elections, transparent investigations, protection of independent media, and criminal prosecutions against the individuals responsible for the collapse of the train station roof. Following the beginning of the student-led anti-corruption protests, it was reported that the Serbian government has intensified its crackdown on independent media. 

The largest protest to date was held in Belgrade on September 1st, 2025. It came after over a hundred university and high school professors were terminated as authorities started cracking down on their support for students leading the protests. During the time of the protest on September 1st, 2025, President Aleksandar Vučić travelled to China to meet with President Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and President Xi Jinping. Before the large protest on September 1st, 2025, thousands of Vučić supporters marched in several Serbian towns, suggesting deep political division within Serbia. Following the largest student-led anti-corruption protest to date, Serbia held the largest military parade in Serbian history.  

While Vučić has also claimed Serbian police only became violent when protesters became violent, he has also dismissed the protesters as “terrorists.” He has also used the Serbian Progressive Party to organize counterdemonstrations. There have also been accusations by protesters of brutality while in police detention and other instances of police brutality towards protesters. Serbian authorities are also using spyware and Cellebrite forensic extraction tools to hack the mobile phones of journalists and activists. Aleksandar Vulin, Serbia’s deputy prime minister, thanked Russia’s special services for its support against colour revolutions, indicating that Russian spies are helping the Serbian government suppress protests. 

Although Vučić has stated that he wants European Union (EU) membership for Serbia, his actions and statements suggest that he is against EU norms and values. This is due to the requirements of the Copenhagen Criteria, including anti-corruption reform and independent media. However, Vučić claims that EU membership remains a crucial point in Serbian foreign policy. In an interview, Vučić stated that he has made several offers for public debate with protest leaders and that he was open to snap elections, but continuous elections would slow the process. 

EU Recommendations from 2024: 

Regarding anti-corruption reform, in the EU’s report on Serbia in 2024, the European Commission recommended that Serbia improve its track record regarding investigations, prosecutions, and final court decisions in high-level corruption cases; address all Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) recommendations; and adopt and implement the anti-corruption action plan with the new anti-corruption strategy, establish an effective monitoring and coordination mechanism to track progress, and focus all relevant interim benchmarks and GRECO recommendations. GRECO recommendations include ethical principles and rules of conduct; conflict of interest; prohibition or restriction of certain activities, declaration of assets, income, liabilities, and interests; enforcement of the rules regarding conflicts of interest; and awareness for central government and law enforcement agencies. 

Other concerns come from Vučić’s crackdown on the media. The EU’s report on Serbia in 2024 recommended the implementation of new media laws, including laws on the independence of the regulatory body for electronic media (REM), the election of the REM Council members, and amending the laws to address other issues in alignment with European standards and the latest EU acquis; strengthening the protection and safety of journalists (high-level officials refrain from labelling or making verbal attacks on journalists, and any threats and cases of physical and verbal violence are followed up quickly), and as appropriate, publicly condemn, investigate, or prosecute; and ensuring transparent and equitable co-funding for media content serving the public interest, as well as full transparency in media ownership and advertising.  

EU’s Response:

Following the European Union’s lack of commentary on the anti-corruption protests in Serbia, some European lawmakers criticized Serbia’s use of force against protesters at a debate in Strasbourg on September 9th, 2025. Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, stated that trust was diminishing regarding Serbia’s “sincere” commitment to becoming an EU member state. She also cited how Serbian politicians have made derogatory comments about EU member states, and that is not what the EU expects from candidate states. Kos further criticized Vučić’s participation in the military parades in Moscow and Beijing. MEP Andreas Schieder from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats stated that targeted sanctions are now needed to stop the police brutality. Criticism also came from the European People’s Party Group, which is the largest group in the European Parliament, and Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party is also a member of.  

Russia’s Response:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Russian authorities have been closely monitoring the anti-government protests in Serbia and warned Western countries against backing a “colour revolution” in Serbia. Previously, Russia warned that the protests in Serbia risk causing chaos in the Balkan state. The Kremlin later stated that it had “no doubt” in Serbian authorities returning the country to law and order. Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia cannot rule out the possibility that well-known tactics are being employed to carry out a colour revolution in Serbia. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service has also accused the EU or being behind the protests in Serbia. In the most recent military parade in Serbia, Serbia showcased the Russian Krasukha electric-warfare systems, suggesting that Moscow has supplied the systems to Belgrade. It has also been reported that Serbia has invited Russian FSB officers to help with the investigation into the alleged use of a “sound cannon” against protesters in Belgrade.  

Insight from the Ground:

During the protest on September 1st, 2025, it was observed that the individuals in yellow vests were student volunteers who brought the vests with them. The only prerequisite for the individuals in the yellow vests was that they were university students. On the other hand, the individuals in the orange vests were organizers who directed the individuals in the yellow vests. Organizers of the protest had a car with speakers that were leading the crowd and would stop at some points to give speeches. However, due to the low quality of the speakers, the speeches were not understood. During the protest, organizers held sixteen flowers and held a sixteen-minute moment of silence in memory of the victims of the sixteen individuals killed in the canopy collapse in Novi Sad. Organizers of the protest ensured that the protest was peaceful by making sure everyone knew where they were supposed to go and that no one was escalating the situation. 

The protest was attended by a diverse group of individuals. Sections of the protests included religious groups, pro-European Union groups, and anti-European Union groups. Please note that not everyone in the crowd was interviewed. When asked why they were protesting, they all responded with the problem of corruption in Serbia. However, when certain individuals were asked what the manifestation of corruption was, they pointed to how expensive luxury goods are. One individual pointed out that iPhones are €600 more in Serbia than they are in Canada due to the tax on luxury goods. Another common example was the price of food. Food prices in Serbia seem to be the same as prices at Food Basics in Canada, except for items such as subsidized goods that are only sold by one brand, such as sugar, flour, and bread. When it was pointed out that handmade bread costs $0.80 and lasts two days, the response was that the bread was for poor people. Many individuals also believe that people who profit from subsidized food items are close to Vučić, which may be another reason why individuals do not buy them. 

The movement was described as extremely disjointed because there are many opposing factions that all want corruption to stop, but all have different opinions on the future of Serbia. Some individuals love the European Union, while others love Russia. Otherwise, some individuals want the same policies, but without Vučić. They agreed that they would be unable to form a unified opposition in any election against Vučić due to their varying beliefs.  

As Serbia has gotten richer, those who are buying luxury items and flaunting their wealth seem to be breeding jealousy in individuals who do not. Serbs of lower socio-economic classes see big modern buildings being constructed, with wealthier Serbs moving in and asking themselves, “Why can I not buy an iPhone?” This statement was received as odd because it used to be normal for individuals not to be able to afford certain meat in Serbia. One Serb was asked about their opinion on the protests, and they responded that they did not care about the protests. They do not believe that there is corruption in Serbia. Once the individual started working for an American firm, they no longer have the ambition to leave Serbia.  

The individuals who have the most significant negative opinion of Vučić were the ones who drive to work for more than twenty to thirty hours a week and have the expectation that they should be driving a new Dacia or Toyota while spending most of their days drinking coffee. However, the biggest opponents of the government want fair and just working conditions after they graduate. Those individuals are mainly from the lower middle class. Some dentists, teachers, and others in those sorts of fields think that they could make more money than they do because they were born abroad or they are in a certain field. Some individuals view Serbia as a place where well-educated or individuals educated abroad can make a lot of money with little effort. This may be due to financial illiteracy and not knowing about investments in financial institutions. Most likely due to the scams following the collapse of Yugoslavia, some individuals think that the securities market is a fraudulent investment scam.