Why the European Union Should Support the Student Protests in Serbia
The European Union has an opportunity to pressurise the Serbian government into implementing democratic reforms.
On 1 November 2024, a recently renovated railway roof collapsed in Novi Sad in Serbia, killing 15 people. Major protests erupted across the country with demonstrators asserting that the Serbian government was to blame for the failed renovation. The protests have since continued to gain momentum, with students staging nationwide blockades which have so far proven to be successful in putting pressure on the government to be held accountable (Saša Savanović, 2025).
The students are demanding public access to documentation relating to the renovation, the release of those students who have been arrested for taking part in the protests and a 20 per cent increase in the education budget to match neighbouring countries (Furlong & Martinović, 2025).
So far, the Serbian government has agreed to release documentation relating to the renovation, President Aleksandar Vucic has pardoned the arrested protesters and Prime Minister Milos Vucevic has also resigned. However, wide-ranging democratic reform in Serbia is still needed.
President Vucic is considering calling new parliamentary elections but the fragmented opposition is struggling to communicate their agendas to the public due to high censorship (Freedom House, 2024). Considering Serbia is a neighbour of the European Union, it would be in their interest to support democratic reform in the country, however, the EU has shown no support for the protests so far and therefore the need for a more democratic Serbia.
The EU’s Response
Despite the protests, EU officials, such as Gert Jan Koopman, deny that Serbia is stagnant in the rule if law, despite a recent visit indicating otherwise (Kmezić, 2025). While Koopman has claimed Serbia is making sufficient progress for EU accession, Srdjan Cvijic of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy argues: ‘Commission officials describe a reality that does not exist in Serbia’ (Geslin, 2024).
Instead of supporting the student’s anti-corruption protests, Koopman is seemingly supporting the Vucic government. This contradicts an EU report which found minimal progress had been made in crucial democratic reforms in Serbia regarding censorship, the judiciary and public administration (European Union, 2024).
Moreover, a recent Freedom House report gave Serbia a low score for ‘Rule of Law,’ showing that it has made little progress since 2018 (Freedom House, 2024).
Amnesty International has also reported that Serbia’s intelligence services have been spying on civil society (Amnesty International, 2024).
Nevertheless, under Ursula von der Leyen’s leadership, the EU has favoured the current Serbian government, despite findings from the 2023 general election indicating that the elections were not ‘free and fair’ (European Parliament, 2024).
What Should the EU Do
There are three fundamental actions the EU could take to support the student protests. The first is for the EU to publicly support the student protests in Serbia and begin discussions with the opposition, civil society and democratic institutions across Serbia. This would pressure President Vucic to implement democratic reforms and thereby facilitate meaningful dialogue between the government and the EU, in which Serbia could start making meaningful progress towards becoming more democratic. The EU’s support of the protests could also help shift opinion among the students who have been protesting who distrust the EU to support them given that the EU has so far ostensibly been supporting the government. (Geslin, 2024).
Secondly, the EU should put pressure on the Serbian government to crack down on corruption as well as conduct electoral and media reform. This has been an issue for Serbia for years and is ultimately the fundamental reason for the current protests. Most non-governmental organisations rank Serbia relatively low in terms of corruption and electoral and media freedom. Serbia is ranked 105th in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (2024) making it one of the most corrupt countries in Europe. Moreover, the Varieties of Democracy Institute Report (2023) states that Serbia has become an ‘electoral autocracy’. If the Serbian government were to resist complying with the reforms, the EU could use economic measures to pressure the government into doing so, which could be effective given that the EU is Serbia’s biggest trading partner and receives financial support from the EU.
Lastly, the EU should conduct a ‘Priebe Report’ in Serbia as was conducted in Macedonia. This report’ in Macedonia entailed formal recommendations from EU experts to improve the rule of law (European Western Balkans, 2020). The report revealed widespread corruption throughout Macedonia and offered formal policy recommendations to the Macedonians regarding the judiciary, the media and electoral system (Pejić Nikić, 2019). The report was successful in pressurising the Macedonian government to implement democratic reforms if it wished to commence accession negotiations with the EU. Indeed, Nikić argues that the report should be a ‘precondition’ for Balkan states if they wish to join the EU.
Now, more than ever, Serbia needs to be pressured by the EU to implement democratic reforms if it wishes to join the EU. By supporting the protests, the EU would encourage the Serbian government to reform, thereby helping Serbia on the path to becoming a more stable country. The countries of Europe should take this moment to support the people of Serbia and show that the EU is an institution that can be trusted to bring about positive change.
Bibliography
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