COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Serbia 2023 Report Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2023 Communication on EU Enlargement policy
Date: 2023-11-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission
Subjects: Serbia, accession criteria, accession negotiations, pre-accession strategy, regional cooperation

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.11.2023  SWD(2023) 695 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Serbia 2023 Report Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2023 Communication on EU Enlargement policy           {COM(2023) 690 final} - {SWD(2023) 690 final} - {SWD(2023) 691 final} - {SWD(2023) 692 final} - {SWD(2023) 693 final} - {SWD(2023) 694 final} - {SWD(2023) 696 final} - {SWD(2023) 697 final} - {SWD(2023) 698 final} - {SWD(2023) 699 final}  
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 3 

1.1 CONTEXT .......................................................................................................................... 3 

1.2 SUMMARY OF THE REPORT ................................................................................................ 4 

1.3. STATE OF PLAY OF THE ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS ........................................................ 10 

2. CLUSTER 1: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE ACCESSION PROCESS ............................ 10 

2.1 

FUNCTIONING OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 
REFORM ................................................................................................................. 11 

2.1.1 Democracy .................................................................................................................. 11 

2.1.2. Public administration reform ..................................................................................... 16 

2.2. RULE OF LAW AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS ..................................................................... 20 

2.2.1. Chapter 23: Judiciary and fundamental rights .................................................... 20 

2.2.2 Chapter 24: Justice, freedom and security .................................................................. 52 

2.3. ECONOMIC CRITERIA ..................................................................................................... 72 

2.3.1. 

The existence of a functioning market economy ................................................. 72 

2.3.2. The capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union 81 

2.4. PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, STATISTICS FINANCIAL CONTROL ............................................. 85 

Chapter 5: Public procurement ............................................................................................ 85 

Chapter 18: Statistics ........................................................................................................... 87 

Chapter 32: Financial control .............................................................................................. 89 

3. GOOD NEIGHBOURLY RELATIONS AND REGIONAL COOPERATION ....................... 91 

4. NORMALISATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN SERBIA AND KOSOVO ....................... 94 

5. ABILITY TO ASSUME THE OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP ....................................... 98 

CLUSTER 2: INTERNAL MARKET ........................................................................................... 98 

Chapter 1: Free movement of goods.................................................................................... 98 

Chapter 2: Freedom of movement for workers ................................................................. 100 

Chapter 3: Right of establishment and freedom to provide services ................................. 101 

Chapter 4: Free movement of capital ................................................................................ 102 

Chapter 6: Company law ................................................................................................... 103 

Chapter 7: Intellectual property law .................................................................................. 104 

Chapter 8: Competition policy .......................................................................................... 105 

Chapter 9: Financial services ............................................................................................. 107 

Chapter 28: Consumer and health protection .................................................................... 108 

CLUSTER 3: COMPETITIVENESS AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH .................................................. 111 

Chapter 10: Digital transformation and media .................................................................. 111 

Chapter 16: Taxation ......................................................................................................... 114 

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Chapter 17: Economic and monetary policy ..................................................................... 115 

Chapter 19: Social policy and employment ....................................................................... 117 

Chapter 20: Enterprise and industrial policy ..................................................................... 120 

Chapter 25: Science and research ...................................................................................... 121 

Chapter 26: Education and culture .................................................................................... 122 

Chapter 29: Customs union ............................................................................................... 125 

CLUSTER 4: THE GREEN AGENDA AND SUSTAINABLE CONNECTIVITY.................................. 126 

Chapter 14: Transport ........................................................................................................ 127 

Chapter 15: Energy ............................................................................................................ 129 

Chapter 21: Trans-European networks .............................................................................. 133 

Chapter 27: Environment and climate change ................................................................... 134 

CLUSTER 5: RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE AND COHESION .................................................... 138 

Chapter 11: Agriculture and rural development ................................................................ 138 

Chapter 12: Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy .......................................... 139 

Chapter 13: Fisheries and aquaculture............................................................................... 141 

Chapter 22: Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments .......................... 142 

Chapter 33: Financial and budgetary provisions ............................................................... 143 

CLUSTER 6: EXTERNAL RELATIONS .................................................................................... 144 

Chapter 30: External relations ........................................................................................... 145 

Chapter 31: Foreign, security and defence policy ............................................................. 147 

ANNEX I – RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EU AND SERBIA ........................................................ 151 

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1. INTRODUCTION 

1.1 CONTEXT  

Since the opening of Serbia’s accession negotiations in January 2014, 22 out of 35 chapters 
have been opened, including all chapters in cluster 1 on the fundamentals and all chapters in 
cluster 4 on the Green agenda and sustainable connectivity. Two chapters have provisionally 
been closed. In June 2021, Serbia accepted the revised enlargement methodology. The overall 
pace of negotiations will continue to depend, in particular, on the pace of rule of law reforms 
and on the normalisation of Serbia’s relations with Kosovo. 

Serbia continued to implement the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between 
Serbia and the EU. 

The  Serbian  government  has  continued  to  declare  EU  membership  its  strategic  goal.  The 
previous government acted in a caretaker capacity with limited powers between February 2022 
and late October 2022 when the new government was formed. This had an impact on the pace 
of reforms in 2022, which picked up again in 2023. Political developments following the two 
tragic  mass  shootings  in  early  May  2023,  which  resulted  in  19  dead,  including  nine 
schoolchildren, the ensuing protests, and speculations about snap parliamentary elections led 
to a shift in the reform priorities.  

The  EU-facilitated  Dialogue  on  normalisation  of  relations  between  Kosovo  and  Serbia 
continued in the reporting period with regular meetings on the level of Chief Negotiators and 
Leaders. After months of intense negotiations and with the support of key partners, the Parties 
reached  an  Agreement  on  the  Path  to  Normalisation  in  Brussels  on  27  February  2023,  and 
agreed  on  its  Implementation  Annex  in  Ohrid,  North  Macedonia,  on  18  March  2023.  Both 
Kosovo and Serbia are yet  to  start  implementation of their respective obligations stemming 
from the Agreement, which are valid and binding for the Parties and part of their European 
paths.  

The Commission’s recommendations from its 2021 and 2022 reports, that Serbia has fulfilled 
the  opening  benchmarks  for  cluster  3  (competitiveness  and  inclusive  growth)  and  that  this 
cluster is technically ready for opening, remain valid. 

Following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Serbia aligned with some EU positions 
in international forums (including in the UN General Assembly). However, it has continued 
not to align with any restrictive measures against the Russian Federation and has not aligned 
with the majority of High Representative statements on this matter. It maintained high-level 
relations  with  the  Russian  Federation,  raising  questions  about  Serbia’s  strategic  direction. 
Under  the  EU-Serbia  negotiating  framework,  Serbia  is  expected  to  progressively  align  its 
policies towards third countries with the policies and positions adopted by the EU, including 
restrictive measures. 

It  remains  important  that  effective  policy  planning  and  coordination  is  in  place,  along  with 
sufficient human and financial resources for EU accession across all institutions involved, so 
that Serbia can work towards meeting its objectives for EU accession negotiations. In line with 
the EU accession objective, and as a matter of priority, the Serbian authorities need to take 
responsibility for proactive and objective communication on the EU, which is by far Serbia’s 
main political and economic partner. 

 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ 
Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

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1.2 SUMMARY OF THE REPORT1 

As  regards  the  political  criteria,  the  Parliament  constituted  in  August  2022  includes  the 
opposition parties that boycotted the 2020 elections. However, political polarisation remained 
in  evidence  and  has  further  deepened  following  the  tragic  mass  shootings  in  early  May.  A 
number of peaceful mass citizens’ protests - Serbia against violence - have taken place – with 
support from several opposition parties. 

No elections took place during the reporting period. Serbia still needs to address a number of 
long-standing recommendations by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 
at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR) and Council of 
Europe bodies concerning the electoral framework. 

Debates in Parliament were marked by tensions between the ruling majority coalition and the 
opposition. The Parliament has no annual work plan and most of its sessions were called with 
the  minimum  advance  notice  of  24  hours,  which  should  only  be  used  in  exceptional 
circumstances.  The  code  of conduct  was not  systematically applied and the frequent  use of 
inflammatory language was not penalised. Sanctions and fines were only issued to opposition 
MPs. Parliamentary Rules of Procedure need to be modernised, and the code of conduct applied 
to  address  offences  by  Members  of  Parliament.  All  but  two  political  groups  engaged 
constructively with the European Parliament in the follow-up to the Inter-Party Dialogue and 
its transition into a new Parliamentary Dialogue Process. 

Further  efforts  are  needed  to  ensure  systematic  and  genuine  cooperation  between  the 
government and civil society. An enabling environment for establishing, running and financing 
civil society organisations still needs to be created on the ground, as verbal attacks and smear 
campaigns against such organisations continued, including by high-level officials. 

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  as  regards  public  administration  reform.  Overall,  limited 
progress  was  made  in  this  area,  notably  through  the  continued  development  of  e-services, 
implementation of the e-government policy, and further roll-out of training courses for civil 
servants. On human resources management, more than half of senior manager positions are 
filled on an acting basis. As regards policy development and coordination, no mechanism is 
yet in place to verify that the Public Policy Secretariat’s comments have been incorporated into 
the final draft versions of laws and policy documents submitted for government approval. On 
public financial management, action is still needed to fully implement the recommendation for 
a single mechanism for prioritising all investments regardless of type and source of financing. 

Serbia  has  some  level  of  preparation  when  it  comes  to  its  judicial  system.  Overall,    some 
progress  was  made  during  the  reporting  period.  Serbia  took  an  important  step  towards 
strengthening the independence and accountability of the judiciary with the timely adoption of 
most  of  the  implementing  legislation  giving  practical  effect  to  the  2022  constitutional 
amendments, while two of the implementing laws still need to be adopted: the Law on Judicial 
Academy and the Law on Seats and Territorial Jurisdiction of Courts. The Venice Commission 
issued three opinions that overall assessed positively the adopted implementing legislation and 
recognised  the  transparency  and  inclusiveness  of  the  process.  Most  of  its  recommendations 

1This report covers the period from June 2022 to June 2023. It is based on input from a variety of sources, including 
contributions  from  the  government  of  Serbia,  the  EU  Member  States,  European  Parliament  reports  and 
information  from  various  international  and  non-governmental  organisations.  It  also  includes  the  results  of 
comparative assessments and indices produced by other stakeholders, in particular in the area of rule of law. 
The report uses the following assessment scale to describe the state of play: early stage, some level of preparation, 
moderately prepared, good level of preparation and well advanced. To describe progress made during the reporting 
period, it uses the following scale has been used: backsliding, no progress, limited progress, some progress, good 
progress and very good progress. Where appropriate, interim steps have also been used. 

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were addressed. Relevant by-laws will need to be adopted by May 2024. The High Judicial 
Council (HJC) and High Prosecutorial Council (HPC) were established on 8 May, following 
the election of the lay members, which gave practical effect to the implementing legislation. 

Serbia has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption. Overall, limited progress 
was made during the reporting period, including on last year’s recommendations. Steps have 
been taken that aimed at further implementing the recommendations of the Council of Europe’s 
Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) in the area of prevention of corruption. There 
was a slight increase in the number of new investigations and final convictions in high-level 
corruption  cases,  but  the  number  of  new  indictments  fell.  There  were  no  cases  of  final 
confiscation of assets, for which a track record is required. Serbia still needs to adopt  a national 
anti-corruption strategy and the accompanying action plan. Serbia presented to the European 
Commission a draft strategy for the period 2021-2028 accompanied by a first action plan for 
the period 2023-2024. A majority of anti-corruption related interim benchmarks for Chapter 
23 and a majority of GRECO recommendations from the 4th and 5th rounds of evaluation have 
been  included  in  the  documents.  However,  there  is  still  a  need  to  ensure  the  inclusion  of 
remaining Chapter 23 interim benchmarks and outstanding GRECO recommendations and to 
create  the  necessary  conditions  for  implementation.  Serbia  should  establish  an  effective 
coordination  mechanism  to  operationalise  prevention  and  repression  policy  goals  and 
thoroughly address corruption. Those sectors most vulnerable to corruption require dedicated 
action. Overall, corruption is prevalent in many areas and remains an issue of concern. There 
is a need for strong political will to effectively address corruption issues, and a robust criminal 
justice response to high-level corruption. 

In the fight against organised crime, Serbia has some level of preparation. Limited progress 
was made in addressing last year’s recommendations, in particular on detection and prevention 
of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings.  A  slight  increase  in  financial 
investigations  and  confiscation  of  assets  can  also  be  noted  in  2022.  The  number  of  new 
investigations  and  indictments  increased;  first  instance  and  final  convictions  (in  particular 
money laundering) decreased. Extended confiscation is not systematically applied. Proactive 
criminal  investigations  and  the  systematic  tracking  of  money  flows,  especially  in  cases  of 
inexplicable  wealth,  are  still  not  common  practice.  However,  the  understanding  and  the 
investigation approach has improved and police, prosecutors and criminal judges are aware of 
the importance of consistently applying a ‘follow the money to find the crime’ approach and 
using circumstantial evidence. Serbia is late in conducting an analysis of the roles and practices 
of security services and of the National Security Council in carrying out criminal investigations 
relating to serious and organised crime, although preparatory works have started. There is well-
established cooperation with CEPOL, Eurojust, Europol and INTERPOL, notably on weapons 
trafficking, drugs trafficking, and the fight against high-profile organised crime groups. Serbia 
needs  to  further  increase  the  technical,  financial  and  human  resources  capacity  of  the 
Prosecutor’s  Office  for  Organised  Crime  to  perform  its  duties  in  an  independent  manner 
(including  premises  to  accommodate new staff).  Serbia should adapt  its approach from one 
based on individual cases to a strategy against criminal organisations, and from focusing on 
cases of low or medium importance to high-profile cases, with the aim to dismantle big and 
international organisations and seizing assets. 

Serbia’s legislative and institutional framework for upholding fundamental rights is broadly 
in  place.  The  Ombudsman  was  re-elected  in  April  2023,  without  cross-party  support.  The 
Ombudsman’s Office has yet to be provided with additional resources to cover its new powers 
laid  down  in  the  Ombudsman  Law  of  2021.  The  recruitment  of  additional  staff  for  the 
Commissioner  for  Information  of  Public  Importance  and  Personal  Data  Protection  is 

5 

 
 
significantly  delayed.  The  procedure  for  executing  the  decisions  of  the  European  Court  of 
Human Rights, including the role of Serbia’s Government Agent before the Court, needs to be 
further regulated. Implementation of the new strategies and action plans on gender equality, 
anti-discrimination and Roma2 inclusion started, although monitoring bodies were not in place 
for most of the reporting period due to elections and formation of the new government. Action 
plans  and  related  funding  as  regards  violence  against  women  and  deinstitutionalisation  are 
significantly delayed. New national minority councils were constituted following the elections 
held  in  November  2022.  Serbia  continued  drafting  and  conducting  consultations  on  a  new 
‘action plan for the realisation of the rights of national minorities’. 

Regarding  freedom  of  expression,  limited  progress  was  made  in  the  reporting  period.  The 
police  and  the  prosecution  services  reacted  swiftly  to  several  cases  of  attacks  and  threats, 
working  with  the  standing  working  group  on  the  safety  of  journalists.  However,  cases  of 
threats, intimidation, hate speech and violence against journalists remain a concern, as is the 
increase  of  strategic  lawsuits  against  public  participation  (SLAPP),  notably  launched  by 
members of national and local authorities, that may produce a chilling effect including self-
censorship. Recurrent statements by high-level officials on the daily and investigative work of 
journalists provide for a challenging environment for the exercise of freedom of expression. 
The possibility of journalists to report on ongoing criminal proceedings is excessively limited 
in the legal framework. 

Serbia continued implementing the action plan of the media strategy. After increasing delays, 
several processes were relaunched after the formation of the new government in October 2022. 
Consultations resumed in November 2022 on amending the Law on public information and 
media.  Following  public  consultations,  consultations  with  media  associations  and  hurried 
consultations with the European Commission amendments were adopted to the laws on public 
information and media and on electronic media before the dissolution of parliament in October 
2023.  Overall,  the  new  laws  will  strengthen  the  independence  of  the  regulatory  body  for 
electronic media (REM). They also codify the role of the Press Council and render the process 
of public co-funding more transparent and accessible. In the context of elections, the ban on 
media coverage of officials who are also candidates taking part in official gatherings organised 
for  the  opening  of  infrastructure  or  other  facilities  was  extended  to  30  days,  which  is  an 
improvement of the current situation. However, the legislative process was not finalised fully 
in line with the EU acquis and European standards. The ownership of media by state-owned 
enterprises was prominent in deliberations.  An important step was taken with respect to the 
application of criteria aligned with the EU acquis to the assessment of state aid, while it should 
be clarified that antitrust and merger control rules apply to the media sector and safeguards to 
  The 
protect  media  pluralism  and  editorial  independence  remain  to  be  improved. 
implementation of such safeguards needs to be closely monitored in practice. In August 2022, 
REM published a call for the allocation of a fifth media service licence with national frequency, 
which  has  still  not  been  awarded,  without  credible  justification.  Political  and  economic 
influence  on  the  media  remains  a  source  of  concern.  Serbia  needs  to  take  urgent  action  to 
counter  anti-EU  narratives  propagated  by  numerous  media  outlets,  and  to  counter  foreign 
information  manipulation  and  interference,  most  notably  in  the  context  of  Russia’s  war  of 
aggression against Ukraine. 

On the economic criteria, Serbia is at a good level of preparation and has made some progress 
in  developing  a  functioning  market  economy.  After  a  strong  rebound  in  2021  from  the 

2 In line with the terminology of European institutions the umbrella term ‘Roma’ is used here to refer to a 
number of different groups, without denying the specificities of these groups. 

6 

 
 
 
contraction  induced  by  COVID-19,  the  Serbian  economy  decelerated  substantially  in  2022, 
impacted  by  the  economic  fallout  from  Russia’s  war  of  aggression  against  Ukraine,  in 
particular  as  regards  rising  inflation  via  soaring  energy  and  food  prices.  Consumer  price 
inflation  surged  in  2022  and  continued  to  rise  in  early  2023,  which  led  the  central  bank  to 
steadily tighten its policy stance. Progress has also been made as regards the adoption of new 
fiscal  rules.  Banking  sector  stability  was  maintained  and  lending  growth  decelerated 
substantially. High inflation helped improve the budget balance in  2022, despite substantial 
capital  transfers to  state-owned energy utilities and further  ad hoc support  measures. Major 
structural reforms of public administration and of the governance of state-owned enterprises 
continued to advance slowly. The state retains a strong footprint in the economy; the private 
sector  is  underdeveloped  and  hampered  by  weaknesses  in  the  rule  of  law,  in  particular 
corruption and judicial inefficiency, and in the enforcement of fair competition. 

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  and  has  made  some  progress  in  coping  with  competitive 
pressure and market forces within the EU. The structure of the economy improved further 
and economic integration with the EU remained high. However, the quality and relevance of 
education  and  training  still  does  not  fully  meet  labour  market  needs.  Public  investment 
remained  at  a  high  level  with  the  aim  to  address  serious  infrastructure  gaps  after  years  of 
underinvestment.  Small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  still  face  a  number  of  challenges, 
including an uneven playing field as compared with large companies and foreign investors. 

On  good  neighbourly  relations  and  regional  cooperation,  Serbia  remained  committed 
overall  to  maintaining  good  bilateral  relations  with  other  candidate  countries,  potential 
candidates and neighbouring EU Member States. Relations with Croatia improved. Relations 
with  Hungary  have  further  intensified.  In  general,  Serbia  actively  participates  in  regional 
cooperation. 

Overall, Serbia has remained engaged in the EU-facilitated Dialogue on the normalisation of 
relations with  Kosovo, but  it needs to  demonstrate more serious commitment, invest more 
efforts and make compromises to take the process of normalisation of relations with Kosovo 
forward.  Serbia  needs  to  uphold  its  Dialogue  commitments  and  commit  to  the  full 
implementation  of  all  past  Dialogue  agreements  and  the  Agreement  on  the  Path  to 
Normalisation and its Implementation Annex. Serbia and Kosovo are expected to engage more 
constructively  to  enable  negotiations  on  the  comprehensive  legally  binding  normalisation 
Agreement  to  start  and  show  flexibility  in  order  to  make  rapid  and  concrete  progress. 
Normalisation of relations is an essential condition on the European path of both Parties and 
both risk losing important opportunities in the absence of progress. 

The  relationship  with  Kosovo  has  been  affected  by  several  crises  of  varying  intensity  on  a 
number of issues, with a violent attack in the north of Kosovo against Kosovo Police on 24 
September 2023, constituting the gravest escalation in recent years. Huge quantities of small 
arms and light weapons (SALW) were found in the context of this attack3.  The EU expects the 
perpetrators to be apprehended and swiftly brought to justice and Serbia to fully cooperate and 
take  all  the  necessary  steps  in  this  regard.  Other  crises  during  the  reporting  period  were 
triggered by issues over the freedom of movement, in particular licence plates, following the 
Kosovo government’s decision on 29 June 2022 to enforce the re-registration of all vehicles 
with Kosovo-issued licence plates. This led to the tensions in July 2022 and continued through 
the  erection  of  roadblocks  and  the  collective  resignation  of  Kosovo  Serbs  from  Kosovo 
institutions  in  November  2022.  Following  the  withdrawal  of  Kosovo  Serbs  from  Kosovo 

3  The  EU  and  Western  Balkan  partners  agreed  in  May  2023  to  prolong  beyond  2024  the  Roadmap  for  a 
comprehensive small arms and light weapons control in the Western Balkans. 

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institutions, local by-elections were organised in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo. 
Scheduled initially for December 2022 and then postponed to 23 April 2023, the mayoral and 
municipal by-elections were held in line with the legal framework of Kosovo and efforts were 
made for them to take place in a smooth and orderly manner. However, despite the milestone 
Agreement  on  the  path  to  normalisation  reached  in  Brussels  on  27  February  and  its 
Implementation  Annex  agreed  in  Ohrid,  North  Macedonia,  on  18  March  2023,  and  despite 
Kosovo extending the deadline for the registration of candidatures for the local by-elections, 
not all parties and communities made use of their democratic right to participate and vote. The 
very low turnout  (3.47% of voters), following  the boycott by the Kosovo Serb community, 
showed that these elections do not offer a long-term political solution for these municipalities. 
The violence perpetrated against KFOR troops during protests against these mayors’ taking 
office  in  the  municipalities  has  to  be  fully  investigated  by  Serbia.  It  remains  imperative  to 
restore a situation where Kosovo Serbs participate actively in local governance, policing and 
the judiciary in the north of Kosovo. Early local elections need to be held as soon as possible 
in all four municipalities, organised in  a fully inclusive manner, and with  the unconditional 
participation of Kosovo Serbs. 

Regarding  Serbia’s  ability  to  assume  the  obligations  of  EU  membership,  the  country 
continued the work on alignment with the EU acquis in several areas. 

The internal market cluster is key for Serbia’s preparations for the requirements of the EU 
internal  market  and  is  of  high  relevance  for  early  integration  and  the  development  of  the 
Common Regional Market. Progress was limited in most areas within the cluster. No progress 
was registered in the area of free movement of capital. 

The competitiveness and inclusive growth cluster has significant links to Serbia’s Economic 
Reform Programme and is technically ready to be opened. Serbia continued to make progress 
in all areas under this cluster, particularly through further legislative alignment with the EU 
acquis as well as with a new law on the management of state-owned enterprises.  

The Green agenda and sustainable connectivity cluster is at the heart of the Green Agenda 
for the Western Balkans4 and closely linked to Serbia’s Economic Reform Programme and the 
Commission’s Economic and Investment Plan5. Some progress was achieved in particular on 
Trans-European networks, where Serbia advanced on upgrading its infrastructure, with works 
progressing  on  the  Serbia-Bulgaria  gas  interconnector,  and  on  climate  change,  with  the 
adoption of the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2023-2030. 

The cluster on resources, agriculture and cohesion comprises policies linked to EU structural 
funds and to developing capacity to assume the responsibilities of a future Member State. It 
also comprises some of the key policy areas crucial for ensuring sustainable food systems and 
helping  rural  communities  to  develop  and  diversify  economically.  Limited  progress  was 
achieved in some areas, such as on classification of food establishments and establishments 
handling  animal  by-products,  and  the  recruitment  of  additional  staff  in  the  Plant  Health 
Directorate; financial and budgetary provisions as regards the underlying policy areas affecting 
the  correct  functioning  of  the  own  resources  system;  and  the  institutional  framework  for 
cohesion policy. 

On the external  relations  cluster, Serbia is  yet  to  finalise its  accession to  the World Trade 
Organisation  which  is  one  of  the  opening  benchmarks  for  Chapter  30.  Serbia  should  also 
abstain from introducing unilateral trade-restrictive measures without prior consultation of the 
Commission, in line with its obligations under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. 

4SWD(2020) 223 final. 
5COM(2020) 641 final. 

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Serbia continued not to align with EU restrictive measures against Russia and the majority of 
declarations by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on this matter. Serbia’s alignment 
rate with relevant High Representative statements on behalf of the EU and Council Decisions 
was at 46% in 2022 and 51 % in August 2023; some actions and statements by Serbia went 
against EU foreign policy positions. Serbia is expected to improve, as a matter of priority, its 
alignment with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, including with EU restrictive 
measures, and refrain from actions that go against EU positions on foreign policy. 

On migration, Serbia contributed to the management of the mixed migration flows towards 
the EU and cooperated with the EU, EU Member States and its neighbours to implement the 
EU  Action  Plan  on  the  Western  Balkans  presented  by  the  Commission  in  December  2022. 
Additional progress along all the pillars of the Action Plan is expected.  Efforts continued, with 
EU support, to host and accommodate substantial numbers of third-country nationals. Serbia 
extended for one more year, until March 2024, temporary protection to  Ukrainian nationals 
having fled Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Serbia continued to implement the EU-
Serbia readmission agreement and to carry out border control and surveillance. Implementation 
of the new integrated border management strategy for 2022-2027, with its 2022-2024 action 
plan, is delayed. Access to and provision of information regarding the asylum procedure has 
yet to be improved, in particular at the airports in Nis and Kragujevac. Serbia made substantial 
progress to align with EU visa policy by reinstating visa requirements for six third countries. 
Serbia needs to further align with EU visa policy as set out in the Commission’s sixth report 
under the visa suspension mechanism of October 20236. Following the concerns raised by the 
EU the Government has withdrawn the proposed amendments to the Law on citizenship, which 
would have provided the possibility to apply for Serbian citizenship after only a short period 
of residence and work. 

6 COM(2023) 730 final. 

9 

 
 
 
 
1.3. STATE OF PLAY OF THE ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS 

Clusters 

Chapters / areas  

State of play  

Fundamentals 

All chapters open 

Internal Market 

4 chapters open 

Competitiveness 
and inclusive 
growth 

5 chapters open 

23 – Judiciary and fundamental rights 
24 – Justice, freedom and security 
5 – Public procurement 
18 – Statistics 
32 – Financial control 
…Economic criteria 
…Functioning of democratic institutions 
…Public administration reform 

1 – Free movement of goods 
2 – Freedom of movement for workers 
3 – Right of establishment and freedom to 
establish services 
4 – Free movement of capital 
6 – Company law 
7 – Intellectual property rights 
8 – Competition 
9 – Financial services 
28 – Consumer and health protection 

10 – Digital transformation and media 
16 – Taxation 
17 – Economic and monetary policy 
19 – Social policy and employment 
20 – Enterprise and industrial policy 
25 – Science and research 
26 – Education and culture 
29 – Customs union  

Opened July 2016 
Opened July 2016 
Opened December 2016 
Opened December 2018 
Opened December 2015 

Serbia working on fulfilment of opening benchmarks 
Draft EU Common Position in Council 
Draft EU Common Position in Council 

Opened December 2019 
Opened December 2017 
Opened June 2017 
Serbia working on fulfilment of opening benchmarks 
Opened June 2019 
Draft EU Common Position in Council 

Draft EU Common Position in Council 
Opening Benchmarks Assessment Report in Council 
Opened December 2018 
Opening Benchmarks Assessment Report in Council 
Opened February 2017 
Opened December 2016 and provisionally closed 
Opened February 2017 and provisionally closed 
Opened June 2017 

Green agenda and 
sustainable 
connectivity All 
chapters open 

14 – Transport policy 
15 – Energy 
21 – Trans-European networks 
27 – Environment and climate change  

Opened December 2021 
Opened December 2021 
Opened December 2021 
Opened December 2021 

Resources, 
agriculture and 
cohesion 

2 chapters open 

11 – Agriculture and rural development 
12 – Food safety, veterinary and 
phytosanitary policy 
13 – Fisheries and aquaculture 
22 – Regional policy and coordination of 
structural instruments 
33 – Financial and budgetary provisions  

Opening Benchmarks Assessment Report in Council 
Serbia working on fulfilment of opening benchmarks 

Opened June 2018 
Opening Benchmarks Assessment Report in Council 
Opened June 2018  

External Relations 
1 chapter opened  

30 – External relations 
31 – Foreign, security and defence policy  

Opened December 2017 
Screening Report in Council 

Not part of a cluster: 

Chapter 34 – Institutions is currently not applicable for Serbia 
Chapter 35 – Other Issues (including Normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo) opened in 
December 2015 

2. CLUSTER 1: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE ACCESSION PROCESS 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FUNCTIONING OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 

2.1 
REFORM 

2.1.1 Democracy 

The  proper  functioning  of  Serbia’s  democratic  processes  is  a  central  pillar  of  Serbia’s  EU 
accession process. The Parliament elected in April 2022 includes the opposition parties that 
boycotted the elections in 2020. However, political polarisation remained in evidence, both in 
and beyond the Parliament,  and was illustrated by frequently harsh and intolerant  language 
used in debates and in the media. The period following the tragic mass shootings in May 2023 
saw a further deepening of this polarisation. A number of peaceful mass protests by citizens - 
Serbia against violence  –  have taken place since May  with  support  from several  opposition 
parties.  Freedom  of  assembly  was  guaranteed  and  protests  took  place  mostly  unhindered. 
However,  the  protests  were  sometimes  accompanied  by  verbal  attacks  on  participants  by 
politicians  and  parts  of  the  media,  which  also  consistently  downplayed  the  size  of  protests. 
There were also instances of criminal sanctions issued against participants. In May 2023, the 
Minister of Education resigned over the school shooting. At the end of a plenary debate on 
opposition’s motion seeking institutional/political and media accountability for mass shootings 
that lasted between mid-May and mid-July 2023, an inquiry committee was established to look 
into the background of the shootings and the circumstances that had led to them, but its work 
was suspended after only two sessions.  

Elections 

While Serbia’s electoral framework has improved, the key aspects of the electoral process 
require  further  reform  implementation.  It  is  crucial  that  all  outstanding  and  recent 
recommendations  by  the  Office  for  Democratic  Institutions  and  Human  Rights  at  the 
Organisation  for  Security  and  Cooperation  in  Europe  (OSCE/ODIHR)  and  Council  of 
Europe bodies are fully implemented, in a transparent and inclusive process and well ahead 
of the next elections.  

No elections were held in the reporting period. In August 2022, OSCE/ODIHR issued its final 
report  on  the  2022  presidential  and  national  polls,  and  a  follow-up  visit  was  organised  in 
October  2022,  to  discuss  with  Serbian  authorities  the  implementation  of  ODIHR 
recommendations. In December 2022, a joint Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR opinion 
on the constitutional and legal framework governing the functioning of democratic institutions 
in  Serbia,  focusing  on  electoral  law  and  electoral  administration,  was  published.  It  was 
prepared at the request of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Committee on the 
Honouring  of  Obligations  and  Commitments  by  Member  States  of  the  Council  of  Europe 
(Monitoring  Committee).  The  opinion  listed  recommendations  on  issues  such  as  electoral 
administration,  media,  transparency  of  election  communication  campaign  financing  and 
prevention  of  misuse  of  office  and  state  resources,  internal  political  party  democracy,  and 
dispute resolution. The opinion also recommended an interpretation of the Constitution that 
would  limit  recourse  to  early  elections,  specifically  that  the  President  only  dissolves  the 
Parliament on the basis of a well elaborated proposal and preferably only when necessary due 
to the parliamentary situation. 

In  March  2023,  the  government  reinstated  its  ad  hoc  working  group  for  cooperation  with 
OSCE/ODIHR,  which  has  resumed  its  cooperation  with  OSCE/ODIHR.  While  there  is  an 
improvement in implementing OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, Serbia still needs to address 
a number of long-standing recommendations by OSCE/ODIHR, including those pertaining to 
key aspects of the electoral process, such as access to media, campaign finance, and measures 
to tackle pressure on voters. It is crucial that all outstanding and recent recommendations by 

11 

 
 
OSCE/ODIHR  and  Council  of  Europe  bodies  are  fully  implemented,  in  a  transparent  and 
inclusive process and well ahead of the next elections. Expert civil society organisations should 
be involved and consulted. 

As a follow-up to OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, training has been provided for employees 
in local self-government units that are responsible for updating and maintaining the single voter 
register. A manual on the implementation of the register was published and distributed to civil 
servants across local self-government units. Inter-service cooperation between state institutions 
was established to fully digitalise voters’ access to the register. The Law on electronic media 
adopted  in  October  2023  extended  the  ban  on  media  coverage  of  officials  who  are  also 
candidates taking part in official gatherings organised for the opening of infrastructure or other 
facilities from 10 to 30 days, which is an improvement of the current situation. 

Parliament 

The Parliament’s composition is more pluralistic than the previous legislature and includes 
the opposition parties that boycotted the elections in 2020. Debates were marked by tensions 
between the ruling coalition and the opposition. The Parliament has no annual work plan and 
almost  all  its  sessions  were  called  with  the  minimum  advance  notice  of  24  hours,  which 
should  only  be  used  in  exceptional  circumstances.  The  first  session  of  the  regular  spring 
sitting, which according to the Constitution starts at the beginning of March, was held only 
on  19 April  2023.  There  was  no  follow-up  to  a  citizens’  initiative,  nor  to  an  opposition 
motion for interpellation. Oversight of the executive was weak. All but two political groups 
engaged  constructively  with  the  European  Parliament  in  the  follow-up  to  the  Inter-Party 
Dialogue and its transformation into a new Parliamentary Dialogue Process. The code of 
conduct  was  not  systematically  applied  and  there  was  frequent  use  of  inflammatory 
language,  which  went  unaddressed.  Parliamentary  Rules  of  Procedure  need  to  be 
modernised, and the code of conduct applied to penalise offences by parliamentarians.  

The opposition and majority are taking active part in the work of the Parliament. However, 
plenary  and  committee  sessions  are  marked  by  tensions,  offensive  language  and  occasional 
incidents. These largely lacked an impartial response by the Speaker who regularly engaged in 
antagonistic exchanges with the opposition. Two special sessions on Kosovo were held, with 
the participation of the President, and saw threats of violence including against the President. 
The Rules of Procedure were not systematically applied. Penalties and fines were only issued 
to opposition MPs. The code of conduct was not applied, despite one motion, upon which the 
relevant Committee did not act within the deadline. 

The Parliament has no annual work plan and the agenda is driven by the executive. Nearly all 
adopted laws and proposed bills were tabled by the government, and almost all plenary sessions 
were called within the minimum advance notice of 24 hours, which should only be used in 
exceptional  circumstances,  thus  limiting  the  possibility  for  MPs  to  propose  changes  to  the 
agenda  or  table  proposals.  In  May  2023,  for  the  first  time,  a  session  was  called  upon  the 
initiative  of  the  opposition,  which  proposed  items  to  discuss  institutional  and  media 
accountability in the context of mass shootings and these were put on the agenda. There was a 
slight increase in the use of the urgent procedure – from 9% in the previous reporting period to 
12%, covering 12 out of 95 laws adopted from October 2022 to June 2023. The  practice of 
amalgamating large numbers of often unrelated items has continued. Neither the 2023 budget 
nor the 2023 revised budget were tabled as a separate agenda item. The minimum deadline of 
15 days between sending the revised 2023 budget to Parliament and tabling it for plenary debate 
and adoption was not respected and no discussion on it took place prior to the vote. There has 
been  no  follow-up  to  a  citizens’  legislative  initiative,  with  38 000  signatures,  on  banning 
lithium mining, despite this being a legal obligation. 

12 

 
 
Seven  public  hearings  were  held:  two  in  2022  and  five  until  August  2023.  Committees 
continued regular quarterly hearings of ministries, but the work of some committees, which are 
chaired by the opposition, saw obstruction by ruling parties. Oversight of the executive is weak. 
The session with questions to the Prime Minister and the government, which should take place 
monthly,  was  held  for the first  time since November 2021 only  in  April 2023, followed by 
another two in May and June 2023. An opposition motion for interpellation of the Minister of 
Finance was not taken forward by the relevant bodies. 

The annual reports of independent regulatory bodies were debated in the plenary in February 
2023 and conclusions were adopted. However, the plenary took place almost one year after the 
submission of the reports in March 2022. Parliament needs to more systematically follow up 
on the implementation of recommendations made by the independent bodies. The mandate of 
the Ombudsman expired in July 2022 and the procedure for appointing a new one was initiated 
in  February  2023.  According  to  the  law,  the  procedure  for  appointing  a  new  Ombudsman 
should have been initiated no later than 180 days before the said expiry. The Ombudsman was 
re-elected  in  April  2023,  without  cross-party  support  (See  also  Chapter  23  on  fundamental 
rights). 

In  November  2022,  the  European  Commission’s  annual  report  on  Serbia  was  debated  in  a 
constructive  manner  in  the  Committee  for  European  Integration  and  the  conclusions  of  the 
Committee  were  approved  in  plenary  in  April  2023.  In  March  2023  and  August  2023,  the 
European  Integration  Committee  debated  periodic  six-month  reports  on  the  EU  accession 
process  submitted  by  the  government.  The  Parliament  continued  its  cooperation  with  the 
National Convention on the European Union composed of civil society organisations.  

The  Parliament  engaged  with  the  European  Parliament  in  the  follow-up  to  the  Inter-Party 
Dialogue and its transformation into a new Parliamentary Dialogue Process. 

The rules of procedure still need to be modernised in line with European standards and best 
practice. The effectiveness, autonomy and transparency of the Parliament, and the role of the 
parliamentary opposition, need to be strengthened to ensure the exercise of necessary checks 
and balances. In June 2023, a tampered redacted transcript of a plenary session was published 
on the Parliament’s website. 

Women make up 35% of MPs (88 out  of 250) and three of the seven Deputy  Speakers  are 
women. Two Deputy Speakers belong to national minorities. 

Governance 

The Serbian government, appointed in October 2022, continued to declare EU membership 
its strategic goal.  In line with the EU accession objective, the Serbian authorities need to 
strengthen emphasis  on consistent, proactive and objective communication about  the EU, 
which is by far Serbia’s main political and economic partner and donor. Transparency and 
public consultation need to improve.  

The new government was appointed and sworn in on 26 October 2022, within the constitutional 
deadline, albeit almost 7 months after election day. The governing coalition is composed of six 
political  parties/coalitions,  including  three  parties  representing  national  minorities.  The 
Cabinet  consists  of  29  members,  of  whom  10  are  women,  including  the  Prime  Minister. 
Representatives  of  national  minorities  hold  ministerial  posts,  including  for  Human  and 
Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, and for the first time a representative of the Croat national 
community was assigned a ministerial portfolio. The Prime Minister singled out EU accession 
as the strategic priority of the government. After the mass shootings in early May, the Minister 
of Education resigned and a new candidate was confirmed by Parliament in July 2023. In July 

13 

 
 
2023, upon the Prime Minister’s proposal, Parliament dismissed the Minister of Economy in 
connection with his position in favour of sanctions against the Russian Federation and his views 
about  the  mass  protests  by  citizens  against  violence.  A  new  Minister  of  Economy  was 
confirmed in September 2023. 

The  government  held  more  regular  contacts  and  consultations  with  non-governmental 
organisations  under  the  National  Convention  on  the  European  Union  (NCEU);  the  Prime 
Minister took part in the Convention plenary meeting in December 2022.  

The autonomy of independent bodies needs to be fully exercised, their role acknowledged and 
respected by the authorities, and their recommendations followed up thoroughly and in a timely 
manner. 

In March 2023, Serbia adopted and published monitoring reports on its 2022-2025 national 
plan for the adoption of the EU acquis (NPAA) covering the period July-December 2022. In 
2022, only 26% of planned NPAA actions were implemented. A total of 35% of actions were 
implemented when taking into account activities carried out earlier than planned, indicating 
that planning needs to be further improved.  

As regards administrative capacities, the technical secretariat of the National Coordinator for 
the instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA) in the Ministry of European Integration now 
has a department that will serve as a managing authority for annual action plans under Indirect 
Management with Beneficiary Country (IMBC, IPA 2021 and 2022 programmes). However, 
the  capacities  of  the  secretariat  for  management  of  the  annual  action  plans  needs  to  be 
increased.  A  staff  retention  policy  remains  to  be  adopted  across  the  public  administration, 
including for structures involved in the management of IPA funds. 

As  regards  local  self-government,  the  Law  on  Vojvodina’s  financing  resources  is  still  not 
adopted, despite being provided for under the Constitution. Local administrative capacity is 
still weak and significant disparities between municipalities persist. Responsibilities are borne 
at local level without proper analysis of the required capacity and human/financial resources. 
Following  the  adoption  of  the  first  programme  for  reform  of  the  local  government  system 
(2021-2025) in 2021, the implementation rate in 2022 showed rather slow progress (46% at the 
level of results and 45% at the level of activities). The Commission for Financing Local Self-
Governments, re-established in 2021, did not ensure regular meetings and regular consideration 
of  the  methodology  and  criteria  for  transferring  additional  budgetary  funds,  i.e.  earmarked 
funds, from the central level to the local level. 

Civilian oversight of the security services 

The  parliamentary  committee  for  the  oversight  of  security  services  remains  responsible  for 
civilian oversight of the security sector. The Committee reviewed regular periodic reports by 
the civilian and two military security agencies and the activity reports of the General Inspector 
of the Ministry of Defence.  In  December 2022, the Committee visited civilian and military 
agencies. In April 2023, the Committee adopted a schedule of inspection visits, to be conducted 
in the course of 2023. The Committee rebutted speculation about the presence in Serbia of the 
Russian mercenary group Wagner and the recruitment of military officers, active or retired. A 
law on access to state security files still needs to be adopted. 

Civil society 

The legal framework for cooperation between the government and civil society organisations 
(CSOs)  is  broadly  in  place;  further  efforts  are  needed  to  ensure  systematic,  genuine  and 

14 

 
 
 
meaningful  cooperation.  An  enabling  environment  for  establishing,  running  and  financing 
CSOs needs to be strengthened. Verbal attacks and smear campaigns against CSOs continued, 
including by high-level officials. There was a significant increase in strategic lawsuits against 
public participation (SLAPP), notably launched by members of national and local authorities, 
against human rights defenders. 

Serbia started implementing the 2022-2030 Strategy and action plan for creating a stimulating 
environment  for  the  development  of  civil  society,  but  measurable  progress  has  yet  to  be 
demonstrated. A council for cooperation and development of civil society was established, as 
foreseen in the action plan, in September 2023. 

An empowered civil society is a crucial component of any democratic system and should be 
recognised and treated as such by state institutions. 

CSOs and human rights defenders continued to raise awareness about civil and political rights. 
This took place in a polarised environment. Verbal attacks and smear campaigns against several 
CSOs  and  their  financing  continued,  including  by  high-level  officials.  Despite  the  fact  that 
verbal attacks were also made in the Parliament, the administrative committee in charge of the 
application of the code of conduct of the Parliament did not find any violation. Organisations 
and  individuals  that  criticised  the  authorities  were  put  under  pressure,  in  particular  those 
participating in protests against the glorification of war criminals, in support of environmental 
protection, and in the ‘Serbia against violence’ protests (See also Chapter 23 on freedom of 
assembly). There was a significant and worrying increase in strategic lawsuits against public 
participation (SLAPP), notably launched by members of national and local authorities, against 
human rights defenders. 

Serbia started implementing the 2022-2030 Strategy and action plan for creating a stimulating 
environment  for  the  development  of  civil  society,  but  measurable  progress  has  yet  to  be 
demonstrated. A council for cooperation and development of civil society was established, as 
foreseen in the action plan, in September 2023. The action plan also targeted the adoption of a 
Law on volunteering by the 1st quarter of 2023 but it is yet to be adopted. 

In terms of public funding of civil society, the transparency and fairness of award procedures 
need  to  be  significantly  improved.  Some  of  the  key  challenges  acknowledged  in  the 
aforementioned strategy include the lack of consultations with CSOs when planning priority 
activities, discretionary decisions of managers in funding procedures, the lack of transparent 
criteria for approving financial and non-financial support to CSOs or for selecting independent 
experts in evaluation commissions, and insufficient transparency of public authorities in the 
reporting of spent funds on an annual basis. Overall, the strategy states that the 2018 Regulation 
on funds for programme promotion leaves room for further regulatory improvement but that 
the key issue is its inadequate and uneven application. 

The National Convention on the European Union continued to monitor and assess the progress 
of accession negotiations, and met several times with government officials, including the Prime 
Minister. The legal framework for cooperation between the government and CSOs is broadly 
in place; its implementation still needs to be improved and systematised. There is still no central 
body in charge of the quality control of public consultations, including of the e-consultations 
platform established in  December 2021. The reporting period saw increased consultation of 
civil  society;  however,  despite  the  legal  obligation  to  provide  information  on  the  results  of 
public  consultations,  reports  are  not  systematically  published,  nor  are  explanations 
systematically  provided  on  the  acceptance  or  not  of  comments  received.  CSOs  continue  to 
report that the time given for public consultations is not sufficient, and that their comments on 
draft laws of public interest are not taken into account. 

15 

 
 
2.1.2. Public administration reform 

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  as  regards  the  reform  of  its  public  administration  (PAR). 
Overall, there was limited progress in this area, notably through the continued development 
of  e-services,  implementation  of  the  e-government  policy,  and  further  roll-out  of  training 
courses  for  civil  servants.  The  Commission  recommendations  from  last  year  are  still  to  be 
implemented. On human resources management, more than half of senior manager positions 
are filled on an acting basis. As regards policy development and coordination, no mechanism 
is yet in place to verify that the Public Policy Secretariat’s comments have been incorporated 
into the final draft versions of laws and policy documents submitted for government approval. 
On  public  financial  management  (PFM),  action  is  still  needed  to  fully  implement  the 
recommendation for a single mechanism for prioritising all investments regardless of type and 
source of financing. There is an urgent need to address these shortcomings. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  reduce  the  excessive  number  of  acting  positions,  and  allocate  sufficient  resources  for 

effective, merit-based recruitment processes; 

→  strengthen the mechanism for systematically integrating the opinion of the Public Policy 

Secretariat in draft laws and policy documents, in line with the Law on the planning system;   

→  put  in  place  a  unified,  comprehensive  and  transparent  system  for  capital  investment 

planning and management.  

Strategic framework for public administration reform 

There was no consolidated PAR implementation report published for 2022. Implementation 
varied between the different PAR sub-areas: 78% of achieved measures for the PAR action 
plan covering human resources management, accountability and public services, 64% for the 
PFM  programme,  and  46%  for  the  local  self-government  programme.  No  implementation 
report on the public policy management and regulatory reform programme was published by 
the  legal  deadline.  Four  new  positions  were  created  in  the  Department  for  Local  Self-
Government,  Sector  for  Registers  and  Local  Government  of  the  Ministry  of  Public 
Administration; the capacities on these matters need to be strengthened further. The authorities 
continued to involve civil society organisations in monitoring implementation of the strategy. 
Political support for public administration reform is limited. The PAR Council did not meet 
in  2022.  The  2021  PAR  implementation  report  was  approved  by  the  PAR  Council  only  in 
January  2023.  Financial  sustainability  is  still  an  issue  of  concern  due  to  reliance  on  donor 
funding. 

Policy development and coordination 

Institutions remain in place for a central government policymaking system, including for the 
EU  integration  process.  The  Law  on  the  planning  system  sets  clear  rules  for  developing, 
monitoring and reporting on sector strategies. It is not yet applied systematically. In 2022, there 
was slow progress in optimising the sectoral planning areas, as only three out of the planned 
six were optimised. No notable progress was made in ensuring that comments by the Public 
Policy Secretariat are incorporated and that final draft versions of laws and policy documents 
are compliant with the legislation. The number of policy documents entered into the unified 
information system is gradually increasing, but the number of implementation reports deriving 
from it is still limited. Three years on, the legal requirement to have midterm plans adopted by 
all institutions as of January 2020 is still not met; only 22 of 40 public bodies have adopted and 
published their midterm plans for 2022-2024. No government annual work plan was prepared 

16 

 
 
in 2022. The annual work plan for 2023 was adopted in May 2023. Better synchronisation is 
needed  between  the  national  plan  for  the  adoption  of  the  EU  acquis  (NPAA)  and  other 
government  strategic  documents.  In  the  government  annual  work  programme,  a  high 
proportion of planned commitments continue to be carried forward to the following year as 
they  have  not  been  implemented.  In  2022,  only  26%  of  planned  NPAA  actions  were 
implemented. A total of 35% of NPAA actions were implemented when taking into account 
activities carried out earlier than planned. 

The capacity for inclusive and evidence-based policy and legislative development, including 
when aligning with the EU acquis, needs further strengthening. Administrative data collection 
and its systematic use for policy and law-making remains to be further improved across the 
administration.  The  Public  Policy  Secretariat’s  acceptance  of  ‘partial  compliance’  with  the 
methodology on impact assessments continues to limit both the degree of alignment with legal 
requirements  and  improvement  in  the  overall  quality  of  impact  assessments.  Better 
coordination between the Ministry of Finance and the Public Policy Secretariat is still needed 
to ensure that there are no discrepancies between financial impact assessments and financial 
information  in  the regulatory impact assessments. Regarding inter-ministerial  consultations, 
there  are  still  no  high-level  mechanisms  for  resolving  possible  conflicts  between  services 
before they reach the government. 

While public consultations were conducted for all draft policy planning documents in 2022, 
this was the case for only 29% of draft laws and 30% of draft regulations. There is still no 
central  body  in  charge  of  the  quality  control  of  public  consultations,  including  on  the  e-
consultations platform, established in December 2021. Despite the legal obligation to provide 
information on the results of public consultations, reports are not systematically published, nor 
are explanations systematically provided on the acceptance or not of comments received (See 
Civil society). 

Regarding public scrutiny of government work, reports were published on implementation 
of the PAR strategy and PFM reform programme, on the action plan for implementation of the 
government programme, and on the NPAA. However, the annual government work plan for 
2022 and its implementation  report were not  published. Reports on other sectoral  strategies 
were not published. Overall, in 2022, only eight implementation reports (11%) out of the 75 
policy planning documents were published. Agendas, minutes and conclusions of government 
sessions are still not publicly available. 

Public financial management 

The 2021-2025 PFM reform programme was largely implemented in line with its 2022 action 
plan. To preserve fiscal sustainability, and in line with government plans to prioritise capital 
projects,  and pension and salary policies,  fiscal  rules were redefined by  amendments  to  the 
Law  on  the  budget  system.  The  capital  budget  level  was  kept  at  a  satisfactory  level,  but  a 
unified,  comprehensive,  effective  and  transparent  system  for  planning  and  management  of 
capital investments needs to be put in place. Serbia needs to apply the legal framework and 
methodology regarding capital projects management, and public procurement procedures, to 
all capital investments regardless of the type of investment or source of financing. It must also 
ensure  that  effective  procedures  are  in  place  to  guarantee  that  the  planning,  appraisal  and 
implementation of capital projects is integrated into the budget process. The December 2022 
amendments to the Decree on capital projects management focused on green investments. The 
public  investment  management  information  system  (PIMIS),  which  aims  at  improving  the 
monitoring of capital projects, was launched in June 2023. In September 2023, the government 
adopted a new Decree on capital projects, which makes some steps in the direction of a single 
and  clear  overall  view  of  the  current  and  planned  investment  in  Serbia,  notably  with  the 
17 

 
 
provisions dedicated to PIMIS. However, the Decree falls short of developing a genuine single 
pipeline for public investment management and foresees important exemptions. Furthermore, 
the government’s investment planning and management capacity needs to be improved. This 
includes the capacity for public assets management and for assessing possible fiscal risks for 
investment projects funded by loans from third countries. The Capital Investment Commission 
was re-established in 2023. 

The link between the government programme and the sector strategies and operational plans 
of  budget  beneficiaries  remains  weak.  The  improved  legislative  framework  for  public 
procurement  and  internal  control  needs  to  be  implemented  in  practice  and  the  managerial 
accountability roadmap needs to be adopted. The State Audit Institution continued to increase 
both the coverage and quality of its audits of public funds and its relations with stakeholders. 

Analytical units in all ministries and government agencies need to be established without delay 
in order to foster the effective consolidation of strategic, operational and financial management 
functions,  as  planned  in  Serbia’s  strategic  documents.  Areas  that  would  merit  further 
improvements include the accounting and reporting framework, arrears, commitment controls, 
extra-budgetary operations and performance management. 

Serbia did not progress in improving budget transparency. No transparency roadmap, pre-
budget statement or mid-year report has been produced or published. The Ministry of Finance 
does not publish the budget execution profile at the beginning of the year, preventing analysis 
of deviations from targets. Some additional policy and fiscal risk information could be included 
in  the  executive’s  budget  proposal.  Public  participation  in  the  budget  process  and  budget 
oversight by the legislature needs to be improved. The November 2022 amending budget was 
adopted under urgent procedure, without justification. The 2023 budget was adopted in line 
with  the  budget  calendar  but  with  very  limited  qualitative  assessment  and  debate  among 
stakeholders. In particular, the parliamentary debate on the draft budget was called under an 
urgent  procedure,  negatively  affecting  the  quality  of  the  debate.  In  addition,  the  September 
2023  amending  budget  was  adopted  under  urgent  procedure  and  did  not  comply  with  the 
minimum deadline between sending the bill to the Parliament and tabling it for plenary debate 
and adoption.  

Public service and human resources management 

The civil service legislation provides for merit-based recruitment and dismissal procedures 
but leaves too much discretion to the heads of institutions in setting up selection committees. 
Mandatory  competition  procedures  for  recruiting  temporary  staff  in  cases  of  increased 
workload  was  further  postponed  from  2023  to  2025.  The  possibility  to  convert  certain 
categories of temporary contracts into permanent civil service contracts needs to be considered 
carefully  to  avoid  possible  abuse.  Grades  received  by  civil  servants  under  the  performance 
appraisal system remain inflated. The proportion of disciplinary decisions annulled by courts 
decreased  but  remains  high  (42%  in  2022;  50%  in  2021).  The  gender  structure  within  the 
overall public administration is balanced, including for top managerial positions (49% women; 
51% men). 

The  legislation  on  senior  civil  service  positions  provides  for  a  merit-based  recruitment 
procedure, but the continuous lack of transparency and compliance with  it remain issues of 
serious concern. The legal provision allowing for appointments to acting positions for 6 months 
(with a maximum extension of 3 months) remains used well beyond those limits. As of June 
2023, 55% of filled senior positions were held on an acting basis (51% in May 2022). Despite 
amendments to the Law on civil servants restricting appointments to existing civil servants as 

18 

 
 
of  July  2019,  close  to  70%  of  all  acting  posts  are  held  by  non-civil  servants.  The  limited 
capacity  of  the  High  Civil  Service  Council  remains  a  concern  given  the  large  number  of 
competitions to be organised to replace all current acting managers at a reasonable speed. Clear 
political  will,  sufficient  resources  and  effective  monitoring  by  the  responsible  institutions 
remain essential to address this issue as a matter of urgency. Although a special working group 
was previously established to look into possible solutions, and its membership was widened, 
there are no concrete results yet. Overall, established practices continue to lack transparency. 
In  particular,  appointment  decisions  for  management  positions  can  still  be  overturned  by  a 
government  personnel  committee  after  the  selection  process  has  been  finalised  at  the 
institutional level. 

As regards the competency-based human resources management system, the success rate of 
tested competencies amounts to 34%, which means that they play a more efficient filtering role 
than in the past in the overall process. The Human Resources Management Service adopted an 
action  plan  for  strengthening  the  capacities  of  human  resources  units  and  took  measures  to 
coordinate and harmonise the work of human resources units in the line institutions through 
regular meetings of the network of human resources units and the developed IT platform for 
information  exchange.  The  actual  impact  remains  to  be  assessed.  The  Service  introduced 
annual  reporting  to  government  on  recruitments.  Reliable  statistics  on  all  human  resources 
management  functions  are  not  yet  available  as  the  setting  up  of  a  new  human  resources 
management  information  system  remains  delayed.  No  progress  was  made  regarding 
remuneration of civil servants because implementation of the 2016 Law on the public sector 
salary system, which introduces the principle of equal pay for equal work for all public sector 
employees, was postponed to 2025. Restrictions in recruitment are still in place under the Law 
on the budget system. 

With regard to professional development, the National Academy for Public Administration 
accelerated  the  organisation  of  training  for  all  public  officials,  including  at  the  local  self-
government level. The Academy further developed online training courses, which contributed 
to increased training coverage. Implementation of a comprehensive professional development 
programme for senior civil servants is ongoing. 

Almost all (99%) institutions that had the obligation to adopt integrity plans did so. Further 
efforts  are  needed  to  ensure  that  existing  integrity  plans  for  the  judiciary  and  public 
administration are fully implemented. The integrity of the civil service is still undermined by 
the excessive number of acting senior manager posts. By March 2023, 48 out of 174 local self-
governments had adopted the new code of ethics for local officials developed by the Standing 
Conference of Towns and Municipalities. 

Accountability of administration 

The  public  administration  structure  remains  to  be  streamlined.  The  lines  of  accountability 
between  agencies  and  their  parent  institutions  are  blurred,  contributing  to  overlapping 
functions,  fragmentation,  and  unclear  reporting  lines.  Despite  the  existence  of  the  Law  on 
public  agencies,  the  status  of  almost  all  agencies  remains  regulated  by  a  special  law. 
Responsibilities are delegated in a uniform manner to all local self-governments regardless of 
their  size  and  capacity  to  assume  them.  Political  commitment  to  managerial  accountability, 
performance  management  and  systematic  delegation  of  responsibilities  is  not  yet  in  place. 
Around 40% of institutions reported to have established analytical units since the adoption in 
March 2021 of a Decree on organisation and systematisation of work posts. Analytical units 
need to be promptly set up with appropriately trained staff. Institutions retain a predominantly 
bureaucratic  and  process-oriented  approach  to  planning,  budgeting  and  reporting  on  their 
activities (See Chapter 32 – Financial control). 
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As  regards  citizens’  right  to  good  administration,  according  to  the  Ombudsman’s  2022 
report, the largest number of citizens’ complaints relates to violation of economic, civic and 
social rights, as well as the principle of good administration, specifically the right to efficient 
administration and the right to receive a decision within the legal time frame. Administrative 
silence,  whereby  public  authorities  fail  to  properly  act  on  citizens’  information  requests, 
remained a major issue. (See Chapter 23 – Fight against corruption). 

On  citizens’  right  to  administrative  justice,  review  of  Administrative  Court  judgments  is 
possible only in a limited number of cases and only through extraordinary legal remedies. The 
establishment  of  two  instances  in  the  administrative  justice  network,  planned  for  the  first 
quarter of 2023 in the Chapter 23 action plan, was further delayed. In 2022, the Administrative 
Court received 63 302 new cases and resolved 25 178 of these (39.77% clearance rate). Some 
103 198 cases were pending at the end of 2022. The average duration of court proceedings was 
1 496  days.  The  number  of  judges  increased  from  46  to  52,  but  their  work  was  negatively 
affected by the increased inflow of cases, including  a high  number  (over 60%) of  abuse of 
procedural rights  cases filed by lawyers for the purpose of obtaining court expenses, which 
contributed significantly to the increased backlog. No interim measures were taken to address 
the challenges of the extensive court jurisdiction and the lack of specialisation among judges, 
which  negatively  affected  the  quality  of  work  in  2022.  The  Court  continued  to  improve 
transparency by uploading 213 651 integral and 25 703 anonymised judgments into the case 
law  database  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Cassation.  Citizens’  right  to  seek  compensation  is 
regulated but there is still no statistical data to monitor its implementation. 

Service delivery to citizens and businesses 

Creating a more user-oriented administration remains a government priority. The Office for 
IT  and  eGovernment  and  the  Prime  Minister’s  Delivery  Unit,  together  with  the  recently 
established Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, continued to lead in this area. 
The e-government development programme and action plan for 2023-2025 were adopted in 
April 2023. Progress  in  key enablers, such as  the cloud-based e-signature and user-friendly 
payment services, contributed to further development of e-services. The number of databases 
connected to the Government Service Bus - an information system linking major databases - 
has increased. Digital signatures are being used but by a limited number of people. The number 
of municipal one-stop shops increased. However, a regulation governing the setting up of one-
stop shops has yet to be adopted. A central monitoring of performance and quality standards 
for  services  is  still  needed.  Further  developments  in  the  digital  transformation  of  the 
administration are hampered by the fragmentation of responsibilities and  mandates between 
different institutions and the lack of a dedicated coordination system. 

The legal framework for simplification of administrative procedures is in place. However, 
regulatory uncertainty for individuals and businesses remains due to delays in aligning sector-
based  legislation  with  the  Law  on  general  administrative  procedures.  The  capacity  of  the 
Ministry  of  Public  Administration  and  Local  Self-Government  to  efficiently  oversee  the 
implementation  of  this  Law  is  still  limited  and  there  is  no  record  of  legislation  pending 
alignment. Through implementation of the ‘e-paper’ programme since 2019, the Public Policy 
Secretariat  simplified  386  administrative  procedures  for  businesses  and  digitised  64 
procedures. The registry of administrative procedures has been further developed, but it is not 
yet known to the majority of businesses and citizens. 

2.2. RULE OF LAW AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS 

2.2.1. Chapter 23: Judiciary and fundamental rights 

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The EU’s founding values include the rule of law and respect for human rights. An effective 
(independent,  high-quality  and  efficient)  judicial  system  and  an  effective  fight  against 
corruption  are  of  paramount  importance,  as  is  respect  of  fundamental  rights  in  law  and  in 
practice. 

Serbia  has  some  level  of  preparation  and  has  made  limited  progress  in  applying  the  EU 
acquis and European standards in this area, most notably with implementation of the judicial 
reform. Despite ongoing work, Serbia remains to finalise and adopt an anti-corruption strategy 
fully in line with EU recommendations. On media freedom, limited progress was made on the 
recommendations of last year, which still remain valid. 

The Coordination Body for overseeing the implementation of the action plan for Chapter 23 
reports quarterly and every 6 months, including regular quarterly alerts under the early-warning 
mechanism. The mechanism for cooperation with civil society has improved. The Ministry of 
Justice  has  organised  several  round-table  discussions  bringing  together  civil  society 
organisations. 

Functioning of the judiciary 

Serbia has some level of preparation in the area of the judiciary. Some progress was made 
on last year’s recommendations. On 9 February 2023, Serbia took an important step to ensure 
independence  and  accountability  of  the  judiciary  with  the  timely  adoption  of  five  laws 
implementing the 2022 constitutional amendments, while two of the implementing laws still 
need  to  be  adopted:  the  Law  on  Judicial  Academy  and  the  Law  on  Seats  and  Territorial 
Jurisdiction  of  Courts.  The  Venice  Commission  issued  three  opinions  that  overall  assessed 
positively  the  legislation  and  recognised  the  transparency  and  inclusiveness  of  the  process. 
Most of its recommendations were addressed. Relevant by-laws will need to be adopted by 
May  2024.  The  High  Judicial  Council  (HJC)  and  High  Prosecutorial  Council  (HPC)  were 
established on 8 May, following the election of the lay members, which gave practical effect 
to the implementing legislation. 

Serbia  needs  to  ensure  that  the  human  resources  strategy  and  the  related  action  plan  are 
implemented within the scheduled timelines. 

Challenges  and  delays  in  implementation  persist  regarding  the  impartiality,  accountability, 
efficiency and professionalism of the judiciary, access to justice, and high-quality training. The 
current system of recruitment, transfer and promotion of judges and prosecutors has not been 
revised yet to ensure that careers are fully based on merit. While the new judicial laws lay down 
more  precise  disciplinary  rules,  there  is  a  need  to  improve  the  capacity  of  the  disciplinary 
bodies. Regarding undue pressure on the judiciary the situation remains a concern. A number 
of steps have been taken to reduce the space for political influence on the judiciary. However, 
it  is  not  yet  possible  to  observe  a  consistent  reduction  of  undue  influence  on  judges  and 
prosecutors in practice. Serbia still has not shown a genuine commitment to investigating and 
adjudicating  war  crimes  cases.  Serbia  continues  to  challenge  publicly  the  judgments  of  the 
International  Criminal  Tribunal  for  the  former  Yugoslavia  (ICTY),  including  at  the  highest 
levels. A number of Serbian political parties, politicians and media outlets continued to provide 
support to, and public space for, convicted war criminals. 

In the coming year, Serbia needs in particular to: 

→  adopt the Laws on Judicial Academy and on Seats and Territorial Jurisdiction of Courts 
and carry out the necessary appointments of judges and prosecutors in line with the newly 
adopted legal framework; 

21 

 
 
→  ensure  that  the  High  Judicial  and  Prosecutorial  Councils,  the  Government  and  the 
Parliament  effectively  and  proactively  defend  judicial  independence  and  prosecutorial 
autonomy  in  cases  of  external  undue  influence,  including  in  cases  of  undue  public 
comments by members of Government or Parliament on ongoing investigations or court 
proceedings which are in contradiction with their code of conduct;  

→  operationalise  the  uniform  and  centralised  case  management  systems  to  improve  the 

efficiency of the justice system and fully implement the human resources strategy. 

Strategic documents 

The revised action plan for Chapter 23, adopted in June 2020, and the 2020-2025 judicial 
development  strategy,  adopted  in  March  2022,  are  the  main  strategic  documents.  The 
government is still delayed in carrying out a comprehensive impact analysis of the country’s 
reforms  on  the  basis  of  the  2014  World  Bank  functional  review,  including  addressing  its 
recommendations, as well as recommendations from previous World Bank functional reviews 
and the latest World Bank functional analysis of the prosecution services, finalised in August 
2022. They remain to be addressed. 

The implementation of the human resources strategy (HR strategy) started by launching a 
series  of  normative  gap  analyses,  pending  finalisation.  Full  implementation  is  expected  to 
improve performance across the justice sector. The new monitoring and reporting mechanism, 
set out in the Chapter 23 action plan, should provide a qualitative analysis of achievements 
against clear impact indicators, including on human and financial resources, as well as early-
warning  and  corrective  measures.  Special  efforts  should  be  placed  on  staff  retention  and 
capacity building across the implementing institutions. Sustained efforts are needed to make 
the  information  and  communications  technology  (ICT)  system  work  in  an  effective  and 
efficient manner, closely linked with the human resources strategy and the judicial reform. The 
Ministry of Justice developed a mechanism for cooperation with civil society. 

Management bodies 

A  division  of  budget  functions  was  established,  by  judicial  laws,  between  the  Minister  of 
Justice,  the  HJC,  the  HPC  and  the  Supreme  Public  Prosecutor.  In  line  with  the  2022 
constitutional amendments, the implementing laws provide that the two councils independently 
manage the funds in their budget. Consultations are planned with the Ministry of Finance to 
harmonise  their  positions.  In  addition,  implementation  of  the  human  resources  strategy  is 
expected to improve the overall management of the system, taking into account the predicted 
judiciary workload, and both the number and complexity of cases, as determined by a case-
weighting procedure. 

The  HJC  adopted  a  new  strategy  and  improved  the  use  of  the  information  and  financial 
reporting system for more accurate, reliable and efficient data collection and processing. The 
HPC took steps towards introducing the necessary ICT tools to ensure random allocation of 
cases and introducing the case-weighting formula. Measures were also taken to improve the 
transparency of work by the Councils, through publication on their websites of their reports. 
The new judicial laws will further strengthen the role of the Councils, in line with constitutional 
amendments and Venice Commission recommendations. The need to improve the analytical 
and  statistical  capacity  of  both  Councils  in  line  with  the  human  resources  strategy  for  the 
judiciary has still not been addressed. 

Independence and impartiality 

The  new  constitutional  and  legal  framework  strengthens  the  guarantees  against  attempts  to 
exercise undue political  influence over the judiciary, notably by shifting  the competence to 
22 

 
 
appoint judges and prosecutors from the Assembly to the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils. 
Following  the  promulgation  of  the  constitutional  amendments  in  February  2022,  aimed  at 
strengthening judicial independence and accountability, the relevant implementing legislation 
giving effect  to  the amendments was  adopted on time in  February 2023.  The draft laws on 
judges,  high  judicial  council,  organisation  of  courts,  public  prosecutors’  office,  and  high 
prosecutorial council were shared in September 2022 with the Venice Commission. The latter 
adopted a series of relevant opinions that were duly considered by Serbian authorities to revise 
the  draft  legislation.  Broad  public  consultations  were  held  between  September  2022  and 
January 2023. Serbian authorities worked constructively with the European Commission and 
the Venice Commission. The Venice Commission commended the Serbian authorities for ‘the 
considerable effort they invested in the preparation of the legislative package implementing 
the  constitutional  amendments,  which  was  well-structured,  clearly  written  and  covered  all 
essential points’. The Venice Commission also commended Serbia ‘for the inclusiveness of the 
process of preparation of the legislative package’. 

The Venice Commission further underlined that ‘the overall positive assessment of the revised 
draft  Laws  and  the  general  recommendation  remains  valid.’  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Commission also stressed ‘that a successful judicial reform … need[s] to be accompanied by 
non-legislative  measures  including  a  change  of  the  current  legal  culture.’  Following  these 
opinions, further amendments were made during the parliamentary discussions. On 13 March 
2023,  the  Venice  Commission  published  an  information  document  as  a  follow-up  to  its 
opinions  assessing  that  ‘the  overall  direction  of  the  amendments  corresponds  to  the 
recommendations of the Venice Commission.’ 

Notwithstanding this positive development in the legal framework, pressure on the judiciary 
and the prosecution services still remains high. Government officials, including some at the 
highest  level,  and  Members  of  Parliament  continue  to  comment  publicly  on  ongoing 
investigations  or court  proceedings, as well as  on the work of individual  prosecutors and 
judges.  Such  comments  are  in  contradiction  with  the  code  of  conduct  of  members  of  the 
government and the Parliament, but the enforcement and penalisation policy did not improve. 
Information leaked on ongoing investigations or cases was published by a number of media 
outlets, interfering with the investigations and processing of cases, thus creating undue pressure 
on individual members of the judiciary or the prosecution service. 

In principle, the current rules of procedure of the HJC and the HPC lay the foundation for a 
more effective reaction and protection mechanism for judges and prosecutors in cases of undue 
influence. The HJC has appointed one member to act as confidential counsellor upon report of 
cases  of  undue  influence  while  one  HPC  member  has  been  elected  as  Commissioner  for 
Autonomy. However, despite these steps taken, it is not yet possible to observe in practice a 
significant reduction of undue influence on judges and prosecutors. In 2022, the HJC received 
seven requests for protection of undue influence. It took a decision in four cases. In the first 
quarter of 2023, the HPC and the Commissioner for Independence received 19 new cases. In 
two cases a decision was taken and no ground was found for undue inappropriate influence. 
The 17 remaining cases  are still ongoing. Up to 31 December 2022, seven judges requested 
from the HJC protection from undue influence. In two cases, the requests were withdrawn for 
referral. In five cases, the requests were rejected as inadmissible. In the first quarter of 2023, 
in four cases, the judges reported undue influence on their work. The cases are still ongoing 
before the HJC member, a judge who was elected in May 2023 to work on protection of his 
peers  from  undue  influence.  More  transparency  in  the  work  on  undue  influence  is  needed, 
including  the  publication  of  guidance  and  anonymised  decisions.  This  creates  a  certain 
vulnerability for political influence, notably with the lack of effective safeguards. Overall, both 

23 

 
 
Councils should react more strongly and engage in broader public outreach to overcome limited 
media coverage, notably through statements, press conferences, and targeted messages to the 
authorities or institutions concerned. This would send a clear message on the need to eliminate 
undue influence on judges and prosecutors and help reverse a persisting negative perception as 
to their independence and autonomy in practice. 

The transfer of two deputy public prosecutors from the Special Department for Suppressing 
Corruption of the Higher Public Prosecution to the General Crime Department in Belgrade, 
which took place without proper justification, was contested by the prosecutors themselves and 
led to  widespread criticism.  The disciplinary charges, filed by the two (deputy) prosecutors 
against their superior who transferred them without justification were dismissed in June by the 
HPC disciplinary prosecutor as according to the legislation of that time there was no rule asking 
for proper written justifications in such instances. The deputy prosecutors had been working 
on a corruption case and a money laundering case related to the state-owned Electric Power 
Company of Serbia (EPS). The transfer was made in the middle of the investigation and after 
the  arrest  of  suspects.  Even  if  the  HPC  Commissioner  for  Independence  assessed  that  the 
transfer was conducted in accordance with the law, it noted that the transfer should not have 
taken  place  during  the  proceedings  of  such  a  high-profile  case.  The  new  legislation 
implementing the 2022 constitutional amendments has now introduced safeguards in relation 
to mandatory instructions and the reallocation of work within the Public Prosecutor’s Office. 

Accountability 

Following the constitutional changes, the new judicial laws lay down more precise disciplinary 
rules for judges and prosecutors, including the necessary procedural safeguards, especially for 
violations of adopted standards of professional ethics. There is a need to improve the capacity 
of the disciplinary bodies. 

In June 2022, the HJC adopted a new rulebook on the work of its Ethical Board. Both Councils 
continued to promote respect for professional ethical standards and confidential counselling.  

A precondition for the implementing legislation to be applicable was the establishment of the 
High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council, for which the four lay members of 
each Council needed to be elected by the Parliament. The election procedure started on 19 April 
2023 when only one lay member received the necessary votes of the Parliament. Therefore, the 
five-member anti-deadlock commission (Parliament Speaker, President of the Constitutional 
Court, President of the Supreme Court, Supreme Public Prosecutor and the Ombudsman) was 
activated to elect the remaining seven lay members (three for the HJC and four for the HPC) 
on 8 May 2023. Before the voting, the five-member commission held public interviews with 
the  candidates.  Candidates  were  shortlisted  by  the  Parliamentary  Committee  on  Judiciary 
following a public competition and confirmation of at least 10 years of experience in a legal 
profession. 

In 2022, the disciplinary prosecutor worked on 89 cases, which contributed to the reduction of 
the  backlog  of  cases.  Out  of  the  total  number  of  cases,  disciplinary  complaints  were  filed 
against 96 public prosecutors and against 20 other people. In the reporting period, disciplinary 
charges were filed against 14 public prosecutors and 82 deputy public prosecutors. Disciplinary 
reports  are  primarily  submitted  by  citizens  and  their  attorneys.  The  disciplinary  prosecutor 
dismissed as unfounded disciplinary charges filed against a total of 83 public prosecutors. 18 
cases were resolved by other means, for instance by joining the case or through an official note 
on the reason for archiving. In the reported period, one disciplinary report was assessed as well 
founded, which allowed for the initiation of proceedings before the Disciplinary Commission 
of the SPC.   

24 

 
 
In 2022, the HJC’s acted as final instance in six cases upon appeals against the decisions of the 
Disciplinary Commission. In one case, the HJC started the procedure for dismissal of one judge 
over a serious disciplinary violation, ordered salary reduction of 20% and 30 % for two judges, 
public warnings for two judges and rejected one proposal for disciplinary proceedings. In 2022, 
the  Disciplinary  Prosecutor  of  the  HJC,  acting  in  first  instance,  received  312  disciplinary 
reports and worked on 579 cases (together with 267 unsolved reports from 2021). He solved 
434 cases, submitted 18 proposals to the Disciplinary Commission for further processing, 145 
reports are pending at the end of 2022. In the reporting period, the Disciplinary Commission, 
as the second instance, took decisions in 14 cases submitted by the disciplinary prosecutor. In 
nine cases, the Commission established disciplinary violations and issued various disciplinary 
sanctions,  among  them  seven  public  warnings,  one  salary  reduction,  one  ban  on  career 
advancement. The Commission rejected three cases, the disciplinary prosecutor withdrew the 
charges in one case and one case is pending appeal at the end of 2022. Majority of disciplinary 
reports  were  filed  by  private  individuals  and  lawyers  who  complained  over  prolonged 
litigations and misdemeanour proceedings in first instance courts, mostly within the Belgrade 
Appellate  Court  jurisdiction.  In  2023,  the  HPC  disciplinary  prosecutor  had  46 disciplinary 
complaints against 43 persons, of which 27 were dismissed and 18 were resolved through other 
means.  Disciplinary reports were mostly  submitted by citizens.  In the reporting period, one 
disciplinary  report  was  assessed  as  founded,  which  allowed  for  the  initiation  of  proceeding 
before the Disciplinary Commission of the HPC.  

In 2022, 20 court presidents and 149 judges were appointed to courts at all levels (259 in 2020 
and 2021) and in 2023, the HJC appointed 37 judges. At the end of 2022, out of 3 073 judicial 
positions, 137 were vacant (110 judges have retired and 19 judges left on own request while 
2 503  judges  effectively  worked  (2 508  in  2022),  amounting  to  39.71  judges  per 
100 000 inhabitants (39, 4 in 2022). The number of acting court presidents was reduced from 
24 in October 2022 to six in February 2023. By the end of 2023, most of the present  court 
presidents  will  end  their  mandate,  the  HJC  is  preparing  the  new  competition.  As  of  31 
December 2022, there were 711 deputy public prosecutors actively working and 103 vacant 
positions in appellate, higher and primary prosecution offices (out of 814 available). In June 
2023,  there  were  747 holders  of  public  prosecutors  function  (chief  public  prosecutors  and 
public  prosecutors),  which  is  10.99  per  100.000  inhabitants.  In  2022,  there  were  50  public 
prosecutors in full mandate, 26 deputy public prosecutors in acting positions and 15 deputy 
prosecutors  in  the  caretaker  capacity  for  prosecution  offices.  In  2022,  the  SPC  published  a 
competition for 62 deputy prosecutors, out of which 27 were elected. On 19 June 2023, the 
HPC elected 46 prosecutors. More than 20 appeals against the selection decisions were filed 
with the Constitutional Court. One of the arguments was the lack of participation of prominent 
lawyers in preparing the candidates’ list.   

According to the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the European 
averages are 22.2 judges/11.8 prosecutors per 100 000 inhabitants. 

Professionalism and competence 

The HJC  and HPC  continued to  publish  information  on their websites  about  the evaluation 
process.  Transparency  needs  to  be  improved  by  sharing  more  information  and  improving 
communication with the public. In 2022, HJC published 116 statements on its activities and 
held 18 regular and 9 remote sessions; adopted minutes were posted on the website. In 2022, 
the HJC was an observer in the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) and 
took  part  in  a  judicial  career  attractiveness  programme.  The  HJC´s  strategic  goal  is  to 
standardise information on the website and to establish spokesperson services for all courts. In 
2022, the HPC held 2 regular and 26 extraordinary remote sessions. The current system for 

25 

 
 
recruiting, transferring and promoting judges and prosecutors will need to be revised in line 
with the new judicial legislation. It will be essential to establish merit-based judicial careers, 
with  a  clear  performance  evaluation  mechanism  and  criteria.  In  the  course  of  2022,  the 
evaluation procedure was initiated for 701 judges (259 judges under regular and 442 judges 
under  extraordinary  evaluation).  The  decisions  for  374  judges  are  expected.  In  2022,  SPC 
evaluated 28 candidates and in June published a competition for 50 prosecutor positions, for 
which decisions are pending. 

The eligibility criteria for the judicial profession remain to be defined in line with the newly 
adopted laws on judges and prosecutors and the new Law on the judicial academy, to cover all 
presently eligible categories (in 2022, HJC elected 92 judges from the ranks of court assistants, 
9 judicial  academy  graduates  and  3  from  other  professions).  In  line  with  the  Venice 
Commission’s recommendation, the Academy should be effectively ‘protected from possible 
undue influence’. The independence and professionalism of the Academy remain essential to 
it becoming the sole entry point to the judicial profession. Guidelines for amending the Law 
on the judicial academy are in preparation, with participation of the HJC and SPC members to 
define the training needs and criteria for the selection and engagement of mentors and lecturers. 

In line with the Law on planning, the Ministry of Justice should step up implementation of the 
new reform strategy to improve performance appraisal, and budgetary planning and execution, 
and to increase support to qualifications and skills through training, based on recommendations 
from the World Bank’s functional reviews (finalised in November 2022 for the court system 
and in August 2022 for the prosecution service). 

Quality of justice 

The  Judicial  Academy,  responsible  for  initial  and  continuous  judicial  training,  kept 
implementing its multiannual work programme for 2020-2025. From January until June 2023, 
76 educational events (in-person and online) were held and the new platform (PARS LMS) for 
a  better  management  and  monitoring  of  the  implementation  of  training  programmes  was 
established.  Working  under  supervision  of  the  Ministry  of  Justice,  the  Academy  conducts 
annual analysis of the training needs in order to better define the topics. As of June 2023, 79 
people  were  employed  (43  permanent  and  36  temporary  positions).  Trainings  continued, 
among others, with the Council of Europe on undue influence on the judiciary. The Academy’s 
capacity and internal expertise for delivering sufficient initial and continuous training should 
be  further  improved,  in  particular  for  training  on  EU  law.  Steps  were  taken  to  improve 
transparency  of  the  mentor  selection  process  and  should  be  followed  for  the  initial  testing 
process. The total budget for training initiatives at the Judicial Academy in 2022 amounted to 
EUR 4 246 580. The Academy continues to be an observer in the European Judicial Training 
Network (EJTN) and should better benefit from its expertise. 

On case law harmonisation, following the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) instruction of 
October 2022, the database with court jurisprudence was expanded with inputs from the SCC, 
four appellate courts, commercial and misdemeanour appellate courts and the administrative 
court.  At  the  end  of  2022,  there  were  353 670  integral  decisions  and  47 033  anonymised 
decisions in the database. The connection was made to prosecutor databases and to European 
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) databases. There were two joint sessions of civil departments 
of the appellate-level courts in 2022, in June and December, in accordance with the Agreement 
of Presidents of Appeal Courts. The Supreme Court also prepared two bulletins with the legal 
opinions on disputed legal issues ahead of the annual conference of judges held in May 2023. 
There is a need to redefine the role of the SCC in effectively orienting jurisprudence in line 
with  the  judicial  laws  adopted  for  implementing  constitutional  amendments,  especially 
concerning repetitive cases. 

26 

 
 
Serbia  still  lacks  a  comprehensive  court  case  (and  document)  management  system  that 
interlinks cases across Serbian courts and prosecutor offices. The work on a case management 
system for courts officially started in September 2021 and is planned to be finalised in 2024. 
The case management system for prosecutor offices is planned to be finalised by mid-2024. 
The case management system for prisons administration is operational as of December 2021. 
Further  work  is  still  required  to  ensure  that  all  systems  can  operate  smoothly.  Legislative 
changes  are  needed,  along  with  adequate  staffing,  financial  resources  and  upgraded 
communication infrastructure. 

By the end of 2022, the notary system had 226 offices, 455 notary trainees, over 700 notarial 
interns and assistants and over 700 administrative staff. Public notaries are yet to be appointed 
for the areas of three basic courts. In 2022, public notaries processed over 200 000 real estate 
transactions, 485 000 inheritance cases and 350 000 certifications of documents with a small 
number of appeals and reversals. Analysis is underway to prepare amendments to the Law on 
notaries and the set of accompanying laws. The notary chamber continued its efforts for better 
services,  improvements  to  the  electronic  documentation  system,  standardisation  of  practice, 
and training. 

In the area of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, amendments to the legal 
framework are still pending,  following prior analysis from  2020. As of 31 December 2022, 
1 677 mediators were registered in the Ministry of Justice: 656 are from Belgrade, 112 from 
Nis, 140 from Novi Sad and 53 from Kragujevac (183 of them are lawyers, 15 judges, one is 
an enforcement officer, 739 are law graduates and 1 is an ombudsman). By 31 December 2022, 
29 organisations  have  received  permits  to  conduct  training  for  mediators,  but  so  far  only 
22 organisations have conducted training, with a total of 6 544 participants. 

In  2022,  1 529  mediation  agreements  were  concluded  and  1 291  cases  were  successfully 
finalised (mainly in civil, commercial and family law areas). Most cases were resolved in the 
territory of the Belgrade Court of Appeals (61%), in Novi Sad (19%) and in Kragujevac and 
Nis (10%). In addition, 1 179 individual and 35 collective labour disputes were initiated before 
the arbitration; 565 and 19 were resolved respectively. The number of mediations compared 
with the number of pending civil court proceedings remains below 1%. 

Efficiency 

The court and prosecution network consists of 159 courts and 90 prosecutor offices (general 
and specific jurisdictions), operating in four instances (basic, higher, appellate and supreme), 
adding  to  the  complexity  in  terms  of  financing,  procurement  and  court  payments  for  the 
services.  Problems  of  unequal  workload  among  judges  and  prosecutors  negatively  affected 
performance and access to justice for the public. An analysis of the effects of the Law on the 
protection  of  the  right  to  a  trial  within  reasonable  time  was  prepared  (with  the  Council  of 
Europe). Legislative changes are pending.  The proposal  for  amendments  to  the Law on the 
protection of the right to a trial within reasonable time are pending for adoption in Parliament. 

In  2022,  all  courts  received  1 808 813  new  cases  (compared  with  2 402 486  in  2021),  the 
highest  number  being  in  basic  and  misdemeanour  courts.  In  2022,  all  courts  have  resolved 
2 132 305 cases, compared with 2 415 672 in 2021. 

At the end of 2022, the number of pending cases fell; there were 1 174 642 cases compared 
with  1 498 237  in  2021.  The  average  duration  of  court  proceedings  in  2022  was  201 days 
compared with 226 days in 2021, and the average clearance rate of 117,88%, was higher than 
in 2021 (100.55%) but with significant differences between courts (130.58% for basic courts, 
26.89% for misdemeanour courts, 55.35% for SCC and only  39.63% for the administrative 
court). 

27 

 
 
Serbia already has numerous vacant posts in the judiciary, and many more senior judges will 
retire soon. This problem is exacerbated by a lack of interest in a judicial career among law 
school graduates. Attracting young judges and prosecutors to the system may require allocating 
sufficient budgetary means to the judiciary to solve the problem of relatively modest salaries. 
Another  general  problem,  which  cannot  be  solved  by  legislative  amendments  alone,  is  the 
strictly hierarchical organisation of the judiciary with a strong notion of supervision over the 
work of the lower courts. The new legislation has tried to address some of these problems. The 
division of budgetary functions was increased between the relevant ministry and high councils; 
the change of titles was not only cosmetic but reflected a consolidation of functions. However, 
the cumulative effect  of  all those mechanisms could  affect  the attractiveness  of the  judicial 
professions for young lawyers. 

In 2022, there  were  a total of 10 098 positions for court staff (9 064 filled) and 1 546 were 
engaged  on  temporary  basis,  compared  to  9 882  positions  for  court  staff  (8 763  filled)  and 
1 751 on temporary basis in 2021, who were engaged due to increased workload. The number 
of state employees i.e. staff whose work is not linked to processing of cases, slightly increased 
in 2022 (2 961, of which 2 709 were filled) compared with 2 831 in 2021 (2 938 in 2020). This 
remains high compared with the total number of staff, as against the European average (CEPEJ 
report). 

Implementation of the unified backlog reduction programme for 2021-2025 continued under 
the supervision of the SCC, with declining trends in the overall number of pending backlog 
cases, including enforcement cases. Some measures were proposed to streamline future work 
on  old  cases.  In  2022,  the  number  of  resolved  backlog  cases  was  288 654,  compared  with 
375 859 in  2021. The majority of  resolved  backlog cases  were trial  cases (250 185 in  2022 
compared with  118 823  in  2021). At the end of  2022, there were 130 260 pending  backlog 
cases, with a higher number of resolved civil cases before basic courts (36 859 compared with 
32 923 in 2021). The percentage of backlog cases in the total workload of courts is 3.94%. 
Looking at individual types of courts, the number of pending cases in 2022 fell in basic courts, 
misdemeanour courts, commercial courts, appellate courts, commercial appellate courts and 
misdemeanour appellate courts; on the other hand, the number of pending cases increased in 
higher courts, administrative courts and the Supreme Court of Cassation. The number of old 
cases increased in the administrative court (6 333 in 2022 compared with 4 368 in 2021). Most 
of them are cases of 3-5 years old (6 190). 

A high number of cases (29 672) is pending before the Constitutional Court, 99.13% of which 
are constitutional appeals and only 227 related to normative control. In 2022, the Constitutional 
Court worked on 16 249 cases (18 198 in 2021): 16 075 were constitutional appeals and 116 
cases of normative control. The Constitutional Court resolved 14 203 cases, of which 13 969 
constitutional appeals and 175 normative control cases. Working with 13 of the 15 judges, the 
Constitutional Court took 939 decisions on merit (6.72% of resolved cases), a fall compared 
with 2022 (1 147 or 11.5%), and rejected appeals in 7 617 cases (54.52% of resolved cases). 
The Constitutional Court is taking steps to improve visibility and transparency of its work and 
to enable easier access to the court practice database of both domestic and European Court of 
Human Rights judgments. No steps were taken to reform the Constitutional Court in particular 
in regard to the introduction of a qualified majority with a deadlock mechanism for the election 
of some of the judges of this court by Parliament, as underlined by the Venice Commission. 

Significant  differences  in  workload  remain  between  courts  across  the  country,  with  the 
Belgrade courts of first instance bearing the highest workload overall. There was no progress 
in amending the legal framework on local jurisdiction to address this problem. In January 2022, 
the Ministry of Justice introduced a case-weighting formula in all basic, higher and commercial 

28 

 
 
courts.  Lengthy  proceedings  and  the  slow  pace  of  processing  indemnity  claims  continue  to 
hamper, efficiency, quality and access to justice. There is a need to improve implementation of 
the 2019 Law on free legal aid. (See procedural rights) 

As to enforcement cases, the transfer of additional types of enforcement cases from courts to 
231 public enforcement officers and 37 deputy officers continued in 2022 (415 718 general 
cases  and  1 435  commercial  cases  were  transferred).  The  e-auction  platform  is  in  use  to 
increase access to information and improve transparency. The number of sales of movable and 
real  estate  property  increased.  In  2022,  courts  received  236 004  new  enforcement  cases 
(255 792 in 2021) and solved 274 913 cases (514 833 in 2021). There was a fall in the number 
of pending backlog enforcement cases, which affect the efficiency of the courts, with 27 701 
pending at the end of 2022 compared with 66 610 in 2021. Average length of proceedings was 
36.78 days and 69.44 days for enforcement based on authentic document. Implementing the 
new human resources strategy for the judiciary should provide courts with the additional human 
resources that are required for better protection of individual debtors and stronger court control 
over enforcement. 

Domestic processing of war crimes 

Cooperation between the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) 
prosecution  office  and  the  Serbian  War  Crimes  Prosecutor’s  Office  has  continued.  Arrest 
warrants  issued  by  the  International  Criminal  Tribunal  for  the  former  Yugoslavia  and  the 
IRMCT on contempt of court charges have still not been executed. In May 2023, the appeals 
chamber  of  the  IRMCT  handed  down  the  judgment  in  the  Stanišić  and  Simatović  case 
against two former senior officials of the Serbian State Security Service within the Ministry of 
Interior.  The  defendants  were  convicted  for  involvement  in  crimes  across  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina and in one town in Croatia as members of a joint criminal enterprise to ethnically 
cleanse non-Serbs from the areas during the 1990s wars in the Balkans. Besides overturning 
the  acquittals  of  involvement  in  the  criminal  enterprise,  the  appeals  chamber  raised  the 
sentences from 12 to 15 years. This is the last IRMCT case on the former Yugoslavia. 

Regarding  judicial  cooperation  issues,  bilateral  agreements  exist  between  the  Prosecutor’s 
Office  of  Serbia  and  its  counterparts  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Croatia  and  Montenegro, 
including  on  the  exchange  of  evidence  related  to  war  crimes.  Serbia  has  yet  to  enforce  the 
judgment of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the case of General Djukić, who resides in Serbia. In 
November 2022, the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP) and the Prosecutor’s Office 
of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  signed  an  agreement  on  cooperation  in  the  area  of  support  for 
witnesses, aggrieved parties and victims in criminal proceedings. 

No progress in cooperation between Serbia and Croatia was noted in the reporting period.  

Following  the  October  2021  government  adoption  of  the  second  national  strategy  for  the 
prosecution of war crimes for 2021-2026, three  monitoring  reports have  been published.  In 
December  2022,  the  OWCP  adopted  a  Prosecutorial  Strategy  for  the  Investigation  and 
Prosecution  of  War  Crimes  for  the  period  2023-2026  and  an  accompanying  action  plan. 
Relevant international organisations and civil society organisations were not consulted during 
the drafting process. Contrary to what was envisaged in the first national strategy, the OWCP 
has yet to define the selection criteria for war crimes cases and to create a list of priority and 
high-profile war crimes cases, consistent with the obligation that all priority and high-profile 
cases  be  duly  prosecuted.  In  view  of  the  end  of  the  mandate  of  the  current  War  Crimes 
Prosecutor  in  May  2023,  the  appointment  procedure  for  the  next  mandate  was  launched  in 
November 2022, but has not been completed yet.  

29 

 
 
A number of Serbian political parties and figures, including at ministerial level, continued to 
provide support to, and  public space for,  convicted war  criminals.  Convicted war  criminals 
continue to  spread hate  speech in  the public space. Certain  politicians continue to  deny the 
Srebrenica genocide without repercussions. 

The War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office filed 10 new indictments against 14 individuals in 2022, 
of which four were transferred from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The indictments involved five 
defendants  who  held  high-ranking  positions  at  the  time  of  the  alleged  offences  affecting 
hundreds of victims. 

In March 2022, the OWCP filed an indictment  against four high-ranking Croatian air force 
officers in the ‘Petrovačka Cesta’ case for war crimes against civilians allegedly committed 
during the operation ‘Storm’ in August 1995. The OWCP charged the suspects with ordering 
a missile attack on a convoy of Serb refugees on the Petrovačka cesta road, outside of Bosanski 
Petrovac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As per the OWCP’s allegations, the missiles fired by the 
combat  aircraft  killed  13  civilians,  including  six  children,  and  wounded  24.  Since  all  the 
defendants were unavailable to the Serbian authorities, the OWCP filed a motion to the High 
Court to initiate a trial in absentia against the defendants. In August 2022, the indictment was 
confirmed. The defence lodged appeals against the ruling on the confirmation of the indictment. 
In its August 2022 ruling, the Court of Appeals rejected the appeals lodged by the defence. To 
date, the High Court has not decided on the motion. The High Court postponed the start of the 
main hearing, scheduled for December 2022, finding that there was insufficient evidence as to 
whether the defendants had received the summons or not. In the first half of 2023, no hearing 
has been scheduled for the case. 

In 2023, proceedings in absentia are underway in the ‘Zagreb’ case. 

As of 31 March 2023, trial proceedings were ongoing in 23 war crimes cases before the Higher 
Court (19 cases) and the Court of Appeals in Belgrade (4 cases) against 44 defendants. 

The trial of Milenko Živanovic, the former General and Commander of the army of Republika 
Srpska at the time of the alleged offence, is ongoing. 

As  of  31 December  2022,  trial  proceedings  were  ongoing  in  three  cases  of  sexual  violence 
committed  during  the  1992  conflict  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina:  the  Rogatica  case,  the 
Kalinovik case and the Bratunac II case. All of those cases relate to the rape of Bosniak women. 
In addition, during the reporting period, the OWCP raised one indictment related to the rape of 
a Bosniak woman in May 1992 in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Gorazde II case; the first 
hearing took place in April 2023. 

Two final judgments against three defendants were rendered in 2022. The Court of Appeals 
found three defendants guilty, sentencing them to 15, 7, and 4 years and 6 months respectively, 
in prison. 

Serbia’s judiciary has failed to include financial compensation to war crimes victims in any 
criminal  proceedings.  Its  track  record  of  compensation  to  war  crimes  victims  in  civil 
proceedings is weak. 

Serbia’s pace of processing war crimes cases has significantly deteriorated in recent years. A 
genuine  commitment  to  address  cases,  including  those  of  high-ranking  suspects,  should  be 
assured. Serbia has a case backlog of over 1 700 pre-investigative cases. 

According to the relevant data of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as at 
July 2023, 9 781 people were still missing as a result of conflicts in the region. Of these, 6 237 
cases are related to the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1 926 to the conflict in Croatia and 

30 

 
 
1 618 to the conflict in Kosovo. In 2022, 106 cases were resolved, of which 67 concerned the 
conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 37 the conflict in Croatia and two the conflict in Kosovo. 
From January to July 2023, 16 cases related to Croatia, 37 related to Bosnia and Herzegovina 
and two cases related to Kosovo were resolved. Throughout 2022, Serbia participated in the 
work of the Missing Persons Group under the framework plan, including the preparation and 
launch of the regional database of active missing persons cases from conflicts on the territory 
of the former Yugoslavia. The government Commission on Missing Persons also engaged in 
activities  with  the  ICRC  and  the  International  Commission  on  Missing  Persons  (ICMP)  to 
promote bilateral cooperation with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro in the 
resolution of missing person cases. Work was done among other issues on cases of common 
interest  at  the  Lešće  cemetery  in  Belgrade.  On  29 November  2022,  the  missing  persons 
domestic institutions from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro met in Belgrade 
to discuss the framework for cooperation. Rules of procedures for bilateral cooperation with 
Montenegro were formally signed by the two Missing Persons Commissions on 9 June 2023. 
A  meeting  was  organised  in  Zagreb  on  30 January  2023  between  the  Missing  Persons 
Commissions  of  the  governments  of  Serbia  and  Croatia,  also  attended  by  the  Serbian  War 
Crimes Prosecutor, illustrating recent efforts to increase bilateral cooperation, without however 
leading to concrete follow-up. The Serbia Missing Persons Commission also joined a trilateral 
meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, hosted by its Croatian counterpart on 28 March 2023, 
which included a field visit. 

In  September  2022,  Serbia’s  Missing  Persons  Commission  signed  a  memorandum  of 
understanding with the ICRC on the transfer and use of information and documents related to 
active cases of missing persons obtained from relevant archives for the purpose of supporting 
the  search  process.  The  Missing  Persons  Commission  also  actively  participated  in  ICRC 
initiatives in support of families of missing persons. 

The  Serbian  delegation  to  the  ICRC-chaired  working  group  on  missing  persons  remained 
engaged  in  2022  and  2023,  including  in  assessing  all  locations  indicated  by  the  Kosovo 
delegation  as  potential  gravesites  in  Serbia  and  participating  in  the  assessments  of  four 
locations in Kosovo. There has been no session of the ICRC-led Belgrade-Pristina Working 
Group on Missing Persons since April 2021, as the Kosovo delegation refuses to hold meetings 
until the Serbia delegation changed its head. Nonetheless, lower levels of the mechanism (sub-
working  group  on  forensic  issues  analytical  team  and  one  meeting  on  unidentified  bodies) 
continued to work on concrete cases and sites. Both the Kosovo and Serbia delegations have 
shown interest in resuming excavations at the Stavalj mine complex in summer 2023. From 
June  2022  until  March  2023,  the  combined  efforts  of  EULEX  and  local  forensic  experts 
resulted in 34 field operations and 12 exhumations. Some 12 sets of remains were recovered, 
representing a minimum of 12 individuals. Eight individuals were identified, of which three 
were on the list of missing persons. A total of 21 individuals were handed over to the families 
and  74  DNA  samples  were  sent  for  analysis.  The  Serbian  delegation  to  the  working  group 
remained committed to assessing several locations on the territory of Serbia indicated by their 
Kosovo  counterpart  as  potential  gravesites  of  victims  from  the  conflict  in  Kosovo.  In  the 
context of the EU-facilitated Dialogue, the Parties agreed on and endorsed a joint declaration 
on Missing Persons at a High-level Dialogue meeting in Brussels on 2 May 2023, committing 
to  improving  Kosovo  and  Serbia’s  joint  efforts  towards  resolving  the  outstanding  cases  of 
Missing Persons from the Kosovo conflict. Work is ongoing to establish the Joint Commission 
that will monitor the implementation of this Declaration. 

Fight against corruption 

31 

 
 
Serbia has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption. Overall, limited progress  
has  been  made  during  the  reporting  period  on  last  year’s  recommendations.  Regarding  the 
recommendations by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), Serbia took steps to 
meet the remaining five recommendations of the fourth evaluation round on the prevention of 
corruption in respect of Members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors, and reported on it to 
GRECO  in  March  2023.  Serbia  still  needs  to  adopt  a  national  anti-corruption  strategy 
accompanied by an action plan.  Serbia presented to the European Commission a draft strategy 
for  the  period  2021-2028  accompanied  by  a  first  action  plan  for  the  period  2023-2024.  A 
majority  of  anti-corruption  related  interim  benchmarks  for  Chapter  23  and  a  majority  of 
GRECO recommendations from the 4th and 5th rounds of evaluation have been included in the 
documents.  However,  there  is  still  a  need  to  ensure  the  inclusion  of  remaining  Chapter  23 
interim  benchmarks  and  outstanding  GRECO  recommendations  and  to  create  the  necessary 
conditions for implementation. Serbia should establish an effective coordination mechanism to 
operationalise prevention and repression policy goals  and thoroughly address  corruption.  In 
2022, there was a slight increase in the number of final convictions for high-level corruption 
cases compared with 2021. The number of new investigations increased but the number of new 
indictments decreased. There were no cases of final confiscation of assets. Overall, corruption 
is prevalent in many areas and remains an issue of concern. There is a need for strong political 
will to effectively address corruption issues, as well as a robust criminal justice response to 
high-level corruption. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  further improve its track record on investigations, prosecutions and final court decisions in 
high-level corruption cases, in particular the seizure and confiscation of criminal assets; 

→  address all GRECO recommendations, in particular from the fifth evaluation round;  

→  adopt  a  new  anti-corruption  strategy,  addressing  in  particular  all  relevant  interim 
benchmarks and GRECO recommendations, and start implementing it. The strategy must 
be  underpinned  by  a  credible  and  realistic  action  plan,  and  establish  an  effective 
coordination mechanism.  

Regional cooperation initiatives and events, including EU-funded programmes, support good 
neighbourly relations and reconciliation. Serbia has been invited by the European Commission 
to  participate in  the IPA 2019 multi-country rule of law programme aimed  at  ‘supporting  a 
more effective administration of justice in corruption and organised crime cases in the Western 
Balkans through trial monitoring’. This is implemented by the OSCE and all other Western 
Balkan  partners  already  participate.  Serbia  should  join  this  programme.  This  would  send  a 
positive signal concerning its commitment to the rule of law. 

Track record 

As regards the track record on high-level corruption, the number of final convictions in 2022 
went slightly up compared with 2021. Based on indictments from the Prosecutor’s Office for 
Organised Crime, the courts rendered first instance judgments against 26 individuals in 2022 
(compared  with  22  individuals  in  2020  and  only  10  in  2021).  There  were  final  convictions 
against 21 individuals (compared with 11 individuals in 2020 and 19 in 2021). The Prosecutor’s 
Office  for  Organised  Crime  ordered  investigations  against  34  individuals  (22  in  2022),  but 
issued a lower number of indictments - only 12 - compared with previous years (22 in 2021, 
19 in 2020, 20 in 2019, 41 in 2018 and 50 in 2017). As in the past 2 years, no case resulted in 
a final confiscation of assets (there were three such cases in 2019). Serbia still needs to show a 
convincing track record of confiscating assets in corruption cases. 

32 

 
 
In 2022, the special departments for combating corruption in the offices of higher prosecutors 
received a lower number of criminal complaints than in previous years (2 651, compared with 
3 035 in 2021 and 2 936 in 2020). They ordered 179 investigations (270 in 2021) and initiated 
parallel financial investigations against 34 individuals (compared with 67 in 2021 and 23 in 
2020). A total of 403 indictments were issued (540 in 2021, 470 in 2020). The courts rendered 
judgments  against  221  individuals  at  the  first  instance  based  on  indictments  from  these 
departments (271 in 2021, 230 in 2020). There were final convictions against 212 individuals 
(255 in 2021, 195 in 2020). 

In 2022, in light of the gradual transfer of cases from the prosecutions of general jurisdiction 
to the special departments, there were no orders to investigate corruption and economic crime 
offences  (29  in  2021,  22  in  2020),  and  the  prosecution  of  general  jurisdiction  filed  fewer 
indictments than in 2021 (19 indictments in 2022 in comparison with 63 in 2021 and 136 in 
2020). The courts convicted 83 individuals at first instance (132 in 2021), and 28 individuals 
at final instance (80 in 2021). There was no case with final confiscation of assets (compared 
with one in 2021 and three in 2020). 

The Agency for prevention of corruption initiated 483 procedures to determine violations of 
the Law on prevention of corruption (2021: 656). During 2022, in 309 procedures conducted 
by  the  Agency,  it  was  determined  that  there  were  violations  of  the  Law  on  prevention  of 
corruption  pertaining  to  conflicts  of  interest  (347  in  2021).  In  2022,  misdemeanour  courts 
issued first instance decisions on the responsibility of public officials in 20 cases (2021: 11).  

In  2022,  the  Agency  submitted  201  requests  for  initiation  of  misdemeanour  proceedings 
relating to a failure to promptly submit asset declarations, which is far higher than in previous 
years (2021: 134; 2020: 29). Based on the Agency’s work in previous years, a much larger 
number of final decisions were issued by misdemeanour courts: 161 in 2022 (52 in 2021). The 
Agency filed six  criminal  charges in  2022  (2021: seven) due to  reasonable suspicion  that a 
public official had not reported assets or had given false information about assets with the intent 
to conceal the facts. Based on the Agency’s previous work, one conviction was rendered (2021: 
three). 

In  2022,  the  Agency  monitored  the  election  campaign  expenses  for  the  presidential, 
parliamentary  and  local  elections.  It  engaged  124  monitors  for  this  purpose.  Preliminary 
electoral campaign expense reports were submitted by 81.75% of the entities participating in 
the electoral campaigns that had this obligation. Final reports were submitted by 88.1% of the 
obliged entities. The Agency published its reports on the inspection of the financing of electoral 
expenses of political entities. 

Regarding  the  financing  of  political  activities,  the  Agency  initiated  44  procedures  in  2022 
based on the suspicion of violation of the provisions of the law, of which 25 were related to the 
electoral  campaign.  It  issued  28  warning  measures,  of  which  11  related  to  the  electoral 
campaign, and submitted 168 requests to initiate misdemeanour proceedings for violations of 
the Law on the financing of political  activities (2021:  209).  In 2022, the Agency issued 11 
decisions  related  to  electoral  campaigns,  based  on  suspicion  of  violation  of  the  law,  and 
submitted  one  report  to  the  prosecution  on  suspicion  of  a  criminal  offence.  Based  on  final 
judgments, 41 decisions were made on the loss of the right to obtain funds from public sources 
intended for financing regular work in the following year (13 in 2021; 9 in 2020). 

Regarding access to information, in 2022, there was a 43.8% increase in the number of reports 
to  the  Commissioner  for  violation  of  the  right  to  access  information  of  public  importance 
(9 219,  compared  with  5 181  in  2021).  There  was  a  34.4%  increase  in  reports  to  the 
Commissioner for information of public importance from national-level institutions, and 21.6% 

33 

 
 
from  local-level  institutions.  The  Commissioner  adopted  547  decisions  based  on  individual 
complaints (1 052 in 2021) and requested public institutions to provide such information. The 
institutions  did  not  react  in  148  cases,  which  means  that  the  rate  of  execution  of  the 
Commissioner’s  decisions  was  72.9%  (75%  in  2021).  The  Commissioner  established  that 
42.9% of the cases of complaints from the public – most of them concerning ‘administrative 
silence’ – were well-founded, meaning that the information requested by citizens should have 
been provided by the authorities as per the Law on access to information of public importance. 
In 50.8% (27.8% in 2021) of well-founded cases, the authorities reported that they acted upon 
the  Commissioner’s  request  to  provide  the  information  to  the  complainants  even  before  a 
decision was made on the appeal. The Commissioner continued to request the administrative 
enforcement of decisions for all requests that were submitted up until the entry into force of 
the amendments to the Law on access to information of public importance (16 February 2022). 
As in the previous years, the administrative enforcement of these decisions was not ensured. 
In  2022,  the  Commissioner  submitted  eight  requests  for  initiating  proceedings  for 
misdemeanours as provided for by the law. As in previous years, the administrative inspection 
did  not  submit  any  request  to  the  misdemeanour  courts  to  initiate  proceedings  for  non-
execution of the Commissioner’s decisions. Following a reversal of the Administrative Court’s 
position  in  June  2022,  a  large  number  of  cases  of  reimbursement  of  legal  costs  concerning 
requests  for  access  to  information  of  public  importance  has  impacted  the  workload  and 
resources of the Commissioner, as also assessed in his 2022 annual report. Any solution to this 
issue should not unduly restrict the effective exercise of the right to access information. 

In 2022, courts in Serbia received 69 (2021: 99) new cases based on the Law on whistle-blower 
protection. A total of 71 cases related to the protection of whistle-blowers were resolved (2021: 
106). Despite the urgency of these cases, 39 cases remained pending at the end of 2022 where 
the proceedings had not been completed even after 3 years. Some whistle-blower reports have 
still  not  been  investigated  in  accordance  with  the  Law.  In  order  to  strengthen  trust  in  the 
institutions, Serbia needs to step up its protection of whistle-blowers and investigate allegations 
in high-level corruption cases. 

Serbia needs to ensure that exemptions from the Law on public procurement are in line with 
the  EU  acquis  and  the  Stabilisation  and  Association  Agreement,  including  notably  in  the 
context of intergovernmental agreements. Intergovernmental agreements are not always in line 
with  the  principles  of  equal  treatment,  non-discrimination  and  transparency  or  competition 
rules (see Chapter 5 – Public procurement). The public procurement portal enables users to 
monitor  all  ongoing  public  procurement  procedures.  The  number  of  requests  for  initiating 
misdemeanour procedures submitted by the Public Procurement Office (PPO) to the relevant 
courts increased significantly from 143 in 2021 to 429 in 2022, based on PPO findings in the 
process of monitoring the implementation of public procurement legislation. 

Institutional framework 

Prevention measures 

As regards GRECO recommendations, following up on the March 2022 compliance report on 
Serbia’s fourth evaluation round concerning Members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors, 
GRECO  requested  Serbia  to  report  by  March  2023  on  progress  for  the  five  remaining 
recommendations. Serbia submitted this report on time. 

Serbia should implement all recommendations issued by GRECO as part of the fifth evaluation 
round, which targets preventing corruption and promoting integrity in central government (top 
executive functions) and law enforcement agencies. The March 2022 GRECO report called for 
further  measures  to  prevent  corruption  in  Serbia  in  respect  of  those  with  top  executive 

34 

 
 
functions,  including  the  President,  ministers,  assistant  ministers,  state  secretaries,  heads  of 
cabinet and political advisers, as well as members of the Serbian Police. In view of the findings 
of the report, GRECO issued 24 recommendations and invited the Serbian authorities to submit 
by 30 September 2023 a report on the measures taken to implement the recommendations. The 
measures will be assessed by GRECO through its compliance procedure.  

The new director for the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption was elected by the Parliament 
in February 2023. In August 2023, the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption had 91 staff 
members out of a planned 163 (same as in 2021). The Agency’s Council, which decides on 
appeals against first instance decisions by the Agency, among other things, held 12 sessions, 
and took 49 fist-instance decisions upon appeals. In February 2023, the Parliament discussed 
and formally accepted the Agency’s report for 2021, and in March 2023, the Agency submitted 
the  2022  report  to  Parliament  for  adoption,  along  with  the  report  on  implementation  of  the 
action plan for the Chapter 23 sub-chapter on the fight against corruption. Discussions on these 
reports have yet to take place within the relevant parliamentary committees. There is a need for 
strong political will to implement the Agency’s mandate in full and to gain increased public 
trust in the institutions preventing corruption. There is a further need to increase the resources 
of  the  Agency  to  implement  effectively  the  recommendations  of  GRECO’s  fifth  evaluation 
round. 

Regarding sectors particularly vulnerable to corruption, the operational plan for the prevention 
of corruption in areas of special risk, adopted in September 2021, expired at the end of 2022. 
According to the April 2023 final report on the monitoring of its implementation, prepared by 
the  Agency,  only  three  measures  out  of  15  have  been  completely  implemented.  Serbia  still 
needs  to  fully  implement  all  the  measures  stipulated  by  that  plan  in  the  areas  of  public 
procurement, police, customs, local self-government and privatisation processes. It also needs 
to fully implement the specific operational plans for prevention of corruption in the areas of 
tax  administration,  education  and  health.  This  includes  the  need  for  the  adoption  of 
amendments to health sector legislation in accordance with the analysis of risks to corruption 
in the Law on medicines and medical devices. In March 2023, the Agency provided training 
on the implementation of a methodology for corruption risk assessment for the members of 
working groups for the development of the new national anti-corruption strategy and its 2023-
2028 Action Plan.  

In July 2023, the Parliament enacted the Law repealing the Law on special procedures for linear 
infrastructure projects from 2020, which provided for the exemption of linear infrastructure 
projects of ‘special importance for the Republic of Serbia’ from the application of the Law on 
public procurement.  

From 2017, when the obligation began, until the end of 2022, only 26 out of 145 local self-
governments adopted a local action plan and established a body to monitor it, in line with the 
Anti-Corruption Agency model. Overall, there were no tangible improvements in relation to 
anti-corruption efforts at local level. This calls into question the local action plans as a solution 
to the prevention of corruption at local level in Serbia. 

The  Anti-Corruption  Council,  in  its  advisory  role  to  the  government,  remained  active  in 
exposing and analysing cases of systemic corruption. It  remains of serious concern that the 
authorities  have  still  not  established  a  more  constructive  relationship  with  the  Council.  In 
addition, the Council is still not systematically consulted on draft legislation. The government 
failed to set up a procedure to consult the Council, although this had been planned since 2016. 
The  Council  issued  informative  reports  on  the  lack  of  transparency  of  the  ownership  of 
agricultural  land  and  on  the  construction  of  a  gondola  from  Kalemegdan  to  Usce  park  in 
Belgrade. No steps have been taken to additionally strengthen the Anti-Corruption Council’s 
35 

 
 
budgetary resources and staff capacity. Serbia should implement the GRECO recommendation 
about the Council from the fifth evaluation round. 

Law enforcement 

Following  an  assessment  of  needs,  the  special  departments  for  combating  corruption  in  the 
offices of Higher Prosecutors in Kraljevo, Niš, Novi Sad and Belgrade have increased their 
staffing and now have 61 assigned deputy public prosecutors (58 in 2021; 44 in 2020; 45 in 
2019).  The  offices  should  have  one  financial  forensic  expert  in  each  of  the  four  special 
departments, but the positions remain vacant. 

The Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime, which has jurisdiction over high-level corruption 
cases,  remains  understaffed  (see  Chapter  24  –  Justice,  freedom  and  security).  It  has  yet  to 
finalise activities for implementing the Rulebook on internal organisation and systematisation 
of  work  positions,  establishing  new  organisational  units,  and  increasing  the  number  of 
employees. The Higher Court in Belgrade dealing with corruption also remains understaffed. 
Furthermore,  as provided for in  the Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime, two financial 
forensic experts are employed. 

In 2022, three task forces were investigating corruption offences, while in the first half of 2023, 
two new task forces were established (five in 2021). 

The Law on the organisation and jurisdiction of state authorities in suppression of organised 
crime, terrorism and corruption is in force. However, it does not regulate in sufficient detail the 
role and mandate of the Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime as the coordinator in relation 
to the special departments of offices of higher public prosecutors for suppression of corruption. 
Serbia should take further steps to ensure effective coordination. 

Greater  transparency  is  needed  in  the  anti-corruption  work  of  the  prosecution  service  and 
courts, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office should step up its monitoring of the reasons for the 
dismissal of criminal charges or lengthy investigation of corruption offences. 

The State Audit Institution continued to audit statements from beneficiaries of public funds. 
By checking arrangements for ensuring the proper functioning of internal auditing, it found 
that out of a total of 90 auditees required to establish internal audit procedures, 48 auditees 
(53.33%) had not done so, similar to the previous year (45.36% in 2021). 

Legal framework 

Serbia is a party to all international anti-corruption conventions. The legal framework for the 
fight against corruption is broadly in place. 

In February 2022, Serbia adopted the Law on the financing of political activities. While the 
Law  has  been  aligned  with  a  number  of  OSCE/ODIHR  recommendations,  Serbia  needs  to 
further align the law with the remaining OSCE/ODIHR and GRECO recommendations, in line 
with the August 2022 Final Report of the Election Observation Mission. This includes explicit 
regulation  of  third-party  campaigning,  and  provisions  on  effective,  proportionate  and 
dissuasive  penalties  for  violation  and  inadequate  reporting.  The  criminal  code  needs  to  be 
brought in line with the Law on financing of political activities. Serbia should continue to take 
further measures to ensure that citizens are able to recognise paid political advertisements or 
communications and the related costs. Amendments were also made to the Law on prevention 
of corruption aiming at alignment with the new Law on financing of political activities. The 
Law on prevention of corruption now further specifies which public officials are excluded from 
the duty of unambiguous separation between their public function and representing a political 
entity while acting in public. This obligation no longer applies to directly elected officials such 

36 

 
 
as members of the  National  Assembly, members  of provincial parliaments  and members of 
local assemblies. 

The  GRECO  report  on  the  fifth  round  of  evaluation  took  note  of  the  November  2021 
amendments to the Law on access to information of public importance, and recommended 
that requests  for information lodged with  the government  or presidential  administration not 
receiving  a positive response should also  be subject  to  appeal  before the  Commissioner for 
Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection. Furthermore, Serbia needs to 
continue  to  monitor  their  implementation  to  ensure  that  the  previously  identified  issues  are 
effectively addressed, including that of ‘administrative silence’ to citizens’ requests and the 
lack of enforcement of decisions of the Commissioner for information of public importance. 

The legal framework on whistle-blower protection is yet to be aligned with EU acquis. 

With respect to transparency and integrity within the public administration, there has been 
no sizeable reduction in the excessive number of acting senior manager posts but an increase, 
as of June 2023, to 55% of filled positions occupied by people in an acting capacity, compared 
with 51% in May 2022. In addition, non-civil servants continued to be appointed on an acting 
basis after the legal deadline of July 2019, in breach of the Law on civil servants. The similar 
issue of acting directors in state-owned enterprises – 22 out of 34 – has yet to be addressed. 

There is no evidence of what the impact has been of the Law on the origin of assets, adopted 
in 2020 and amended in 2021, on the effectiveness of the check of assets of natural persons 
against  declared  income.  An  assessment  of  the  impact  of  this  law  is  needed,  and  its 
implementation needs to be non-discriminatory and not vulnerable to corruption. 

Strategic framework 

Serbia has no anti-corruption strategy in force. There is a clear need for an anti-corruption 
strategy  encompassing  prevention  and  repression  of  corruption,  accompanied  by  a  credible 
action plan in addition to the relevant section in the Chapter 23 action plan. Serbia presented 
to the European Commission a draft strategy for the period 2021-2028 accompanied by a first 
action plan for the period 2023-2024. A majority of anti-corruption related interim benchmarks 
for Chapter 23 and a majority of GRECO recommendations from  the 4th  and 5th rounds of 
evaluation have been included in the documents. However, there is still a need to ensure the 
inclusion  of  remaining  Chapter  23 
interim  benchmarks  and  outstanding  GRECO 
recommendations. There is a need to further clarify the context of cooperation, coordination 
and communication of the two bodies that will monitor implementation (the Working Body of 
the Government and the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption) as well as how implementing 
authorities  will  report  to  them.  All  activities  under  the  action  plan  should  be  costed  and 
budgeted for. 

An ex-ante analysis based on risk assessments for sectors most vulnerable to corruption was 
completed in June 2023, with the aim to inform the draft strategy. 

The Agency for Prevention of Corruption submitted the report on implementation of the anti-
corruption part of the action plan for Chapter 23, and submitted it to Parliament in March 2023. 
According to this report, in 2022 Serbia completed 61% of actions (2021: 60%), which either 
had to be completed in 2022 or were ongoing actions. 

Fundamental rights 

Serbia’s legislative and institutional framework for upholding fundamental rights is broadly in 
place. This framework needs to be consistently and efficiently implemented. The Ombudsman 
was re-elected in April 2023, without cross-party support. The Ombudsman’s Office has yet to 

37 

 
 
be provided with additional resources to cover the new powers introduced by the Ombudsman 
Law  of  2021.  The  recruitment  of  additional  staff  for  the  Commissioner  for  Information  of 
Public Importance  and Personal  Data Protection is  significantly delayed.  The procedure for 
executing the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, including the role of Serbia’s 
Government Agent before the Court, needs to be further regulated. 

Implementation  started  of  the  new  strategies  and  action  plans  on  gender  equality,  anti-
discrimination and Roma inclusion, although monitoring bodies were not in place for most of 
the reporting period due to elections and formation of the new government. Action plans and 
related funding due in July 2021 as regards violence against women, and April 2022 as regards 
deinstitutionalisation, are now significantly delayed. More efforts are needed to comply with 
the Law on the planning system, which requires that action plans be adopted within 3 months 
of  the  adoption  of  related  strategies,  and  that  reports  are  published  annually  on  the 
implementation of strategies: no such reports were published for the year 2022. New national 
minority  councils  were  constituted  following  the  elections  held  in  November  2022.  Serbia 
continued drafting and conducting consultations on a new ‘action plan for the realisation of 
the rights of national minorities’. 

Most of last year’s recommendations have not yet been implemented and remain valid. In the 
coming year, Serbia needs to: 

→  strengthen  human  rights  institutions  by  allocating  the  necessary  financial  and  human 
resources and by putting in place procedures to ensure compliance with measures, including 
interim measures, of the European Court of Human Rights; 

→  implement and report in good time on the strategies on anti-discrimination that includes the 
rights  of  LGBTIQ  persons,  gender  equality,  violence  against  women,  and 
deinstitutionalisation; actively counter hate-motivated crimes and establish a track record 
of investigation and convictions;  

→  demonstrate, through better data collection, tangible improvements across the country in 
the effective exercise of the rights of individuals belonging to national minorities, including 
reference to the targets set by the Poznan Declaration on Roma inclusion and by the future 
new action plan relating to national minorities. 

Serbia has ratified the main international human rights instruments. Serbia’s Council for 
monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Mechanisms 
includes civil society organisations and was extended to the Chamber of Commerce and the 
Standing Conference on Towns and Municipalities.  

In June 2023, there were 1 818 applications pending before the European Court of Human 
Rights (ECtHR). The ECtHR delivered judgments on 31 applications and found breaches of 
the European Convention on Human Rights in eight out of nine cases (against nine in 2022), 
relating mainly to the right to respect for private and family life, to the right to a fair trial and 
the  general  prohibition  of  discrimination.  In  the  reporting  period,  there  were  2 112  new 
applications  allocated  to  a  decision  body.  Currently,  there  are  59  cases  under  enhanced 
supervision  by  the  Committee  of  Ministers  of  the  Council  of  Europe.  The  procedure  for 
executing the decisions of the ECtHR, including the role of Serbia’s Government Agent before 
the Court, needs to be further regulated. The Law on the State Attorney’s Office only broadly 
defines the Government Agent but it does not refer to the execution of judgments of the Court; 
only secondary legislation does this. The Government Agent before the Court needs to be given 
a coordination role and the authority to fulfil it. Work is ongoing to implement the mechanism 
providing individual redress to parents in cases similar to that of Zorica Jovanović v Serbia. A 

38 

 
 
key  feature  of  this  case  is  the  continued  failure  by  the  Serbian  authorities  to  provide  the 
applicant with any information about the real fate of her missing baby who had been in the care 
of a state-run hospital. In 2021 and 2022, the National DNA Registry of the National Centre 
for Criminal Forensics of the Criminal Police Directorate received 34 requests for determining 
parenthood. When the status of the missing newborn could not be determined, courts awarded 
damages of the maximum amount prescribed by law. Since the Court’s first judgment in 2008 
on the Kačapor group case, a systemic solution needs to be found to the delayed enforcement 
of domestic decisions against socially/state-owned companies; this case is about companies in 
the former socialist regime of Yugoslavia. 

As regards the promotion and enforcement of human rights, the mandate of the Ombudsman 
expired in  July  2022  and the procedure for appointing  a new one was initiated in  February 
2023.  Under  the  law,  the  procedure  for  appointing  a  new  Ombudsman  should  have  been 
initiated no later than 180 days before the said expiry. The incumbent Ombudsman was re-
elected in April 2023, without cross-party support. The law requires only an absolute majority 
for the election, deviating from the Venice Principles which set out that the Ombudsman should 
preferably be elected by an appropriate qualified majority. In addition, the Venice Principles 
recommend that the Ombudsman cannot be reappointed. While the new Law does prescribe 
that  the  Ombudsman  cannot  be  reappointed,  another  provision  in  the  Law  gave  to  the 
Ombudsman who had been appointed under the previous laws the possibility to be reappointed, 
which did in fact happen. Parliament held a plenary discussion on the Ombudsman’s annual 
report  for  2021,  issued  in  March  2022,  only  in  February  2023.  Citizens  submitted  3 530 
complaints  to  the  Ombudsman  in  2022,  down  from  4 501  in  2021.  The  number  of 
recommendations  from  the  Ombudsman  to  the  authorities  also  fell  to  904  (1 050  in  2021). 
According to the Ombudsman’s 2022 report, the percentage of its recommendations followed 
up by the authorities increased to 92% (2021: 78%). However, it is not sufficiently clear how 
the  Ombudsman  verifies  that  a  recommendation  has  been  followed  up  appropriately.  The 
Ombudsman  needs  to  publicly  address  all  violations  of  human  rights  and  to  improve  his 
cooperation with civil society, in particular in his capacity as National Preventive Mechanism 
against Torture. A new rulebook on internal organisation and systematisation of posts was not 
yet  adopted.  The  Ombudsman’s  Office  has  yet  to  be  provided  with  additional  resources  to 
recruit staff and cover the new powers introduced by the new Ombudsman Law of 2021. As of 
May 2023, it was employing 74 staff, fewer than the target of 106 included in the Chapter 23 
action  plan.  Staff  turnover  in  the  Office  continues  to  hamper  its  efficiency.  Appropriate 
premises are also still lacking. 

In order for Serbia to fully benefit from its observer status in the European Union Agency for 
Fundamental Rights, it needs - as already required in the Law on the planning system - to 
develop  a  comprehensive  monitoring  and  data  collection  system  to  assess  the  level  of 
implementation of human rights legislation, policies, and strategies. 

In  the  field  of  prevention  of  torture  and  ill-treatment,  the  Ombudsman,  in  the  role  of 
National  Preventive  Mechanism  against  Torture,  continued  with  visits  to  relevant  sites. 
Training sessions on the methodology for investigating cases of torture also continued. The 
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment (CPT) paid an ad hoc visit to Serbia in March 2023. The focus was on the treatment 
of  individuals  deprived  of  their  liberty  by  the  police,  as  the  follow-up  of  recommendations 
contained in reports on CPT visits in 2017 and 2021 was not sufficient. A large number of CPT 
recommendations from previous reports have yet to be addressed. This concerns in particular 
the  recommendation  to  eradicate  police  ill-treatment  and  effectively  investigate  such  cases. 
The  monitoring  of  police  interviewing  standards  and  procedures  is  needed  to  facilitate  the 

39 

 
 
investigation of any allegations of ill-treatment. This would require an accurate recording of 
police interviews to be conducted with electronic audio and video recording equipment. The 
treatment  of  individuals  held  in  remand  detention  is  also  of  particular  concern.  Action  is 
required to guarantee the right of access to a lawyer without undue delay after deprivation of 
liberty. The execution of the January 2021 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights 
in  the  case  Zličić  v  Serbia  -  concerning  inhuman  and  degrading  treatment  while  in  police 
custody  and  failure  to  conduct  an  effective  investigation  -  is  pending  and  under  enhanced 
supervision  of  Committee  of  Ministers  along  with  other  similar  cases.  Serbia  has  still  not 
revised the criminal code amendments of 2019 which introduced life imprisonment without the 
possibility of conditional release for a number of crimes; the criminal code therefore remains 
contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights and to the case law of the European 
Court of Human Rights. The CPT had raised concern about this issue in its report of March 
2022. Following the Ombudsman’s findings on the lawfulness of the work of the Ministry of 
the  Interior  during  the  July  2020  citizens’  protests  related  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  all 
criminal  charges  against  police  officers  addressed  thus  far  have  been  dismissed  and  a 
disciplinary measure  (fine) was imposed on one  officer  (see also  the section  on freedom of 
assembly). 

Concerning the prison system, the renovation programme continued in several prisons. The 
Training Centre for Prison Staff focuses on prison guards rather than on all prison staff and is 
reliant on external entities for sporadic training for other prison professions. Offender treatment 
programmes were rolled out in all prisons and covered a variety of issues, e.g. drug and alcohol 
addictions, aggression, and general cognitive-behavioural skills. Resocialisation programmes 
have been introduced in  the pre-release phase of a custodial sentence but  require additional 
support. Staff numbers and competencies need to increase to ensure that the Prison Service can 
systematically offer such programmes in all relevant institutions. In January 2022, the prison 
population stood at 10 557 for a total capacity of 11 957 places, i.e. an occupancy rate of 94.7%, 
although instances of local overcrowding remain. Overcrowding and overall conditions at the 
Belgrade Special Prison Hospital are still of concern. In December 2022, Serbia adopted the 
2022-2027  strategy  for  the  further  development  of  the  system  of  enforcement  of  criminal 
penalties  and  the  accompanying  action  plan.  The  majority  of  executed  alternative  penalties 
comprise house arrests, and the use of community penalties remains low. The probation, social 
and employment services have insufficient resources to satisfactorily address post-penal care. 

The Law on personal data protection is mostly aligned with the EU Regulation on general 
data protection (GDPR) and the Directive on law enforcement. However, the law is insufficient 
with  regards  to  penalties  and  difficult  to  implement  in  practice.  This  is  because  it  does  not 
further  elaborate  on  the  principles  provided  by  the  GDPR,  and  the  provisions  regulating 
processing of personal data by law enforcement authorities are scattered across a number of 
articles  in  the  law.  In  addition,  the  process  of  harmonising  the  provisions  of  all  other  laws 
relating to the processing of personal data with the personal data protection law, which was 
due by the end of 2020, is  significantly delayed. The number of designated data protection 
officers within public entities remained low, with 616 new officers in 2022 (amounting to a 
total  of  4 378  out  of  over  12 000).  Court  enforcement  of  this  law,  following  complaints  on 
personal data violations including data leaks to the media, remains limited. The Office of the 
Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection worked with 
105  staff  members  in  2022,  against  the  target  of  129  in  the  Chapter  23  action  plan.  The 
recruitment of additional staff in the Office of the Commissioner is significantly delayed. In 
December  2022,  a  first  regional  office  of  the  Commissioner  was  opened  in  Novi  Sad. 
Following  the  Commissioner’s  previous  negative  opinions  on  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior’s 
impact assessment on street video-surveillance, the Ministry stated that it had put processing 

40 

 
 
of  biometric  personal  data  on  hold  until  a  legal  basis  was  developed.  The  Ministry  started 
drafting a new law on internal  affairs to  regulate these matters, and several  other topics.  In 
December 2022, the draft law was withdrawn from the adoption procedure for the second time 
and consultations with civil society were relaunched and are ongoing. The proportionality and 
necessity  of  the  proposed  system  of  video  surveillance  in  public  spaces  and  processing  of 
personal data by facial recognition software still needs to be assessed. The Law on personal 
data protection will need to be revised before a special regime for processing personal data by 
the police, together with amendments to the criminal procedure code, can be adopted. 

Freedom of  thought,  conscience and religion is constitutionally  guaranteed and  generally 
respected.  However,  the  lack  of  transparency  and  consistency  in  the  process  for  registering 
religious  communities  remains  one  of  the  main  obstacles  preventing  some  religious  groups 
from  exercising  their  rights.  The  Law  on  churches  and  religious  communities  needs  to  be 
aligned  with  the  recommendations  of  the  Council  of  Europe’s  Advisory  Committee  for  the 
Framework Convention on National Minorities. 

Regarding the fight against antisemitism, the Jewish community is small (around 3000 Jews) 
but vibrant. Serbia is a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance since 
2011. Serbia made concrete steps to ensure Holocaust education and remembrance but further 
work is needed. Implementation of the Law on the restitution of heirless Jewish property, and 
the return of properties to churches and religious communities, has continued. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Freedom of expression 

Serbia  has  some  level  of  preparation  concerning  freedom  of  expression.  Overall,  limited 
progress was made on the recommendations from last year, which therefore remain valid. The 
police  and  the  prosecution  service  reacted  swiftly  to  several  cases  of  attacks  and  threats, 
working  with  the  standing  working  group  on  the  safety  of  journalists.  However,  cases  of 
threats, intimidation, hate speech and violence against journalists remain a concern, as is the 
increase  in  strategic  lawsuits  against  public  participation  (SLAPP),  notably  launched  by 
members of national and local authorities, that may produce a chilling effect including self-
censorship. There are recurrent statements by high-level officials on the daily and investigative 
work of journalists. The possibility of journalists to report on ongoing criminal proceedings is 
excessively  limited  in  the  legal  framework.  The  overall  environment  for  the  exercise  of 
freedom of expression without hindrance still needs to be further strengthened in practice. 
Serbia  continued  implementing  the  media  strategy  action  plan.  Several  processes  were 
relaunched after the formation of the new government in October 2022, after increasing delays. 
Consultations resumed in November 2022 on amending the Law on public information and 
media.  Following  public  consultations,  consultations  with  media  associations  and  hurried 
consultations with the European Commission amendments were adopted to the laws on public 
information  and  media  and  on  electronic  media  in  October  2023  before  the  dissolution  of 
parliament. Overall, the new laws will strengthen the independence of the regulatory body for 
electronic media (REM). They also codify the role of the Press Council and render the process 
of public co-funding more transparent and accessible. In the context of elections, the ban on 
media coverage of officials who are also candidates taking part in official gatherings organised 
for  the  opening  of  infrastructure  or  other  facilities  was  extended  to  30  days,  which  is  an 
improvement of the current situation. However, the legislative process was not finalised fully 
in line with the EU acquis and European standards. The ownership of media by state-owned 
enterprises was prominent in deliberations. An important step was taken with respect to the 
application of criteria aligned with the EU acquis to the assessment of state aid, while it should 

41 

 
 
be clarified that antitrust and merger control rules apply to the media sector and safeguards to 
protect  media  pluralism  and  editorial 
improved.  The 
implementation of such safeguards will need to be closely monitored in practice.  In August 
2022, REM published a call for the allocation of a fifth media service licence with national 
frequency, which has still not been awarded, without credible justification. 

independence  remain 

to  be 

Political and economic influence on the media remains a source of concern. Serbia needs to 
take urgent action to counter anti-EU narratives propagated by numerous media outlets, and to 
counter foreign information manipulation and interference, most obviously in the context of 
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. 

In  addressing  the  persisting  shortcomings,  Serbia  should  implement  its  media  strategy  and 
action plan without further delay, in a transparent, efficient and inclusive manner, respecting 
the letter and spirit of the objectives of that strategy, and focusing as a matter of priority on 
implementing last year’s recommendations: 

→  strengthening the security and safety of journalists and notably ensuring that: (i) high-level 
officials refrain from labelling or making verbal attacks on journalists; and (ii) any threats 
and  cases  of  physical  and  verbal  violence  are  swiftly  followed  up  and,  as  appropriate, 
publicly condemned, investigated or prosecuted; 

→  strengthening media pluralism, including through implementing measures in line with the 
media strategy relating to REM’s functioning, mandate and independence, and to the public 
broadcasters; 

→  ensuring transparent and equitable co-funding for media content serving the public interest, 

and full transparency in media ownership and advertising. 

Intimidation of journalists 

Cases  of  threats,  intimidation  and  violence  against  journalists  remain  a  source  of  concern, 
especially  at  local  level.  Verbal  attacks  and  smear  campaigns  against  journalists  continued, 
including  verbal  violence  against  female  journalists.  Hate  speech  and  discriminatory 
terminology are often used and tolerated in the media and are rarely followed up by regulatory 
authorities  or  prosecutors.  Recurrent  statements  by  high-level  officials  on  the  daily  and 
investigative work of journalists are preventing the creation of an environment where freedom 
of expression can be exercised without hindrance. Despite these statements having been made 
also in Parliament, the administrative committee in charge of the application of the code of 
conduct  of  the  Parliament  has  not  found  any  violation  so  far.  The  two  main  journalist 
associations in Serbia recorded an increase in physical attacks and threats against property in 
2022, compared with 2021. In June 2023, a group of protesters entered into the private property 
of one cable TV, with no reactions from the authorities, police or judicial follow-up. There was 
also an increase in strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP), notably launched 
by  members  of  national  and  local  authorities.  Cases  were  raised,  for  example,  against  one 
investigative  portal  and  local  media.  Investigative  journalists  also  continued  to  face  either 
frequent refusals by public bodies to disclose information, or no response at all (‘administrative 
silence’). Furthermore, the possibility of journalists to report on ongoing criminal proceedings 
is excessively limited in the legal framework. 

The police and the prosecution service reacted swiftly to several cases of attacks and threats, 
working with the standing working group on the safety of journalists. The other working group 
for the safety and protection of journalists, established by the government in December 2020, 
has not met since June 2022. The majority of media associations had left the group in spring 
2021  while  another  media  association  left  in  December  2022.  In  2022,  the  Office  of  the 

42 

 
 
Republic  Public  Prosecutor  (RPPO)  registered  83  cases  of  criminal  acts  committed  against 
journalists (87 cases in 2021). According to the RPPO’s information regarding those acts that 
qualify for criminal prosecution, by the end of March 2023, the RPPO had proceeded with 75 
of the 83 cases filed in 2022, while 8 cases had been dismissed. In total, 34 cases had been 
finalised  (including  5  convictions),  while  criminal  proceedings  continue  for  the  remaining 
cases (6 cases before the court, 29 in pre-investigation, 5 in investigation (evidential actions), 
and  7  cases  without  identified  perpetrators).  A  conviction  of  a  local  official  and  the  prison 
sentence was confirmed in the re-trial regarding the case of the arson attack on the house of an 
investigative journalist in December  2018,  after  the earlier  decision had  been overturned  in 
2021. Another conviction sentence, among others, was made in the case of an attack against a 
local radio station, despite challenges in the process. A number of other cases, including those 
with death threats, have still not been resolved. Regarding the work of the commission tasked 
with looking into three cases involving the murders of journalists, the Court of Appeals opened 
a re-trial in the case of the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija and completed the hearing in March 
2023, which is now pending the final verdict more than 24 years after his murder. There were 
no developments in the two other murder cases from 1994 and 2001. 

Legislative environment 

Serbia  continued  implementing  the  media  strategy  action  plan.  Several  processes  were 
relaunched after the formation of the new government in October 2022, after increasing delays. 
In light of the wide scope of the planned reforms, appropriate human resources are needed in 
the  newly  formed  Ministry  of  Information  and  Telecommunications.  The  working  group 
established to monitor implementation of the action plan, including media representatives, did 
not meet as regularly as planned and there were delays in the adoption of quarterly monitoring 
reports. The initial action plan implementing the media strategy expired at the end of 2022 and 
a new action plan for the period 2023-2025 has not yet been adopted. Consultations resumed 
in November 2022 on amending the Law on public information and media, which notably deals 
with public co-financing of media through calls for proposals, state ownership of media, self-
regulation and the transparency and functionality of the media registry. In the current system, 
the  print  media  with  the  most  violations  of  the  journalistic  code  of  professional  conduct 
recorded by the Press Council, including those with court convictions, are not precluded from 
– and in effect continued – receiving public co-funding, especially at local level. According to 
the  media  strategy,  this  issue  should  be  addressed  by  laying  down  binding  criteria  for 
complying  with  the  journalistic  code  of  conduct  and  by  requiring  applicants  to  accept  the 
authority of the Press Council. Work started in January 2023 on drafting amendments to the 
Law  on  electronic  media,  which  must  strengthen  the  independence  and  transparency  in  the 
work  of  the  Regulatory  Authority  of  Electronic  Media  (REM),  effectively  safeguard  media 
pluralism, and clarify the procedure for issuing licences for the provision of audiovisual media 
services.  Public  consultations  on  these  two  draft  laws  were  launched  in  September  2023. 
Following  public  consultations,  consultations  with  media  associations  and  hurried 
consultations with the European Commission amendments were adopted to the laws on public 
information  and  media  and  on  electronic  media  in  October  2023  before  the  dissolution  of 
parliament. Overall, the new laws will strengthen the independence of the regulatory body for 
electronic media (REM). and reinforce its mandate for tackling threats to media pluralism.  The 
process  of  nominating  REM  Council  members  was  depoliticised  while  steps  were  taken  to 
enhance the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, minors and national minorities. 
The  authorities  and  the  media  associations  also  reached  agreement  on  the  role  of  the  Press 
Council, while steps were taken to render the process of public co-funding more transparent 
and accessible. They also codify the role of the Press Council and render the process of public 
co-funding  more  transparent  and  accessible.  In  the  context  of  elections,  the  ban  on  media 

43 

 
 
coverage of officials who are also candidates taking part in official gatherings organised for 
the  opening  of  infrastructure  or  other  facilities  was  extended  to  30  days,  which  is  an 
improvement of the current situation. However, the legislative process was not finalised fully 
in line with the EU acquis and European standards. The ownership of media by state-owned 
enterprises was prominent in deliberations.  An important step was taken with respect to the 
application of criteria aligned with the EU acquis to the assessment of state aid, while it should 
be clarified that antitrust and merger control rules apply to the media sector and safeguards to 
improved.  The 
protect  media  pluralism  and  editorial 
implementation of  such safeguards will need to be closely monitored in practice. The third law 
planned by the media strategy, the Law on public broadcasters, has yet to be amended. 

independence  remain 

to  be 

Implementation of legislation / institutions 

REM fails to demonstrate its independence in a consistent manner and to exercise its mandate 
to  the  full  in  safeguarding  media  pluralism  and  professional  standards.  In  July  2022,  REM 
awarded all four national television licences – which have a validity of 8 years – to the same 
previous licensees despite the fact that they had received warnings from REM due to violations 
of their legal obligations during the previous period. Several of these channels continued not 
to respect legal provisions. In August 2022, REM published a call for the allocation of a fifth 
media  service  licence  with  national  frequency,  which  has  still  not  been  awarded,  without 
credible justification. According to the published call, REM was expected to decide within 30 
days of publishing the list of eligible applicants. The REM Council suspended its work between 
9 and 21 December, claiming to protest against public criticism it had received concerning the 
unallocated fifth frequency. REM subsequently resumed its work but unilaterally decided not 
to proceed with the allocation of the fifth frequency while a complaint brought by one applicant 
is pending at the administrative court. 

In May 2023, in the context of tragic mass shootings, REM appeared before the Parliament’s 
Committee for Culture and Information to present its report on media monitoring for the period 
October 2022 to March 2023, reflecting also on the topic of violence in media. Despite the fact 
that several TV channels broadcast content that encourages overt or covert hatred or violence, 
including by providing a platform for convicted war criminals, REM concluded that all of the 
media, except one, overall met the provisions set out in the Law on electronic media. During 
the reporting period, several TV channels with national frequencies, including TV Pink and 
Happy TV, fell short of their own commitments and obligations on programming for children, 
culture and education, based on which they had obtained a (renewed) national frequency.  In 
May 2023, REM awarded a cable and IPTV licence to the publisher of a print tabloid which, 
according to the Press Council, frequently breaches the ethical code of conduct. In June 2023, 
one member of the REM Council resigned due to disagreements with the work and conduct of 
the regulator. 

Serbia needs to take urgent action to counter anti-EU narratives propagated by numerous media 
outlets, and to counter foreign information manipulation and interference, most obviously in 
the  context  of  Russia’s  war  of  aggression  against  Ukraine.  Sputnik  applied  for  the  public 
competition  for  the  issuance  of  licences  for  the  provision  of  radio  media  services  for  the 
Belgrade  area,  which  was  rejected  in  December  2022  by  REM.  Russia  Today’s  (RT) 
international channel in the English language was not banned by REM and is still broadcast in 
Serbia  on  the  cable  TV.  In  addition,  in  November  2022,  RT  launched  a  local  RT  Balkan 
multimedia web platform in the Serbian language, also hosting government representatives in 
its video format. The outlet also promoted military recruitment for the Wagner paramilitary 
group, which is prohibited under Serbian legislation but was not followed up by prosecution 
services. These outlets,  together with  Sputnik Serbia  and other local  media, produce  and/or 

44 

 
 
disseminate content that manipulates the information environment in Serbia. Such content is 
echoed in a large portion of mainstream media in Serbia and in the region more broadly. Local 
civil society, the media and fact-checking community have been making valuable efforts in 
countering disinformation. 

Public service broadcasters 

The improved balance of representation of political parties on the public broadcaster during the 
electoral  campaign  in  spring  2022  did  not  continue  to  the  same  extent  beyond  the  election 
period. Shortcomings in public service media legislation, identified by the media strategy, still 
need to be addressed by amending the law. Public broadcasting services in minority languages 
need to be strengthened, in line with the Chapter 23 interim benchmark, especially as regards 
Radio Television Srbija (RTS) (see also the section on minorities). The partial budget financing 
of Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) was extended to 2023. The position of RTV managing 
director, which had been vacant since the expiry of the previous mandate in July 2021, was 
filled in October 2023 following a lengthy appointment process. Some other RTV management 
positions have also been vacant since July 2021. Some RTS employees held a warning strike 
demanding  better  employment  conditions,  while  the  management  board  president  filed  a 
criminal complaint against the director and another editor, under suspicion of fraud. In June 
2023, a public protest was held outside RTS premises as the dismissal of its management is 
among the requests of the citizens’ protests ‘Serbia against violence’. 

Economic factors 

Political and economic influence on the media remains a source of concern. The media strategy 
proposes measures to address issues of transparency in ownership structures and fairness in 
financing  media  content  and  advertising  from  state  resources,  which  are  overdue  (see  also 
legislative environment). The media sector privatisation process has yet to be completed in line 
with the objective set in the media strategy. The media strategy also highlighted the absence of 
suitable criteria and mechanisms for assessing the existence of media pluralism, and identified 
measures aimed at addressing these issues; they now need to be implemented. A local civil 
society  organisation  monitoring  central  news  shows  on  the  five  television  channels  with 
national coverage during the period June 2022 to May 2023 calculated that the ruling coalition 
received 95% of airtime and the opposition 5%; this ratio was similar for the public broadcaster 
RTS 1 (94% v 6%).  

Professional organisations and working conditions 

The lack of job security for  journalists and the editorial environment encourage  tabloidism. 
Further  efforts  are  needed  to  improve  journalistic  standards,  media  literacy  and  overall 
resilience.  The  increasing  trend  of  SLAPP  lawsuits  is  of  concern  as  it  puts  pressure  on  the 
media’s financial and human resources capacity. 

(See also Chapter 10 – Digital transition and media). 

Freedom of artistic expression 

Freedom of artistic expression is broadly guaranteed. Statements by MPs of the ruling coalition 
were made that productions involving government critics should not receive public funding. 

While legislation on freedom of assembly and association is generally in line with European 
standards, Serbia has yet to align further with the joint Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR 
Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly. Freedom of assembly is a fundamental EU right, 
which needs to be both protected and exercised peacefully and in full respect of the rule of law 
and public order. This right also apply to civil servants. Following the Ombudsman’s findings 

45 

 
 
on the lawfulness of the work of the Ministry of the Interior during the July  2020 citizens’ 
protests  related  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  all  criminal  charges  against  police  officers 
addressed thus far have been dismissed and a disciplinary measure (fine) was imposed on one 
officer (see also prevention of torture and ill-treatment). As regards the environmental protest 
in  Šabac  in  2021,  in  November  2022  the  Ombudsman  issued  a  recommendation  to  initiate 
disciplinary proceedings against police officers who did not protect citizens from a group of 
hooligans  who  attacked  them.  The  Ministry  of  the  Interior  informed  that  disciplinary 
proceedings against police officers could not be taken due to the statute of limitations, namely 
the  fact  that  the  initiation  of  disciplinary  proceedings  for  minor  violations  of  official  duty 
expires  6 months  from  the  date  of  execution  or,  for  serious  violations,  after  1 year.  The 
Ombudsman also issued a recommendation to wear uniforms with visible police identification; 
while this is required by the law on the police, such identification is not always visible when 
police officers wear protective gears during demonstrations. The EuroPride march in Belgrade 
in September 2022 was protected by a high number of law enforcement officers. Nevertheless, 
some  instances  of  violence  against  participants  were  reported.  In  cases  addressed  so  far, 
prosecutors found no criminal acts of violence against the participants.  A Pride march took 
place in Belgrade in September 2023 without incidents. In February 2023, a gathering of neo-
Nazi groups that celebrated Milan Nedić, the Nazi collaborator in WWII, was protected by the 
police. A number of peaceful mass protests by citizens - Serbia against violence – have taken 
place  since  May  with  support  from  several  opposition  parties.  Freedom  of  assembly  was 
guaranteed and protests took place mostly unhindered. However, the protests were sometimes 
accompanied by verbal attacks on participants by politicians and parts of the media, which also 
consistently downplayed the size of protests. 

Issues of labour and trade union rights are further covered in Chapter 19 – Social policy and 
employment. 

Regarding property rights, the Agency for Restitution continued with restitutions in kind and 
first  instance  decisions  on  the  return  of  confiscated  properties.  Based  on  the  coefficient  for 
financial restitution when restitution in kind is not possible, the government issued bonds in 
January 2023 worth about EUR 40.14 million with maturities of 5, 10 and to be 12 years. It 
also  provided  claimants  with  an  initial  cash  advance  as  a  form  of  compensation.  This  is 
expected to be done annually until the process is completed.  

In April 2023, the government established the Council for monitoring implementation of the 
strategy and action plan on non-discrimination, which is chaired by the Minister for Human 
and  Minority  Rights  and  Social  Dialogue  and  composed  of  representatives  of  the  relevant 
institutions  and  CSOs.  Serbia  has  yet  to  adopt  a  national  housing  strategy  addressing  non-
discrimination in terms of housing policies and taking into account the 2016 report of the UN 
Special  Rapporteur  on  adequate  housing.  The  2022  report  of  the  Commissioner  for  the 
Protection of Equality indicates an increase in the number of citizen complaints (2021: 1 372; 
2022: 1 879), and in the number of recommendations issued by the Commissioner to public 
bodies (2021: 312; 2022: 412). The percentage of Commissioner recommendations that were 
implemented remained high (2021: 82%; 2022: 88%). The Parliament needs to timely react to 
the  requests  of  the  Commissioner  so  that  her  Office  can  be  provided  with  adequate  human 
resources, in line with the staff systematisation decision.  Further work is still required to fully 
align  the  Law  on  the  prohibition  of  discrimination  with  the  EU  acquis,  and  in  particular 
Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and 
occupation, as well as with European standards. The criminal code relating to prohibition and 
punishment of criminal racial acts has yet to be aligned with the EU acquis. Hate speech, threats 
and violence continued to target human rights defenders, the Roma community, and lesbian, 

46 

 
 
gay,  bisexual,  transgender,  intersex  and  queer  (LGBTIQ)  persons.  The  Commissioner  for 
Equality reported cases of attacks and threats against migrants organised by extremist and far-
right groups, as well as attacks based on hatred and ethnic identity. 

Following  the  previous  adoption  of  a  strategy  and  action  plan  on  gender  equality,  the 
Coordination Body for gender  equality  was  re-established in  October 2022 and includes  an 
expert group with representatives of both public authorities and CSOs. The Council for Gender 
Equality  was  established  in  April  2023.  Several  provisions  of  the  Law  on  gender  equality, 
including  those  on  reporting  and  data  collection  obligations  and  on  funding  of  specialised 
services, will enter into force only in 2024. No progress has yet been demonstrated in enforcing 
the Law on gender equality as regards the obligations of education institutions to include the 
gender  perspective  and  remove  gender  stereotypes  from  curricula,  textbooks  and  learning 
materials. Moreover, eighth grade biology textbooks were modified in October 2022 following 
the conclusion of the National Educational Council that ‘no interpretation of a programme can 
contain  elements  of  ideology’.  The  Ministry  of  Education  claimed  that,  despite  the 
modifications,  the  revised  textbooks  still  contain  the  concept  of  gender  equality  and  the 
prohibition  of  discrimination.  An  increased  number  of  budget  users  introduced  gender-
responsive budgeting in  their 2023 budgets.  More efforts are needed to  collect  official  sex-
disaggregated  data  and  statistics,  which  are  lacking  in  several  domains.  In  2022,  the 
Commissioner for the Protection of Equality reacted with statements and warnings on several 
cases  of  discriminatory  attitudes  and  verbal  violence  against  women,  including  by  public 
figures.  Roma  women,  older  women,  poor  women,  women  with  disabilities,  refugee  and 
internally  displaced  women,  continue  to  experience  multiple  and  intersecting  forms  of 
discrimination.  These  women  continue  to  have  limited  access  to  health,  education, 
employment, and social assistance, and they lack protection from gender-based violence. The 
role  of  the  media  in  the  production  and  reproduction  of  gender-based  violence  and  gender 
stereotypes is still a source of concern, including when representing women victims of femicide 
or women in governing or decision-making roles. Discriminatory attitudes and verbal violence 
against women were expressed by Members of Parliament and other public figures. 

The action plan and related funding for the April 2021 strategy against violence against women 
and  domestic  violence  are  now  significantly  delayed.  A  new,  third,  action  plan  for  the 
implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security has 
yet to be adopted following the expiry of the previous one in 2020. Implementation of the law 
against  domestic  violence  needs  to  be  improved.  An  integrated  system  must  be  set  up  for 
collecting  and  monitoring  cases  of  violence  disaggregated  by  type  of  violence  and  by 
relationship between perpetrator and victim. Serbia still lacks reliable official statistics but it is 
estimated that 27 femicides occurred in Serbia in 2022 and 20 in the first half of 2023. In its 
2019  baseline  report  on  Serbia,  the  Group  of  Experts  on  Action  against  Violence  against 
Women  and  Domestic  Violence  (GREVIO)  made  recommendations  that  have  yet  to  be 
addressed. One such recommendation is to amend the definition of rape in the criminal code to 
comply with the Istanbul Convention ratified by Serbia. A more comprehensive response is 
needed  to  all  instances  of  violence  against  women  covered  by  the  Istanbul  Convention, 
including rape, stalking, sexual harassment and forced marriage. The very few support services 
for these cases of violence are predominantly run by CSOs and operate on a limited budget. 
The  transparency  and  fairness  of  public  funding  in  this  area  needs  to  be  demonstrated;  an 
evaluation of the outcome of completed projects is also needed (see also civil society). Police 
protocols do not mandate cooperation with specialist support services or the routine referral of 
victims, resulting in the underuse of existing CSO expertise. The law against domestic violence 
does not assign women’s CSOs a standard role in drawing up individual protection plans, as 
recommended  by  GREVIO,  but  leaves  their  participation  to  the  discretion  of  the  relevant 

47 

 
 
prosecutor’s office. The legal provision offering victims the possibility to participates in the 
creation  of  individual  protection  plans  needs  to  be  enforced.  Even  though  there  are 
11 functioning  safe  houses  in  Serbia  for  victims  of  gender-based  violence,  they  are 
understaffed  and  lack  sustainable  and  adequate  funding  and  capacity,  in  terms  of  housing 
capacity, accessibility, and geographical spread. Attention needs to be paid to ensuring equal 
access to safe houses for all women, including refugee and migrant women, transgender women 
and  women  from  other  marginalised  groups.  Appropriate  funding  is  needed  to  ensure 
implementation  of  the  national  programme  for  safeguarding  and  improving  sexual  and 
reproductive health, and access to quality services in this area. 

On the rights of the child, the Council on the Rights of the Child, the coordination body in 
charge  of  monitoring  the  strategy  for  the  protection  of  children  from  violence,  was  re-
established in March 2023; it has yet to be supported by a technical body and a cross-sectoral 
group  to  enable  the  effective  coordination  and  monitoring  of  this  strategy.  No  annual 
implementation  report  has  been  published  since  the  adoption  of  the  strategy  in  2020.  No 
national action plan for the rights of the child is in place since the expiry of the previous one in 
2015. Further work is needed to implement the 2017 recommendations of the UN Committee 
on the Rights of the Child. Serbia has yet to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the 
Child’s third optional protocol on a communication procedure, which it signed in 2012. Serbia 
needs  to  address  the  recommendations  of  the  Lanzarote  Committee  on  the  effective 
implementation  of the  Council of Europe Convention on the Protection  of Children against 
Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention), which it ratified in 2012. 
Serbia also needs to amend its family law to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment of children 
in the family and to ban child marriage. Upgraded sectoral protocols are needed following the 
previous adoption of a general protocol for the protection of children from abuse and neglect. 
The Law against domestic violence needs to be amended to ensure that every child who is a 
witness  or  victim  of  domestic/partner  violence  is  always  included  in  the  court’s  individual 
protection  plan.  A  new  Law  on  juvenile  offenders  and  protection  of  minors  in  criminal 
proceedings  has  yet  to  be  adopted  to  align  with  the  EU  acquis  and  international  standards. 
Child offenders with mental health problems do not have sufficient access to mental health and 
psychosocial  support  services.  The  principles  of  the  best  interests  of  the  child  and  child 
participation are yet to be properly operationalised in all court and administrative proceedings. 
Statistical data on vulnerable groups, including Roma children and children with disabilities, 
is  still  not  disaggregated.  Reliable  and  comparable  data  disaggregated  by  age  and  sex  is 
essential  for  addressing  violence  against  children.  Although  a  relatively  small  number  of 
children are placed in institutional care (under 100 children per 100 000 children), violations 
of child rights in large-scale institutions remain a concern. Children with disabilities, who are 
vulnerable to multiple forms of exclusion and abuse, constitute the largest group of children in 
institutions as they are over-represented (70%) among children living in residential large-scale 
institutions. Despite a moratorium being in place to prevent institutionalisation of children aged 
0-3, this continues to occur, which constitutes a serious cause for concern. 

On the rights of persons with disabilities, Serbia has yet to adopt implementing legislation 
for the December 2021 Law on temporary social care residents. There is still no legal basis for 
ensuring  that  placement  decisions  in  care  homes  are  subject  to  regular  court  reviews. 
Deprivation of legal capacity procedures need to be changed to strengthen the position of the 
individuals concerned, as noted in the 2022 CPT report. Amendments to the Family Law, aimed 
at abolishing the existing system of complete deprivation of legal capacity, as planned by Q2 
2021 in the Chapter 23 action plan, have yet to be adopted. An implementation report for 2022 
on the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities has yet to be published. The action 
plan  and  related  funding  for  the  January  2022  strategy  on  deinstitutionalisation  are  now 

48 

 
 
significantly delayed and, as a consequence, community-based services have yet to be further 
developed.  Deinstitutionalisation  needs  to  be  prioritised  by  the  authorities.  Women  with 
disabilities  in  residential  institutions  continue  to  face  gender-specific  forms  of  violence. 
Funding  for  developing  community-based  services,  and  for  supporting  licensed  service 
providers and social services, remains insufficient. 

As regards the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) 
persons, a Pride march took place in Belgrade in September 2023 without incidents. There 
were no developments on the draft law on same-sex partnerships initiated by the Ministry of 
Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, nor on the Ombudsman’s recommendation 
to  regulate  legal  gender  recognition,  as  already  planned  in  the  previous  anti-discrimination 
strategy.  The  Ministry  for  Human  and  Minority  Rights  and  Social  Dialogue  established 
cooperation  with  a  CSO  that  organised  training  sessions  for  employees  of  the  Ministry  to 
strengthen their capacities on issues faced by intersex persons. Difficulties remain, especially 
in  smaller municipalities, in  implementing amendments to  the Law on birth registry, which 
enable data on gender changes to be entered into the registry. The implementation of hate crime 
legislation, including on grounds of sexual orientation, remains inadequate. The premises of 
the Pride Info Centre in Belgrade were subject to multiple attacks during the reporting period. 
Centralised official data on hate crimes, broken down by bias motivation, is still lacking. Due 
to  a  lack  of  trust  in  institutions  and  fear  of  secondary  victimisation,  cases  of  violence  and 
discrimination  towards  LGBTIQ  persons  are  often  unreported.  Transgender  persons  are 
particularly vulnerable to violence, abuse and discrimination. Intersex persons remain invisible 
both socially and legally. The lack of adequate mental health services for LGBTIQ persons 
became particularly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic and is still a concern. 

Concerning procedural rights, the legal framework remains only partially aligned with the 
EU acquis, notably as regards procedural rights of suspects and accused persons in criminal 
proceedings  and  the  rights  of  victims  and  their  family  members.  In  this  context,  legislative 
changes are planned by the strategy and action plan on the rights of victims and witnesses of 
crime, and on the rights of suspects, but the implementation of the strategy has proceeded at a 
slow pace since its adoption in 2020, as amendments to the Criminal Procedural Code have not 
yet been adopted. The victim focal points at public prosecution offices and the victim support 
services at high courts still need to be established by the State. Victim support is provided to a 
limited number of victims by local CSOs not funded by the authorities; these usually include 
specifically  vulnerable  victims  of  crime,  such  as  victims  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  or 
gender-based violence, and children. No effective referral mechanisms exist so far between the 
institutions. During the criminal procedure, victims are guaranteed the right to access justice 
and to testify. Victims who have been granted the status of specifically vulnerable victim have 
the possibility to testify in special, secluded premises in court houses during trial, in order to 
avoid physical contact with the perpetrator. In practice, and as only five of the 25 high courts 
have  been  equipped  with  special  rooms  where  testimonies  can  be  provided  via  audio/video 
link, for cases where the law entitles them to this protection, victims are not always protected 
from  having  to  face  the  accused  during  proceedings.  The  number  of  decisions  rendered  on 
compensation claims within the criminal justice procedure is growing at a very slow pace. No 
state-run compensation fund is available for victims of crime. 

Regarding access to justice, there is a need to  further raise awareness of the availability of 
legal aid among the most vulnerable and marginalised individuals. This also needs to take into 
consideration the recommendations to Serbia from the Committee of the Convention on the 
Elimination  of  All  Forms  of  Discrimination  against  Women  (CEDAW)  regarding  women’s 
access  to  justice  in  all  cases  of  gender-based  discrimination.  CSOs  continued  to  provide 

49 

 
 
information and support to beneficiaries. In the third year of implementation of the Law on free 
legal aid, local services in municipalities approved 95% of free legal aid requests. The Ministry 
of Justice shared a template on necessary documentation with all local self-government units. 
There  is  a  need  to  improve  the  existing  capacity  and  cooperation  between  different  service 
providers,  including  through  training  courses  on  application  of  good  governance  and  anti-
discrimination standards in decision-making. An analysis of the necessary amendments to the 
Law on free legal aid was finalised, but the revision of procedural laws, the law on court fees 
and the tariff regulation has been delayed. 

The legal framework for respect for and protection of minorities and cultural rights is broadly 
in place and generally upheld, in line with the Council of Europe Framework Convention on 
National Minorities. Implementation of Serbia’s ‘Action plan for the realisation of the rights 
of national minorities’ and relevant legislation needs to lead to a tangible improvement in the 
effective exercise of the rights of individuals belonging to national minorities throughout the 
country. Serbia needs to address the recommendations contained in the fourth opinion of the 
Council  of  Europe’s  Advisory  Committee  for  the  Framework  Convention.  Among  other 
actions, it still needs to set up a sustainable data collection framework and to revitalise inter-
ethnic  relations,  taking  into  account  the  need  to  involve  the  majority  in  Serbian  society  in 
integrating  and  including  national  minorities.  All  new  national  minority  councils  were 
constituted following the elections held in November 2022, except the Albanian one which was 
constituted  after  repeat  elections  held  in  May  2023.  Following  these  elections,  the  working 
group  in  charge  of  drafting  the  new  action  plan  in  this  area,  including  representatives  of 
National  Minority  Councils,  was  reappointed.  A  new  population  census  was  conducted  in 
October  2022,  preceded  by  translation  of  census  questionnaires  into  languages  of  national 
minorities  and  awareness-raising  campaigns.  The  proper  functioning  and  independence  of 
national minority councils remain important. The Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and 
Social Dialogue maintained good cooperation with national minority councils. The amounts 
allocated under the Fund for the National Minorities for 2023 remained the same as in 2022. 
Members  of  the  Albanian  national  minority  raised  concerns  about  the  way  police  were 
checking residence status in South Serbia, resulting in the ‘passivisation’ of certain addresses; 
there is a need for the authorities to better explain to the public how these checks are being 
conducted and whether South Serbia is specifically targeted. Following a dialogue between the 
authorities  and  representatives  of  Albanians  living  in  South  Serbia  in  the  framework  of  the 
‘Seven Points Action Plan’, an action plan for improvements in the representation of Albanians 
in institutions was prepared but has yet to be adopted. Local councils for inter-ethnic relations 
exist in all 73 municipalities where such an obligation is stipulated by the law; however, the 
full implementation of their mandate has yet to materialise as council members have not always 
been nominated or councils often do not meet. Despite the legal obligation to take into account 
the ethnic composition of the population, national minorities remain under-represented in the 
public  administration.  The  new  public  employees  register,  with  the  voluntary  option  of 
declaring national affiliation for statistical purposes, is not yet operational. 

Progress on printing certain textbooks in minority languages needs to be further intensified, in 
line with the Chapter 23 interim benchmark. The process of preparing and printing textbooks 
continued  and  produced  positive  results.  The  publication  of  textbooks  in  some  minority 
languages for use in secondary schools remains limited. The monitoring of the implementation 
of curricula for teaching Serbian as a non-mother tongue in pilot schools is ongoing. Access to 
religious  worship  in  minority  languages  has  yet  to  be  enabled  throughout  Serbia.  Public 
broadcasting  services  in  minority  languages  are  still  not  sufficient,  except  for  some  local 
broadcasters  in  Vojvodina.  Following  the  process  of  media  privatisation,  such  broadcasting 
needs  to  be  made  sustainable,  taking  into  account  the  April  2021  recommendations  of  the 

50 

 
 
Committee  of  Ministers  of  the  Council  of  Europe  to  ‘closely  monitor  the  impact  of  the 
privatisation  process  on  minority  media’  and  to  ‘take  the  necessary  measures  to  preserve 
sustainable editorial and financial independence of all minority media, including those linked 
to national councils of national minorities’ (see also public service broadcasters). There have 
been instances of hate speech against national minorities in the media. An appeal procedure is 
still ongoing before the Constitutional Court following the confirmation, in December 2021, 
by  the  appellate  court  of  the  decision  of  the  Higher  Court  to  reject  a  lawsuit  filed  by  the 
president of the Albanian National Minority Council against a minister for the alleged use of 
hate speech. In March 2023, the Commissioner for Equality reacted publicly to the statement 
of one mayor targeting the Roma minority, criticising it as discriminatory. 

Regarding Roma inclusion, robust monitoring and data collection is needed to implement the 
new strategy and action plan and to support Serbia in delivering on the commitments made in 
the  Poznan  Declaration  -  signed  at  the  Western  Balkans  Leaders’  Summit  in  July  2019  - 
including its quantitative targets, as updated at the October 2022 Roma Ministerial meeting. In 
June 2023, Serbia established a coordination body chaired by the Prime Minister. An expert 
group to support the monitoring of the strategy and action plan has yet to be established. Inter-
ministerial coordination, coordination between the national and local authorities, and Roma-
sensitive  budgeting  all  still  need  to  be  strengthened.  Job  descriptions  for  local  Roma 
coordinators, pedagogical assistants, and health mediators have yet to be unified and become 
an integral part of local self-government services, with additional financial resources. 

Most Roma people in Serbia have civil documentation. The number of individuals at risk of 
statelessness  in  Serbia  fell  significantly  to  2 000.  The  procedure  for  registering  all  births, 
regardless of the parents’ status, needs to be implemented effectively and monitored. In the 
area of education, Roma students in elementary and secondary education continued to receive 
scholarships through affirmative measures. School dropout rates remain high, especially for 
Roma girls. Only 7% of Roma children up to 5 years of age attend preschool, compared with 
61% in the general population. Only 28% of children living in Roma settlements enrol to upper 
secondary education, and the rate of completion of secondary school is 61% (overall population 
98%),  while  that  rate  is  the  lowest  for  girls  from  Roma  settlements  (49%).  Segregation  in 
education needs to be addressed. Roma students are still over-represented in special schools 
and classes. Transition from education to the labour market is especially challenging for young 
Roma people. The national programme for transforming undeclared work among Roma has yet 
to  be adopted to  support the Poznan Declaration’s objective on employment.  Following the 
adoption of the Law on social entrepreneurship, which is expected to encourage formal work 
of the Roma, registration of the status of social enterprises is possible since November 2022. 
As of June 2023, 11 social enterprises had registered. A total of 44 young college-educated 
Roma  have  completed  training  courses  at  the  National  Academy  for  Public  Administration 
since the start of this programme in 2021. Another 26 Roma men and women have so far been 
employed  in  local  self-governments  following  a  public  call  launched  in  2022.  Overall,  the 
Roma are still under-represented in the public administration. 

Almost 20% of the population of the Roma settlements that were mapped have no or irregular 
access to safe drinking water, while over 55% have no or irregular access to sewer networks, 
and 14.5% have no or irregular access to electricity. The legalisation of Roma settlements needs 
to be tackled as a matter of priority as required by the Poznan Declaration, notably by updating 
and sharing the database on settlements and assigning staff to manage it effectively. Forced 
evictions are still taking place, which is not in line with the Law on housing or international 
standards. This Law needs to be implemented effectively, especially the provisions prescribing 
housing  support  and  relocation  of  informal  settlements.  Roma  returnees  under  readmission 

51 

 
 
agreements are in a particularly difficult situation in terms of social and economic inclusion. 
Limiting the number of children eligible for parental and child allowance, and conditioning the 
parental allowance on certain criteria, such as school attendance and vaccination of children, 
are disproportionately affecting Roma children and families. Children of Roma origin are over-
to 
represented  among  child  offenders, 
educational/correctional  institutions.  Although  child marriage is  not  common  in  the general 
population in Serbia, early and child marriage remains an issue of concern among Roma girls 
living in settlements; 56% of women aged 20-24 in Roma settlements were married before age 
18 and 16% before age 15. Domestic violence also often goes unreported. 

in  particular  among  children 

referred 

There are 194 662  internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Serbia, of  whom 68 500 remain 
vulnerable  and  with  displacement-related  needs.  The  closure  of  the  last  collective  centre  in 
Bujanovac is ongoing. The strategy on IDPs expired in 2020; a new strategy and action plan 
need to be adopted. The Law on permanent and temporary residence needs to be consistently 
applied to allow Roma IDPs living in informal settlements to obtain registered residence and 
access  to  basic  socio-economic  rights.  Roma  IDPs  remain  the  most  marginalised  and 
vulnerable.  Serbia  is  engaged  in  the  regional  dialogue  on  ‘durable  solutions  for  displaced 
persons from Kosovo’ (the ‘Skopje process’). 

2.2.2 Chapter 24: Justice, freedom and security 

The  EU  has  common  rules  for  border  control,  visas,  residence  and  work  permits,  external 
migration and asylum. Schengen cooperation entails the lifting of border controls inside the 
EU.  Member  States  also  cooperate  with  Serbia  in  the  fight  against  organised  crime  and 
terrorism, and on judicial, police and customs matters, all with the support of EU justice and 
home affairs agencies. 

Serbia has some level of preparation to implement the EU acquis on justice, freedom  and 
security. Some progress was made in addressing last year’s recommendations, in particular 
through the adoption of the Schengen action plan in July 2023 and further alignment with the 
EU’s visa policy by reinstating visa requirements for six countries. The Law on internal affairs 
has twice been withdrawn from the legislative process and is now once more under revision. 
The proposed law must address the long-pending issue of police autonomy from the Ministry 
of the Interior during pre-investigation and investigation phases, and the recommendations of 
the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). 

Serbia  contributed  to  the  management  of  the  mixed  migration  flows  towards  the  EU  and 
cooperated with the EU, EU Member States and its neighbours to implement the EU Action 
Plan  on  the  Western  Balkans  presented  by  the  Commission  in  December  2022.  Efforts 
continued to host and accommodate substantial numbers of third-country nationals, with EU 
support.  Serbia  extended  for  one  more  year  until  March  2024  temporary  protection  to 
Ukrainian citizens having fled Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. 

Serbia continued to implement the EU-Serbia readmission agreement and to carry out border 
control and surveillance effectively. Implementation of the new integrated border management 
strategy  for  2022-2027,  with  its  2022-2024  action  plan,  is  delayed.  The  IBM  Coordination 
Body was appointed in June 2023. Access to and provision of information regarding the asylum 
procedure has yet to be improved, in particular at the airports in Nis and Kragujevac. Serbia 
needs to further align with the EU’s visa policy as set out in the Commission’s  sixth report 
under  the  visa  suspension  mechanism  of  October  2023.  The  Government  proposed 
amendments  to  the  Law  on  citizenship  that  provided  the  possibility  to  apply  for  Serbian 
citizenship after only a short period of residence and work. While the EU respects the sovereign 
right  of  Serbia  to  decide  on  its  citizenship  and  naturalisation  policies,  the  Commission  has 

52 

 
 
expressed  its  concerns  to  the  competent  Serbian  authorities  as  regards  the  possible  security 
risks for the EU linked to the fast-track acquisition of visa-free travel rights for nationals of 
countries that would be otherwise visa required. Following the concerns raised by the EU the 
Government has withdrawn the proposal. Serbia needs to adopt a new strategic document and 
accompanying  action  plan  that  cover  all  forms  of  radicalisation  and  violent  extremism 
(irrespective of political, religious or ethno-nationalist so-called justification), in line with EU 
policies. A baseline study on all forms of radicalisation and violent extremism present in Serbia 
was adopted in October 2023. 

In the coming period, Serbia should in particular: 

→  amend the Law on internal affairs to make the police fully autonomous from the Ministry 
of  the  Interior  and  fully  accountable  only  to  the  Prosecutor‘s  Office  during  pre-
investigation and investigation phases; 

→  further  implement  the  EU  Action  Plan  on  the  Western  Balkans,  in  particular  by  swiftly 
concluding the negotiations for a new Status Agreement with Frontex; further aligning with 
the  EU  visa  policy;  taking  measures  to  systematically  register  and  identify  migrants, 
develop  swift  asylum  procedures  and  increase  capacities  for  managing  effective  return 
operations;  

→  adopt a national strategy for the prevention and suppression of trafficking in human beings 
and  the  protection  of  and  support  to  victims,  and  increase  national  coordination  efforts 
against trafficking. 

In 2020, Serbia adopted a revised action plan for Chapter 24. It sets out Serbia’s commitments, 
including in terms of timelines, for meeting the interim benchmarks of the EU common position 
for  this  chapter.  In  general,  indications  of  delays  in  this  report  are  measured  against  the 
deadlines  established  by  Serbia  in  these  revised  action  plans.  The  Ministry  improved  the 
practice of publishing reports on the implementation of the action plan for Chapter 24 with the 
timely  publishing.  The  latest  report  covers  the  period  July-December  2022.  From  February 
2020 to November 2021, no meetings were held between the negotiating group for Chapter 24 
and civil society organisations under the umbrella of the working group for Chapter 24 of the 
National Convention on the European Union. The meetings then restarted.  After November 
2021, only one such meeting was held (July 2022). 

Fight against organised crime 

Serbia has some level of preparation in the fight against organised crime. Limited progress 
was made in addressing last year’s recommendations, in particular on detection and prevention 
of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings.  A  slight  increase  in  financial 
investigations  and  confiscation  of  assets  was  also  noted  in  2022.  The  number  of  new 
investigations  and  indictments  increased;  first  instance  and  final  convictions  (in  particular 
money laundering) decreased. Extended confiscation is not systematically applied. Proactive 
criminal  investigations  and  the  systematic  tracking  of  money  flows,  especially  in  cases  of 
inexplicable wealth, are still not common practice. There has so far been insufficient follow-
up  in  terms  of  investigation  and  prosecution  to  the  recent  attacks  in  the  north  of  Kosovo. 
However,  the  understanding  and  the  investigation  approach  has  improved,  and  police, 
prosecutors and criminal judges are aware of the importance of consistently applying a ‘follow 
the money to find the crime’ approach and using circumstantial evidence.  Serbia needs to align 
its legislation with Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law. 

53 

 
 
Serbia has yet to conduct an analysis of the roles and practices of security services and of the 
National  Security  Council  in  carrying  out  criminal  investigations  related  to  serious  and 
organised crime, although preparatory works have started. 

There  is  well-established  cooperation  with  CEPOL,  Eurojust,  Europol  and  INTERPOL, 
notably on weapons trafficking, drugs trafficking, and the fight against high-profile organised 
crime groups. 

Serbia needs to further increase the technical, financial and human resources capacity of the 
Prosecutor’s  Office  for  Organised  Crime  to  perform  its  duties  in  an  independent  manner 
(including premises to accommodate new staff). 

Serbia  should  adapt  its  approach  from  one  based  on  cases  to  a  strategy  against  criminal 
organisations, and from focusing on cases of low or medium importance to high-profile cases 
aiming at dismantling big and international organisations and seizing assets. 

In the coming period, Serbia should increase its efforts to address these shortcomings and: 

→  increase the efficiency of prosecution of serious and organised crime cases, including cases 
of  money  laundering,  and  the  seizure  and  confiscation  of  criminal  assets  by  systematic 
tracking  of  money  flows,  the  efficient  use  of  special  investigative  measures  and  the 
systemic use of extended confiscation; 

→  amend  the  criminal  code  in  order  to  criminalise  effectively  the  trafficking  of  weapons; 
adopt the new Law on weapons and ammunition; step up the fight against the storage, sale 
and ownership of illegal firearms; 

→  take concrete steps to ensure a clear separation of the mandates and regulations concerning 
the  interception  of  communications  for  criminal  investigation  on  the  one  hand,  and  for 
security purposes on the other. 

Institutional set-up and legal alignment 

In Serbia, there are 439 police officers per 100 000 inhabitants, compared with an EU average 
of  335.3  (Eurostat,  2019-2021).  The  Prosecutor’s  Office  for  Organised  Crime  (POOC)  still 
needs  to  recruit  three  prosecutors  to  fill  all  25  posts,  a  number  which  itself  is  insufficient, 
considering that Serbia has a prosecution-led pre-investigation and investigation system. There 
is a need to develop a ‘systematisation rulebook’ on the basis of a baseline analysis, which 
takes into consideration the extended jurisdiction and powers of this office. Furthermore, this 
office  should  be  given  more  technical  resources  to  carry  out  relevant  special  investigative 
measures,  such  as  covert  interception  of  communication  autonomously  and  independently. 
POOC should be more accountable to the public concerning its activities and should provide 
feedback when deciding not to proceed with investigation, or to dismiss a case. The working 
conditions of general competence prosecutors’ offices should be improved across the country. 

Serbia  has  yet  to  conduct  an  analysis  of  the  roles  and  practices  of  security  services  in 
investigations  into  serious  and  organised  crime  cases.  The  current  criminal  procedure  code 
provides  for  covert  interception  of  communication  to  be  executed  also  by  the  Security 
Information  Agency  (BIA)  and  the  Military  Security  Agency.  This  should  be  subject  to  an 
analysis  to  see  whether  it  is  in  line  with  EU  best  practices.  The  use  of  security  services  in 
criminal  proceedings  should  be  forbidden  or  limited  to  exceptional  cases  regarding  the 
interception of communications. A clear separation needs to be made between the remits and 
regulations for criminal investigations and those for security purposes. 

Concerning  trafficking  of  weapons,  the  same  provision  in  Serbia’s  legal  framework  on 
weapons-related  offences  covers  actions  relating  to  trafficking  of  weapons  and  to  illegal 
54 

 
 
possession and other less relevant actions. Hence, it is not possible to distinguish the number 
of convictions relating to trafficking in weapons from those related to illegal possession and 
other offences. Analysis by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime of the alignment of legislation 
with  the  UN  Firearms  Protocol  confirmed  that  the  criminal  code  needs  to  be  amended  to 
appropriately criminalise the trafficking of weapons. The working group on amending the law 
continued its activities and proposed amendments to Article 348 of the criminal code. 

Intensified  efforts  are  evident  related  to  the  alignment  of  legislation  with  the  EU  acquis. 
However, some additional  activities would need  to  be carried out  in  line  with  the Regional 
Roadmap  to  better  control  of  SALW  in  the  Western  Balkans,  such  as  awareness  raising, 
outreach and education on the dangers and risks related to the misuse, illicit possession, and 
trafficking of firearms/SALW. 

Operationalisation of the Firearms Focal Point (FFP) continued during 2022 and remains to be 
made fully operational.  

The  2017-2022  strategy  for  prevention  and  suppression  of  trafficking  in  human  beings, 
especially women and children, and protection of victims expired, without ever an action plan 
being  adopted.  The  report  on  the  implementation  of  the  expired  strategy  and  its  external 
evaluation  were  finalised.  The  Council  for  Combating  Human  Trafficking  has  not  held  a 
session  for  almost  four  years.  The  Centre  for  protection  of  victims  of  human  trafficking  is 
operating.  The  shelter  part  of  the  centre  obtained  the  license  and  is  fully  functional.  The 
Ombudsman’s reports to the Centre for protection of victims successfully resulted in positive 
identification of 62 victims. However, the Ombudsman noted the lack of a systematic approach 
by  the  competent  state  authorities  combatting  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  the  lack  of 
timely protection and assistance to victims, including a large number of children. 

Legislative alignment on the environmental liability and environmental criminal law acquis 
has not progressed. 

The legal framework is still insufficient to guarantee the operational autonomy of the police 
from the Ministry of the Interior during the pre-investigation and investigation phases, in order 
to be fully accountable only to the prosecutor. The new Law on internal affairs will have to 
address this issue as well as the recommendations of the CPT. 

Media relations, including press releases on ongoing investigations and trials, are still managed 
mainly  by  politicians  and  representatives  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  and  not  by  the 
prosecution service and/or the police. The prosecutors’ offices (especially the Supreme Public 
Prosecutor’s Office) needs to improve its external relations capacity, including relations with 
media. Government officials, including some at the highest level, and Members of Parliament, 
continue to comment publicly on ongoing investigations or court proceedings, as well as on 
the work of individual prosecutors and judges. Such comments are in contradiction with the 
code  of  conduct  of  Members  of  Parliament.  Several  media  outlets  made  public  leaked 
information  on  ongoing  investigations,  including  defendants’  statements  on  alleged  links 
between  politicians  and  organised  criminal  groups,  creating  undue  pressure  on  individual 
members of the judiciary or the prosecution service. 

The 2022-2024 action plan for implementing the anti-money laundering/counter-financing of 
terrorism (AML/CFT) strategy for 2022-2024 was adopted by the government in March 2022. 
The Reports on the implementation of the Action Plan for 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 
have been prepared. The Coordination Body for the Prevention of Money Laundering and the 
Financing  of  Terrorism  (AML/CFT  Coordination  Body)  is  responsible  for  monitoring 
implementation of the AML/CFT strategy and for reporting on implementation of the action 
plan.  It  is  chaired  by  the  Minister  of  Finance,  and  comprises  members  representing 
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23 institutions/authorities/bodies.  The Ministry of the Interior’s Financial Investigation Unit 
(FIU)  carries  out  the  functions  of  Serbia’s  Asset  Recovery  Office  (ARO)  relating  to  the 
exchange  of  police  data  in  line  with  the  EU  acquis.  In  order  to  be  fully  operational  and  to 
cooperate  effectively  with  the  asset  recovery  offices  of  EU  Member  States,  it  will  require 
access to all relevant databases in Serbia. This should be enabled through interoperability of 
the  relevant  databases  at  national  level.  The  ARO  would  need  to  have  a  fully  operational 
centralised  case  management  system  in  place,  compatible  with  the  prosecutors’  case 
management system (SAPO) and investigative software (SIDDA/SIDNA). In 2022, a total of 
9 156 messages were exchanged via SIENA (8 087 in 2021) and a total of 538 messages were 
exchanged via CT SIENA (110 sent and 428 received). 

The Financial Investigation Unit of the Ministry of the Interior received a total of 372 requests 
for financial investigations from the competent Serbian Prosecutor’s Offices in 2022 (188 in 
2021). During the same period, the FIU implemented 498 orders on prohibition of disposal of 
property and on temporary confiscation of movable property (230 in 2021). 

Established within the Service for Special Investigative Methods (SSIM) of the Criminal Police 
Directorate, Serbia’s Fugitive Active Search Team (FAST) is considered to be one of the most 
proactive and reactive units within the European Network of Fugitive Active Search Teams 
(ENFAST).  According  to  feedback  from  the  37  countries  participating  in  ENFAST,  FAST 
Serbia is highly ranked in the entire network both by the number of arrests carried out in Serbia 
(following police cooperation requests disseminated by other FAST units) and arrests executed 
abroad (based on police cooperation requests produced by FAST Serbia). 

Serbia  uses  SOCTA  (Serious  and  Organised  Crime  Threat  Assessment)  to  set  operational 
priorities  for  fighting  organised  crime.  The  Ministry  of  the  Interior  prepared  the  national 
SOCTA for the period 2020-2023. 

In Serbia, the police services still lack a shared case/workflow management system, connecting 
all institutions and giving them access to a common database. A comprehensive analysis of the 
state of play of business processes in the Ministry of the Interior and other institutions in charge 
of  combating  organised  crime  has  been  made.  Work  is  ongoing  to  formulate  a  conceptual 
model of the case management system. 

The  centralised  case  management  system  for  prosecutors  (SAPO)  needs  to  become  fully 
operational.  Since  the  SIDDA/SIDNA  investigative  software  cannot  run  at  full  capacity 
because not all relevant data reaches it, technical and legal preparations progressed for a single 
centralised criminal intelligence system (NCIS). 

Serbia should urgently assess the interoperability of the information systems and databases of 
all  national  law  enforcement  agencies  and  units  before  making  any  further  purchases  and 
improvements. 

Implementation and enforcement capacity 

As regards the track record in organised crime, the data provided by Serbia shows a mixed 
picture: the number of new investigations and indictments increased while first instance and 
final convictions decreased. 

The  number  of  new  investigations  increased  in  2022.  Investigations  were  initiated  against 
176 individuals  compared  with  130  in  2021  (110  in  2020).  The  number  of  indictments 
increased in 2022: 127 individuals were indicted compared with 100 in 2021 (108 in 2020). 
The number of first  instance  convictions  decreased in  2022:  first  instance convictions were 

56 

 
 
 
rendered against 13 individuals compared with 46 in 2021 (127 in 2020). The number of final 
convictions decreased in 2022: 96 individuals were convicted in 2022 compared with 98 in 
2021 (72 in 2020). 

Under  general  jurisdiction,  the  data  that  Serbia  has  provided  show  that,  in  2022,  new 
investigations were initiated against 2 392 individuals (2 206 in 2021) and 8 595 indictments 
have  been  issued  (8 165  in  2021).  First  instance  judgments  were  rendered  against  7 291 
individuals  (5 461  in  2021)  and  final  convictions  were  rendered  against  6 636  individuals 
(5 788 in 2021). 

The  number  of  final  convictions  is  still  low.  Some  trials,  such  as  those  of  Saric,  Belivuk, 
Jovanjica, are ongoing. 

In case of recent attacks in the north of Kosovo there has been either no follow-up at all by 
Serbian prosecution (in case of the attack against KFOR of 29 May in Zveçan/Zvečan) or a 
very limited one (in case of the attack on Kosovo Police of 24 September). Perpetrators have 
not yet been brought to justice.  

A comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system was done, which 
was  submitted  to  the  Ministry  of  Justice,  and  which  will  form  the  basis  of  the  work  of  the 
Working Group for Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code. 

Cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies still needs to be strengthened. 
Measures  in  the  criminal  procedure  code  designed  to  prevent  the  excessive  delay  in 
proceedings need to be applied more systematically. 

The  use  of  plea  agreements  needs  to  be  carefully  balanced  against  the  need  to  avoid  any 
impression of impunity in serious and organised crime cases. 

Currently,  there  are  three  active  task  forces  –  for  combating  organised  crime  and  other 
particularly  serious  crimes,  for  combating  crimes  against  legal  traffic  with  elements  of 
organised crime and for combating human smuggling. They are headed by public prosecutors 
for  organised  crime,  the  members  of  which  include  representatives  of  all  competent  state 
authorities. 

Concerning  international  police  cooperation,  there  is  well-established  cooperation  with 
CEPOL, Eurojust, Europol and INTERPOL, including on high-profile organised crime cases.  

There is a continuously increasing use of the secure communication channel SIENA (both in 
terms of exchanged messages and initiated cases) in the last  three years. Statistics for 2022 
point to the same positive trend: in 2022, a total of 9 156 messages were exchanged via SIENA 
(8 087 in 2021).  

Serbia  actively  participates  in  the  European  Multidisciplinary  Platform  Against  Criminal 
Threats (EMPACT). In 2022, Serbia participated in 67 operational actions and was a co-leader 
of  one  operational  action  (in  the  operational  action  plan  (OAP)  on  cannabis,  cocaine  and 
heroin). In 2023, Serbia is participating in 64 operational actions while being a co-leader of 
two  operational  actions  (in  the  OAPs  on  cocaine,  cannabis  and  heroin  and  in  the  OAP  on 
migrant smuggling). Serbia continued to participate in the EMPACT joint action days. For the 
time  being,  the  Serbian  police  refrained  from  taking  part  in  the  activities  where  Kosovo  is 
mentioned as an operational action leader or co-leader. 

Cooperation between Serbia and the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) is 
well established and based on a working arrangement. A dedicated contact point is in place. 
Serbia has full  access  to the CEPOL Exchange  Programme as well as to CEPOL’s free-of-
charge electronic learning system LEEd. It is recommended that authorities of Serbia, with the 

57 

 
 
assistance  of  CEPOL,  design,  prepare  and  organise  targeted  training  to  address  firearms 
trafficking and environmental crime as priority training topics at national level. 

Financial investigations are not a regular practice in every criminal investigation even if the 
situation  has  improved.  Proactive  criminal  investigations  are  needed,  including  pre-seizure 
planning and a systematic tracking of money flows, aimed not only at asset recovery, but also 
at gathering circumstantial evidence of inexplicable wealth. In 2022, financial investigations 
were initiated in 145 cases (128 in 2021). In 2022, there were temporary confiscations in 5 
cases  and  4 cases  of  final  confiscation  of  assets  (6  temporary  and  no  final  confiscation  in 
2021). In the first half of 2023, four final decisions on temporary and four final decisions on 
permanent confiscation of property resulting from a criminal activity were made. 

Extended confiscation is not systematically applied. However, even though results are yet to 
be seen, understanding and the investigation approach has improved and prosecutors are aware 
of the importance of consistently applying a ‘follow the money to find the crime’ approach. 
This should lead to better results in the future in both track records of final convictions and the 
track record of seizure and confiscation of assets. 

Recommendations from last year’s report are still relevant, concerning analysis of the Law on 
the  seizure  and  confiscation  of  the  proceeds  of  crime  and  the  manner  in  which  financial 
investigations are conducted. The criminal procedure code (CPC) and the 2016 Law on seizure 
and confiscation of proceeds of crime (LSCPC) do not make a clear distinction between direct 
confiscation systems (‘material gain’ under the criminal code/CPC) and extended confiscation 
(‘assets’ under the LSCPC).  A serious limitation to  the application and effectiveness  of the 
LSCPC lies in the fact that it only applies to a limited number of criminal offences and only if 
a certain threshold of material gain is reached. Third-party confiscation is not systematically 
used, in part because the LSCPC only allows it when assets have been transferred firstly for a 
manifestly inadequate price and secondly with the aim of preventing seizure. Furthermore, the 
law does not provide for a rebuttable presumption of fraudulent transaction (thus liable to third-
party extended confiscation) when assets are transferred from the accused to a close family 
member. The provisions of the Law reduce the effectiveness of extended confiscation. 

In practice, to establish that assets are disproportionate to lawful income, prosecutors, financial 
forensic experts and the Financial Investigation Unit frequently rely on open-source databases 
such as the land registry, tax administration, or city heating records. This approach does not 
involve a full forensic analysis of defendants’ property and hardly provides an accurate picture 
of a defendant’s lifestyle. Without an in-depth investigation or a lifestyle analysis, spending by 
the  defendant  may  remain  hidden  (e.g.  travel,  buying  of  movable  goods)  which  would 
otherwise reveal the assets to be more disproportionate to the defendant’s lawful income. The 
proactive role of the judges in following and encouraging this approach is therefore essential. 

In  2022,  35  people  were  convicted  for  illegal  crossing  of  the  state  border  and  migrant 
smuggling (29 in 2021) in the context of organised crime, and 89 under general jurisdiction 
(71 in 2021). Six organised criminal groups with a total of 52 suspects were prosecuted and 
869 migrants identified. 

As in the previous 2 years, no individuals were convicted for trafficking in human beings in 
the context of organised crime in 2022, whereas under general jurisdiction, 9 individuals were 
convicted (15 in 2021). 

There were 14 convictions for mediation in prostitution related to trafficking in human beings 
under organised  crime jurisdiction  and 11 (3 in  2021) under general  jurisdiction.  Given the 
migratory flows through its territory, Serbia needs to build the capacity to detect possible third-
country victims of trafficking in human beings. 
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In 2022, none of the victims of trafficking in human beings was granted a status of an especially 
vulnerable witness. It is essential to provide victims of trafficking in human beings with proper 
protection during trials, including granting them the status of an especially vulnerable witness. 
This is important not only to avoid re-victimisation but also to collect evidence of force, threat 
or exploitation, as required by the criminal code for this offence. 

In  2022,  the  Centre  for  the  Protection  of  Trafficking  Victims  received  138  new  reports  on 
potential trafficking victims; it formally identified 62 victims. Sexual exploitation is still the 
most  dominant  form  (55%),  followed  by  forced  begging  at  12.9%,  multiple  exploitation  at 
11.3%, forced marriages at 9.5% and labour exploitation at 6.4%. The percentage of children 
among the victims is extremely high and amounts to 40%. The majority of victims are Serbian. 
Foreign victims identified in 2022 were all women, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uganda, 
Cameroon, Congo and Tunisia. 

Since  autumn  2021,  CSOs  have  been  publicly  drawing  attention  to  a  case  of  potential 
trafficking  in  human  beings  for  the  purpose  of  labour  exploitation  concerning  Vietnamese 
workers,  referring  to  alleged  ‘deceptive’  and  ‘coercive  recruitment’  practices,  such  as  debt 
bondage, and ‘coercion at destination’, such as confiscation of passports. No progress has been 
reported on this issue.  

In  2022,  five  individuals  (none  in  2021)  were  convicted  for  weapons-related  offences 
(including trafficking in weapons) in the context of organised crime. In 2022, 999 people 
were convicted in courts of general jurisdiction (735 in 2021). 

The  new  draft  law  on  weapons  and  ammunition,  aiming  at  further  alignment  with  the  EU 
acquis, was finalised during the reporting period, and adoption is pending. 

The strategy for small arms and light weapons control (2019-2024) is being implemented, as 
are related international obligations arising from the roadmap for a sustainable solution to the 
illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of small arms and light weapons and ammunition in 
the Western Balkans. The accompanying 2-year action plan (2019-2020) expired and a new 
one was prepared and submitted in July 2023 for public/e-consultation. As a follow-up to the 
mass  shooting  events  that  took  place  at  the  beginning  of  May  2023,  Serbia,  with  technical 
assistance from the South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small 
Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC), implemented another legalisation campaign. By 1 June, 
41 376 firearms, 11 123 explosive devices and more than 2 million rounds of ammunition were 
handed over, which is more than 10 times the number of firearms turned in during four similar 
legalisation campaigns implemented between 2015 and 2020. 

The instruction on the way of handling weapons, ammunition and explosive devices found on 
the crime scene by authorised officers and the Protocol for securing weapons found at the crime 
scene were adopted in May 2022. 

The application “Stolen and missing weapons” is operational and regularly updated.  

The ballistic laboratory is in the process of accreditation, expected in 2023. 

The  2019-2023  strategy  and  action  plan  for  the  fight  against  cybercrime  are  being 
implemented.  Training  was  given  to  strengthen  the  operational  capacity  of  the  Special 
Prosecutor’s Office for Cybercrime. More human resources are needed for investigations into 
credit card, e-commerce and e-banking abuses, and for combating illicit and harmful content 
on the internet. 

In 2022, a total of 5 630 criminal cases were submitted to the Special Prosecutor’s Office for 
High-Tech Crime. During the reporting period, requests for gathering necessary information 

59 

 
 
were  submitted  against  196  individuals,  investigation/evidential  actions  were  undertaken 
against 245 individuals, indictment acts were filed against 108 defendants, and 94 defendants 
were convicted. 

Concerning  the  ‘showing,  procuring  and  possession  of  pornographic  material  and  child 
pornography’, investigations/evidential actions were launched against 47 individuals in 2022. 
Indictments were filed against 40 defendants, and 50 individuals were finally convicted. 

Serbia is a party to the Council of Europe Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and was among 
the  22  countries  that  signed  its  Second  Additional  Protocol  on  enhanced  cooperation  and 
disclosure of electronic evidence on 12 May 2022 and ratified it in February 2023. 

The witness protection unit hired six more police officers. Technical capacities were improved 
by getting three special vehicles with a degree of protection. 

In  2022,  as  regards  the  fight  against  money  laundering,  and  based  on  indictments  by  the 
special prosecutor for organised crime, there were 3 final convictions (7 in 2021).  

Serbia  has  a  well-functioning  central  record  of  beneficial  owners.  In  2022,  the  Business 
Registers  Agency  filed  a  total  of  2 121  (2 726  in  2021;  1 900  in  2020)  requests  to  institute 
misdemeanour proceedings; the competent misdemeanour courts rendered 1 904 (502 in 2021) 
decisions. Serbia reported 1 563 suspicious transactions in 2022 compared with 2 053 in 2021 
(2 276 in 2020). 

Overall,  the  fight  against  money  laundering  and  financing  of  terrorism  should  focus  on  the 
sectors most at risk for money laundering, including the financial sector and designated non-
financial business and professions (e.g. real estate sector, casinos, lawyers, notaries, currency 
exchange offices). Unusual proliferation of assets or money administration inconsistent or not 
proportionate with regular business practices should be subject to preventive checks to detect 
links  with  criminal  activities.  The  APML  (the  Serbian  Financial  Intelligence  Unit)  is  well 
developed. 

Serbia should step up its efforts on fighting environmental crime and create awareness about 
the phenomenon. Enforcement remains a key priority, including establishing a track record in 
alignment with the Environmental Crime Directive. The Ministry of the Interior set up the unit 
for  environmental  crime  suppression  and  environment  protection  within  the  General  Police 
Directorate.  The  unit  is  operational.  In  2022,  a  total  of  244  messages  were  exchanged  via 
SIENA  regarding  environmental  crimes.  During  the  same  period,  there  was  one  order  to 
conduct  an  investigation  (none  in  2021),  16  indictments  (13  in  2021),  four  first  instance 
convictions (11 in 2021) and two final convictions (6 in 2021). 

Additional effort should be put into the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property 
and into protecting cultural heritage, and to bolster cooperation with countries in the region on 
fighting illicit trafficking of cultural goods. 

Cooperation in the field of drugs 

Institutional set-up and legal alignment 

The  national  drug  strategy  expired  at  the  end  of  2021.  It  will  be  used  until  the  new  one  is 
enacted. Work on the new policy document ‘Operational plan for the prevention of drug abuse 
for period 2023-2027’ is ongoing. 

A  working  arrangement  between  the  European  Monitoring  Centre  for  Drugs  and  Drug 
Addiction (EMCDDA) and the Office for Combating Drugs, the Ministry of the Interior and 
the  Ministry  of  Health  has  been  in  force  since  December  2020,  and  cooperation  extremely 
good. Serbia has a well-established national early-warning system to liaise with EMCDDA on 
60 

 
 
new  psychoactive  substances  and  new  trends.  This  also  applies  to  the  associated  risk 
assessment  procedure  and  the  subsequent  control  mechanism  for  adding  new  psychoactive 
substances to national drug control legislation. Serbia regularly updates and publishes reliable 
information  on  new  psychoactive  substances.  In  2022,  the  list  of  psychoactive  controlled 
substances was updated twice and a total of 42 new psychoactive substances were added to the 
list. All tables for the 2022 data reporting cycle were sent to EMCDDA within the deadline. 

Serbia’s  National  Drug  Observatory  is  fully  staffed  and  operational.  The  National  Drug 
Observatory  continued  with  implementation  of  its  three  core  functions:  data  collection; 
monitoring, analysis and interpretation of the data collected; and reporting and dissemination. 
Serbia progressed on data collection, analysis and reporting though there is room for additional 
improvement to be fully aligned with the requirements and methodology of the EMCDDA. 

The  decree  on  the  manner  of  preserving,  sampling,  storing  and  destroying  psychoactive 
substances has been in force since August 2021, providing a necessary legislative framework 
for  psychoactive  controlled  substances,  i.e.  chemical/biological  material  either  seized  or 
confiscated. However, the current  legislation still requires that the  entire  seized quantity  be 
kept as material evidence for court proceedings. A national contact point for the transmission 
and analysis of samples of controlled psychoactive substances has been appointed in July 2023. 

As of 2021, four regional centres are operating as part of the Drugs Combating Service of the 
Department for Coordination, Cooperation and Drugs Abuse Prevention. 

In February 2022, the Drugs Combating Service created  two new job positions totalling 80. 
Not all positions have been filled and it is expected that only 73 will be filled by the end of 
2023. 

Implementation and enforcement capacity 

In  2022,  34  individuals  were  convicted  under  the  organised  crime  jurisdiction  for  the 
production, processing, sale or offering for sale of narcotics, and 766 under general competence 
jurisdiction.  The  Prosecutors’  Office  for  Organised  Crime  filed  indictments  against  44 
individuals. 

In  2022,  a  total  of  7.08  tonnes  of  various  substances  (including  61.22 kg  of  heroin)  were 
confiscated, as well as significant quantities of ecstasy, amphetamine, etc. Some 1.08 tonnes 
of seized psychoactive substances and 2 722 pieces of various narcotic drugs were destroyed 
in 2022, and an additional 2.0 tonnes were destroyed in May 2023. The destruction of seized 
precursors remains an issue that needs to be regulated by new legislation. In 2022, a working 
group prepared the decree on the destruction of precursors, which remains to be adopted. By 
December  2022,  77  tonnes  of  precursors  were  collected,  packed  and  properly  stored,  while 
awaiting destruction. 
In May 2023, in a coordinated action with Europol and the Dutch police, an organised criminal 
group behind multi-tonne shipments of cocaine trafficked from Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador 
to the EU was dismantled. As a result, 13 individuals were arrested in Serbia and 0.7 tons of 
cocaine seized in the Netherlands, 1.2 tonnes in Belgium and 5 tonnes in Aruba. In addition to 
drugs, vehicles, firearms, explosives and about EUR 3 million were seized. 
During the 2022 data collection exercise under the EMCDDA-IPA 7 project, Serbia provided, 
for the first  time, data on all the security indicators: drug law offences,  drug seizures, drug 
purity/potency, drug composition, drug prices, and cannabis cultivation sites. It furthermore 
demonstrated  a  good  capacity  to  collect  and  store  data  on  these  indicators.  Some  of  the 
indicators still need improvement with a view to being aligned with EU standards. 

At the end of 2022, Serbia submitted the updated national drug situation overview. 

61 

 
 
A software programme is in operation that gives daily updates on quantities of seized drugs, 
and provides an e-communication channel on seized drugs with the National Forensic Centre 
on  Seized  Drugs.  ‘Security  bags’  were  introduced  to  prevent  any  tampering  with  collected 
evidence. Since January 2021, seized drugs are stored centrally in five containers and in line 
with clear guidelines based on legal advice. 

The government produced a number of documents as part of the programme for the prevention 
of  the  use  of  psychoactive  substances,  based  on  scientific  evidence  and  in  alignment  with 
international standards. A comprehensive and all-involving prevention programme is still not 
in place. 

Fight against terrorism 

Institutional set-up and legal alignment 

Following  the  expiry  of  the  2017-2021  national  strategy  for  prevention  and  fight  against 
terrorism,  a  new  strategic  document  and  accompanying  action  plan  to  cover  all  forms  of 
radicalisation  and  violent  extremism  (irrespective  of  political,  religious  or  ethno-nationalist 
root causes), in line with EU policies, remain to be adopted. A baseline study on all forms of 
radicalisation and violent extremism present in Serbia was adopted in October 2023. This study 
should be an annex to the new strategy. 

A mechanism for regular monitoring and reporting on implementation of the strategy was never 
fully operational. Implementation reports on the activities envisaged under the expired 2017-
2021 strategy are prepared but not yet adopted. 

In July 2022, the Serbian Regulation on criteria for the identification of critical infrastructure 
and the manner of reporting entered into force, creating the conditions for implementation of 
the  legislative  framework  for  critical  infrastructure.  The  process  of  identifying  critical 
infrastructure is ongoing. 

Following the adoption in June 2021 of the Law on the national database for the prevention 
and fight against terrorism, the work on establishment of the national database is in its final 
stage. Implementation of the Law should be closely monitored to prevent any potential abuse. 

Implementation and enforcement capacity 

Serbia regularly reports on implementation of the bilateral arrangement in the framework of 
the EU-Western Balkans Joint Action Plan on Counter-Terrorism for the Western Balkans. The 
sixth report was submitted in  February 2023 and the seventh report in August 2023. Serbia 
does  not  participate  regularly  in  the  meetings  of  regional  network  of  national  P/CVE 
coordinators, chaired by the EU. Serbia appointed in July 2023 a new National Coordinator for 
the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and the new members of the National Coordination 
Body  for  the  Prevention  and  Fight  against  Terrorism.  The  new  coordinator  and  the  new 
National Coordination Body should step up timely and efficient implementation of the Joint 
Action Plan and participation in planned and agreed projects.  

In 2022, there were no convictions concerning terrorism offences. Under general competence 
jurisdiction, one person was convicted for ‘participation in war or armed conflict in a foreign 
country’. The Prosecutors’ Office for Organised Crime filed an indictment against one person 
for the offence of ‘public inciting to commission of terrorist offences’ (Article 391a Criminal 
Code). 

A regional network of P/CVE specialists was established. It is composed of prison, probation 
and other P/CVE practitioners and decision-makers, coming from local P/CVE coordination 
mechanisms or other institutions or organisations. 

62 

 
 
Activities  aimed  at  preventing  all  forms  of  radicalisation  and  violent  extremism,  including 
those conducted in collaboration with civil society organisations, are still under-represented 
both  in  the  national  strategic  framework  and  on  the  ground.  Strategic  communications 
campaigns to address the problem have not been developed. 

Training started in May 2022 for the members of four local teams in charge of reintegration, 
rehabilitation and resocialisation of foreign terrorist fighters and their families. 

A  mapping  of  the  groups  most  vulnerable  to  radicalisation  has  not  yet  been  conducted. 
Measures undertaken to prevent and address violent extremism in sport do not yet appear to be 
sufficient. No concrete steps have been taken to explore possible connections between right-
wing  extremism  and  football  ultras  and  hooliganism.  Collaboration  with  civil  society 
organisations in  P/CVE activities is  still  extremely rare. The authorities  have not  yet  put  in 
place a consistent response to activities of far-right groups. Support from the Radicalisation 
Awareness Network, notably on strategic communications, could be increasingly requested. 

The  National  Council  for  the  Prevention  of  Negative  Phenomena  in  Sports  has  been 
established. The main task is to coordinate activities to prevent violence and misbehaviour of 
spectators at sports events, doping in sports, match-fixing and other negative phenomena in 
sports, as well as to fulfil international commitments in these areas. 

Additional  efforts  are  needed  to  investigate  and  prosecute  recruitment  networks  of  foreign 
fighters, particularly in the context of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. 

Authorities  should  improve  capacity  to  address  terrorist  and  extremist  content  online, 
increasing  efforts  to  refer  terrorist  content  to  internet  companies  and  enhancing  efforts  to 
empower civil society to develop effective counternarratives online. 

Serbia remains a reliable cooperation partner for Europol and Eurojust. Serbia has an additional 
contact  point  for  Eurojust  –  a  national  correspondent  for  terrorism  matters.  Serbia  updates 
Europol on the foreign fighters’ list and terrorism-related incidents and effectively uses SIENA 
for counter-terrorism. Cooperation with Europol has enabled Serbia to start addressing terrorist 
content online. It actively participated in the Europol ‘Check the Web’ project and uses SIRIUS 
platform for internet-based investigations. Moreover, the posting of a Serbian Liaison Officer 
at  Europol  has  continued  to  prove  very  valuable  for  strengthening  cooperation.  Serbia 
continues to participate in the integrative internal security governance (IISG) mechanism. 

In 2022, Serbia also took part in a number of INTERPOL operations and projects (e.g. Hotspot 
Mediterranean 2022) and actively participated in CEPOL activities. 

Serbia continued to apply the approach to preventing and combating the financing of terrorism, 
based on risk assessment. The overall terrorism financing risk in 2022 was assessed as medium-
to-low, while the risk of weapons of mass destruction proliferation financing was assessed to 
be low-to-medium. 

Judicial cooperation in civil, commercial and criminal matters 

Eurojust and Serbia have continued their good cooperation in criminal matters, notably through 
the  Serbian  Liaison  Prosecutor  (seconded  in  March  2020),  by  taking  part  in  four  joint 
investigative teams (JIT) supported by Eurojust in 2022, along with 12 coordination meetings. 
In  2022,  Serbia  acted  upon  181  cases  (including  100  requests  from  the  previous  reporting 
period). Assistance was requested from Serbia in 41 operational cases, while Serbia requested 
assistance through Eurojust in 40 cases (compared with 20 cases in 2022). Serbia is the second 
most-requested country in the region, and the fifth most-requested third country in Eurojust’s 
network. Serbia appointed a representative to the contact group of the Western Balkan CRIM 

63 

 
 
JUST  project.  There  is  a  need  to  discuss  working  arrangements  for  cooperation  with  the 
European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). According to the 2022 EPPO Annual Report, 
Serbia  was  involved  in  one  EPPO  case  in  2022  as  place  of  criminal  activity  and  financial 
damage (one in 2021).  

Reporting  continued  on  implementation  of  the  2007  Hague  Convention  on  Child  Support 
(HCCH), in force since February 2021. Serbia is considering the possibility of accession to the 
HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention (Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in 
Civil or Commercial Matters). National legislation still needs to be aligned with the EU acquis. 
Following the adoption of constitutional amendments, initial steps were taken for amending 
the  Criminal  and  Criminal  Procedure  Code,  the  Law  on  Juvenile  Criminal  Offenders  and 
Criminal Protection of Juveniles. This would be the basis to proceed with the adoption of the 
new Law on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters with EU Member States. Analysis of 
administrative/training  and  budgetary/financial  requirements  since  2021  still  need  to  be 
followed up. 

In 2022, Serbia worked on 3 413 new requests for mutual assistance in civil matters (1 925 
incoming and 4 453 outgoing) and resolved 3 376 cases in total (including from the previous 
period). Among them, Serbia replied positively to 2 350 and negatively to 1 026 requests. The 
average  duration  of  procedure  for  providing  MLA  was  388  days.  For  requests  in  criminal 
matters, Serbia worked on 4 871 cases in 2022 (3,487 incoming and 1,384 outgoing), resolving 
4824 requests (4 200 positively and 901 negatively). Serbia continued its regular workflow, 
with an average duration of procedure (for providing MLA) of 388 days in civil and 486 days 
in  criminal  matters.  There  were  no  developments  regarding  the  Montenegrin  extradition 
request to ensure that former President of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro serves his 
(final and enforceable) prison sentence. 

Legal and irregular migration 

Serbia  contributed  to  the  management  of  the  mixed  migration  flows  towards  the  EU  and 
cooperated with the EU, EU Member States and its neighbours to implement the EU Action 
Plan on the Western Balkans presented by the Commission in December 2022. Serbia took in 
particular steps to  further align its visa policy with  the EU visa policy. Additional progress 
along all the pillars of the Action Plan is expected. 

Serbia participates in the regional Anti-Smuggling Operational Partnership with the Western 
Balkans (launched in the EU-Western Balkans Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meeting 
on 3 November 2022) to support law enforcement and judicial cooperation against criminal 
smuggling networks, and to increase border management capacities. Serbia also took part in 
the regional meeting of the Network of European Immigration Liaison  Officers which took 
place in Tirana on 28-29 March 2023, to facilitate the exchange of operational information and 
intelligence and support the implementation of the Anti-Smuggling Operational Partnership. 

Institutional set-up and legal alignment 

Responsibilities for managing migration are shared between the Ministry of the Interior, the 
Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, and the following ministries: Labour, Employment, 
Veteran and Social Affairs; Foreign Affairs; Justice; Defence; Health; and Education, Science 
and Technological Development. They are coordinated by the government working group on 
mixed migration, with the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration acting as secretariat. 

Amendments to the Law on foreigners and the Law on employment of foreigners were adopted 
in July 2023 aiming at further alignment with the EU acquis. The amendments to the Law on 
foreigners are linked to the deadline for extension of the temporary residence permit and its 

64 

 
 
extended duration. Furthermore, it is proposed that temporary residence will be issued in the 
form of a card and not in the form of a sticker in the passport. Amendments to the Law on 
employment of foreigners aim at unifying the procedure for obtaining a temporary residence 
permit and the procedure for obtaining a work permit. 

In March 2022, the government adopted a decision providing facilitated access to its territory 
and granting temporary protection to all people having fled Russia’s war of aggression against 
Ukraine. The decision was extended in March 2023 for another year. It allows access to the 
right of residence, identity documentation, the right to education, access to the labour market 
and  healthcare  in  accordance  with  the  regulations  governing  the  rights  of  foreigners.  It  is 
largely  in  line  with  the  EU  Temporary  Protection  Directive.  An  updated  response  plan  for 
people  fleeing  Russia’s  war  of  aggression  against  Ukraine,  which  includes  reception  and 
protection measures, was adopted by the government in March 2023. 

The response plan for the management of mixed migration was updated in July 2022. It covers 
the  main  priority  areas  such  as:  border  management  and  prevention  of  migrant  smuggling; 
access  to  asylum;  reception  and assistance to  vulnerable migrants; assisted voluntary return 
and  reintegration  in  the  countries  of  origin;  and  supporting  local  communities  under  high 
migratory pressure. 

As  for  combating  irregular  migration,  the  2022-2027  strategy  for  integrated  border 
management and the 2022-2024 action plan, adopted in August 2022, put special emphasis on 
efficient  registration of irregular migrants  and on their processing, but  also on coordination 
among institutions within the migration management system and on return procedures to either 
the country of origin or the country of previous entry. 

In March 2023, Serbia became an observer in the European Migration Network through the 
signature  of  an  administrative  agreement  between  the  Commissariat  for  Refugees  and 
Migration, as national contact point, and the European Commission. 

Serbia  has  12  bilateral  readmission  agreements,  including  with  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina, 
Montenegro and North Macedonia. A readmission agreement was signed with Azerbaijan in 
November  2022.  Negotiations  with  Argentina,  Belarus,  Georgia,  Türkiye  and  Ukraine  are 
ongoing. 

Efforts to establish cooperation with countries of origin of irregular migrants have been made 
with Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Morocco and Pakistan. As no response was received from 
them, at the end of 2021, an emergency request was sent to the authorities of Pakistan, Iraq, 
Algeria and Morocco. The Iraqi authorities indicated that there is no readiness to conclude a 
readmission agreement; the others have not responded so far. 

Implementation and enforcement capacity 

The Western Balkan migratory route continues to be firmly established and to exert pressure 
on the entire region. Serbia played an active and constructive role in the management of mixed 
migration flows towards the EU and continued to cooperate effectively with its neighbours and 
EU  Member  States.  Serbia,  supported  by  the  EU,  continued  to  host  and  accommodate 
substantial numbers of third-country nationals. 

According to the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration (KIRS), in 2022 a total of 124 127 
migrants passed through the reception and asylum centres in 2022 which represents a sharp 
increase in comparison with 2021 (68 308). The length of the average stay went down to 16 
days (30 in 2021) and the average number of people hosted in government centres on any one 
day increased from 4 684 in 2021 to 4 809 in 2022. For the same period, the Ministry of the 

65 

 
 
Interior reported that 12 852 irregular migrants had been apprehended within Serbia in 2022, 
of which 36% originated from Afghanistan and 29% from Syria. 

In 2022, 51 017 migrants were prevented from entering at the border and 182 criminal charges 
(129 in 2021) were filed against 249 people (190 in 2021). This includes 6 criminal charges 
against 52 members of organised criminal groups, suspected of smuggling irregular migrants 
to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Hungary. 

Daily cooperation with Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre takes place at several 
levels,  including  through EMPACT (European Multidisciplinary Platform  Against Criminal 
Threats).  Serbia  participated  in  several  international  operations  aimed  at  combating  both 
irregular migration and trafficking in human beings. Serbia has also established together with 
Hungary and Austria the operational task force “ladder” targeting violent migrant smuggling 
at the Hungarian-Serbian border. 

As regards accommodation in open centres for irregular migrants, there are 11 reception/transit 
centres with a total capacity of 2 800 places in solid buildings; an additional 1 500 places for 
short stay could be made available in Rubb Halls. Including the 2 500 beds in asylum centres, 
the total number of available places amounts to 6 800. Since the number of migrants hosted in 
government  centres  in  2023  fell  to  2 200  on  average,  two  reception  centres  (Divlijana  and 
Bogovadza) were closed and two centres temporarily shut down. 

The Commissariat for Refugees and Migration is operating without a full complement of staff, 
while staffing in the reception centres remains fully dependent on external (EU) funding. 

As regards detention capacities, the extension of the centre for foreigners in Padinska Skela is 
ongoing. It will provide an additional 60 places (bringing the total capacity to 110 places). In 
2022,  a  total  of  272  foreign  nationals  were  placed  in  the  detention  centre  for  foreigners  in 
Padinska Skela, mostly citizens of Afghanistan, Syria, Türkiye and India. The mobile centres 
in Dimitrovgrad and Plandiste for short-term detention, with a capacity of 100 places each, are 
used mainly in the context of readmission. In 2022, these facilities accommodated a total of 
303 foreign nationals, mostly citizens from Afghanistan, Syria and Morocco. 

In 2022, Serbia increased by 72 the number of police officers engaged to provide personal and 
facility security in detention centres. 

The age and gender structure of irregular migrants is similar to previous years with a majority 
of  young  adult  single  males.  The  top  three  nationalities  are  Afghan,  Syrian  and  Pakistani, 
representing 77% of accommodated individuals in 2022. 

One  of  the  most  vulnerable  groups  of  children  are  unaccompanied  and  separated  children 
travelling alone or in a group of adults and often staying outside of the centres; they are the 
hardest  to  reach  and  link  with  needed  services  and  resources.  For  those  unaccompanied 
children accommodated in the asylum or reception centres, presence of adult beneficiaries in 
the  same  facilities  poses  additional  protection  risks.  Appropriate  accommodation  and 
protection  arrangements,  especially  in  cases  of  unaccompanied  and  separated  children,  are 
exclusively dependent on external funding. 

On average, in 2022, 126 unaccompanied and separated children were present on the territory 
of Serbia per month (5% more than in 2021), and a total of 2 688 (100% more than in 2021) 
throughout the year. In 2022, the Centres for Social Work issued a total of 1 048 decisions on 
guardianship.  State-run  social  protection  institutions  accommodated  72  unaccompanied 
children  while  22  unaccompanied  asylum-seeking  children  were  accommodated  in  NGO 
shelters. 

66 

 
 
Although the legislative framework for protecting refugee/migrant children is mostly in line 
with international standards, limited resources and implementation within the social welfare 
system  create  protection  gaps.  These  include  an  overstretched  guardianship  institution, 
overstrained case management capacity dependent on external funding, and poor application 
of best interest assessment/determination procedures. 

Serbia has continued to satisfactorily implement the EU-Serbia readmission agreement, which 
is  facilitated  by  implementing  protocols  concluded  with  21  EU  Member  States.  However, 
Serbia should continue cooperating on readmitting irregularly staying third country nationals 
that  reached  the  EU  via  Serbia,  in  application  of  the  EU-Serbia  readmission  agreement.  In 
2022, 5 710 Serbian nationals were ordered to leave and 3 190 were effectively returned.  

An assisted voluntary return and reintegration programme continues in Serbia, offering support 
to those migrants wishing to return to their countries of origin. With the support of the EU and 
EU Member States, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is implementing the 
assisted  voluntary  return  and  reintegration  (AVRR)  programme,  building  the  capacity  of 
Serbia’s return system and facilitating access to assisted voluntary return. In 2022, 130 people 
were returned to their country of origin, of which 53 to India, 13 to Cuba, 10 to Tunisia, 10 to 
Jordan, 8 to Pakistan and 6 to Iraq. 

The Ministry of the Interior is in charge of forced return. Non-voluntary returns are sporadic 
and ad hoc. Comprehensive return management is still lacking in Serbia; this is a combination 
of several factors, including lack of cooperation with key countries of origin for non-voluntary 
returns/readmission, as well as institutional and operational gaps preventing the operation of 
non-voluntary returns. Serbia should resume systematic registration of migrants. As part of the 
registration  process,  screening  for  nationality,  vulnerability  and  need  for  international 
protection should be carried out, as well as collecting information for risk analysis, on irregular 
migration and on other cross-border crime including trafficking in human beings and terrorism. 
The registration data should also include data to enable the authorities to potentially process 
individuals for voluntary and forced return in line with the national legal framework. Out of 
3 286 requests, 1 754 were approved and 679 third-country nationals were returned to Serbia. 
The  largest  numbers  of  requests  were  submitted  by  Croatian  and  Romanian  authorities  for 
readmission of nationals from Burundi, Afghanistan, India and Cuba. 

In 2022, Serbia submitted 1 657 requests to foreign authorities for the readmission of third-
country nationals, of which 1 585 requests were approved and 191 individuals were returned 
from Serbia. The lack of enforceable bilateral readmission agreements with third countries is a 
serious obstacle, hindering Serbia’s ability to manage returns effectively. In line with the EU 
Action Plan on the Western Balkans, Serbia should pursue its efforts to increase returns to their 
countries of origins of migrants with no right to stay.   

Asylum 

Institutional set-up and legal alignment 

Serbia has the necessary institutions to manage asylum applications. The Asylum Office (AO), 
a separate unit within the Border Police Directorate, is in charge of determining status, while 
appeals against its decisions can be submitted to the Asylum Commission and subsequently to 
the Administrative Court of Appeal. The Asylum Commission is composed of representatives 
from different line ministries, including an independent expert and chaired by a representative 
of the Ministry of the Interior. 

In 2022, the Asylum Commission rendered 62 decisions, but none of them granted international 
protection and only 10 appeals were upheld (i.e. the cases were referred back to the AO). The 

67 

 
 
third appeal authority, the Administrative Court, rejected all complaints. No applicants were 
heard by the appeal authorities. The Asylum Commission and the Administrative Court did not 
exert corrective influence over the decisions of the AO. 

The  Commissariat  for  Refugees  and  Migration  is  responsible  for  the  reception  of  asylum 
seekers and integration of people granted international protection. 

Serbia’s legal framework is largely aligned with the EU acquis. Serbia needs to further adapt 
its legislation, notably as regards effective ‘access to the procedure’ (Article 36 of the Law on 
asylum  and  temporary  protection),  ‘appeal  bodies’  (Article 21),  ‘rights  and  obligations  of 
applicants/persons under international protection’ (Articles 48-73), ‘free legal aid’ (Article 56), 
and  ‘safe  third-country  procedure’  (Article 45).  Amendments  to  the  Law  on  asylum  and 
temporary protection are under consultation. 

Implementation and enforcement capacity 

The number of asylum seekers remained very low in 2022. Serbia is still a transit country. Out 
of the 4 243 individuals who expressed the intention to seek asylum and obtained a registration 
certificate,  only  320  officially  lodged  an  asylum  application.  The  absconding  rate  remains 
higher than 50%, while subsidiary statuses are accorded more extensively than refugee statuses. 

In 2022, decisions were made on a total of 2 302 individuals. Only 10 asylum seekers received 
refugee status, 20 received subsidiary protection, while 62 had their asylum request denied. In 
257 cases, the procedure was discontinued because the applicant absconded. For 1 164 citizens 
of Ukraine a certificate on registration of intention for temporary protection was issued and 
1115 decisions on granting temporary protection were delivered. 

Further alignment with the EU acquis and international standards, as well as more effective 
implementation, is still needed to ensure fair and fast asylum processing, especially regarding 
the  length  of  the  asylum  procedure  and  an  increase  of  the  refugee  recognition  rate.  Prompt 
identification of vulnerable asylum seekers needs to be continuously ensured by the competent 
authorities and at the earliest reasonable time; manifestly unfounded and founded claims need 
to be promptly processed. 

The provision of information and access to legal counselling for asylum seekers at Nikola Tesla 
airport has improved. Sufficient safeguards to prevent refoulement should be included in the 
operating procedures of the border police. Independent monitoring could further ensure that 
border authorities are acting in line with the principle of non-refoulement and the prohibition 
of collective expulsion. 

The  quality  of  asylum  decisions  needs  to  be  further  improved  through  sustainable  quality 
assurance mechanisms and harmonisation of the decision-making process. The AO needs to 
increase its capacity for actual handling of asylum applications. The Asylum Commission and 
the  Administrative  Court  need  to  apply  their  corrective  influence  over  the  decisions  of  the 
Asylum  Office  more  effectively  and  review  cases  on  merits.  Further  advanced  training  is 
needed,  including  for  adjudicators  at  the  second  and  third  instances,  as  well  as  ensuring 
standardised and sustainable training resources. 

Additional capacity building for the Asylum Commission and the specialisation of judges in 
the administrative court could improve legal certainty. There is no state-funded free legal aid 
in the asylum procedure. 

Serbia  has  a  fully  functioning  biometrics  database  and  a  system  for  automated  fingerprint 
identification, used within the Ministry of the Interior; both of these are used for registering 
asylum seekers. Irregular migrants who are not declaring their intention to seek asylum are not 

68 

 
 
registered  and  no  status  determination  takes  place.  This  contributes  to  the  vulnerability  of 
migrants transiting the country. Currently all police stations, but not all border crossing points, 
in Serbia have access to the automated fingerprint identification system. Serbia has developed 
a roadmap for enabling future operations in relation to the Eurodac and Dublin Regulations, 
containing steps on legal, strategic, technical and training-related preparations. 

In  accordance  with  the  Law  on  asylum  and  temporary  protection,  the  Commissariat  for 
Refugees  and  Migration  takes  care  of  the  material  conditions  for  receiving  asylum  seekers. 
There are six centres for asylum with a total capacity of 2 500 places. 

The  basic  legal  framework  for  integration  exists,  including  good  practices  of  individual 
integration plans. However, major obstacles to integration in practice remain the quality of ID 
documents  to  facilitate  their  access  to  socio-economic  rights  and  services,  and  the  lack  of 
issuance of travel documents. Also, the relevant legislation needs to be amended to provide 
refugees with access to permanent residency and citizenship. The funds needed for integration 
programmes  for  people  granted  asylum  are  provided  in  the  budget  on  an  annual  basis.  The 
funds provided for in the 2022 budget were sufficient to cover the current needs. 

Serbia proposed amendments to the Law on citizenship according to which a foreigner may be 
granted Serbian citizenship after living in Serbia for only a short period of time. The applicant 
had to have a Serbian secondary school diploma or a recognised higher education diploma from 
a  third  country,  be  self-employed  or  employed  by  a  Serbian  company.  Applicants  with  an 
approved right to asylum fulfilling the same criteria could apply for citizenship after three years 
of residence in Serbia.  

While  the  EU  respects  the  sovereign  right  of  Serbia  to  decide  on  its  citizenship  and 
naturalisation policies, the Commission has expressed its concerns to the competent Serbian 
authorities as regards the possible security risks for the EU linked to the fast-track acquisition 
of visa-free travel rights for nationals of countries that would be otherwise visa required. Serbia 
should refrain from any amendment of its citizenship law that would provide the possibility of 
a fast-track acquisition of Serbian citizenship for third-country nationals who have resided for 
only  a very short period in  Serbia. Such a possibility risks undermining the EU visa policy 
since Serbian citizens are allowed to travel visa-free to the EU. Following the concerns raised 
by the EU the Government has withdrawn the proposal.  

An updated roadmap for cooperation with the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) is 
being implemented. Serbia participated as an observer in the reception network organised by 
the EUAA. A European migration liaison officer, responsible for the entire region, operates 
from Belgrade. 

Visa policy 

Serbia’s visa policy is not yet fully aligned with the list of third countries whose nationals are 
subject to a visa for short stays in the EU. Nationals of the following countries that are on the 
EU visa-required list can still travel visa-free to Serbia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, 
China, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Oman, Qatar, Russia, 
Suriname and Türkiye. 

In  2022,  nationals  of  Burundi,  Tunisia,  India,  Cuba  and  Türkiye  in  particular  were  using 
Serbian  territory  to  undertake  irregular  migration  towards  EU  Member  States  along  the 
Western Balkans route. By September 2022, some 15% of all irregular border crossings in 2022 
(compared with 4% in 2021) were accounted for by nationals who could travel visa-free to at 
least one Western Balkan partner. 

69 

 
 
In October 2022, the Serbian government decided to abolish the visa exemptions for Tunisia 
and Burundi nationals and, in December 2022, this was likewise decided for Guinea Bissau, 
India,  Cuba  and  Bolivia.  The  President  of  India  visited  Serbia  in  June  2023  and  a  visa 
simplification mechanism was announced. In June 2023, the President of Cuba visited Serbia 
and an agreement on a visa-free regime for holders of official and diplomatic passports was 
signed. 

The sixth report under the visa suspension mechanism (October 2023) noted that Serbia has 
taken action to address the Commission’s previous recommendations. However, further efforts 
are  needed  on  visa  policy,  border  management,  the  fight  against  corruption  and  organised 
crime, and preventing and countering all forms of violent extremism. 

The visa-free regime with the EU continued to be smoothly implemented. The number of first-
time asylum applications from Serbia in the EU was 2 390 in 2022 (2 055 in 2021; 1 770 in 
2020). In the first 5 months of 2023, the number of first-time applicants was 1 355. 

The  Serbian  visa  issuing  system  is  partially  in  line  with  the  EU  visa  code.  For  further 
compliance, Serbia has to adjust visa procedures and visa regimes to bring them into line with 
relevant EU regulations. The Serbian visa information system is operational in all diplomatic 
missions  and  consular  posts.  The  issuing  of  visas  at  national  border  crossing  points  is 
exceptional. The Commission’s sixth report under the visa suspension mechanism of October 
2023 concluded that Serbia continues to meet the visa liberalisation benchmarks. 

Schengen and external borders 

Institutional set-up and legal alignment 

The border police is a specialised civilian body and is part of the General Police Directorate 
within the Ministry of the Interior. The legal framework for border control is largely aligned 
with  the  EU  acquis  (latest  changes  in  2018).  Continued  efforts  are  needed  on  further  legal 
alignment  and  implementation  of  EU  requirements.  Issues  relating  to  national  borders  are 
regulated in the Law on border control. 

In July 2023, the government adopted the Schengen action plan. The new 2022-2027 integrated 
border  management  (IBM)  strategy  and  its  action  plan  were  adopted  in  August  2022.  The 
strategy defines a new concept of integrated border management in light of the new EU policy 
on IBM and includes border control and border checks and State border surveillance (green 
border surveillance). Following adoption, the new Coordination Body for monitoring the IBM 
strategy and action plan was appointed in June 2023. Consistency between strategic documents 
in the border control area needs to be achieved. 

Implementation and enforcement capacity 

In 2022, 261 graduates from the Centre for Basic Police Training were admitted to the Border 
Police  Directorate.  The  Border  Police  Administration  is  regularly  planning  professional 
training for border police officers, who, after successful completion of the training, are assigned 
to  its  organisational  units.  A  common  training  programme  and  common  risk  analysis,  in 
accordance  with  the  common  integrated  risk  analysis  model  (CIRAM)  methodology,  is 
implemented at national level. Further efforts are needed at regional and local level regarding 
the staffing and training of risk analysts. 

The implementation of the IBM action plan is delayed. 

Significant investment is needed in human, financial and technical resources for border control 
(second-line checks, border surveillance and equipment for the detection of forged documents), 
and  in  infrastructure  at  border  crossing  points,  in  line  with  Schengen  requirements.  Serbia 

70 

 
 
should also increase the capacity of all stakeholders in IBM to achieve interoperability with 
EU border management information systems. Serbia needs to intensify its efforts to implement 
the Directive on the obligation of carriers to communicate advance passenger data, and the use 
of  passenger  name  record  (PNR)  data  for  the  prevention,  detection,  investigation  and 
prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime. 

Inter-agency  cooperation  is  satisfactory,  e.g.  between  border  police  and  customs  at  border 
crossing points.  Further  improvements are needed on information  exchange through mutual 
access  to  databases  and  a  formalised  and  secure  information  exchange  system.  An  anti-
corruption preventive mechanism for Authorities involved in IBM (the Border Police, Custom 
Service,  Veterinary  Directorate  and  Directorate  of  Plant  Protection)  has  been  adopted,  but 
further efforts are needed at regional and local level. 

Serbian  authorities  have  established  solid  cooperation  links  with  the  European  Border  and 
Coast  Guard  Agency  (Frontex).  The  joint  operation  with  the  Serbian  border  police  at  the 
Serbian-Bulgarian border that started in 2021 was extended to include the Serbian-Hungarian 
border. The aim of this cooperation is to control irregular immigration flows, to tackle cross-
border  crime  and  to  strengthen  European  cooperation.  Progress  has  been  made  in  the 
negotiations on the new status agreement between the EU and Serbia. Its conclusion will, in 
line with the new mandate of Frontex, enable deployment also at third-country borders, such 
as at the border with North Macedonia. 

Based on the Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe (PCC SEE), the Ministry 
of  the  Interior  established  a  cooperation  with  all  neighbouring  countries.  Joint  patrols  with 
neighbouring  countries  are  ongoing  with  Hungary,  North  Macedonia  and  Romania. 
Information  exchange  takes  place  through  joint  contact  centres.  Serbia  receives  capacity 
building and border management assistance from EU Member States. 

In 2022, a total of 23 control activities were carried out in the organisational units of the Border 
Police Administration. Disciplinary proceedings for serious violations were initiated against 
121 police officers. The Internal Control Sector filed criminal charges against police officers 
suspected of the criminal offence of abuse of official position under Article 359 of the criminal 
code.  A  new  preventive  anti-corruption  mechanism  was  adopted  and  training  courses  for 
participants  of  all  IBM  agencies  were  held.  Leaflets  on  anti-corruption  awareness  were 
distributed at all border crossing points (including the airport). 

The  Interim  Common  Crossing-Points  (CCPs)  between  Kosovo  and  Serbia  continue  to  be 
operational.  Only  two  of  the  six  permanent  CCPs  have  been  established  (Merdare  and 
Mutivodë/Mutivode). Serbia still has  not  established permanent  CCPs to be hosted by their 
side (Jarinje/Rudnica, Končulj/Dheu i Bardhë and Depce/Muçibabë), which led to a suspension 
of EU funds for this project in July 2018. In addition, Serbia needs to engage constructively to 
enable  the  construction  of  the  third  CCP  hosted  by  Kosovo  in  the  north  of  Kosovo  at 
Tabavije/Bërnjak-Tabalije/Brnjak. Additional efforts are required from Serbia to close illegal 
roads and bypasses to ensure exclusive use of official crossing points for goods and persons 
entering into or leaving Kosovo.  

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2.3. ECONOMIC CRITERIA 

In  line  with  the  conclusions  of  the  European  Council  in  Copenhagen  in  June  1993,  EU 
accession requires the existence of a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with 
competitive pressure and market forces within the Union. 

2.3.1.  The existence of a functioning market economy 

Serbia  is  at  a  good  level  of  preparation  and  has  made  some  progress  in  developing  a 
functioning market economy. After a strong rebound in 2021 from the contraction induced by 
COVID-19, the Serbian economy decelerated substantially in 2022 impacted by the economic 
fallout from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, in particular as regards rising inflation 
via soaring energy and food prices. Consumer price inflation surged in 2022 and continued to 
rise in  early 2023, reaching  a peak of 16.2% in  March 2023,  which led the central  bank to 
steadily tighten its policy stance. After widening sharply in 2022, the current account deficit 
decreased in the first half of 2023, in particular due to the lower cost and the lower volume of 
energy  imports.  Banking  sector  stability  was  maintained  while  lending  growth  decelerated 
substantially.  High  inflation  helped  improve  the  budget  balance  in  2022,  despite  very 
substantial  capital  transfers to  state-owned energy utilities  and further ad hoc fiscal  support 
measures that were not  always well  targeted. Budget  revenues  also  benefited from  progress 
with tax administration reforms. The public debt ratio fell and public finances are expected to 
be  anchored  by  a  new  set  of  fiscal  rules.  The  unemployment  rate  decreased  in  2022  and 
vulnerable categories of workers benefited from the recovery. However, structural problems 
persist, including a labour supply impacted by outward migration, persistent skills mismatches, 
and a gender employment gap. Ensuring timely implemention of the youth guarantee plan is 
expected to contribute to addressing the skills mismatch.  

Major reforms of public administration (such as the wage system reform) and of the governance 
of  state-owned  enterprises  (SOEs)continued  to  advance  slowly,  prolonging  long-standing 

72 

Table 4.1:202020212022Serbia - Key economic figuresGDP per capita (% of EU-27 in PPS)1)40434444Real GDP growth 2.4-0.97.52.3Economic activity rate of the population aged 15-64 (%), total1)64.966.470.371.4      female57.159.263.064.4      male72.773.677.578.3Unemployment rate of the population aged 15-64 (%), total1)15.49.511.49.7      female16.29.912.410.1      male14.79.210.69.4Employment of the population aged 15-64 (annual growth %)3.8-0.22.62.3Nominal wages (annual growth %)3.99.49.413.8Consumer price index (annual growth %)1.91.64.112.0Exchange rate against EUR119.8117.6117.6117.5Current account balance (% of GDP)-4.8-4.1-4.2-6.9Net foreign direct investment, FDI (% of GDP)5.86.36.97.1General government balance (% of GDP)-1.6-8.0-4.1-3.1General government debt (% of GDP)61.057.857.155.6Notes: 1) EurostatSource: national sources2014-19 average 
 
 
inefficiencies. However, in 2023, there has been some acceleration of governance reforms, in 
particular in the energy sector. The regulatory and administrative burden for doing business 
has been reduced, but the private sector continues to be affected by a lack of transparency and 
predictability in the way business-related legislation is adopted. Structural challenges remain 
for State aid, competition and public procurement. The State retains a strong footprint in the 
economy and the private sector is underdeveloped and hampered by weaknesses in the rule of 
law,  in  particular  regarding  the  tackling  of  corruption  and  judicial  inefficiency.  Last  year’s 
recommendations have been partially implemented and remain partly valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular:  

→  plan  a  gradual  deficit  reduction  in  the  2024  budget  and  in  the  medium-term  fiscal 
framework in line with Serbia’s commitments in its Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) with the 
IMF and the new fiscal rules;  

→  continue the preparatory steps towards an appropriately designed public sector wage system 

reform; and 

→  continue the deployment of the SOE ownership and management strategy for 2021-2027 
by implementing the remaining steps of the 2021-2023 action plan and by preparing a new 
time-bound action plan for 2024-2027. 

Economic governance 

The  authorities  have  remained  committed  to  macroeconomic  stability  and  economic 
reforms. Reacting to lower domestic energy production and higher energy import costs in the 
context  of  Russia’s  war  of  aggression  against  Ukraine,  the  government  provided  very 
significant  budget  support  to  state-owned  energy  utilities  in  2022  to  mitigate  the  effects  on 
domestic  households  and  enterprises.  To  address  steadily  rising  inflation  rates  throughout 
2022, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) tightened monetary policy by gradually raising its 
key policy rate from 1% in March 2022 to 6.2% in June 2023. Good progress has been made 
as regards the adoption of new fiscal rules and the e-invoicing reforms. Structural weaknesses 
remain in fiscal governance, in particular concerning the unreformed wage system and fiscal 
risk assessment, the business environment, public and tax administration, and in the way the 
State intervenes and manages its presence in the economy, in particular concerning state-owned 
enterprises (SOEs). Serbia has started the implementation of a new SBA with the International 
Monetary Fund (IMF) running from December 2022 to December 2024, worth approximately 
EUR 2.4 billion conditioned on the implementation of important economic reforms. The SBA 
replaced the non-disbursing Policy Coordination Instrument. 

The policy guidance jointly agreed at the May 2022 Economic and Financial Dialogue 
between the EU and the Western Balkans and Türkiye has been partially implemented. 
The authorities provided very substantial fiscal support in 2022 to mitigate the energy crisis 
and effectively planned further gradual fiscal consolidation. A new set of fiscal rules with debt-
level-dependent  deficit  ceilings  as  a  cornerstone  was  adopted.  A  new  model  of  electronic 
fiscalisation and the transition to electronic invoicing have been successfully completed. The 
first steps in the action plan for the new state-owned enterprise ownership and management 
strategy  have  been  substantially  implemented.  However,  Serbia  is  still  not  prioritising 
investments in a harmonised manner based on relevant assessments, and issues remain in the 
areas of competition and State aid, as well as in the area of public procurement (see also Chapter 
5  on  public  procurement  and  Chapter  8  on  competition  policy).  The  long-term  energy  and 
climate  strategy  is  yet  to  be  adopted  in  the  course  of  2023.  The  first  auction  on  renewable 
energy was launched in June 2023. There was no measure to increase the adequacy of benefits 

73 

 
 
under the financial social assistance scheme to reduce poverty, while partial progress was made 
to facilitate school-to-work transitions. Implementation of structural reforms should be speeded 
up with the help of well-designed measures broken down into clear activities and timelines. 

Macroeconomic stability 

fallout 

the  economic 

Economic activity remained relatively resilient through successive crises but decelerated 
strongly in 2022. After an average GDP growth rate of 3.6% in 2016-2019, a relatively mild 
contraction  by  0.9  %  in  2020  and  a 
strong  rebound  by  7.5%  in  2021, 
output  growth  decelerated  to  2.3%  in 
2022.  The  slowdown  was  especially 
strong  in  the  second  half  of  the  year 
due 
from 
Russia’s  war  of  aggression  against 
Ukraine, in  particular on inflation via 
food  prices. 
soaring  energy  and 
Growth was also impacted by reduced 
production  capacity  of  electric  utility 
Elektropriveda Srbije, dampening industrial output and increasing imports of electricity and 
coal. GDP growth in 2022 was mostly driven by private consumption and inventories, which 
were partially offset by negative contributions to growth of net exports and gross fixed capital 
formation. On the supply side, the services sector accounted for the bulk of annual growth, 
while  agriculture  and  construction  contributed  negatively,  primarily  due  to  the  drought  and 
base  effects  from  high  construction  activity  in  2021.  In  the  first  half  of  2023,  real  GDP 
expanded  by  1.3%  year-on-year,  mostly  driven  by  net  exports  and  gross  fixed  capital 
formation,  largely  offset  by  negative  contributions  to  growth  from  inventories,  and  from 
government and private consumption due to high inflation. After remaining broadly unchanged 
for most of the last decade, the income gap with the EU slightly narrowed in recent years as 
per  capita  GDP  in  purchasing  power  standards  rose  from  40%  in  2018  to  44%  of  the  EU 
average in 2021, remaining stable at 44% in 2022. 

After a sharp widening in 2022, the current account deficit narrowed substantially in the 
first half of 2023. After an average of around 5% in the period from 2018 to 2020, the external 
deficit widened sharply to 6.9% of GDP 
in  2022,  from  4.2% 
in  2021.  A 
substantial increase in the merchandise 
trade  deficit  (particularly  due  to  high 
energy  imports)  and  a  higher  primary 
income  deficit 
reflecting 
increases  in  reinvested  earnings  and 
dividends) were only partially offset by 
a  higher  surplus  on  the  secondary 
income balance (reflecting in particular 
increased  worker  remittances)  and  on 
the services trade balance. The deficit was more than fully covered by net inflows of foreign 
direct investment that reached 7.1% of GDP in 2022 (after 6.9% of GDP in 2021). Decreased 
energy imports, partly related to higher domestic electricity production following the partial 
recovery of domestic production capacity, and the decrease in energy prices were among the 
main drivers of  a sharp narrowing of the current account deficit by 82% year-on-year in the 
first half of 2023. After a gradual decline from 73.4% in 2015 to 61.4% in 2019, external debt 

(mainly 

74 

-4-20246810201720182019202020212022Graph 4.1: Serbia -Real GDP growth and contributionsPriv. cons.Gov. cons.GFCFStocksNet exportsReal GDP growthSource: WiiW% y-o-y-12-9-6-3036920182019202020212022Graph 4.2: Serbia -Current account selected components and FDIGoods and services trade balance Workers' remittances balanceCurrent account balanceNet FDI% of GDPSource: IMF and Eurostat 
 
to  GDP  increased  to  69.4%  in  2022,  reflecting  in  particular  high  public  financing  needs  in 
2020-2022. Official foreign exchange reserves have remained at more than twice the level of 
short-term  external  debt  and  solidly  covered  more  than  5  months  of  imports  of  goods  and 
services at the end of 2022 and early 2023. 

Consumer  price  inflation  surged  in  2022  and  continued  to  rise  in  early  2023  before 
starting a gradual decline in the second quarter of 2023. Following low and rather stable 
inflation for 7 consecutive years, and a pick-up to an annual average of 4% in 2021, consumer 
price inflation surged further to an annual average rate of 11.9% in 2022. This was the result 
of a steady increase throughout the year, reaching a level of 15.1% in November and December 
followed by a further increase to a peak of 16.2% in March 2023, well above the upper end of 
the  central  bank’s  target  tolerance  band  of  3%  ±1.5  pps.  Inflation  started  to  decline  in  the 
second quarter of 2023, down to 12.5% year-on-year in July. The strong increase in headline 
inflation continued to be driven by food and energy prices while core inflation also picked up 
steadily throughout 2022 and early 2023, peaking at 11.3% in March 2023. The NBS started 
to gradually raise its key policy rate in April 2022, bringing it up (in monthly steps of either 
50 or  25 basis  points)  from  1.0%  in  March  2022  to  6.0%  in  April  2023,  before  pausing  its 
tightening cycle in May 2023 ahead of further increases to 6.25% in June 2023. To stabilise 
the exchange rate in the face of alternating appreciation and depreciation pressures, the central 
bank  continued  to  apply  its  policy  of  frequent  interventions  on  both  sides  of  the  foreign 
exchange market. 

The general government deficit decreased in 2022 as a high level of fiscal support to state-
owned energy utilities and a series of ad hoc expenditure measures were largely offset by 
the  balance-improving  effects  of 
high 
inflation.  Following  prudent 
fiscal policies with budget surpluses in 
2017 and 2018 and a balanced budget 
in  2019,  sizeable  COVID-19  crisis 
mitigation  measures  contributed  to 
deficits of 8.0% of GDP in  2020 and 
4.1%  of  GDP  in  2021.  The  general 
government deficit decreased to 3.2% 
of GDP in 2022, helped by the effects 
of high  inflation in terms  of boosting 
revenue and keeping spending increases below the rate of nominal GDP growth. The deficit 
thus turned out substantially below the revised target of 3.8% of GDP in the November 2022 
amending budget, despite very substantial liquidity support to the state-owned energy utilities 
Elektropriveda Srbije (EPS) and Srbijagas (amounting to a total of around 2.7% of GDP) and 
a series of ad hoc support measures to the private sector implemented throughout the year. This 
concerned in particular direct lump sum cash payments to young people aged between 16 and 
30 (0.4% of GDP), increased family allowances and assistance for mothers to buy real estate 
(0.2% of GDP) and increased agricultural subsidies (0.2% of GDP). However, while this had 
been stipulated in the jointly agreed policy guidance in May 2022, no measure was taken to 
increase the coverage and adequacy of benefits for individuals and families under the financial 
social assistance scheme to reduce poverty. At the same time, the phasing-out in 2022 of the 
COVID-19-related 2021 fiscal support measures helped contain overall expenditure growth in 
2022 at 11% year-on-year, which was lower than the 13.4% increase in revenue. Expressed as 
a share of GDP, total revenue increased by 0.1 pps, while total spending decreased by 0.9 pps 
due to very high nominal GDP growth. Part of the fiscal support could have been better targeted 
to the most vulnerable households and firms, also in view of the inflationary effect of non-

75 

020406080-10-505201720182019202020212022Graph 4.3: Serbia -Fiscal developmentsPrimary balance (lhs)Interest (lhs)GG balance (lhs)Public debt (rhs)Source: National sources% ofGDP 
 
targeted transfers. Notwithstanding the crisis context, capital spending decreased only slightly 
from a record level of 7.5% of GDP in 2021 to 7.2% of GDP in 2022 and was budgeted at 6.8% 
of GDP for 2023. The 2023 budget targets a further 0.5 pps reduction of the fiscal deficit to 
3.3% of GDP (as compared to the projected 2022 out-turn of the November 2022 amending 
budget) which would however correspond to a slight increase as compared with the 2022 out-
turn  of  3.2%  of  GDP.  The  September  2023  amending  budget  revised  downwards  the  2023 
fiscal deficit target to 2.8% of GDP, using the fiscal space from reduced support to state-owned 
energy  utilities  and  increased  excise  duties  for  a  series  of  expenditure  measures,  including 
higher subsidies for  agriculture, a one-off lump-sum  payment to  children and extraordinary 
pension  and  wage  increases  for  teachers  and  nurses.  Two  days  after  the  adoption  of  the 
amending budget, a new one-off payment to pensioners was announced. 

Following  a  crisis-induced  increase  in  2020  and  a  moderate  fall  in  2021,  public  debt 
continued  on  a  downward  path  in  2022.  The  general  government  debt-to-GDP  ratio  had 
fallen from a peak of over 70% in 2015 to 53% in 2019 and thus moved closer to the ceiling of 
45% laid down in the fiscal rules of the budget system law. After an increase to 57.8% in 2020, 
as a result of the high COVID-19 crisis-induced deficit, and broad stabilisation at 57.1% in 
2021, the debt ratio fell to 55.6% in 2022, particularly supported by high inflation. Due to less 
favourable conditions on international and domestic financial markets, Serbia did not issue any 
Eurobonds in 2022 to cover the increased financing needs related to costly energy imports, but 
concluded the EUR 2.4 billion 2-year SBA with the IMF with an immediate disbursement of 
EUR 1 billion in December 2022 and secured a bilateral loan from the United Arab Emirates 
of USD 1 billion, which was also disbursed in December 2022. On 19 January 2023, in view 
of  some  stabilisation  of  financing  conditions  on  international  markets,  Serbia  issued  a 
USD 1 billion 10-year Eurobond and a USD 750 million 5-year Eurobond at coupon rates of 
6.25% and 6.5%, respectively.   

Fiscal governance reforms have progressed well, particularly as regards the adoption of 
revised fiscal rules. Revenue collection surpassed expectations in the 2 years preceding the 
COVID-19 crisis and performed well throughout 2020-2022, supported by increasing inflation 
and  continuous  improvements  in  the  tax  administration.  Following  a  delay  of  several  years 
(due in part to the COVID-19 crisis), a new system of fiscal rules was adopted in December 
2022. The central rule consists of a general government deficit ceiling depending on the level 
of debt7. The deficit rule will however only enter into force in 2025 because specific deficit 
targets for 2023 and 2024 had already been agreed in the SBA with the IMF. The new rules 
also include a cap on the general government wage bill at 10% of GDP and a modified rule for 
pension indexation for which the calculation methodology will vary according to the ratio of 
pension  expenditure  to  GDP.  While  their  enforcement  mechanism  may  need  to  be 
strengthened, the new rules are reasonably credible and binding due to their relative flexibility 
at  lower  debt  levels  /  lower  shares  of  pensions/salaries  relative  to  GDP.  However  the 
announcement  in  June  2023  of  an  extraordinary  pension  increase  in  October  2023  going 
beyond  the  new  indexation  formula  seriously  weakens  the  credibility  of  the  new  pension 
indexation rule already in its first year of application. The public sector wage system reform 
has  been  postponed  to  2025,  but  the  new  central  electronic  public  wage  and  employment 
registry (Iskra) became operational for some sectors in 2022 and is planned to be rolled out to 
most of the public sector (except military, security and higher education institutions) by the 
end of 2023 as an important  preparation for the reform.  In the absence of a comprehensive 
wage system reform, another ad hoc extraordinary increase (25% as against the 12.5% general 

7 3% of GDP if debt is below 45% of GDP; 1.5% of GDP if debt is below 55% of GDP; 0.5% if debt is below 
60% of GDP and 0% if debt is above 60% of GDP. 

76 

 
 
 
increase of public sector wages) has been implemented for military personnel as of January 
2023  and  a  further  ad  hoc  5.5%  extraordinary  increase  for  some  categories  of  workers  in 
education and health as of September 2023 has been included in the September 2023 amending  
budget. Progress in addressing weaknesses in budget planning and implementation has been 
slow. The November 2022 amending budget was adopted using the urgent procedure, but the 
2023 budget adoption was broadly in line with the normal legislative procedure (albeit with 
some delay). The September 2023 amending budget was again adopted under urgent procedure. 
Neither  the  2022  amending  budget  nor  the  2023  budget  provided  an  adequate  level  of 
transparency regarding the breakdown of capital transfers and guarantees to SOEs, in particular 
to EPS and Srbijagas. The Fiscal Strategies are subject to frequent changes, sometimes within 
weeks  after  their  adoption,  thereby  undermining  the  credibility  of  these  strategic  fiscal 
documents.  There  was  a  meaningful  parliamentary  debate  on  the  2023  budget  and  the 
government also submitted to Parliament the final annual budget execution report for 2021. 
The  well-established  Fiscal  Council  has  continued  to  function  properly  and  produce 
independent fiscal assessments and recommendations.  

The  macroeconomic  policy  mix  has  remained  overall  appropriate.  It  helped  sustain 
macroeconomic  stability  and  supported  the  resilience  of  economic  activity  in  the  face  of 
successive shocks. Prudent fiscal policy before the COVID-19 crisis created the policy space 
for sizeable fiscal  support to  mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 and energy crises while 
maintaining macroeconomic stability. Monetary policy reacted to surging inflation via steady 
gradual  monetary  tightening.  The  acceleration  of  economic  reforms  and  their  full 
implementation  remain  key  to  ensure  a  sustainable  recovery  and  further  strengthen  the 
economy’s potential in terms of competitiveness and inclusive growth, thereby supporting real 
convergence with the EU.  

Functioning of product markets 

Business environment 

Serbia  has  in  recent  years  reduced  the  regulatory  and  administrative  burden  on 
businesses, but some weaknesses remain. Some business procedures have been significantly 
simplified  and  their  cost  reduced,  but  many  burdensome  administrative  procedures  remain, 
especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Local firms have to make 33 tax 
payments per year, twice as many as in the regional peers. The many parafiscal charges remain 
high  and  non-transparent,  lacking  rationalisation,  thus  undermining  the  predictability  and 
stability  of  Serbia’s  tax  system  and  hampering  economic  development.  The  business 
community generally considers the Law on foreign exchange transactions to be too restrictive 
in its design and unpredictable in its application. In 2022, the number of registrations of new 
legal  business  entities  rose  by  16.7%,  while  the  registrations  of  solo  entrepreneurs  rose  by 
21.8%. In 2022, 19.4% more legal entities and 4.8% more entrepreneurs were deleted from the 
register  than  in  2021.  The  implementation  of  the  action  plan  for  the  simplification  of 
administrative  procedures  further  advanced  through  the  optimisation,  digitalisation  or 
discontinuation of administrative procedures  as well as the  establishment of a single public 
register  of  administrative  procedures.  In  May  2023,  Serbia  introduced  mandatory  online 
company registration, which should contribute to reduce the costs and the time of setting up a 
company. 

The  legal  framework  is  prone  to  unexpected  and  significant  changes,  which  can  be 
detrimental  to  business.  Business  predictability  is  negatively  affected  by  the  lack  of  full 
transparency in  the adoption of legislation. Government  decisions in  a number of business-
relevant  areas  are  still  often  taken  without  proper  consultation  with  businesses  and  social 
partners  and  under  too  short  time  constraints.  This  includes  numerous  temporary  trade 
77 

 
 
restrictions  and  price  caps  introduced  by  Serbia  throughout  2022  (see  also  Chapter  30  on 
external relations) with little or no notice, thus negatively impacting the stability of supply-
chains, and further hampering the predictability for businesses and investors. 

Further  efforts  are  needed  to  improve  the  quality,  independence  and  efficiency  of  the 
justice system. An efficient and independent judicial system is a prerequisite for a predictable 
investment-  and  business-friendly  environment,  and  is  necessary  in  order  to  encourage 
innovation, attract additional foreign direct investment, and secure tax revenues. Businesses 
also raise the issue of the lack of reliability in contract enforcement, as well as lack of expertise 
among judges, particularly in complex areas of law such as competition, intellectual property, 
or  taxation,  which  leads  to  inconsistency  in  rulings.  Moreover,  the  business  environment 
remains  hampered  by  red  tape,  political  interference  and  limited  public  administration 
efficiency. Serbia ranked 101st out of 180 countries in the 2022 corruption perception index 
compiled by Transparency International, thus continuing the negative trend of rankings that 
have been steadily deteriorating since 2018 when Serbia ranked 87th. 

Despite some progress, the widespread informal economy remains a major impediment 
to the development of a strong corporate sector and the consolidation of a functioning 
market economy. Driving forces behind the informal economy include high taxes and social 
security contributions on the lowest salaries leading to a notably regressive tax wedge, a lack 
of financial resources and favourable loans, parafiscal charges, hidden tax fees and red tape. 
The  consequences  are  tax  evasion,  market  distortion,  unfair  competition  and  inefficient 
resource allocation. Notable investment has been made to reduce the size of the informal sector, 
but  the  pace  of  reform  is  slow.  The  full  entry  into  force  of  the  Law  on  fiscalisation  and 
amendments  adopted  in  December  2022,  as  well  as  the  full  implementation  of  the  Law  on 
electronic invoicing as of January 2023, has finalised the introduction of the e-fiscalisation and 
e-invoicing  systems,  which  provide  for  real-time  tracking  of  the  issuance  of  fiscal  receipts, 
thereby enabling the Tax Administration  to better monitor and counter tax evasion. Taxpayers 
fully adopted the e-fiscalisation system by 1 May 2022. The new Law on e-invoicing entered 
into  force  on  1 January  2022  and  after  phased  introduction  achieved  full  enforcement  of 
electronic invoicing on 1 January 2023. In March 2023, the government adopted the 2023-2025 
Programme  for  Combating  the  Grey  Economy.  The  Programme  encompasses  23  measures 
aimed at strengthening the capacity of inspections and misdemeanour courts, improving tax 
supervision and reporting procedures and fiscal and administrative relief of legal businesses. 
Further  improvements  in  anti-money  laundering/combating  the  financing  of  terrorism  are 
ongoing. 

State influence on product markets 

The legal framework in competition and State aid is largely in line with the EU acquis, 
but implementation needs to be improved. The Commission for Protection of Competition 
and the Commission for State aid control are operating as legally independent bodies. However, 
the Commission for State aid control has yet to be substantiated by a consistent and transparent 
track record. In the area of State aid, well-defined rules are not always implemented due to 
strong  political  pressure  for  financial  assistance,  channelled  to  SOEs  and  large  foreign 
investors.  These  resources  are  often  substantial  and  may  have  a  significant  impact  on 
competition. State support is not sufficiently transparent, including in the 2023 budget. After a 
strong growth of reported State aid from 2% of GDP in 2019 to 5% of GDP in 2020, the share 
of State aid dropped to 3.5% of GDP in 2021. The share of COVID-19-related State aid dropped 
from 54.4% in 2020 to 28.7% in 2021. In view of strongly rising food and energy prices, the 
government has maintained a series of temporary price caps for basic food and fuel prices, as 
well as trade restrictions, since the end of 2021/early 2022, which were regularly prolonged or 

78 

 
 
adjusted throughout 2022 until the end of April 2023 with some exemptions (see also Chapter 
30 on external relations). 

Privatisation and restructuring 

Albeit  shrinking,  the  role  of  the  State  in  the  economy  remains  large  and  hampers 
competition  while  the  governance  of  SOEs  recorded  limited  progress  and  the 
restructuring of key utility companies is advancing only slowly. SOEs continue to dominate 
many sectors, including energy, transport, utilities, telecommunications, infrastructure, mining 
and  extraction  of  natural  resources.  Their  outsized  presence  deters  private  investment  and 
innovation and impedes overall competitiveness. Furthermore, many of Serbia’s SOEs do not 
apply  adequate  corporate  governance  rules  and  operate  with  low  efficiency  and  high  costs. 
Most  public  companies  continue  to  rely  on  direct  or  indirect  State  subsidies,  and  their 
governance  remains  under  strong  political  influence.  The  irregular  appointment  of  acting 
managers  for  extended  periods,  instead  of  using  the  standard  nomination  process,  which 
requires  a  public  competition  and  certain  minimum  qualifications  criteria,  has  yet  to  be 
addressed. The government continued the implementation of the 2021-2027 strategy on state 
ownership  and  management  of  SOEs,  which  aims  at  more  sustainable  and  efficient 
management of these enterprises, albeit with significant delays. As part of the strategy and the 
ongoing IMF SBA, the government has committed to improve governance practices in SOEs. 
This is in particular expected to be tackled through the new Law on SOE management adopted 
in  September  2023,  The  law  has  been  developed  in  agreement  with  the  IMF  and  based  on 
OECD  guidelines.  The  financial  performance  of  SOEs  has  led  to  the  build-up  and 
materialisation of fiscal risks, particularly in the energy sector. Srbijagas is estimated to have 
received  around  EUR 1.3 billion  in  budget  support  in  late  2021  and  in  2022,  while  EPS 
reported to have suffered losses of up to EUR 630 million in 2022. Overall, SOEs still account 
for around a sixth of value added and formal employment in Serbia. In 2022, the number of 
SOEs yet to be addressed through either bankruptcy or privatisation was brought down from 
62 to 608. The implementation of the strategy for banks with state ownership continued. The 
State remains in control of key entities in the insurance sector. Serbia has yet to implement its 
action  plan  on  gas  unbundling  adopted  in  May  2021  and  to  finalise  the  certification  of 
Transportgas Srbija and Yugorosgaz Transport to open the wholesale gas market and third-
party access to the gas transmission system.  

Functioning of the financial market 

Financial stability 

Financial  stability  has  been  maintained  and  macro-prudential  indicators  remained 
sound. The banking sector’s aggregate capital adequacy (regulatory capital to risk-weighted 
assets) stood at 20.2% at the end of 2022, well above the minimum of 8% set by the central 
bank.  Liquidity  remained  high.  The  profitability  of  the  banking  system  increased  with 
improved returns on assets (1.9% at the end of 2022 compared with 1.2% at the end of 2021) 
and a jump in return on equity (13.9% at the end of 2022, compared with 7.8% at the end of 
2021). The non-performing loan ratio further decreased by 0.6pps year-on-year to 3.0% by the 
final quarter of 2022 before moving up slightly to 3.2% by the end of the second quarter of 
2023.  The  broad  stability  of  the  NPL  ratio  was  also  supported  by  regulatory  changes  in 
December 2022 to support the restructuring of debt, i.e. to extend the maturity of loans, for 
those impacted by the economic crisis. The authorities have continued to address legacy non-
performing loans in the portfolio of the Deposit Insurance Agency. The central bank and the 

8 A Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Serbian Government, majority Russian-owned NIS, and HIP-
Petrohemija was signed in December 2021 and the transaction was finalised in June 2023. 

79 

 
 
 
government  continued  to  implement  the  'dinarisation'  strategy  to  boost  the  use  of  the  local 
currency in the banking system. However, reflecting some remaining uncertainties related to 
the crisis, the share of dinar-denominated loans and deposits of both households and firms fell 
somewhat in 2022. While the share of dinar-denominated loans continued to decline in the first 
half 2023 (to 34.0% in June), the share of dinar-denominated deposits rose to 41.1%, thereby 
more than recovering from the temporary fall in 2022. 

Access to finance 

Impacted  by  monetary  tightening,  credit  activity  has  slowed  down.  Credit  activity 
expanded by 7.3% in 2022, but loan growth has been gradually slowing down to a year-on-
year rate of 0.8% in June 2023, partly due to the significant increases in the key policy rates 
by the NBS and the ECB. Credit growth was mostly due to liquidity and working capital loans 
and housing loans respectively. Foreign-owned (EU-based) banks continued to dominate the 
financial system, holding around 85% of banking system assets. The continuing consolidation 
of the banking system via mergers and acquisitions has further reduced the number of banks 
from  22  at  the  end  of  June  2022  to  20  at  the  end  of  June  2023.  Non-banking  financial 
institutions continue to be largely absent, the legal framework for the leasing sector has still 
not  been  reformed,  and  there  was  no  progress  in  establishing  the  legal  framework  for 
microfinance institutions.  

Functioning of the labour market 

The labour market confirmed its post-pandemic recovery, but outward migration and a 
steady population decline continue to weigh on labour supply. Following the detrimental 
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the labour market recovery continued in 2022, although at 
a decelerating pace. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 pps. year-on-year to 9.2% in Q4-
2022. This marks a return to the 
trend  of  gradually 
long-term 
falling  unemployment.  Several 
categories of vulnerable workers 
the  recovery. 
benefited  from 
Thus, 
long-term 
the 
unemployment rate was down by 
0.6pps  year-on-year  to  3.9%  in 
the  fourth  quarter  of  2022,  the 
youth 
rate 
unemployment 
decreased  by  4.4  pps  year-on-
year  to  24.3%  in  Q4-2022.  The 
share of young people aged 15 to 
24  not  in  employment  nor  in  education  or  training  (NEET)  dropped  to  11.9%  in  Q4-2022 
(-3.7pps year-on-year) while in the population aged 15-29 the NEET rate decreased to 15.2% 
(-2.2pps year-on-year). The youth employment-related active labour market policy programme  
"My first salary" continued for a third cycle starting in late 2022 with around 9,000 participants. 
Women benefited most from improvements on the labour market (with unemployment rates 
standing at 8.8% for women against 9.5% for men in Q4-2022) yet continued to be far less 
active than their male counterparts (47.6% participation rate for women compared with 63.2% 
for men in the last quarter of 2022). In parallel, the rate of total informal employment in the 
fourth quarter of 2022 was down 0.9 pps year-on-year to 12.8%. Total registered employment 
in Serbia increased by 1.6% year-on-year, also supported by the issuance of work permits to 
foreign  workers.  However,  in  structural  terms,  the  labour  force  may  have  peaked  as  the 
declining  working  age  population  is  taking  its  toll  on  labour  supply.  A  steady  population 

80 

73  455565750102030201720182019202020212022Graph 4.4: Serbia -Labour market trends(15-64 age group)Unemployment rate (lhs)Participation rate (rhs)Employment rate (rhs)Source: EUROSTAT and StatisticalOffice (SORS) 
 
decline of around 0.5% every year, along with large-scale emigration across the occupational 
spectrum  remains  a  key  medium-  to  long-term  challenge  for  economic  development.  In 
addition, persistent skills mismatches, the gender employment gap, inadequate activation of 
young people, and large regional disparities have continued to weigh on the functioning of the 
labour  market.  An  evaluation  of  the  strategy  on  economic  migration  for  2021-2027  and  its 
corresponding action plan for the period 2021-2023 is needed to assess its impact on returnees 
and circular migration and to identify and take appropriate action.  

Real  wages  have  stagnated,  mostly  due  to  high  inflation.  The  average  real  net  wage 
decreased by 1.5% year-on-year in March 2023 as the average nominal net wage increase of 
14.5% year-on-year was more than offset by high inflation. The authorities have continued to 
gradually  reduce  the  overall  tax  wedge  by  increasing  the  non-taxable  part  of  salaries  from 
RSD 19 300 to RSD 21 712  as  of  2023.  However,  the  tax  wedge  is  still disproportionally 
high for people with low salaries and therefore aggravates in-work-poverty. It also continues 
to be an impediment for the formalisation of labour. In line with expectations for the overall 
increase in wages, the government increased the minimum hourly wage by 14.3% in 2023, to 
RSD 40 020. Around one in six registered employees receives the minimum wage. 

2.3.2. The capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the 
Union 

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  and  has  made  some  progress  in  coping  with  competitive 
pressures and market forces within the EU. The structure of the economy improved further and 
economic  integration  with  the  EU  remained  high.  However,  the  quality  and  relevance  of 
education and training does not fully meet labour market needs. Public investment has remained 
at a high level with the aim to address serious infrastructure gaps after years of underinvestment. 
SMEs still face a number of challenges, including an uneven playing field as compared with large 
companies and foreign investors. Last year's recommendations have been partially implemented 
and remain partly valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  further  tailor  education  and  training  to  labour  market  needs,  in  particular  in  the  area  of 

vocational education and training; 

→  ensure  a  harmonised  approach  for  prioritising  and  monitoring  all  investments  and  basing 
investment decisions on feasibility studies, cost-benefit analysis and environmental impact 
assessments, and apply to all projects  the principles of competition, equal treatment, non-
discrimination and transparency in public procurement and State aid procedures in line with 
the EU acquis; and 

→  advance  on  the  green  energy  transition  in  particular  through  decarbonising  the  industry 
especially in the energy sector; increase investments into renewables and energy  efficiency 
supported by  cost-recovering tariffs; accelerate implementation of the  action plan on gas 
unbundling and decrease its energy dependence on Russia. 

Education and innovation 

Despite  some  progress,  the  quality  and  relevance  of  education  and  training  does  not 
sufficiently meet labour market needs. Public spending on education stood at around 3.3% 
of GDP in 2021, below the EU average of 4.7%. Pre-primary school enrolment (age 0 to 5 
years) was at 47% in 2021, while compulsory education is almost universal although showing 
downward trends. The high proportion of early school leavers (young people aged 18-24 who 
at best completed primary education and did not pursue further education) continues to be a 
problem and amounted to 5.1% in the third quarter of 2022. Lower secondary school education 

81 

 
 
results for 15-year-olds lag behind the EU average, although Serbia’s PISA rating is the best 
in the Western Balkans and its average scores are close to those of some EU Member States 
(Bulgaria, Greece and Romania). Higher education attainment in the population aged 25-34 
(ISCED levels 5-8) stood at 33.9% in 2021. The authorities are gradually updating both the 
general and vocational pre-university curricula to make them more relevant to labour market 
needs, at the same time consolidating the national qualification framework set-up. The adoption 
of new qualification standards and/or modernisation thereof has continued at a slow pace, with 
a strong focus on higher education. Efforts have been made to expose students to work-based 
learning  under  both  upper  secondary  and  higher  vocational  education  and  training.  As 
participation rates in lifelong learning are traditionally low (4.8 % in 2021), the offer of formal 
and  informal  learning  would  usefully  be  further  diversified  and  promoted  among  both  the 
working and non-working adult population. 

Serbia  has  a  relatively  good  scientific  base  but  research  and  development  spending 
remains low at around 1% of GDP. Government funding was stable at around 0.4 % of GDP. 
The  lack  of  human  resources  for  research  and  development  and  weak  cooperation  between 
businesses and academia continue to present problems. To increase innovation and scientific 
research, Serbia continues to support the Innovation fund and the Science fund that are running 
numerous specialised financing instruments and grant schemes. Five years after a science and 
technology park was established in Belgrade, three additional ones have been established in 
Novi Sad, Čačak and Niš but further support services for these institutions are still needed. The 
smart specialisation strategy, the industrial policy strategy, the strategy for the development of 
start-up ecosystems and the strategy for the development of artificial intelligence are all being 
implemented. 

Physical capital and quality of infrastructure 

Investment has remained high, with significant emphasis on road and rail infrastructure, 
but  infrastructure  gaps  remain.  Public  investment  decreased  slightly  from  a  record  level 
while private investment broadly stagnated in 2022. The economy is attracting significant net 
foreign direct investment flows which stood at 6.9% of GDP in 2021 and 7.1% of GDP in 2022. 
Outward investments of Serbian companies abroad remained very modest. The share of total 
investment in the economy increased to 22.8% of GDP in 2022, up from 17.7%  of GDP in 
2017. However, physical infrastructure needs further upgrading and expansion. A continued 
high level of public investments is planned in 2023, particularly in railways, roads, including 
local and regional roads, energy infrastructure, and also environmental investments.  

The institutional framework for public investment is weak. The ‘user pays’ principle is  not 
sufficiently applied when it comes to  maintaining existing  infrastructure  and  implementing 
new  infrastructure  investment  plans.  The  legislative  framework  for  public  investment 
management put in place in July 2019 provides a basis for a sounder project selection process, 
better prioritisation and more comprehensive planning across different tiers of the government. 
However, the framework allows too many exemptions to the rule, which significantly reduces 
its  effective  impact.  Public  procurement  rules  are  not  always  fully  compatible  with  EU 
standards, particularly in  the case of intergovernmental  agreements. Moreover, the existing 
public procurement rules are not always fully complied with, as also evidenced by an increasing 
number of irregularities.  

The  energy  sector  remains  largely  inefficient  and highly  polluting;  the  regulatory  and 
green transition reforms are  progressing  slowly. Energy infrastructure  is  largely  outdated 
and many individual heating systems  use wood and coal  as fuel,  contributing to  the energy 
sector  being  the  main  source  of  air  pollution  in  Serbia.  The  decarbonisation  of  the  energy 
sector,  the  need  to  increase  the  use  of  more  renewable  sources,  and  restructuring  of  SOEs 
82 

 
 
dominating the sector remain a big challenge, and investments in the green energy transition 
are progressing too slowly. In June, Serbia adopted amendments to the Law on renewables and 
launched  the  first  call  for  auctioning  of  new  renewable  sources.  Serbia  has  yet  to  adopt  its 
national  integrated  energy  and  climate  plan  and  an  energy  strategy.  Electricity  tariffs  for 
households  have  been  gradually  increased  including  under  the  SBA  agreed  with  the  IMF. 
However, prices remain below market prices and should increase in line with the SBA to cover 
costs, and subsequently to support the necessary investment in infrastructure. Serbia remains 
dependent on its single gas supplier Gazprom and the Russian majority control of Serbia’s gas 
infrastructure  and  oil  industry  continued.  However,  in  order  to  reduce  the  dependence  on 
Russian gas, work on the gas interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria has advanced and 
construction of an interconnector with North Macedonia is under preparation. Implementation 
of the action plan for the unbundling of state-owned enterprise Srbijagas is still pending. The 
Balkan stream gas pipeline section in Serbia is operational but there is no third-party access.  

Serbia  has  made  good  progress  on  digital  transformation  across  the  economy. 
Digitalisation remains a key priority for the government. The action plan under the 2023-2025 
e-government  development  programme  was  adopted  in  April  2023,  with  the  objective  to 
improve  the  quality  of  public  services  by  ensuring  interoperability,  efficient  coordination, 
project management and legal certainty over e-government use, and to foster the use of open 
data. The e-government national portal is continuously upgraded with new services, serving as 
a one-stop shop for e-government services and as a central point of access for businesses and 
citizens. Serbia’s communications infrastructure still requires systematic improvement of both 
regulation  and  investment.  Broadband  roll-out  is  too  slow,  preventing  the  uptake  of  e-
government  and  business  services,  and  slowing  down  the  digital  transformation  of  the 
economy.  There  was  some  progress  with  the  connection  of  public  institutions  and  150 000 
households  to  fast  broadband  and  speeds  of  100Mbps.  Supported  by  the  inflow  of  Russian 
citizens to Serbia, the robust growth of the information and communication sector continued, 
with exports of ICT services in 2022 valued at EUR 2.7 billion, an increase of 45% compared 
with 2021. 

Sectoral and enterprise structure 

Manufacturing has decreased its weight in the economy over recent years while the share 
of  construction  and  some  services  has  risen  and  the  share  of  agriculture  has  broadly 
stabilised. The manufacturing industry continues to be the single largest sector in terms of its 
share of GDP, at 13% in 2021, although on a declining trend over the years. It is followed by 
wholesale, retail and vehicle repair accounting for 11.8% of GDP in 2021, on an increasing 
trend. Services sectors dominate the economy, together providing more than 60% of total value 
added. Reflecting a new investment cycle, the construction sector increased its share in GDP 
from  3.0%  in  2013  to 6.0% in 2021 (up from 5.4% in 2020), strongly supported by capital 
investments in infrastructure. The weight  of  the  agricultural  sector  has  broadly  stabilised  at 
around 6.3% of GDP since 2017 after a downward trend over the previous few years. The share 
of agriculture in total employment continued to fall steadily from about 20% in 2014 to around 
17% in 2017 and further to around 15% in 2021. In 2022, construction and the agriculture sector 
had a negative impact on GDP growth, impacted in particular by increased costs of inputs, lower 
credit activity and the drought. 

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Serbian economy. 
The SME sector provides close to 60% of total employment and turnover in the economy, and 
around  50% of the value added. SMEs are particularly active in construction, accommodation 
and food services, retail, and real estate. The authorities are implementing several programmes 
finance,  and 
to 

support  SME  development, 

focusing  on  boosting 

innovation, 

83 

 
 
internationalisation.  Loans  to  SMEs  accounted  for  about  60%  of  total  corporate  loans  in 
December 2022. Their cost  of borrowing has increased significantly due to increases in the 
key  policy  rates  to  combat  inflation,  and  remains  significantly  higher  than  that  of  large 
companies.  SMEs  still  face  a  number  of  challenges,  including  an  unpredictable  business 
environment, a lack of non-bank financing and high tax compliance costs. SMEs often face an 
uneven  playing  field  as  large  enterprises  and  foreign  investors  often  have  direct  lines  of 
communication to the government and benefit much more from state subsidies, thus enjoying 
an advantage over domestic SMEs. 

Economic integration with the EU and price competitiveness 

Economic integration with the EU remained high. The EU remains Serbia’s biggest trading 
and investment partner, accounting for 58.7% of its total trade and for 32.9% of foreign direct 
investment  inflows  in  2022.  Total  bilateral  trade  between  the  EU  and  Serbia  increased 
significantly, by 27.7% year-on-year, from EUR 30.6 billion in 2021 to EUR 39.1 billion in 
2022. Serbian imports from the EU grew at a somewhat faster pace than exports to the EU, 
with  the  EU  registering  a  surplus  of  EUR 3.7 billion  in  2022.  After  the  EU,  Serbia’s  main 
trading partners in 2022 were the signatories of the Central European Free Trade Agreement 
(10.3%  of  total  trade),  China  (8.7%),  Russia  (5.8%)  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  (5.3%). 
Foreign direct investment inflows, of which typically around two thirds originated from the EU 
in 2010-2020 (and close to 90% from Europe), have partially shifted towards growing inflows 
of around one quarter from China in 2021-2022. Notwithstanding ongoing remedy efforts via 
online  health  and  customs  clearance,  transit  facilitation  through  international  cooperation 
agreements and the regional green corridor (EU, CEFTA, Western Balkans and Türkiye), there 
are still significant bottlenecks at border crossing points with neighbouring EU countries; these 
hamper the potential for deeper trade relations and economic integration with the EU. Trade 
openness, after a steady increase from 92% of GDP in 2014 to 111.5% in 2019, decreased to 
103.9% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, before rebounding strongly to 115.6 % in 2021 
and 137.6% in 2022. 

The real effective exchange rate has been on an appreciating trend in recent years. The 
dinar-euro nominal exchange rate remained broadly stable in 2022 and the first half of 2023, 
as pressures on the dinar were successfully neutralised by the central bank. As regards the CPI-
based  real  effective  exchange  rate  REER,  after  a  depreciation  in  the  period  2014-2016 
cumulatively  by  almost  9%,  2017-2018  saw  an  REER  appreciation  of  around  7%.  After 
depreciating slightly in real terms in 2019 (0.2%), the dinar continued to appreciate, by 3.5% 
cumulatively  in  2020-2021 (almost  in equal  amounts in  both  years). The appreciation trend 
continued in 2022 (1.1%) and  accelerated strongly in the first half of 2023 due to the significant 
inflation  differential  with  main  trading  partners.  The  unit  labour  cost  (ULC)-based  REER 
depreciated cumulatively by around 8% in the period 2014-2016, while in the period 2017-
2019 REER appreciated by around 17% cumulatively, mostly due to wage growth in the private 

84 

02040608020152016201720182019202020212022Graph 4.5a: Serbia -Exports of goodsEUCEFTAOtherSource: WiiW% ofGDP02040608020152016201720182019202020212022Graph 4.5b: Serbia -Imports of goodsEUCEFTAOtherSource: WiiW% ofGDP 
 
 
sector. The trend has continued in recent years, resulting in ULC-based REER appreciation of 
almost  8%  in  2020,  4%  in  2021  and  9%  in  2022.  According  to  the  latest  IMF  external 
sustainability  assessment  (done  in  June  2023),  the  exchange  rate  was  considered  broadly 
consistent with the fundamentals.  

2.4. PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, STATISTICS FINANCIAL CONTROL 

Chapter 5: Public procurement 

EU rules ensure that the public procurement of goods, services and works in any Member State 
is  transparent  and open  to  all EU companies on  the basis of  non-discrimination and equal 
treatment. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of public procurement. Some progress was made 
with  the  repeal  of  the  Law  on  special  procedures  for  linear  infrastructure  projects,  which 
seriously undermined the effective implementation of the Law on public procurement. Serbia 
needs to ensure that exemptions from the Law on public procurement are in line with the EU 
acquis and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, including notably in the context of 
intergovernmental  agreements.  The  capacity  of  the  Public  Procurement  Office,  the 
Commission for Public-Private Partnerships and Concessions, the Republic Commission for 
Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures and the Administrative Court needs to 
be further strengthened.  

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  further align with the 2014 EU Directives on public procurement, in particular by adopting 
amendments to the Law on public-private partnerships and concessions and by ensuring 
that projects financed from public funds are subject to public procurement procedures; and 

→  ensure that procurement  rules under intergovernmental agreements concluded with third 
countries comply with the public procurement principles, in line with the EU acquis. 

Institutional set-up and legal alignment 

Serbia’s legal and institutional frameworks on public procurement are broadly aligned with 
the EU  acquis. The adoption of amendments  to  the Law on public-private partnerships and 
concessions to align with the EU Directive on concessions is still pending. In July 2023, the 
Parliament enacted the Law repealing the Law on special procedures for linear infrastructure 
projects  from  2020,  which  provided  for  the  exemption  of  linear  infrastructure  projects  of 
‘special  importance  for  the  Republic  of  Serbia’  from  the  application  of  the  Law  on  public 
procurement.  In  July  2023,  the  Serbian  government  adopted  a  Decree  on  the  selection  of  a 
strategic partner for the implementation of a project of construction without management and 
maintenance of self-balanced large-scale solar power plants with battery systems for electrical 
energy storage in the Republic of Serbia, which introduces derogations from the Law on public 
procurement  and  the  Law  on  public-private  partnerships  and  concessions.  Additionally,  in 
October 2023, Parliament  adopted the Law on special procedures for the implementation of 
the international specialised exhibition EXPO Belgrade 2027, which exempts projects from the 
application of the Law on public procurement. 

The public procurement development programme for 2019-2023 was implemented through the 
action plan for 2022. A new action plan for 2023 was adopted.  

The Public Procurement Office (PPO) conducts compliance supervision of the Law on public 
procurement  and  maintains  the  public  procurement  portal.  The  PPO  is  also  in  charge  of 
proposing implementing legislation.  

85 

 
 
Implementation and enforcement capacity 

In 2022, the public procurement market increased by around 18% in terms of total value of 
concluded contracts, from EUR 4.75 billion in 2021 to EUR 5.6 billion. Its share in GDP also 
grew from 8.9% in 2021 to 9.3% in 2022. The average number of bids per tender remained at 
2.5. The share of tenders with only one submitted bid remained very high, falling slightly from 
52.6% in 2021 to 51.6% in 2022. The Serbian government committed to reduce this share to 
47% by 2024. The share of contracts awarded to foreign bidders remained particularly low at 
1% of the total value of contracts. 

Regarding monitoring of contract award and implementation, the proportion of negotiated 
procedures without prior publication of a notice fell significantly from 7.7% in 2021 to 0.97% 
in 2022. The share of open procedures increased from 91.3% in 2021 to 98.8% in 2022. The 
use of the best price-quality ratio criterion remained low at 4% in 2022, while the lowest price 
criterion  remained  dominant  in  96%  of  conducted  public  procurement  procedures.  New 
functionalities  of  the  public  procurement  portal  were  introduced  in  2022,  with  the  aim  to 
increase transparency and efficiency. Workshops and webinars have been organised to train 
bidders and contracting authorities to use the e-procurement portal. The number of requests 
submitted  by  the  PPO  to  the  relevant  courts  to  initiate  misdemeanour  procedures  increased 
significantly from 143 in 2021 to 429 in 2022. 

The  exemptions  from  the  Law  on  public  procurement  on  the  basis  of  intergovernmental 
agreements  fell  significantly  to  0.5%  of  the  total  value  of  exemptions  in  2022,  or 
EUR 33 million, compared with EUR 735 million reported in 2021. However, given the large 
volume  of  big  infrastructure  projects  that  have  been  concluded  on  the  basis  of 
intergovernmental agreements, the reported total value of exemptions is low. The State Audit 
Institution found irregularities in cases covering 18.88% of the value of public procurement 
contracts inspected in 2022. These findings raise concerns and need to be closely followed. 

The capacity to manage public procurement processes  remained stable. The PPO had 42 
employees in 2022, down from 44 in 2021. A total of 398 public procurement officers were 
certified on the basis of the Law on public procurement. 

The  Commission  for  Public-Private  Partnerships  and  Concessions  approved  a  total  of  253 
public-private partnership project proposals, including 86 with concession elements, mostly in 
the  urban  transport,  sanitation  and  urban  planning  sectors.  The  Commission  remains 
understaffed. 

Efficient remedy system 

Legislation on the right to legal remedy is broadly in line with the EU acquis and is enforced 
by the Republic Commission for Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures, an 
independent  state  body.  The  Republic  Commission  solved  709  cases  on  requests  for  the 
protection of rights in 2022. Public procurement procedures were partially or fully annulled in 
349 cases (49% of all solved cases). The number of contracting authorities not complying with 
decisions  of  the  Republic  Commission  remains  stable  at  below  1%  of  the  overall  decisions 
taken. The Republic Commission took decisions in 52 cases on complaints about decisions of 
contracting  authorities  in  2022.  It  imposed  one  financial  fine  on  contracting  authorities  not 
complying with its decisions while annulling two contracts in 2022. 

Regarding  the  Republic  Commission’s  implementation  capacity,  the  number  of  staff 
decreased from 52 in 2021 to 46 in 2022, nine of whom are elected officials. Due to limited 
specialisation and training, the Administrative Court’s capacity to deal with the complexity, 
diversity,  and  overall  quantity  of  cases  and  lengthy  legal  proceedings,  remains  weak. 

86 

 
 
Cooperation between the PPO and the Republic Commission with the Administrative Court on 
exchange of knowledge and information needs to be strengthened. 

Chapter 18: Statistics 

EU  rules  require  Member  States  to  produce  statistics  based  on  professional  independence, 
impartiality, reliability, transparency and confidentiality. Common rules are in place for the 
methodology, production and dissemination of statistical information. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of statistics. Good progress  was made during 
the  reporting  period  with  the  population  and  housing  census  in  October  2022  and 
preparations for the next census on agriculture, planned to start in October 2023, in line with 
EU  and  international  standards.  Overall,  Serbia  continued  to  submit  statistical  data  to 
Eurostat. The  compilation  of  macroeconomic  statistics  in  line  with  the  European  System 
of  Accounts (ESA) 2010 continued to improve. However, a new statistical law has still not 
been adopted. Last year’s recommendations remain largely valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  adopt a new statistical law to increase the independence of the statistical office; 

→  continue preparations and carry out the census on agriculture in line with the relevant 

EU legislation and international standards; and 

→  continue to improve the compilation of macroeconomic statistics in line with ESA 2010. 

The  legal  framework  for  statistical  infrastructure  is  largely  in  line  with  the  European 
Statistics  Code  of  Practice.  A  new  law  on  official  statistics,  which  should  enhance  the 
professional  independence  of  the  Statistical  Office  of  the  Republic  of  Serbia  (SORS)  and 
improve the  alignment of the Statistical  System  with the Regulation  (EC) No 223/2009,  still 
needs  to  be  adopted.  The  National  Coordination  Board  of  Official  Statistics  includes 
representatives of all responsible producers of official statistics. Serbia continued to integrate 
systems for administrative data through cooperation agreements and database linkages with a 
number of Serbian institutions and registers. The administrative capacity of SORS still needs 
to be strengthened, as its operations remain hampered by the lack of sufficient and adequately 
skilled staff. SORS continued to increase submission of data to Eurostat, but the coverage of 
data submission needs to be further expanded. The main classifications (NACE Rev. 2, ISCO-
08) are aligned with the EU acquis. Registers are updated regularly. 

Concerning  territorial  classification,  Serbia  continued  to  compile  regional  accounts  and 
submit them to Eurostat, including the 2022 transmission. Serbia provided regional accounts 
data at statistical level 2 and 3but the number of years is not yet uniform across variables. 

Regarding  macroeconomic  statistics,  SORS  continued  to  compile  data  on  quarterly  and 
annual GDP at current and constant prices, and in chain-linked volumes. Seasonally adjusted 
quarterly national accounts are sent to Eurostat. Quarterly non-financial sector accounts have 
yet to be compiled; only non-financial annual sector accounts are transmitted to Eurostat and 
published. Serbia has further advanced work on compiling supply-use and input-output tables; 
the  country  delivered  all  relevant  ESA  2010  tables  in  this  area.  SORS  sends  good-quality 
monthly data on international trade in goods, in accordance with the required breakdown by 
mandatory partner country. The compilation of data on trade by enterprise characteristics was 
submitted to Eurostat but more work is needed to meet all requirements set out in the compilers 
guide on trade by enterprise characteristics. The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) compiles the 
monthly  and  quarterly  balance  of  payments,  as  well  as  data  on  the  quarterly  international 
investment  position.  As  regards  government  finance  statistics  (GFS)  and  excessive  deficit 

87 

 
 
procedure  (EDP),  Serbia  should  continue  efforts  to  further  adhere  to  ESA  2010.  SORS 
continues to provide EDP on regular basis twice a year. Progress was observed in coverage of 
the questionnaire related to the excessive deficit procedure notification tables. In particular, 
Serbia  should  intensify  efforts  to  improve  the  data  quality  of  the  EDP  table  2.  SORS  still 
considers the non-financial accounts of government finance statistics as provided to Eurostat 
as experimental and not fit for publication. Despite this, other Serbian non-financial accounts 
of  general  government  data,  less  aligned  with  international  standards,  is  being  published 
nationally and internationally. Quick progress in publishing the data being provided to Eurostat 
is strongly encouraged in order to establish fiscal transparency. The NBS set up the system for 
compiling annual financial sector accounts statistics. Progress was made by SORS and the NBS 
in  providing  quarterly  non-financial  accounts  of  general  government  and  quarterly  general 
government gross debt. Continued efforts are needed to produce the complete data required by 
the ESA 2010 transmission programme, notably  by developing quarterly  financial  accounts 
and financial balance sheets. 

With regard to structural business statistics (SBS), Serbia has implemented the EU acquis to 
a great – but not yet fully – extend. Serbia transmits SBS data and metadata to Eurostat in good 
quality and in the required technical format. More work is needed to achieve full coverage and 
punctuality.  Most  of  the  data  on  internal  tourism  and  some  data  on  national  tourism  are 
collected and transmitted. For inland waterway, road and railway transport, data is collected 
but needs to be further aligned with the EU acquis. A few test datasets for road freight transport 
have been transmitted and Serbia is currently designing their complete road freight transport 
survey.  Serbia  continued  to  communicate  some  figures  on  all  six  datasets  of  the 
Eurostat/ITF/UNECE Common Questionnaire.  In 2023, Serbia for the first time transmitted 
transport statistics at regional level, providing a significant set of data. Air transport statistics 
are highly compliant and a few improvements need to be made to reach full compliance. Serbia 
continued to provide in a timely manner the mandatory research and development (R&D) data 
and statistics on the government budget allocation for R&D, for some of which transmission is 
voluntary.  Serbia  also  continued  to  provide  the  regional  data.  The  Community  Innovation 
Survey is conducted regularly every 2 years and the data is sent to Eurostat. The annual surveys 
on information and communication technology (ICT) fully meet EU standards and are carried 
out  regularly,  covering  households/individuals  and  businesses.  Serbia  is  fully  compliant  for 
most of the short-term business statistics indicators. 

Serbia partially complies with the EU acquis on social statistics. The survey on income and 
living conditions is carried out regularly, in compliance with EU standards, and data is sent to 
Eurostat.  Serbia  is  fully  compliant  in  social  protection  statistics  and  provides  Eurostat  with 
European system  of integrated social  protection  statistics  (ESSPROS) data and metadata of 
good quality and coverage, in accordance with the legal deadlines. Labour market earnings and 
labour cost statistics are broadly in line with the EU acquis. Serbia carries out the labour force 
survey (LFS) in accordance with the regulations and sends good-quality micro data to Eurostat 
(annual and quarterly), and LFS quality reports based on the new LFS questionnaire. Further 
progress is still needed  to produce good statistics on job vacancies. Concerning the healthcare 
expenditure statistics, Serbia provided compliant data for reference year 2021 for the first time 
in 2023. Serbia is fully compliant as regards the European health interview survey. Statistics 
on external migration and asylum are collected by the Ministry of the Interior. They are only 
partly    aligned  with  the  relevant  EU  requirements  so  further  alignment  is  needed.  Serbia 
provides  most  of  the  required  education  statistics.  The  population  and  housing  census, 
postponed from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, took place successfully in October 2022 
without  major  incidents.  The  dissemination  of  results  from  the  census  started  in  December 
2022. Final results were published in May 2023. 

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Regarding  agricultural  statistics,  Serbia  is  highly  compliant  in  producing  crop  statistics. 
Animal production statistics, including milk and milk product statistics are fully compliant with 
applicable EU regulations. Serbia continued the preparatory work for the agriculture census 
which is planned to take place from October to December 2023 (postponed due to the COVID-
19 pandemic). SORS still needs to develop, produce and submit to Eurostat supply balance 
sheets,  economic  accounts  for  agriculture  and  agriculture  price  statistics  in  line  with  the 
Eurostat methodology. 

Annual and monthly energy statistics are produced and sent for all relevant energy sources. 
Serbia transmits good-quality data on waste statistics to Eurostat. Only the dataset on number 
and capacity of disposal landfills is yet to be completed. Some environmental accounts data 
is  produced.  transmits  complete  data  on  physical  energy  flow  accounts  ,  albeit  quality  can 
further improve. Serbia transmits complete data on environmental taxes accounts with good 
quality,  and  should  continue  to  work  to  improve  the  quality  of  environmental  goods  and 
services sector accounts. Serbia transmits incomplete data on air emissions accounts and the 
quality needs improvement. In general, the quality of environmental accounts data improved, 
but  further  efforts  are  needed  in  this  area.  Serbia  reports  some  water  statistics  and  those 
statistics do not have legal basis. Serbia is also making progress in the area of pesticide statistics 
but does not yet  deliver data on pesticide statistics, fertiliser consumption or gross nutrient 
balances. 

Chapter 32: Financial control 

The  EU  promotes  the  reform  of  national  governance  systems  to  improve  managerial 
accountability, sound financial management of income and expenditure and external audit of 
public funds. The financial control rules further protect the EU's financial interests against 
fraud in the management of EU funds and protect the euro against counterfeiting. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of financial control. Limited progress was made 
in the reporting period, notably with the continued implementation of public internal financial 
control (PIFC). However,  last year’s recommendations  have not  been met. Therefore, these 
remain valid. A midterm approach on PIFC, consistent with the Law on the planning system, 
is  being  implemented.  Overall,  additional  efforts  are  needed  to  embed  managerial 
accountability in the administrative culture and to strengthen the functioning of internal control 
and  internal  audit.  High-level  political  support  remains  critical  for  the  required  shift  to 
performance management and implementation of PIFC reforms in entire public sectors. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  ensure full coherence of the PIFC legal basis with the general legal framework; 

→  establish an effective internal audit function in all central budget institutions; and 

→  adopt a managerial accountability roadmap and ensure its effective implementation. 

Public internal financial control (PIFC) 

A strategic framework for PIFC is broadly in place, under the 2021-2030 PAR strategy and 
the  2021-2025  public  financial  management  (PFM)  reform  programme.  PIFC 
is 
comprehensively  covered  as  a  separate  pillar  embedded  in  the  PFM  reform  programme.  In 
addition,  further  PIFC  measures  are  envisaged  by  the  local  self-government  system  reform 
programme  for  2021-2025  and  the  public  policy  management  and  regulatory  reform 
programme for 2021-2025. The development of managerial accountability is included in the 
accountability and transparency pillar of the PAR strategy and the public policy management 
and regulatory reform programme. The full establishment of analytical units in ministries and 

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proper implementation of midterm planning must foster effective consolidation of strategic, 
operational  and  financial  management  functions  and  increase  managerial  accountability.  In 
2022, a total of 22 institutions adopted and published their medium-term plans for the period 
2022-2024, in line with the Law on the planning system. 

In  the  reporting  period,  Serbia  continued  to  focus  on  operationalising  the  principle  of 
managerial  accountability  through  the  preparation  of  a  draft  managerial  accountability 
roadmap.  Weaknesses  in  performance  management  and  lines  of  accountability  between 
independent bodies and their parent institutions persist.  

The capacities to implement internal control standards, including risk management, have to 
be  further  increased  at  both  central  and  local  government  level  and  be  integrated  in  the 
administrative  culture.  Serbia  has  continued  to  implement  the  obligation  for  heads  of 
institutions using public funds to sign an annual statement on the status of their internal control 
systems. The establishment of an irregularity reporting system for budget beneficiaries in line 
with the guidelines on irregularity management needs to be ensured in practice. The Ministry 
of Finance has a centralised budget inspection function that needs to be strengthened. Mapping 
the entire national inspection environment and ensuring its proper role and scope remains a 
priority. 

Internal  audit  practice  is  broadly  in  line  with  international  standards.  However,  not  all 
institutions that are required to establish an internal audit unit have done so and many internal 
audit units do not have a sufficient number of auditors. Most central institutions carry out audits 
according  to  strategic  and  annual  audit  plans.  Internal  audit  recommendations  need  to  be 
implemented in a timely manner and the quality assurance of internal audit further developed. 

The central harmonisation unit continued to focus on system development and dissemination 
of  methodological  guidance.  It  has  continued  to  conduct  internal  audit  and  internal  control 
quality reviews. The quality of the unit's annual report on the state of PIFC implementation is 
improving.  However,  its  use  as  a  tool  to  improve  PIFC  needs  to  be  enhanced,  and  timely 
publication needs to be ensured. 

External audit 

Serbia’s constitutional and legal framework provides for the independence of the State Audit 
Institution (SAI) in line with the standards of the International Organization of Supreme Audit 
Institutions. The SAI’s financial independence was respected during the 2022 budget approval. 

The SAI’s institutional capacity to carry out its core audit tasks is adversely affected by the 
continued focus on the detection of errors and filing of misdemeanour and economic offence 
and criminal charges against individuals. This affects its capacity to undertake its core audit 
task. The appropriateness of this requirement in the SAI law should be reviewed in the medium 
term. The long-standing issue of not having suitable business premises is yet to be resolved. 

The quality of audit work is constantly improving with the support of the dedicated sector for 
audit  methodology  and  quality  control.  In  2022,  the  SAI  continued  to  improve  its  working 
methodology. It has maintained focus and improved capacity for performance audits with 14 
performance audits carried out in 2022. In 2022, the SAI produced 284 audit reports, including 
98  compliance  audit  reports,  93  financial  statement  reports,  24  financial  statement  and 
compliance audit reports, 24 compliance and performance audit reports, 14 performance audit 
reports, and 31 reports on the audit of response reports. Since 2019, the SAI has been publishing 
responses to the audit reports and post-audit reports. 

The  SAI  increased  the  impact  of  its  audit  work  by  monitoring  the  implementation  of  its 
recommendations and cooperation with stakeholders, improving the overall transparency of its 

90 

 
 
work, and increasing its communication with the media. The SAI activity report was discussed 
both in the relevant parliamentary committee and in the plenary. The SAI’s internal audit unit 
has only one employee and is still to be properly staffed. 

Protection of the EU’s financial interests 

Serbia has achieved a high degree of EU acquis alignment, but full alignment with the EU 
Directive on the fight against fraud to the EU’s financial interests by means of criminal law 
still needs to be ensured. The strategic plan for combatting fraud and managing irregularities 
in handling financial resources of the European Union in the Republic of Serbia for the period 
2021-2023  is  in  place.  The  anti-fraud  coordination  service  (AFCOS)  in  the  Ministry  of 
Finance has eight employees, falling short of the planned 13. In 2022, AFCOS conducted three 
administrative checks, compared with seven in 2021 and eight in 2020. 

In  January  2023,  the  Serbian  government  adopted  a  Decision  on  the  establishment  of  the 
network for combatting fraud and for managing irregularities in handling financial resources 
of the EU, to reflect changes within the institutions represented in the AFCOS Network. Serbia 
continued  its  good  cooperation  with  the  European  Commission  during  investigations, 
including the follow-up of recommendations. During the reporting period, Serbia reported 12 
irregularities  via  the  irregularity  management  system,  of  which  seven  were  classified  as 
suspected fraud. Serbia should maintain its efforts in further developing a solid track record on 
cooperation in investigations and reporting of irregularities. 

Protection of the euro against counterfeiting 

In  this  area,  Serbia  has  achieved  a  high  degree  of  EU  acquis  alignment.  The  legislation 
foresees  that  the  National  Bank  of  Serbia  carries  out  the  technical  analysis  and  provides 
specialised  training  for  the  licensed  entities  that  authenticate  euro  coins  and  process  euro 
banknotes.  The  central  bank  has  formal  cooperation  agreements  with  the  European 
Commission on coins and with the European Central Bank on banknotes. Regional cooperation 
with other central banks is ongoing. The central bank continued to develop its administrative 
capacities  by  participating  in  several  international  and  domestic  seminars,  conferences  and 
workshops, primarily as a follow-up to the Pericles 2020 programme. 

3. GOOD NEIGHBOURLY RELATIONS AND REGIONAL COOPERATION 

Good  neighbourly  relations  and  regional  cooperation  form  an  essential  part  of  Serbia’s 
European  integration  process.  They  contribute  to  stability,  reconciliation  and  a  climate 
conducive to addressing open bilateral issues and the legacies of the past. 

Serbia maintained its engagement in a number of regional cooperation initiatives, such as the 
Central  European  Free  Trade  Agreement  (CEFTA),  the  Energy  Community,  the  Transport 
Community,  the  South-East  European  Cooperation  Process  (SEECP)  and  the  Regional 
Cooperation  Council.  During  the  reporting  period,  disagreements  with  Kosovo  over  the 
implementation of the Dialogue agreement on Kosovo’s representation and denomination in 
regional cooperation initiatives have hampered the smooth functioning of these initiatives. In 
December 2022, Serbia hosted the biannual General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly 
of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation9. 

9Serbia also actively participates in the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, the European Union Macro-Regional Strategies 
for the Danube Region, the Adriatic and Ionian Region, the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) 
and the Brdo-Brijuni process. 

91 

 
 
 
The  EU-Western  Balkans  Summit  in  December  2022  took  place,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
region,  in  Tirana.  The  summit  focused  on  support  to  the  region  in  the  fields  of  energy  and 
migration,  and  on  youth  cooperation,  roaming,  green  lanes  and  overall  progress  on 
implementing the Economic and Investment Plan. 

On  the  Common  Regional  Market,  a  political  breakthrough  was  achieved  at  the  Berlin 
Process Summit in November 2022, where leaders from the Western Balkans adopted the three 
mobility agreements on higher education qualifications, on professional qualifications and on 
free movement with identity cards. Serbia ratified all three mobility agreements in April 2023 
and deposited the related ratification notifications. A number of important decisions agreed at 
technical level within CEFTA remain blocked.  

There  are  no  outstanding  issues  concerning  Serbia’s  respect  for  the  Dayton/Paris  Peace 
Agreement. Serbia continues to support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity and its 
path to joining the EU. As envisaged by the Dayton agreement, Serbia continues to develop 
special relations with Republika Srpska entity, as well as to publicly promote such relations. 
Regular  and  frequent  meetings  were  held  between  the  Serbian  leadership  (President,  Prime 
Minister,  Speaker,  Ministers,  including  the  Minister  for  European  Integration)  and  the 
leadership  of  Republika  Srpska.  In  August  2023,  a  session  of  two  governments  and  of  the 
Cooperation  Council  was  held  in  Banjaluka.  Serbian  authorities  also  met  the  new  High 
Representative  for  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  who  visited  Belgrade  in  October  2022  and 
February 2023. 

Serbia has continued to closely cooperate with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro 
and Serbia under the Sarajevo Declaration Process, which aims to find sustainable solutions 
to refugees and displaced persons as a result of the armed conflicts in ex-Yugoslavia during 
the 1990s. Within the framework of the Regional Housing Programme,  6 894 housing units 
had  been  built,  purchased  or  reconstructed  by  end  of  August  2023  in  Serbia,  able  to 
accommodate about 20 680 individuals. Significant challenges remain regarding the economic 
and  social  integration  and  well-being  of  many  families,  which  is  required  to  ensure  the 
sustainability of return, but also to ensure adequate protection and opportunity in cases of no 
return. 

The  unresolved  fate  of  missing  persons  who  disappeared  during  the  conflicts  in  the  1990s 
remains a key issue to be solved in the Western Balkans. In July 2023, there were still 9 781 
missing persons as a legacy of the conflicts.  Serbia participated in  the work of the Missing 
Persons Group (MPG) under the framework plan, and the Serbian government Commission on 
the Missing Persons also  engaged in  activities with  the International  Committee of the Red 
Cross  (ICRC)  and  the  International  Commission  on  Missing  Persons  (ICMP)  to  promote 
bilateral cooperation with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro in the resolution 
of missing person cases. In June 2023, rules of procedure for cooperation between Montenegro 
and Serbia were formally signed with a view to implement the bilateral cooperation protocol. 
Bilateral cooperation with Croatia on these issues resumed on an informal basis, with a number 
of meetings in January and March 2023, as part of broader efforts to improve bilateral relations. 
The  Belgrade  delegation  to  the  ICRC-chaired  working  group  on  missing  persons  remained 
engaged in 2022 and 2023, including in assessing possible gravesites in Serbia and Kosovo. 
No session of the working group took place after April 2021 as the Kosovo delegation refuses 
to hold new meetings until the Serbian delegation changes its head. Nonetheless, lower levels 
of  the  mechanism  (sub-working  group  on  forensic  issues  and  analytical  team)  continued  to 
work on concrete cases and sites. In May 2023, the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo, in the context 
of the EU-Facilitated Dialogue, endorsed the Declaration on Missing Persons committing to 

92 

 
 
full implementation of respective commitments in this area, and improving their cooperation 
under the ICRC-chaired working group. 

Serbia  remained  overall  committed  to  maintaining  good  bilateral  relations  with  other 
enlargement countries and neighbouring EU Member States. 

Relations  with  Albania  remained  good  overall.  In  September  2022,  a  memorandum  of 
understanding on cooperation in the energy sector was signed. In July 2023, Albanian Prime 
Minister visited Belgrade and Serbian Prime Minister visited Tirana for a regional meeting.   

Relations  with  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  are  good  and  overall  stable.  The  new  Minister  of 
Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina visited Serbia in February 2023 and met all Serbian 
leaders. Border demarcation issues need to be resolved and the countries still need to reach an 
agreement  on  two  dams  on  the  Drina  River  and  a  part  of  the  Belgrade-Bar  railway,  which 
crosses into Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Relations with Montenegro are overall stable. The Serbian President attended the inauguration 
ceremony of the new Montenegrin President, who visited Serbia in July 2023. In September 
2022, the Prime Minister of Montenegro visited Serbia. Serbian media outlets have a strong 
footprint in  Montenegro’s media landscape. The  participation  of mayors  and heads of local 
assemblies  of  six  municipalities  from  Montenegro  and  representatives  of  the  former 
Democratic Front at the Serbian Parliament’s Committee for Diaspora and Serbs in the region 
sparked  controversy  in  Montenegro.  In  August  2023,  Serbia  banned  the  entry  of  a  former 
Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister on alleged security grounds.  

Relations  with  North  Macedonia  are  good.  In  March  2023,  the  Prime  Minister  of  North 
Macedonia  visited  Belgrade  and  three  memorandums  of  understanding  were  signed.  They 
concern measures promoting the movement of people and goods, cooperation in the mining 
and energy sector, and a project to establish an interoperable electronic tolling system. In April 
2023, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in EU integration was signed. 

Relations with Türkiye are very good. In January 2023, the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs 
visited Ankara.  In December 2022, a Turkish parliamentary delegation  was in  Belgrade.  In 
March 2023, Serbia donated EUR 1.5 million of assistance to Türkiye and Syria following the 
devastating earthquake. In June 2023, the Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  in  the  capacity  of  special  envoy  of  the  Serbian  President,  attended  the 
inauguration of the Turkish President. In August 2023, the two Presidents met in Hungary in 
the margins of a wider event. 

Serbia has not joined the sanctions against the Russian Federation, but it supports the territorial 
integrity  and  sovereignty  of  Ukraine  (for  more  details  see  Chapter  31).  Serbia  provided 
humanitarian assistance and energy equipment to Ukraine. In August 2023, Serbian President 
had the first official bilateral meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart in Athens, following a 
brief  and  informal  meeting  between  the  two  in  the  margins  of  the  European  Political 
Community summit in the Republic of Moldova in June 2023. In February 2023, allegations 
of Serbian football fans’ involvement in  an attempted  coup d’état  or destabilising  activities 
promoted by Russia in Moldova created short-lived tensions that were quickly resolved at the 
highest bilateral level. Serbia’s relations with  Georgia are overall good. A memorandum of 
understanding between Serbia and Georgia is in place on cooperation in the area of European 
integration. Trade exchanges with the three countries are underdeveloped. 

Relations with neighbouring EU Member States Romania and Bulgaria are overall good and 
with Hungary very good. In June 2023, a Strategic Cooperation Council with Hungary was 
established  and  held  its  first  session;  12  agreements  were  signed.  Relations  with  Croatia 

93 

 
 
improved. In January 2023, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries met twice, 
and  Serbia  appointed  a  State  Secretary  in  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  as  the  national 
coordinator for addressing open issues with Zagreb. The Croatian and Serbian Prime Ministers 
met  twice,  in  January  2023  in  Croatia  and  in  June  2023  in  Serbia,  in  the  margins  of  their 
informal visits to the other country to meet representatives of their respective national minority. 

4. NORMALISATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN SERBIA AND KOSOVO 

The  EU-facilitated  Dialogue  on  normalisation  of  relations  between  Kosovo  and  Serbia 
continued  in  the  reporting  period  with  regular  meetings  at  the  level  of  Leaders  and  Chief 
Negotiators.  After  months  of  intense  negotiations  and  with  the  support  of  key  partners,  the 
Parties reached an Agreement on the Path to Normalisation in Brussels on 27 February 2023, 
and agreed on its Implementation Annex in Ohrid, North Macedonia, on 18 March 2023. As 
part of the Agreement, the Parties took note that the Agreement and the Implementation Annex 
will become integral parts of the respective EU accession processes of Kosovo and Serbia.10   

Both  Kosovo  and  Serbia  are  yet  to  start  implementation  of  their  respective  obligations 
stemming from the Agreement, which are valid and binding for the Parties and part of their 
European  paths.  The  Parties  are  urged  to  start  engaging  more  constructively  and  start 
implementation without further delay or precondition. This includes the establishment of the 
Association/Community of Serb Majority Municipalities (A/CSM). Kosovo is expected to start 
the  process  leading  to  the  establishment  of  the  A/CSM  based  on  the  European  proposal 
presented to the Parties on 21 October 2023 and Serbia is expected to support this process and 
start delivering on their key obligations from the Agreement in parallel. Formalities, including 
related to adoption, should not stand in the way of making progress in implementation. The 
Parties  further  have  an  obligation  to  fully  implement  all  past  Dialogue  Agreements.  The 
constructiveness  of  the  Parties  is  assessed  based  on  their  implementation  performance.  The 
European Council on 26 October 2023 regretted the lack of implementation by both Parties of 
the Agreement  on the path  to  normalisation and its Implementation Annex as well as other 
agreements  reached  in  the  EU  facilitated  dialogue,  led  by  the  High  Representative  and 
supported  by  the  EU  Special  Representative.  11Normalisation  of  relations  is  an  essential 
condition on the European path of both Parties and both risk losing important opportunities in 
the absence of progress. Despite the conclusion of the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation, 
the  Dialogue  has  been  hampered  throughout  the  reporting  period  by  a  number  of  negative 
developments and crises in the north of Kosovo triggered by actions of one or both Parties. 
Kosovo has executed a number of such actions in the north of Kosovo, including the increased 
presence of Kosovo’s special police and expropriation of land, which have created widespread 

10 Implementation Annex to the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia: This Annex constitutes an integral part of the Agreement. 
Kosovo and Serbia fully commit to honour all Articles of the Agreement and this Annex, and implement all their respective obligations stemming from the Agreement and this Annex 
expediently and in good faith. 
The Parties take note that the Agreement and the Implementation Annex will become integral parts of the respective EU accession processes of Kosovo and Serbia. The Parties note that 
immediately after the adoption of the Agreement and this Annex, the EU Facilitator will start the process to amend the Chapter 35 benchmarks for Serbia to reflect Serbia’s new 
obligations stemming from the Agreement and this Annex. The agenda of Kosovo’s Special Group on Normalisation will equally reflect Kosovo’s new obligations stemming from the 
Agreement and this Annex. 
The Parties agree to endorse the Declaration on Missing Persons, as negotiated under the EU-facilitated Dialogue, as a matter of urgency. 
To implement Article 7, Kosovo launches immediately negotiations within the EU-facilitated Dialogue on establishing specific arrangements and guarantees to ensure an appropriate 
level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo, in compliance with relevant previous Dialogue agreements as determined by the EU Facilitator. 
The Parties agree to set up a Joint Monitoring Committee, chaired by the EU, within 30 days. The implementation of all provisions shall be ensured and supervised by the Joint 
Monitoring Committee. 
To implement Article 9, the EU will organise a donor conference within 150 days to set up an investment and financial aid package for Kosovo and Serbia. No disbursement will happen 
before the EU determines that all provisions of the Agreement have been fully implemented. 
Kosovo and Serbia agree that all Articles will be implemented independently of each other. 
The order of the paragraphs of this Annex is without prejudice to the order of their implementation. 
Kosovo and Serbia agree not to block implementation of any of the Articles. 
All discussions related to implementation of the Agreement will take place under the EU-facilitated Dialogue. 
Kosovo and Serbia recognise that any failure to honour their obligations from the Agreement, this Annex or the past Dialogue Agreements may have direct negative consequences for 
their respective EU accession processes and the financial aid they receive from the EU. 

11 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/67627/20241027-european-council-conclusions.pdf 

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discontent among the local Kosovo Serb population and negatively affected the Dialogue. The 
mass  resignation  of  Kosovo  Serbs  from  Kosovo  institutions  –  police,  judiciary,  and 
administration – in November 2022, roadblocks in the north of Kosovo in reaction to arrests of 
Kosovo Serbs in December 2022, as well as the boycott of early local by-elections in April 
2023 by Kosovo Serbs further damaged the Dialogue and exacerbated the negative atmosphere 
around it. As a result of the Kosovo Serbs leaving all Kosovo institutions in November 2022, 
by-elections took place in the four Kosovo Serb majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo 
on 23 April 2023. While the elections were held in line with the legal framework of Kosovo, 
not all parties and communities made use of their democratic right to participate and vote in 
the  elections,  resulting  in  a  record  low  turnout,  which  does  not  offer  a  long-term  political 
solution for these municipalities. 

While there had been no progress in the implementation of the Energy Roadmap adopted in 
June 2022, the tentative agreement in August 2023 between the commercial companies KEDS 
and Elektrosever on the scope of functions potentially marks a significant step forward in the 
implementation of the Roadmap. The Parties are now expected to quickly enable the signing 
of the outstanding commercial and technical agreements between the two companies to ensure 
that people living in the four Kosovo Serb-majority municipalities in the north start paying for 
the electricity they consume. 

the  reporting  period, 

During 
the  political 
declaration  on  Missing  Persons  in  May  2023.  The  Parties  are  encouraged  to  start 
implementation  of  the  declaration  immediately  and,  as  the  first  step,  agree  to  the  Terms  of 
Reference for the Joint Commission that is to be established as per the declaration.   

the  Parties  agreed  on  and  endorsed 

When it comes to the state of play on implementation of past Dialogue agreements: 

-  The  withdrawal  of  Kosovo  Serbs  from  Kosovo  institutions  in  November  2022  and  the 
boycott of local elections in the north of Kosovo in April 2023 violate Serbia’s Dialogue 
obligations and they constitute severe backsliding in Serbia’s compliance to the April 2013 
“First agreement of principles governing the normalisation of relations” and direct violation 
of the Justice Agreement of 2015. Serbia is urged to encourage Kosovo Serbs to return to 
the institutions immediately and Kosovo to enable this return to happen. Since November 
2022, neither Party has taken any steps in this regard. The recruitment of new Kosovo Serb 
police  cadets  undertaken  by  the  Kosovo  Police  while  welcomed,  did  not  follow  the 
procedures in line with Dialogue agreements.  

-  There  has  still  been  no  further  progress  on  the  implementation  of  the  August  2015 
Agreement.  While the EU welcomes the presentation of a first draft Statute of the A/CSM 
to the High-level Dialogue in May 2023, the draft presented is not in line with the relevant 
Dialogue  Agreements.  A  European  proposal 
the 
A/CSM in Kosovo was presented to the Parties on 21 October 2023. Formalities, including 
related  to  adoption  should  not  stand  in  the  way  of  making  progress  in  implementation. 
Kosovo and Serbia are now urged to engage constructively   on the establishment of the 
A/CSM with no further delay, conditions or obstructions. This obligation forms a part of 
the implementation of the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation of Relations, which the 
Parties are expected advance on, without delay or precondition, as recalled by the European 
Council in October 2023. The issue of Serbia-run structures needs to be addressed in this 
same context.  

the  establishment  of 

for 

-  The works on the Mitrovica Bridge have long been completed and Serbia is expected to 
engage constructive to allow the bridge to be opened to vehicle traffic without obstruction. 
Any decision on opening of the Bridge has to be agreed and coordinated in the Dialogue. 

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-  As regards the technical Dialogue agreements (2011-2012), some are not or only partially 
being  implemented.  Until  sustainable  solutions  are  found,  both  Parties  need  to  remain 
committed  to  the  continued  implementation  of  the  agreement  on  representation  and 
participation of Kosovo in regional forums and not block the work of regional forums over 
bilateral  disputes.  The  implementation  of  the  cadastre  and  acceptance  of  university 
diplomas agreements is still pending due to non-implementation by Serbia. Serbia also has 
yet  to  address  the  issue  of  re-located  Serbian  administrative  customs  structures  with 
Kosovo  denomination  that  operate  from  within  Serbia,  and  to  cease  the  issuance  of 
documentation  or  affixing  of  stamps  with  denomination  that  contravenes  the  related 
agreement.  

-  On  IBM,  the  Interim  Common  Crossing-Points  (CCPs)  between  Kosovo  and  Serbia 
continue  to  be  operational.  Only  two  of  the  six  permanent  CCPs  have  been  established 
(Merdare and Mutivodë/Mutivode). Serbia still has not established permanent CCPs to be 
hosted by their side (Jarinje/Rudnica, Končulj/Dheu i Bardhë and Depce/Muçibabë), which 
led to a suspension of EU funds for this project in July 2018. In addition, Serbia needs to 
engage constructively to enable the construction of the third CCP hosted by Kosovo in the 
north of Kosovo at Tabavije/Bërnjak-Tabalije/Brnjak. Additional efforts are required from 
Serbia to close illegal roads and bypasses to ensure exclusive use of official crossing points 
for goods and persons entering into or leaving Kosovo. Serbia also must allow resumption 
of the joint technical IBM meetings at all levels. 

-  On  Freedom  of  Movement,  after  months  of  tensions,  Kosovo  and  Serbia  agreed  in 
November  2022  that  Serbia  will  stop  issuing  new  licence  plates  with  Kosovo  cities’ 
denominations, and that Kosovo will suspend any further actions related to re-registration 
of  vehicles.  The  full  implementation  of  the  Freedom  of  Movement  agreements  is  still 
pending. This also requires the Parties to find a permanent solution to the issue of licence 
plates  in  compliance  with  the  relevant  Dialogue  agreements.  Lack  of  such  solution  has 
continued to cause tensions in the north of Kosovo during the reporting period.  

-  Both  Parties  need  to  fully  respect  the  Telecoms  Agreement  and  not  put  its  hitherto 
successful implementation at risk. Kosovo needs to ensure that MTS d.o.o has a business 
licence  for  the  functions  that  have  been  agreed  as  part  of  the  Agreement  to  enable  the 
company to continue providing mobile and landline telephony services. MTS d.o.o needs 
to engage constructively and in line with the Kosovo law to enable this to happen.   

-  The processing of the Mutual legal assistance requests has been stopped by Serbia. Serbia 
needs to resume the processing immediately, in line with the relevant Dialogue Agreement.  

-  Both Parties need to respect the Arrangements for Official Visits more consistently. Kosovo 
needs to  allow the visits  of the Serbian Chief Negotiator and other Serbian government 
officials when they are announced and conducted in line with the Arrangements, which has 
not always been the case during the reporting period.  

Overall, Serbia has remained engaged in the Dialogue, but it needs to demonstrate more serious 
commitment,  invest  more  efforts  and  make  compromises  to  take  the  normalisation  process 
forward.  Serbia  needs  to  uphold  its  Dialogue  commitments  and  commit  to  the  full 
implementation  of  all  past  Dialogue  agreements  and  the  Agreement  on  the  Path  to 
Normalisation  of  Relations.  Moving  forward,  Serbia  also  needs  to  make  further  substantial 
efforts to avoid actions that undermine stability and rhetoric that is not conducive to dialogue. 
Serbia also needs to create a conducive environment for the conclusion of the legally-binding 
normalisation  Agreement  with  Kosovo,  including  in  its  international  relations.  Serbia  is 
expected to engage more constructively to enable negotiations on the comprehensive legally-
96 

 
 
binding  normalisation  Agreement  to  start  and  show  flexibility  in  order  to  make  rapid  and 
concrete progress. Reaching such an Agreement is urgent and crucial so that Kosovo and Serbia 
can advance on their respective European paths. An important requirement for negotiations on 
the comprehensive legally-binding Agreement is for the Parties to implement the Agreement 
on the Path to Normalisation swiftly and efficiently and without any conditions or obstructions. 

The  reporting  period  was  marked  by  multiple  crises  and  violent  incidents  in  the  north  of 
Kosovo. The most serious crisis during the reporting period occurred on 24 September 2023, 
when Kosovo Police was attacked by heavily armed individuals, who were surprised in the 
midst  of  a  major  weapons’  smuggling  operation,  leaving  one  police  officer  dead  and  three 
wounded.  During  the  operation  the  attackers  had  taken  several  pilgrims  hostage  while 
barricading  themselves in  the Serbian Orthodox  Monastery of Banjska/Banjskё, which  they 
left behind when fleeing. During the ongoing investigation into the events large amounts of 
military-grade weapons were seized. In the following days the Deputy Leader of Srpska Lista, 
through his lawyer, announced that he prepared and coordinated the attack. He was questioned 
by Serbian authorities, shortly detained and released with his passport confiscated. The Serbian 
government pronounced a day of mourning “over tragic events”, which was largely observed 
as  commemoration  of  the  attackers.  In  the  days  following  the  attack,  Serbia  increased  its 
military presence in the vicinity of Kosovo, which was subsequently reduced. The perpetrators 
of the attack need to be apprehended and swiftly brought to justice and Serbia is expected to 
fully cooperate and take all the necessary steps in this regard. The attack should not serve as 
an  excuse  for  either  side  to  divert  attention  from  the  EU-facilitated  Dialogue.  Kosovo  and 
Serbia  must  pursue  sustained  de-escalation  efforts,  as  well  as  ensure  the  holding  of  new 
elections in the north of Kosovo as soon as possible, with the active participation of Kosovo 
Serbs.  

Prior to it, another serious escalation took place in May 2023, when the newly elected Kosovo 
Albanian mayors were installed in the municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo, against the 
clear  recommendation  of  the  international  community,  which  triggered  protests  by  Kosovo 
Serbs. Some turned violent and led to unacceptable and unprovoked attacks against citizens, 
KFOR soldiers, law enforcement and representatives of media, which are yet to be condemned, 
investigated, prosecuted and acted upon by Serbia. Several arrests of Kosovo Serbs by Kosovo 
Police in relation to their alleged involvement in the violence of 29 May in  Zveçan/Zvečan, 
which did not systematically and fully adhere to the legal requirements, are of concern.  

To find a way out of the cycle of crises, the Parties are expected to meet the requests of the EU, 
as per the statements by the High Representative on behalf of the EU from 3 June 202312 and 
19  September13  related  to  de-escalation  on  the  situation  on  the  ground,  enabling  new  early 
elections  with  unconditional  participation  of  Kosovo  Serbs,  return  to  the  Dialogue  and 
implementation of all Agreements. The European Council expressed on 26 October 2023 that 
failure to de-escalate the tensions will have consequences. 14 

5. ABILITY TO ASSUME THE OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP 

12 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/06/03/statement-by-the-high-representative-
on-behalf-of-the-eu-on-kosovo-and-latest-developments/ 
13 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/09/19/belgrade-pristina-dialogue-
statement-by-the-high-representative-on-behalf-of-the-european-union-on-expectations-from-serbia-and-
kosovo/  
14 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/67627/20241027-european-council-conclusions.pdf 

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CLUSTER 2: INTERNAL MARKET 

This cluster covers free movement of goods (Chapter 1), freedom of movement for workers 
(Chapter 2), right of establishment and freedom to provide services (Chapter 3), free movement 
of  capital  (Chapter  4),  company  law  (Chapter  6),  intellectual  property  law  (Chapter  7), 
competition  policy  (Chapter  8),  financial  services  (Chapter  9),  and  consumer  and  health 
protection  (Chapter  28).  Four  chapters  have  been  opened,  namely  chapters  4,  6,  7  and  9. 
Opening benchmarks are yet to be met on chapters 1 and 8. This cluster is key for Serbia’s 
preparations for the requirements of the EU’s internal market and is of high relevance for early 
integration and the development of the Common Regional Market. 

Progress was limited in most areas within the cluster. No progress was registered in the area of 
free movement of capital. 

In the coming period, Serbia is invited to focus on the following areas: adopting an action plan 
to ensure compliance with Articles 34-36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union and a strategy and action plan for implementing the acquis on free movement of goods; 
enhancing  cooperation  with  EU  Member  States  on  coordination  of  social  security  systems; 
adopting the Law on services; liberalising capital movements in line with obligations under the 
Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA); aligning with the  acquis on company law, 
particularly on  takeover bids; aligning the copyright and related rights legislation with the EU 
directives on collective rights management and on orphan works; aligning the existing fiscal 
State aid schemes with the EU acquis and improving the track record in the area of competition 
and State aid; continue to align the banking regulation with the revised versions of the Capital 
Requirements  Regulation  and  the  Capital  Requirements  Directive  (CRR/CRD);  and  further 
aligning  with  the  EU  consumer  protection  and  health  protection  acquis,  including  on 
substances of human origin, tobacco and medicines for human and veterinary use. 

Chapter 1: Free movement of goods 

The free movement of goods ensures that many products can be traded freely across the EU 
based on common rules and procedures. Where products are governed by national rules, the 
principle of the free movement of goods prevents these rules creating unjustified barriers to 
trade. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of free movement of goods. Limited progress was 
made  on  last  year’s  recommendations  by  adopting  implementing  legislation  on  the 
classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals (CLP), and by further aligning with the 
EU acquis on eco-design. Other recommendations from last year’s report remain valid. 

In the coming year Serbia should in particular: 

→  finalise and adopt an action plan to ensure compliance with Articles 34-36 of the Treaty on 
the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU),  and  a  strategy  and  action  plan  for 
implementing  the  EU  acquis  in  this  chapter  for  sectoral  (‘new  approach’  and  ‘old 
approach’) and horizontal legislation and relevant organisations; 

→  align with the latest market surveillance acquis by adopting the law on market surveillance;  

→  provide  adequate  administrative,  financial  and  human  resources  capacity  for  market 
surveillance, the agency for the homologation of vehicles, and for implementation of the 
European  Regulation  on  Registration,  Evaluation,  Authorisation  and  Restriction  of 
Chemicals (REACH). 

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General principles 

On  the  general  principles,  Serbia  still  needs  to  adopt  a  strategy  and  an  action  plan  to 
implement  the  EU  acquis  related  to  this  chapter  for  sectoral  (‘new  approach’  and  ‘old 
approach’) and horizontal legislation, and for relevant organisations. 

Non-harmonised area 

On horizontal measures, Serbia still needs to adopt, and then start to implement, an action 
plan ensuring compliance with Articles 34-36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union (TFEU). Serbia partly aligned with the EU acquis on mutual recognition. 

Harmonised area: quality infrastructure 

The  quality  council,  an  expert  advisory  body  established  to  further  promote  and  improve 
quality  infrastructure,  did  not  provide  recommendations  on  quality  infrastructure-related 
activities  during  the  reporting  period.  Shortages  in  human  resources  for  the  quality 
infrastructure  institutions  dealing  with  standardisation  have  been  addressed,  while  the 
Accreditation  Body  of  Serbia  (ATS),  market  surveillance,  the  agency  for  homologation  of 
vehicles and REACH would benefit from further strengthening. 

In 2022, the government adopted the Regulation on notification and information of technical 
regulations, conformity assessment and standards, aiming to fully align with the EU acquis on 
information in the field  of technical regulations. Overall, further efforts need to be made to 
raise awareness and understanding of quality infrastructure among business and consumers in 
Serbia. 

On standardisation, there are 176 active national standardisation technical committees in the 
Institute for Standardisation of Serbia. In the reporting period, the Institute adopted 99.39% of 
the  European  Committee  for  Standardisation  (CEN)  standards,  97.33%  of  the  European 
Committee  for  Electrotechnical  Standardisation  (CENELEC)  standards,  and  100%  of  the 
European  Telecommunications  Standards  Institute  (ETSI)  standards.  8.3%  of  European 
standards and deliverables were adopted by the ‘translation method’. 

The number of conformity assessment bodies in Serbia is currently 774. Out of these, 19 are 
designated and registered for carrying out conformity assessment in accordance with technical 
legislation.  Although  the  obligations  regarding  certificates  of  conformity  were  repealed  by 
Serbia in February 2022, by amending the Law on products for general use, a small number of 
certificates of conformity continue to apply to imports of goods such as drones, construction 
products such as cement, steel for the reinforcement of concrete, and for screws. During the 
reporting  period,  the  Accreditation  Body  of  Serbia  (ATS)  awarded  28  new  accreditations, 
revoked eight and suspended four. 

Serbian legislation remains partly aligned with the EU  acquis on accreditation. In October 
2022, the European co-operation for Accreditation formally confirmed that the ATS remains a 
signatory in the field of calibration, testing including medical testing, inspection, certification 
of management systems, certification of products, processes and services, and certification of 
persons, and confirmed that the ATS is compliant with requirements in the field of proficiency 
testing providers. 

In  the  field  of  metrology,  Serbian  legislation  remains  partly  aligned  with  the  EU  acquis. 
During  the  reporting  period,  the  Directorate  of  Measures  and  Precious  Metals  (DMDM) 
published 172 new calibration and measurement capabilities in various fields. The number of 
internationally recognised standards for calibration and measurement stands at 34. 

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On market surveillance, Serbia’s legislation remains to be aligned with the latest EU acquis. 
Although aided by its IT platform (e-Inspektor), the market surveillance inspectorate, which 
has 458 systemised positions, has reduced the number of staff to 322 employees. Its financing 
and budget still require additional resources. In the reporting period, the market surveillance 
and  inspection  authorities  carried  out  5  825  inspections  and  ordered  627  corrective  and 
restrictive measures for non-compliant or unsafe products. The sanitary inspection has removed 
approximately 34 tonnes of unsafe imported products off the market.  

Harmonised area: sectoral legislation 

In the area of ‘new and global approach’ product legislation, Serbia adopted implementing 
legislation designed to  fully align with the EU  acquis on eco-design. Serbian legislation on 
cableways,  radio  equipment,  gas  appliances,  construction  products,  civil  explosives, 
pyrotechnic  articles, medical  devices and  in  vitro medical  devices remains partially aligned 
with the EU acquis. 

In the area of ‘old approach product legislation’, some progress was made on alignment with 
the  Classification,  Labelling  and  Packaging  Regulation  (CLP),  through  the  adoption  of 
implementing legislation. The administrative and inspection capacity for implementing the EU 
acquis for vehicle homologation requires strengthening. Serbia is partly aligned with the EU 
acquis  on  detergents.  It  is  not  aligned  with  the  EU  acquis  on  motor  vehicles,  two  or  three 
wheeled  vehicles,  tractors,  non-road  mobile  machinery  emissions,  fertilisers,  and  drug 
precursors.  

On procedural  measures, in  May 2023 Serbia  adopted a national  control  list  for  dual-use 
goods designed to be aligned with the EU acquis, and in May 2023 published a national control 
list of weapons. Serbian legislation on firearms and medicinal products pricing remains to be 
aligned with the EU acquis. 

Chapter 2: Freedom of movement for workers 

Citizens of one Member State have the right  to work in another Member State and must be 
given the same working and social conditions as other workers. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of freedom of movement for workers. Serbia made 
limited progress in this area by continuing to carry out preparations for joining the European 
network of employment services (EURES). 

No new bilateral agreements with EU Member States on coordination of social security systems 
have been concluded. Therefore, last year’s recommendation remains valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→ step up cooperation with EU Member States on coordination of social security systems; 

→ initiate preparations for joining the European Labour Authority. 

Regarding  access  to  the  labour  market,  the  procedures  for  issuing  work  permits  to  EU 
citizens,  who  are  currently  covered  by  rules  for  third-country  nationals,  need  to  be  further 
simplified. In 2022, a total of 35 173 work permits were issued, of which 2 101 to EU citizens.  

Serbia’s  National  Employment  Service  (NES)  has  continued  to  carry  out  preparations  for 
joining  the  European  network  of  employment  services  (EURES),  notably  by  initiating 
preparations  for  adapting  the  work  processes  of  NES  to  EURES  requirements.  Two  new 
migration service centres were opened in Subotica and Vranje, in addition to the seven existing 
ones. NES organised EURES-related training sessions for the staff of its migration services 
centres and completed the reengineering of its information system. 

100 

 
 
Serbia needs to initiate preparations for joining the European Labour Authority. 

Regarding the coordination of social security systems, bilateral agreements are in place with 
20  EU  Member  States.  No  new  bilateral  agreements  were  concluded.  Overall,  legislative, 
technical and administrative conditions for social security institutions to cooperate with their 
counterparts in EU Member States need to be further improved. 

There were no developments on the European Health Insurance Card. 

Chapter 3: Right of establishment and freedom to provide services 

EU natural and legal persons have the right to establish themselves in any Member State and 
to provide cross-border services. For certain regulated professions, there are rules on mutual 
recognition of qualifications. EU rules on postal  services focus on improving the quality of 
universal  service,  gradual  market  opening  to  competition,  and  the  establishment  of  an 
independent regulator. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in these areas. Limited progress was made on the right of 
establishment and freedom to provide services, with the continued screening and alignment of 
sectoral laws with the EU acquis and the further strengthening of the capacity of the postal 
services inspectorate. Nevertheless, last year’s recommendations remain valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  adopt  the  horizontal  Law  on  services,  complete  alignment  of  sectoral  laws  with  the 
horizontal law and the EU acquis, and establish a point of single contact via a portal that 
offers  online  information  to  service  providers,  including  on  all  relevant  administrative 
procedures; 

→  complete alignment with the EU postal acquis; and 

→  continue  alignment  with  the  EU  acquis  on  mutual  recognition  of  professional 
qualifications, including on the directives on recognition of professional qualifications and 
on a proportionality test before adoption of new regulation of professions. 

In the areas of the right of establishment and freedom to provide cross-border services, the 
horizontal  Law  on  services,  aiming  to  align  with  the  EU  Services  Directive,  remains  to  be 
adopted. Serbia has continued with the screening and alignment of sectoral laws with the draft 
horizontal law and the EU Services Directive. During the reporting period, Serbia concluded 
the  screening  process  of  15  laws,  15  implementing  laws  and  8  regulations  in  the  field  of 
environmental protection. No point of single contact has been established; its establishment 
and functioning are dependent on the adoption of the horizontal Law on services. 

The Law on postal services is aligned with the 1997 and 2002 Postal Services Directives and 
partially  with  the  2008  Postal  Services  Directive,  as  it  maintains  a  reserved  area  for  the 
provision of universal service. Serbia is currently preparing to complete the alignment of its 
national legislation with the 2008 Postal Services Directive and the Regulation on cross-border 
parcel delivery services. In 2022, Serbia also concluded an analysis for the implementation of 
the Regulation on cross-border parcel delivery services, as envisaged under the action plan of 
the strategy for the development of postal services for the period 2021-2025, which will inform 
preparations for amending the Law on postal services. The Regulatory Agency for Electronic 
Communications and Postal Services is the independent national regulatory authority in the 
field  of  postal  services.  In  October  2022,  a  new  Ministry  of  Information  and 
Telecommunications was formed, including a department for postal inspection. The upgraded 
administrative capacity of the postal services inspectorate is sufficient to  ensure compliance 
with the current Law on postal services and monitor the national postal market. Serbia should 
101 

 
 
complete  the  regulatory  alignment  with  the  EU  postal  acquis  and  continue  preparing  for 
implementing the new postal market rules, in view of amending the postal law. 

In  the  field  of  mutual  recognition  of  professional  qualifications,  national  legislation  is 
largely aligned with the EU acquis. A preliminary list of 50 regulated professions, drafted with 
EU support, is still pending adoption. Serbia has adopted the three agreements, reached in 2022 
in  the  framework  of  the  Berlin  Process,  on  recognition  of  professional  and  academic 
qualifications. Further alignment is still needed on the relevant sectoral legislation. 

Chapter 4: Free movement of capital 

In the EU, capital and investments must be able to move without restrictions, with common 
rules for cross-border payments. Banks and other economic operators apply certain rules to 
support the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. 

Serbia is moderately prepared on free movement of capital. No progress was made during 
the reporting period. Last year’s recommendations remain valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  liberalise  capital  movements  in  line  with  its  obligations  under  the  Stabilisation  and 
Association  Agreement,  in  particular  by  removing  the  remaining  restrictions  on  the 
acquisition of agricultural land by EU nationals, and by adopting amendments to the Law 
on the elements of property law relations, to ensure equal treatment on the acquisition of 
property rights; and 

→  demonstrate, through a track record, increasing effectiveness in monitoring, supervision, 

financial intelligence, investigation and reporting. 

In  the  field  of  capital  movements  and  payments,  Serbia  has  liberalised  many  capital 
transactions. Certain restrictions on capital movements remain for reasons of public policy and 
macro-financial stability. These must be justified, targeted and proportionate and should be 
gradually lifted. There are still some restrictions and authorisation requirements regarding the 
possibility of residents to engage in deposit operations abroad. The agricultural law still does 
not provide EU citizens and Serbian citizens with the same conditions in terms of acquiring 
agricultural land. Amendments to the legislation on elements of property law relations, which 
will aim at providing EU citizens with the same treatment as Serbian nationals regarding the 
acquisition  of  real  estate,  are  still  being  drafted.  Against  this  background,  Serbia  is  not 
complying with its obligations under the SAA. 

On payment systems, no changes were made to align the Law on multilateral interchange fees 
and special operating rules for card-based payment transactions with the EU acquis and SAA 
obligations (See Chapter 8 – Competition policy). The National Bank of Serbia continued with 
the preparatory activities to fully align the Law on payment services and relevant by-laws with 
the Payment Service Directive 2 (PSD 2). Serbia has currently 12 licensed payment institutions 
and 4 electronic money institutions providing payment services. 

On the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, Serbia is still reporting to 
MONEYVAL  about  the  implementation  of  the  outstanding  2016  mutual  evaluation  report 
recommendations. Serbia will remain in enhanced follow-up and is expected in 2023 to report 
back to MONEYVAL on progress to strengthen its implementation of anti-money laundering 
and  counter-terrorist  financing  measures.  The  2022-2024  action  plan  accompanying  the 
national  anti-money  laundering/countering  the  financing  of  terrorism  strategy  is  being 
implemented.  

102 

 
 
The  rulebook  on  internal  organisation  and  job  classification  in  the  Administration  for  the 
Prevention of Money Laundering (APML) was amended in December 2022 to reflect internal 
organisational changes. Its administrative capacity decreased further to 28 employees against 
the envisaged 42 members. In 2022, 1 563 suspicious transactions were reported.  

Chapter 6: Company law 

The  EU  has  common  rules  on  the  formation,  registration  and  disclosure requirements  of  a 
company,  with  complementary  rules  for  accounting  and  financial  reporting,  and  statutory 
audit.  

Serbia has a good level of preparation in company law. Limited progress was made with the 
mandatory electronic filing of applications for incorporation for joint-stock and limited liability 
companies,  and  for  limited  and  general  partnerships.  Further  alignment  is  needed  in  the 
company law area. Therefore, last year’s recommendation remains valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  further align with the EU acquis on company law, particularly on takeover bids; and 
→  start  working  on  aligning  national  legislation  with  the  EU  acquis  on  cross-border 
conversions, mergers and divisions and on the use of digital tools and processes in company 
law. 

As regards company law and corporate governance, Serbia’s legislation is largely aligned 
with the EU acquis. Adoption of a new law on takeovers of joint-stock companies and related 
legislation to align with the acquis on company takeovers is still pending. Further alignment is 
needed with the directives on the use of digital tools, the directive on cross-border operations 
(mergers, divisions, conversions), and the directive on gender equality on boards of directors. 

Serbia’s Corporate Governance Code is based on EU best practice and OECD principles. The 
Serbian Business Registers Agency acts as a one-stop shop where companies obtain a unique 
registration and tax identification number and online access to company information. It also 
provides  for  electronic  registration  of  the  formation  of  limited  liability  companies.  In  May 
2023, the electronic filing of applications for incorporation became mandatory for joint-stock 
and limited liability companies, and for limited and general partnerships. Company information 
in the business register is stored electronically in a database, which should be technically ready 
to interconnect with the EU Business Registers Interconnection System upon EU accession. 
Serbia’s  Law  on  companies  defines  the  formation  of  a  European  Company  and  European 
Economic Interest Grouping; as yet there are no plans for alignment regarding the statute for a 
European cooperative society. 

Regarding company reporting, under the Law on accounting and related financial reporting 
rules, companies must compile financial statements and submit them to the Serbian Business 
Register Agency. More than 5 400 accounting services providers have been registered in the 
new Register of Accounting Services Providers, in compliance with the Law on accounting. 
There are sanctions for the non-publication of individual and consolidated financial statements. 
Moving  forward,  Serbia  will  need  to  harmonise  its  legislation  to  align  with  the  2022  EU 
Directive  on  corporate  sustainability  reporting.  Implementation  of  the  2021  Law  on  capital 
market began in January 2023, following adoption by the Securities Commission, in July 2022, 
of a set of implementing legislation. The Law is partially aligned with the EU Transparency 
Directive  for  listed  companies.  The  Securities  Commission  is  the  Officially  Appointed 
Mechanism for the central storage of regulated information. It is also the body responsible for 
quality  assurance  and  public  audit  oversight.  Implementation  of  the  Law  on  auditing  is 

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discussed by the audit public oversight board and relevant action plans are revised on an annual 
basis. 

Chapter 7: Intellectual property law 

The  EU  has  harmonised  rules  for  the legal  protection  of  intellectual  property  rights  (IPR), 
copyright and related rights. Rules for the legal protection of IPR cover, for instance, patents 
and trade marks, designs, biotechnological inventions and pharmaceuticals. Rules for the legal 
protection  of  copyright  and  related  rights  cover,  for  instance,  books,  films,  software  and 
broadcasting. 

Serbia has a good level of preparation on intellectual property rights. Limited progress was 
made  with  slightly  improved  statistics  on  enforcement  and  the  launching  of  an  electronic 
interface for the submission of requests for the protection of intellectual property rights to the 
Market Inspectorate. Last year’s recommendations remain valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  align the copyright and related rights legislation with the EU directives on collective rights 
management, on orphan works and on certain permitted uses of certain works and other 
subject matter protected by copyright and related rights, for the benefit of persons who are 
blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled; and 

→  strengthen enforcement by improving capacities and further increasing the coordination of 

different stakeholders. 

Preparations of a new Law on copyright and related rights continued, with the aim to ensure 
full alignment with the acquis on collective rights management and orphan works. The new 
law also aims to fully implement the Marrakesh Directive. Serbia has yet to align with the EU 
Directives on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive) and 
on  online  transmissions of  broadcasting  organisations  and  retransmissions  of  television  and 
radio programmes (SatCab II Directive). 

On industrial property rights, the supplementary protection certificate manufacturing waiver 
started  to  apply  from  2 July 2022.  The  Intellectual  Property  Office  remains  relatively  well 
staffed and efficient in registering trademarks. 

On enforcement, the number of employees in the Market Inspectorate specialising in the field 
of intellectual property remained unchanged at 40 inspectors. In October 2022, their area of 
work expanded to include identification of infringements in computer software, taking over the 
competence from the Tax Administration, which employed four inspectors for these tasks. To 
strengthen  the  capacity  of  the  Market  Inspectorate,  a  department  for  IPR  enforcement  and 
prevention of illegal trade and a special unit for IPR enforcement were created. The number of 
software legality checks carried out by the Tax Administration slightly decreased in 2022. The 
overall  amount  of  counterfeit  and  pirated  goods  confiscated  and  destroyed  by  the  Market 
Inspectorate  increased  significantly  in  2022  (321 362,  compared  with  61 747  in  2021).  The 
number of procedures carried out by the Market  Inspectorate, both  ex officio and following 
requests  submitted  by  economic  operators,  increased  year-on-year.  The  number  of  customs 
officers specialised in intellectual property protection remained stable at 12 employees in 2022. 
The number of items detained by the Customs Administration increased substantially in 2022 
(1 134 213, compared with 145 866 in 2021), as well as the number of destroyed items (159, 
compared with 48 in 2021). The latest amendments to the Regulation on the conditions and 
method of implementation of measures for the protection of intellectual property rights at the 
border entered into force in January 2023. Due to inadequate specialisation and the increasing 

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number of incoming cases, the capacity of the judiciary to handle intellectual property rights 
cases remained limited. 

Work  to  further  align  with  the  EU  Directive  on  the  enforcement  of  IPR  is  ongoing.  The 
coordination body for the enforcement of intellectual property rights held one meeting in 2022, 
while the working groups established informal cooperation, notably in testing the electronic 
platform for information exchange among IPR enforcement institutions. However, the platform 
remains  to  be  launched.  The  Market  Inspectorate  launched  an  interface  for  electronic 
submission of requests for protection of intellectual property rights.  

Chapter 8: Competition policy 

EU rules protect free competition. They include antitrust rules against restrictive agreements 
between companies and abuse of a dominant position, and rules on concentrations between 
companies  which  would  significantly  impede  effective  competition.  EU  rules  also  set  out  a 
system  of  State  aid  control.  Governments  are  only  allowed  to  grant  State  aid  if  restrictive 
conditions are met, with a view to preventing distortion of competition. 

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  in  the  area  of  competition  policy.  Limited  progress  was 
made  on  legislative  alignment  of  State  aid  rules  with  the  EU  acquis,  in  the  form  of  the 
adoption  of  implementing  legislation.  However,  last  year’s  recommendations  on  the 
alignment with the EU acquis and obligations under SAA of the fiscal State aid schemes and 
the Law on multilateral fees and special operating rules for card-based payment transactions 
have not been met. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  align  the  existing  fiscal  State  aid  schemes  and  work  towards  aligning  the  Law  on 
multilateral  interchange  fees  and  special  operating  rules  for  card-based  payment 
transactions with the EU acquis and SAA obligations; 

→  ensure that the notification and standstill obligations are systematically respected for all 
State aid measures and establish a solid track record in the implementation of laws on 
protection of competition and State aid control; and  

→  finalise the inventory and define an action plan for the alignment of all existing State aid 

schemes identified as incompatible with the SAA obligations. 

Antitrust and mergers 

The  legislative  framework  is  broadly  in  line  with  Articles  101  and  102  TFEU  and  related 
provisions of the SAA. The current Law on protection of competition provides for an ex ante 
control of mergers. Three block exemption regulations providing further alignment with the 
EU acquis remain to be adopted. The legislative framework is yet to be fully brought in line 
with EU guidelines and communications in this area. No progress was made in aligning Article 
9  of  the  Law  on  multilateral  interchange  fees  and  special  operating  rules  for  card-based 
payment transactions with the EU acquis and the relevant provisions of the SAA. 

Regarding the institutional framework, the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) 
is the independent authority responsible for implementing the legal framework. Over the past 
years, the CPC has built a reputation as an operationally independent institution. However, the 
transparency  of  the  institution’s  work  needs  to  be  strengthened  and  decisions  should  be 
systematically published. 

The enforcement capacity of the CPC is adequate with 59 employees, of whom 33 are case 
handlers with an appropriate level of expertise. On implementation, the CPC has continued to 

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investigate a significant number of antitrust cases. In 2022, the CPC adopted 3 decisions on 
restrictive  agreements  and  2  on  abuse  of  dominant  position.  A  total  of  8  dawn  raids  in  the 
context of 3 cases were conducted in 2022. The leniency programme was not used. The level 
of imposed fines remained stable at around EUR 1 million in 2022. There were no mergers 
prohibited  and  no  merger  decisions  with  remedies  in  2022.  The  CPC  published  2  sector 
enquiries in 2022 concerning the markets of online food delivery platforms and other postal 
services. The CPC issued 10 opinions on draft legislation in 2022. The practice of consulting 
the CPC on all relevant legislation should continue and its opinions should be systematically 
taken into account. In 2022, the number of CPC decisions upheld by appeal courts dropped to 
9, down from 14 in 2021. The capacity and specialisation of the judiciary to deal with complex 
competition cases remains modest and needs to be improved significantly. Advocacy activities 
picked  up  in  the  reporting  period  with  promotion  of  the  CPC’s  competition  compliance 
programme, but they still need to be further stepped up. 

State aid 

Regarding the legislative framework, the Law on State aid control is broadly in line with the 
EU acquis and the relevant provisions of the SAA. Five new decrees were adopted during the 
reporting period, on the content and form of State aid notifications, on conditions and criteria 
for  compliance  of  State  aid  granted  to  undertakings  operating  in  the  railway  sector,  on 
conditions and criteria for compliance of state aid to undertakings operating in the air transport 
sector, on conditions and criteria for compliance of aid for accelerated investments in sectors 
strategic for the transition towards a net-zero economy and on conditions and criteria for the 
compliance of state aid granted in the form of guarantees. The temporary framework on State 
support to  the economy  in  the context of the COVID-19  crisis  partially expired on 30 June 
2022. Remaining provisions in force are broadly in line with the EU temporary framework. 

During  the  reporting  period,  the  Commission  for  State  Aid  Control  (CSAC)  adopted  four 
guidelines on assessing the compliance of state aid for research, development and innovation, 
on assessing whether the transaction constitutes state aid, on assessing the compliance of state 
aid for environmental protection and energy sector and on assessing the compliance of special 
cases of state aid to undertakings operating in the air transport sector. However, implementing 
legislation should be further aligned with the EU acquis. The existing State aid schemes, most 
notably  the  fiscal  State  aid  schemes  established  by  the  Laws  on  corporate  income  tax,  on 
personal income tax and on free zones, are not yet aligned with the EU acquis. CSAC prepared 
its  2022  annual  report  on  the  inventory  of  State  aid  schemes.  It  also  submitted  to  the 
Commission an updated inventory of State aid schemes not aligned with the acquis. However, 
the Commission’s comments on the inventory are yet to be fully taken on board and an action 
plan with a clear timetable for alignment of the schemes identified as incompatible remains to 
be adopted by the government. Furthermore, the regional aid map is yet to be drafted. 

On the institutional framework, CSAC is responsible for implementing the Law on State aid 
control. The law provides that CSAC is  accountable to  the Parliament and secures its legal 
independence. However, the operational independence of CSAC needs to be demonstrated by 
establishing a transparent track record that shows consistent and satisfactory implementation 
of the law. 

CSAC’s  enforcement  capacity  should  be  further  strengthened.  It  has  only  20  full-time 
employees from a total of 23 members of staff including the president, 4 council members and 
11 case handlers; this is significantly fewer than the 27 budgeted employees. 

The  implementation  of  the  Law  on  State  aid  control  should  be  further  strengthened.  In 
particular, the notification and the standstill obligations are still not respected systematically, 

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and State aid is occasionally provided to economic operators, particularly foreign investors, 
without prior approval by CSAC. The number of decisions taken upon notification dropped to 
105 in 2022, from 139 in 2021. The number of decisions adopted in ex post procedure increased 
to 7 in 2022, from 2 in 2021. CSAC significantly increased the number of negative decisions 
to 6 in 2022, from 1 in 2021. The number of conditional decisions increased to 3 in 2022, from 
1 in 2021. There were no appeals of CSAC’s decisions in the reporting period. The electronic 
platform to help monitor compliance regarding the cumulation of aid has yet to be completed. 
The Government adopted CSAC’s reports on State aid granted in 2020 and 2021 with delay, 
whereas the 2022 report has yet to be adopted. CSAC should ensure the strict enforcement of 
its State aid rules, also with regard to the implementation of State aid rules in large projects 
carried  out  in  cooperation  with  third  countries.    Advocacy  activities  among  aid-granting 
authorities  need  to  continue  as  awareness  of  State  aid  rules  remains  to  be  addressed 
systematically. 

Liberalisation 

Provisions on financing of services of general economic interest are included in two decrees 
adopted in October 2021, one on public service compensation to undertakings entrusted with 
responsibility for the provision of services of general economic interest and one on de minimis 
aid for provision of services of general economic interest. Enforcement of competition rules 
for  public  companies  needs  to  be  intensified.  There  is  no  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
commercial monopolies within the meaning of Article 37 TFEU. 

Chapter 9: Financial services 

EU  rules  aim  to  ensure  fair  competition  among,  and  the  stability  of,  financial  institutions, 
namely  banking,  insurance,  supplementary  pensions,  investment  services  and  securities 
markets. They include rules on authorisation, operation and supervision of these institutions.  

Serbia remains moderately prepared in the area of financial services. Limited progress was 
made with the start of the application of the Law on capital market, following the adoption of 
a set of implementing legislation. The country should make further efforts to align with the 
financial services acquis, focusing on the priorities identified based on the current state of play. 
Last year’s recommendations remain valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  continue  to  align  the  banking  regulation  with  the  revised  versions  of  the  Capital 

Requirements Regulation and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRR/CRD);  

→  align national legislation with the revised version of the EU Bank Recovery and Resolution 

Directive (BRRD); and 

→  continue to work towards full alignment with the Solvency II Directive. 

On  banking  and  financial  conglomerates,  Serbia  has  largely  implemented  the  Basel  III 
standards. The banking sector’s prudential ratios are regularly monitored by the National Bank 
of  Serbia  (NBS),  following  adoption  in  2016  of  amendments  to  the  decision  on  reporting 
requirements for banks. Alignment of national legislation with the revised version of the EU 
Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) and with parts of BRRD 1 (notably on the 
establishment and use of a dedicated resolution fund financed with contributions from banks) 
is still to be completed. The gap analysis regarding alignment of the national legal framework 
with the relevant EU banking acquis is still ongoing overall. 

The current administrative capacity of the NBS in this area is adequate. 

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Regarding insurance and occupational pensions, the drafting of the new Law on compulsory 
traffic insurance is still under way. Preparatory work continues in the context of aligning with 
the Solvency II Directive, in line with the strategy for implementation. Certain provisions were 
already implemented regarding qualitative requirements under pillar 2, but further work is still 
to be carried out to ensure full alignment with the EU acquis. Alignment is still to be completed 
as  regards  the  Directive  on  the  activities  and  supervision  of  institutions  for  occupational 
retirement provision in the areas of cross-border activities, investment rules and regulation of 
technical provisions.  

In the area of financial market infrastructure, Serbia has focused on the implementation of 
its Capital Market Development Strategy 2021-2026. The 2021 Law on capital market has been 
applied since January 2023, following adoption by the Securities Commission, in July 2022, 
of a set of implementing legislation. With its implementation, Serbia aims to align with the 
Directive on settlement finality in payment and securities settlement systems. 

On securities markets and investment services, the Law on capital market aims at aligning 
the Serbian regulatory framework with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID 
II).  Serbia’s  legal  framework  has  a  high  level  of  alignment  with  MiFID  II,  Prospectus 
Regulation  and  Market  Abuse  Regulation  and  a  low  level  of  alignment  with  the  MiFIR 
framework.  The  administrative  capacity  of  the  Securities  Commission  in  this  area  remains 
weak. On investment funds, the Law оn open-ended investment funds with public offering is 
partially  aligned  with  the  Directive  relating  to  undertakings  for  collective  investment  in 
transferable  securities  (UCITS).  The  2020  Law  on  alternative  investment  funds  is  largely 
aligned with the Directive on alternative investment fund managers, although further work is 
needed towards full alignment. 

In the area of sustainable and digital finance, the Law on digital assets has been in force since 
2021. The NBS and the Securities Commission are the two competent authorities for licensing 
services related to digital currencies and tokens. Serbia is not currently developing a national 
sustainable finance strategy, but the NBS monitors the developments in the field of ESG.  

Chapter 28: Consumer and health protection 

EU rules protect consumers’ economic interests and in relation to product safety, dangerous 
imitations and liability for defective products. The EU also ensures high common standards 
for  tobacco  control,  blood,  tissues,  cells  and  organs,  as  well  as  medicines  for  human  and 
veterinary use. The EU also has rules for upholding patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare 
and in preparing for and responding to  cross-border health threats including communicable 
diseases. 

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  in  consumer  and  health  protection.  Limited  progress  was 
made  concerning  the  use  of  the  newly  established  online  platform  for  alternative  dispute 
resolution,  awareness-raising on consumer rights, and the  quality  control of medicines. The 
recommendations of the previous report remain valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  strengthen the overall managerial capacity, human resources and financial sustainability of 
the public health insurance fund, and of the relevant authorities for consumer protection, 
market surveillance and sanitary inspection;  

→  further  align  its  legislation  with  the  acquis  on  substances  of  human  origin,  on  patients’ 
rights in cross-border healthcare, on tobacco control, and on medicines for human and for 
veterinary use. 

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Consumer protection 

On general aspects of consumer protection, Serbia now has two ministries dealing with this 
area: the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Youth and Tourism. The 
amended Law on consumer protection, adopted in September 2021, has contributed to a higher 
number of out-of-court procedures and mediation between traders and consumers. The newly 
established national council for consumer protection provided opinions and suggestions on the 
2023-2024 Action Plan of the Strategy for Consumer Protection but did not hold any sessions 
in the reporting period. Serbia initiated 806 misdemeanour orders based on violations of the 
Law on consumer protection.  

There are 12 registered consumer organisations in the national registry. In 2022, 10 consumer 
organisations’ projects were selected to receive financing in four administrative regions, with 
various programmes to be implemented in the field of consumer protection. At the end of the 
reporting period, Serbia had 35 alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies. An ADR online 
platform launched on the website of the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade considerably 
helped with the resolution of ADR cases. 

In  March  2023,  the  National  Bank  of  Serbia  became  a  full  member  of  the  International 
Financial Consumer Protection Organisation FinCoNet. In 2022 and 2023, in its capacity as an 
ADR body in charge of financial institutions, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) resolved a 
total of 4 783 complaints, of which 3 714 related to banks and payment service providers and 
1 069 to insurance companies, while in the case of individual consumer complaints related to 
banks  as  service  providers,  the  NBS  resolved  1  413  complaints.  The  NBS  resolved  23 
mediation proceedings resulting in agreement among parties.  

There  was  no  change  in  the  mode  of  cooperation  between  ministries  and  consumer 
organisations. Consumer protection organisations would benefit from further promotion to the 
general public of their work on the protection of consumer interests and rights. The authorities’ 
administrative capacity still needs strengthening for consumer protection, inspection services 
for consumer protection and for product safety issues. Serbia’s legislation is designed to be 
aligned  with  the  acquis on  consumers  rights,  while  further  legislative  alignment  is  required 
with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation. 

There were no developments in the reporting period regarding product safety-related issues. 
On  market  surveillance,  the  sanitary  inspection’s  administrative  capacities  need  to  be 
strengthened. The product safety council did not hold any sessions. In the reporting period, the 
market surveillance and inspection authorities conducted 5 825 inspections and ordered 627 
measures for non-compliant or unsafe products. In the reporting period, the National Register 
of Consumer Complaints  registered  22 216  complaints, of which  68% related to  goods and 
32%  to  services.  The  sanitary  inspection  has  removed  approximately  34  tonnes  of  unsafe 
imported products off the market. 

 On non-safety-related issues, Serbia´s legislation remains partly aligned with the acquis on 
consumer protection. Further alignment with the EU acquis is needed regarding package travel 
and  linked  travel  arrangements,  the  sale  of  goods,  cooperation  between  national  authorities 
responsible  for  enforcing  consumer  protection  laws;  multiannual  consumer  programmes; 
online resolution of consumer disputes; contracts for the supply of digital content and services; 
and  alternative  resolution  of  consumer  disputes.  Furthermore,  the  latest  changes  to  EU 
consumer legislation introduced by the Directive on better enforcement and modernisation of 
Union consumer protection law and mortgage credit directive have yet to be implemented.     

Public health 

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In  the  area  of  public  health,  Serbia’s  healthcare  legislation  is  partly  aligned  with  the  EU 
acquis. The sustainability of the public health insurance fund still needs to be ensured. The 
national plan for human resources in the health sector has still not been fully implemented. 
Compliance  with  EU  health  indicators  is  not  yet  achieved  and  the  EU-funded  centralised 
electronic health record system, completed in 2015, is still not being used.  

Tobacco control legislation remains partly aligned with the EU acquis. A strategy on tobacco 
control remains to be adopted, including an action plan on alignment with the EU acquis in this 
field  and  with  the  World  Health  Organisation  Framework  Convention  on  Tobacco  control. 
Serbia should intensify inspections in this area. 

Serbia  is  partly  aligned  with  the  acquis  on  blood,  tissues,  cells  and  organs  in  regard  to 
transplantation  of  cells  and  tissues,  and  on  human  organ  transplantation.  EU-level  quality, 
safety  standards  and  inspection  services  remain  to  be  fully  developed.    The  ongoing 
strengthening of the administrative capacity in the Directorate of Biomedicine is a welcome 
development, and the recruitment process should be swiftly completed. 

On cross-border  healthcare, Serbia is  partly aligned with  the  acquis  on the application of 
patients’ rights. Surveillance and response capacity for serious cross-border health threats, 
including communicable diseases, remains limited and requires modernisation. Serbia reports 
surveillance  data  on  several  communicable  diseases  to  the  European  Centre  for  Disease 
Prevention  and  Control  (ECDC)  surveillance  system  according  to  the  EU  surveillance 
standards (EpiPulSe / TESSy). While Serbia adopted a new digital health programme in 2022, 
a centralised health information and communication system remains to be implemented. 

In the area of communicable diseases, further attention is needed on effective and sustainable 
financing of disease-specific strategies, including the national HIV/AIDS strategy. Awareness-
raising, particularly on the importance of child vaccination, is also needed. While Serbia has a 
national  surveillance  system  for  anti-microbial  resistance  in  humans,  the  prescription  of 
antibiotics needs to be more strictly controlled to strengthen the fight against anti-microbial 
resistance. Ongoing work on upgrading the quality control and standardisation of laboratories 
needs to be completed. 

Health  promotion  necessary  to  help  prevent  non-communicable  diseases  remains  limited. 
Cancer screening for colorectal, breast and cervical cancers continues to progress at a slow 
pace and is not performed in a systematic manner in many regions of the country. The national 
institute for radiology and oncology maintains the cancer register. 

Community-based  mental  health  services  remain  underdeveloped,  with  low  accessibility. 
While Serbia has a 2019-2026 programme for mental health protection, it remains to be costed 
and fully implemented. There has not been any progress on nutrition and physical activity. 

Serbia’s legislation is still only partly aligned with the acquis on medicines for human and 
veterinary use, and on preventing drug abuse. Serbian legislation on pricing of medicinal 
products is still not aligned with the EU acquis. While a national programme to reduce the 
harmful effects of alcohol and alcohol-induced disorders was adopted in 2017, it remains to be 
implemented. In September 2022, Serbia adopted implementing legislation aiming to improve 
the quality control of medicines and medical devices.  

On  health  inequalities,  access  to  healthcare  services  remains  an  issue  for  persons  with 
disabilities,  persons  living  with  HIV,  children  and  adults  who  use  drugs,  prisoners,  women 
involved in prostitution, LGBTIQ persons, internally displaced persons and Roma. 

Serbia needs to fully implement the specific Operational plan for prevention of corruption in 
the areas of health. This includes the adoption of amendments to the legislation in the health 

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sector  in  accordance  with  the  analysis  of  risks  to  corruption  in  the  Law  on  medicines  and 
medical devices. 

CLUSTER 3: COMPETITIVENESS AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH 

This  cluster  covers  chapters  10  (Digital  Transformation  and  media),  16  (Taxation),  17 
(Economic and monetary policy), 19 (Social policy and employment), 20 (Industrial policy), 
25 (Science and research), 26 (Education and culture), and 29 (Customs). Five chapters are 
open (chapters 17, 20, 25, 26 and 29) and two are provisionally closed (chapters 25 and 26). 
No opening benchmarks are left to be met on any of the chapters within this cluster. This cluster 
and the reforms concerned have significant links to Serbia’s Economic Reform Programme. 

Progress was achieved in all of the areas under this cluster, particularly in the areas of: social 
policy and employment through the adoption of a new law on health and safety at work; digital 
transformation  and  media  through  further  alignment  with  the  European  Electronic 
Communications Code; economic and monetary policy through the adoption of a new set of 
fiscal  rules  to  anchor  fiscal  policy;  taxation  through  developments  in  the  areas  of  e-
fiscalisation, e-invoicing and excises; enterprise industrial policy through adoption of strategy 
new law on state ownership and management of business entities owned by the Republic of 
Serbia  and  education,  through  taking  continued  steps  towards  ensuring  compliance  of  the 
quality  assurance  system  in  higher  education  with  the  recommendations  of  the  European 
Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). 

In  the  coming  period,  Serbia  is  invited  to  particularly  focus  on  the  following  areas:  adopt 
legislation  in  line  with  the  media  strategy;  further  align  its  electronic  communications 
legislation with the updated EU regulatory framework; ensure full financial and operational 
independence of the regulators for electronic communication and postal services (RATEL) and 
for electronic media (REM); make progress  towards alignment in  the areas of VAT, excise 
duties and direct taxation; increase the level of transparency for capital transfers and guarantees 
to  state-owned  enterprises  in  the  State  budget;  ensure  adequate  financial  and  institutional 
resources for employment and social policies; make further efforts to improve the predictability 
of the business environment; increase national funding for research and innovation; ensure full 
compliance of the policy and institutional framework for quality assurance in higher education 
with the recommendations of the ENQA; and further upgrade relevant IT systems. 

Chapter 10: Digital transformation and media 

The EU supports the proper functioning of the internal market for electronic communications, 
electronic commerce and audiovisual services. The rules protect consumers and support the 
universal availability of modern services. 

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  in  the  field  of  digital  transformation  and  media.  Limited 
progress  was  made  by  means  of  the  adoption  of  the  Law  on  electronic  communications, 
digitalisation  in  the  area  of  e-government,  and  in  aligning  with  EU  digital  Single  Market 
objectives. Construction of ultra-fast broadband infrastructure in rural areas and support to the 
digitalisation of schools continued. Serbia joined the Digital Europe Programme in June 2023. 
The recommendations of the last report remain largely valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should: 

→  further  align  its  electronic  communications  legislation  with  the  updated  EU  regulatory 

framework, including the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive; 

→  ensure  full  financial  and  operational  independence  of  the  regulators  for  electronic 
communication  and  postal  services  (RATEL)  and  for  electronic  media  (REM)  in 

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compliance with the EU acquis, and urgently encourage the regulators to work proactively 
and fully carry out their mandates;  

→  adopt the Law on electronic media, in line with the EU’s Audiovisual and Media Services 

Directive, and in consultation with the relevant stakeholders. 

In  the  field  of  electronic  communications  and  information  technology,  the  Law  on 
electronic  communications,  aiming  to  align  with  the  European  Electronic  Communications 
Code, was adopted in April 2023. Changes to the election of management board members for 
the Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (RATEL) aim to 
provide  an  additional  degree  of  independence;  however,  the  regulator’s  operational  and 
financial  independence  remains  to  be  ensured.  Some  steps  were  taken  to  improve  the 
regulator’s  administrative  capacity,  but  further  efforts  are  needed,  including  through  staff 
retention measures. Serbia maintains a salary cap for RATEL employees. 

The first phase of the EU-funded ultra-fast broadband communication infrastructure roll-out in 
rural areas, aiming to connect around 90 000 households and 600 schools with fast broadband, 
is ongoing, while the second phase has been signed and a third phase is under consideration. 
The working group for drafting the Law on broadband in alignment with the Broadband Cost 
Reduction Directive was set up; however, the law remains to be adopted. 

No  progress  has  been  noted  concerning  the  implementation  of  competitive  safeguards. 
Ongoing  issues  remain  to  be  addressed,  including  access  for  users  and  operators  to 
infrastructure  including  optical  fibres,  ducts  and  public  operators’  infrastructure  and  dark 
fibres,  and  remaining  restrictions  imposed  by  environmental  and  municipal  planning 
legislation, in particular at local government level. The working group tasked with identifying 
and providing recommendations to remove these obstacles has not provided any output to date. 
Several  legal  disputes  and  proceedings  are  ongoing  involving  Telekom  Srbija  –  whose 
majority stakeholder is the State – and private companies, both in Serbia and abroad. 

Serbia  is  yet  to  adopt  secondary  legislation  on  minimum  conditions  for  issuing  individual 
operator licences for spectrum use for the 5G frequency auction. The date of the auction was 
postponed to the fourth quarter of 2023. 

The 112 European emergency number calling system, developed through a donation from the 
Chinese  government  and  operational  as  of  July  2023,  remains  to  be  fully  implemented 
according to EU standards. 

In  the  field  of  cybersecurity,  Serbia  possesses  the  relevant  legal  framework  and  has  a 
functioning national computer emergency response team (nCERT); however, capacities should 
be strengthened and upgraded. Work is under way to further align Serbia’s legislation with the 
EU acquis on cybersecurity, including with the NIS2 Directive.   

On regional integration, Serbia continued to pursue the Western Balkans digital agenda policy 
priorities. Serbia participated in the 2nd Ministerial EU-Western Balkans Regulatory Dialogue 
held  in  June  2023,  signing  the  Digital  Europe  Programme  association  agreement  on  the 
occasion. In June 2023, Serbia took part in a High-Level Cybersecurity Conference organised 
by the Regional Cooperation Council, as part of an EU cyber capacity building regional project 
for  the  Western  Balkans.  It  is  important  that  Serbia  now  signs  and  implements  the 
Memorandum  of  Understanding  on  a  5G  roadmap  for  digital  transformation,  taking  into 
account the EU toolbox of risk mitigation measures on the security of 5G networks. Following 
the introduction of the Roam Like at Home regime in the region in July 2021, in December 
2022 a Roaming Declaration was signed, which enabled the first reduction of roaming charges 

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between the EU and Western Balkans as of 1 October 2023. The glidepath for the reduction of 
data roaming price caps was announced in May 2023. 

In  the  field  of  digital  transformation,  Serbia  adopted  the  e-Government  Development 
Programme  with  the  implementing  2023-2025  Action  Plan  in  April  2023.  The  number  of 
databases connected to the new government service information system has increased, as has 
the  number  of  services  at  the  upgraded  national  e-government  portal,  now  featuring 
approximately  340.  The  uptake  in  the  number  of  e-citizens  amounts  to  approximately  two 
million. As for open data, Serbia has significantly improved the number of datasets available 
by  the  Statistics  Office  and  on  the  country’s  open  data  portal  in  machine-readable  formats. 
Serbia has not yet aligned with the EU’s Open Data Directive. However, Serbia has an open 
data policy in place with an action plan for measures to support the publication and reuse of 
open  data.  Serbia  is  encouraged  to  remain  aligned  with  the  European  Interoperability 
Framework.   

Regulation of the broader digital economy environment continued. The Laws on e-fiscalisation 
and  e-invoicing  are  being  implemented,  e-commerce  increased  further  with  the  number  of 
online transactions growing by 25.76% year-on-year, while cases of various forms of electronic 
platform,  SMS  or  email  abuse  are  handled  by  the  Supreme  Public  Prosecution  and  Special 
Prosecution  Office  for  High  Tech  Crime.  In  the  e-commerce  domain,  alignment  with  the 
Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act needs to be stepped up, to provide predictability 
for the business community. The ICT sector has continued its rapid growth, with  exports in 
2022 totalling EUR 2.7 billion, which constitutes an increase of 45% year-on-year. 

In April 2023, Serbia adopted the Ethics Guidelines for the Development, Implementation and 
Use of Reliable and Responsible AI, based on UNESCO’s recommendation on the ethics of 
artificial intelligence, which aim to align with EU guidelines on the ethical  use of artificial 
intelligence. 

In audiovisual policy after increasing delays, Serbia relaunched media legislation reforms as 
part  of  the  media  strategy  implementation.  In  January  2023,  work  started  on  drafting 
amendments  to  the  Law  on  electronic  media,  which  must  strengthen  the  independence  and 
transparency in the work of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), effectively 
safeguard media pluralism, and clarify the procedure for issuing licences for the provision of 
audio-visual media services. Public consultations on the draft law were launched in September 
2023. Overall, positive steps were taken to strengthen the independence the regulatory body 
for electronic media (REM). However, the legislative process was not finalised fully in line 
with  the  EU  acquis  and  European  standards.  Full  alignment  with  the  revised  European 
Audiovisual  and  Media  Services  Directive  within  the  required  timeline  is  needed  to  ensure 
continued  participation  in  the  MEDIA  and  cross-sectoral  strands  of  the  Creative  Europe 
programme. 

The  Regulatory  Authority  for  Electronic  Media  (REM)  fails  to  demonstrate  its 
independence in a consistent manner and to exercise its mandate to the full in safeguarding 
media pluralism and professional standards, which is an essential element of the Audiovisual 
and  Media  Services  Directive.  In  August  2022,  following  the  allocation  of  the  four  media 
service licences for television broadcasting with national frequency to their previous holders, 
despite receiving warnings from REM for violating their legal obligations during the previous 
period, REM published a call for the allocation of a fifth license. However, the deadline as 
provided  for  in  the  published  call  has  long  passed  and  the  fifth  license  has  still  not  been 
awarded, with no credible justification given.  

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In  May  2023,  in  the  context  of  the  tragic  mass  shootings,  REM  appeared  before  the 
Parliament’s Committee for Culture and Information to present its report on media monitoring 
for the period October 2022 to March 2023, reflecting also on the topic of violence in media. 
REM concluded that all of the media, except one, overall met the provisions set out in the Law 
on  electronic  media.  During  the  reporting  period,  several  TV  channels  with  national 
frequencies,  including  TV  Pink  and  Happy  TV,  fell  short  of  their  own  commitments  and 
obligations  on  programming  for  children,  culture  and  education,  based  on  which  they  had 
obtained a (renewed) national frequency. In May 2023, REM awarded cable and IPTV licence 
to  the  publisher  of  a  print  tabloid,  which  frequently  breaches  the  ethical  code  of  conduct, 
according to the Press Council. In June 2023, one member of the REM Council resigned due 
to disagreements with the work and conduct of the regulator.  

The  Law  on  public  broadcasters  is  yet  to  be  amended,  as  required  by  the  media  strategy. 
Radio Television Serbia (RTS) was again not included in state budget funding for 2022, in line 
with  the  media  strategy,  while  Radio  Television  Vojvodina  (RTV)  received  state  budget 
support, enabled through the amended Law on temporary financing of public media services. 
The  position  of  RTV  managing  director  was  filled  in  October  2023  following  a  lengthy 
appointment  process.  Some  RTS  employees  held  a  strike  demanding  better  employment 
conditions, while the president of the management board filed a criminal complaint against the 
director and another editor, under suspicion of fraud.   

On media literacy, Serbia organised and participated in a number of activities as part of the 
media  strategy,  including  workshops  for  public  administration  institutions,  as  well  as 
producing guidelines for the business community.  

Chapter 16: Taxation 

EU rules on taxation cover value-added tax, excise duties and aspects of corporate taxation. 
They  also  cover  cooperation  between  tax  administrations,  including  the  exchange  of 
information to prevent tax evasion. 

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  in  the  area  of  taxation.  Limited  progress  was  made  with 
further activities in the implementation of the Tax Administration transformation programme 
and  developments  in  the  areas  of  e-fiscalisation,  e-invoicing  and  excises.  Last  year’s 
recommendations remain valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  continue with the implementation of the Tax Administration transformation programme, 
notably procuring and starting the implementation of an integrated information system to 
support the Tax Administration’s new business model, and increase its human resources; 
and 

→  further align with the EU acquis in the areas of VAT, excise duties and direct taxation. 

In the area of indirect taxation, in December 2022, the Law on fiscalisation was amended. 
This aims at modernising the process of VAT collection and increasing the efficiency of the 
control and fight against the informal economy, to ensure better implementation and alignment 
with  the  wider  legal  framework.  Amendments  to  the  Law  on  tax  procedure  and  tax 
administration harmonised the laws with the provisions of the Law on personal income tax, the 
Law  on  fiscalisation  and  the  provisions  of  the  Criminal  Procedure  Code,  combatting  tax 
evasion. Amendments to the Law on VAT harmonised processes with the Law on fiscalisation 
and  the  Law  on  electronic  invoicing.  The  Law  on  electronic  invoicing  was  extended  and 
became mandatory for all business-to-business transactions in January 2023. Excise duties on 
alcohol and tobacco remain under the EU minima, though the latter is updated twice a year. 
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Unlike in the EU, Serbia’s excise duty on energy does not apply to gas, oil, coke or coal. The 
Law on excise duties has yet to be fully aligned with the EU acquis. In September 2023, Serbia 
adopted a law amending the Law on excise duties to update the rates and include natural gas in 
its scope. An effective system to control and monitor the movement of excisable products is 
not yet fully in place. 

With regard to direct taxation, in December 2022, amendments were adopted to the Law on 
personal income tax, the Law on contributions for compulsory social insurance and the Law 
on  corporate  income  tax.  Financial  intermediaries  are  required  to  report  to  the  Tax 
Administration regarding recipients of savings income. The changes aim to further improve the 
business environment and to reduce the informal economy. Business associations continue to 
emphasise  the  need  for  further  improving  processes  for  public  consultations,  including  on 
specific  fiscal  secondary  legislation.  Parafiscal  charges  remain  numerous,  high  and  non-
transparent, lack rationalisation and thus undermine the predictability and stability of Serbia’s 
tax system.  

Regarding  administrative  cooperation  and mutual  assistance,  Serbia has  double  taxation 
agreements  with  26  EU  Member  States  (no  agreement  with  Portugal).  Serbia  remains 
committed to apply OECD base erosion and profit shifting minimum standards. While it has 
signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, Serbia has not yet 
committed to automatically exchange financial account information based on the OECD Global 
Standard, although it has chosen to do so on a bilateral basis with one third country. 

Efforts to improve operational capacity and computerisation of the Tax Administration and 
to fight tax evasion, notably on VAT and excise duties, resulted in better tax collection. This 
included the continuation of efforts to improve business processes, improved risk assessment 
practices,  and  better  capacity-building  for  existing  staff.  The  Tax  Administration  still  lacks 
administrative  capacity  and  adequate  staffing.  However,  three  public  competitions  were 
organised and a total of 77 employees were recruited in 2022. Given the high number of retirees 
and  competitive  pressure  from  the  private  sector,  recruiting  and  retaining  qualified  staff 
remains an important issue. The Tax Administration transformation programme for the period 
2021-2025 is being implemented, with the adoption of a change management plan and a general 
business  model  for  the  Tax  Administration  (including  improving  its  IT  systems  and 
infrastructure), as well as a range of other activities. Further efforts are needed to improve the 
predictability and consistency of tax decisions and to provide timely, high-quality services to 
taxpayers. Appeal procedures against Tax Administration decisions remain lengthy. 

Chapter 17: Economic and monetary policy 

EU rules require the independence of central banks and prohibit them from directly financing 
the public sector. Member States coordinate their economic policies and are subject to fiscal, 
economic and financial surveillance. 

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Serbia is in between a moderate and a good level of preparation in the area of economic and 
monetary policy. Some progress was made on last year’s recommendations with the adoption of 
a new set of fiscal rules to anchor fiscal policy. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  further align the legislation on the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) with the EU acquis to ensure 

its full independence; 

→  further align the budget system law with Directive 85/2011 in the field of macroeconomic and 
fiscal  projections,  a  three-year  expenditure  perspective,  transparency,  and  accounting  and 
statistical reporting;  

→  increase  the  level  of  transparency  for  capital  transfers  and  guarantees  to  state-owned 

enterprises in the State budget.  

On monetary policy, the legal framework for the NBS is well developed. Under applicable 
law, price stability is the NBS’s principal objective, fully in line with the primary objective of 
the European System of Central Banks. Serbia’s legislation does not contain provisions that 
can be regarded as establishing privileged access of the public sector to financial institutions. 
However,  further  amendments  to  the  Law  on  the  NBS  and  the  Law  on  public  property  are 
required  in  order  to  ensure  the  full  functional,  institutional,  personal  and  financial 
independence of the NBS and the prohibition of monetary financing, in line with the EU acquis. 

Regarding  economic  policy,  further  alignment  with  the  Directive  on  Requirements  for 
budgetary  frameworks  is  needed  through  amendments  to  the  Law  on  the  budget  system 
regarding  macroeconomic  and  fiscal  projections,  a  three-year  expenditure  perspective, 
transparency,  and  accounting  and  statistical  reporting.  The  implementation  of  the  budget 
process remained broadly unchanged as the 2023 budget was adopted in line with the budget 
calendar.  However,  the  parliamentary  debate  on  the  draft  budget  was  called  under  urgent 
procedure,  having  a  negative  impact  on  the  quality  of  the  debate  (see  also  Public  financial 
management  under  the  political  criteria).  In  addition,  amending  budgets  were  adopted  in 
November  2022  and  September  2023,  both  under  urgent  procedure.  Moreover,  neither  the 
amending budget nor the 2023 budget provided an adequate level of transparency regarding 
the breakdown of capital transfers and guarantees to state-owned enterprises. The government 
continued  to  frequently  introduce  ad-hoc  measures  with  an  additional  fiscal  impact  not 
included in the regular budgetary planning framework, such as extraordinary pension and wage 
increases and one-off payments to certain categories of the population.  

The alignment of fiscal reporting with the European system of national and regional accounts 
(ESA 2010) continued to improve but has yet to be completed. Programme budgeting needs to 
be  strengthened  and  administrative  and  IT  capacity  bolstered.  In  December  2022,  Serbia 
adopted a new system of fiscal rules through amendments to the Law on the budget system. 
The revised law defines a general government deficit ceiling as a share in GDP, includes a cap 
on  the  public  wage  bill  at  10%  of  GDP,  and  has  a  modified  rule  for  pension  indexation. 
However,  in  June  2023,  the  government  announced  an  extraordinary  pension  increase  in 
September  2023  outside  the  new  rule  for  pension  indexation  which  seriously  affects  the 
credibility of the new pension indexation mechanism. While the deficit correction enforcement 
mechanism  may  need  to  be  further  strengthened,  the  new  deficit  rule  can  be  considered 
reasonably credible and binding. The deficit rules is expected to effectively enter into force in 
2025,  as  deficit  targets  for  2023  and  2024  have  been  defined  under  Serbia’s  Stand-by 
Arrangement  with  the  International  Monetary  Fund  agreed  in  December  2022.  The  Fiscal 
Council  is  an  independent  institution,  which  continued  to  provide  independent  fiscal 

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assessments and recommendations and to actively participate in debates on economic and fiscal 
policy. 

The 2023-2025 Economic Reform Programme (ERP) was submitted on time. As in previous 
years,  its  analytical  diagnostics  were  solid.  The  ERP  is  broadly  aligned  with  the  reform 
priorities  identified  by  the  Commission  and  its  structural  reform  part  remains  largely 
unchanged from the previous year, reflecting delays in implementation. The ERP still fails to 
effectively  address  underlying  structural  weaknesses  in  the  rule  of  law,  which  continue  to 
negatively impact the business environment. The macroeconomic and fiscal frameworks are 
sufficiently  comprehensive  and  integrated  with  the  overall  policy  objectives,  providing  an 
adequate basis for policy discussions. 

Chapter 19: Social policy and employment 

EU rules in the social field include minimum standards for labour law, equality, health and 
safety  at  work  and  non-discrimination.  They  also  promote  social  inclusion  and  social 
protection, and social dialogue at EU level. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of social policy and employment. Serbia made some 
progress on last year’s recommendations by adopting a new law on health and safety at work. 
The new law is partially aligned with the EU acquis. However, a Youth Guarantee coordinator 
was lacking for part of the reporting period and the Youth Guarantee implementation plan was 
not yet adopted. Budget allocations for active labour market policies (ALMP) as a percentage 
of GDP did not increase in 2023. The drafting of a new labour law has yet to be initiated. There 
was no measure to increase the coverage and adequacy of benefits for individuals and families 
under the financial social assistance scheme, which aims to reduce poverty. 

Most of last year’s recommendations have not yet been implemented and remain valid. In the 
coming period, Serbia should in particular: 

→  conduct  a  functional  review  of  ALMP  and  of  the  workload  of  National  Employment 
Service advisers to ensure adequate financial and institutional resources for employment 
and  social  policies  and  target  more  systematically  the  young,  women  and  long-term 
unemployed, and start piloting the Youth Guarantee in Serbia; 

→  initiate  consultations  on  a  new  labour  law,  including  provisions  on  foreign  seconded 
workers in line with the EU acquis, and avoid further delays in implementing the action 
plan for Chapter 19; 

→  improve  the  coverage  and  adequacy  of  social  benefits  for  people  below  the  poverty 
threshold, including financial social assistance and child allowance, and address the issue 
of the high caseload of social welfare centres. 

In the field of labour law, the 2014 law remains only partially aligned with the EU acquis and 
the drafting of a new law has yet to be initiated. The proportion of undeclared work was stable 
(13.2% in 2021; 13.6% in 2022). There are currently 230 labour inspectors. The recruitment of 
additional labour inspectors to reach the target of 360 inspectors by Q4 2020, in line with the 
Chapter 19 action plan, is delayed and postponed to Q4 2025. In 2022, 16 cases of child labour 
were identified by labour inspectors, down from 39 in 2021. According to the latest child labour 
survey  (2021  data)  from  the  International  Labour  Organization  (ILO),  the  child  labour 
prevalence rate stands at 9.5% for 5–17-year-olds and 9.3% for 5–14-year-olds. Boys (11.7%) 
are more likely to be involved in child labour and in hazardous work than girls (7.2%), and 
most child labour is found in agriculture. Most children report to be involved in child labour to 
contribute to family income, to acquire skills or to help in  family business. Serbia needs to 

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address the recommendations of the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against 
Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) who urged the authorities, in its report published in 
June 2023, ‘to intensify their efforts to prevent and combat trafficking for the purpose of labour 
exploitation,  including  by  strengthening  the  capacity  of  labour  inspectors,  proactively  and 
thoroughly  investigating  allegations  of  trafficking  for  labour  exploitation  involving  foreign 
workers’. The law on inspection oversight does not comply with the relevant ILO conventions 
that were ratified by Serbia, notably to ensure that labour inspectors are empowered to enter 
workplaces freely and without giving notice. 

In the area of health and safety at work, a new law adopted in April 2023 is partially aligned 
with  the  EU  acquis.  The  number  of  workplace  fatalities  decreased  slightly  in  2022  (56 
casualties, down from 61 in 2021), with most cases occurring in the construction industry. 

Social dialogue remains weak, in particular regarding the involvement of social partners in 
policy developments relevant to them. A new law on the right to strike has yet to be adopted; 
the current law of 1996 is not in line with international standards. Serbia still needs to adjust 
the  legal  framework  and  strengthen  the  capacity  of  social  partners  to  foster  collective 
bargaining. Sectoral collective agreements are typical in the public sector, with 12 currently 
concluded agreements. However, hardly any have been concluded in the private sector, with 
only two sectoral collective agreements. The minimum hourly wage was increased by 14.3% 
in January 2023 by means of a government decision, as consensus could not be reached within 
Serbia’s Economic and Social Council. The latter needs to be consulted in due time on new 
policy initiatives and draft laws in order to be able to fulfil its statutory role. 

On employment policy, the employment rate (20-64-year-olds) rose from 66.7% in 2021 to 
69.3%  in  2022.  Youth  unemployment  (15-24-year-olds)  decreased  from  26.4%  in  2021  to 
24.4% in 2022 but remains high. The share of young people not in employment, education or 
training (NEET 15-29-year-olds) also decreased from 18.8% in 2021 to 15.1% in 2022. The 
introduction of the Youth Guarantee in Serbia aims to address youth unemployment, support 
labour market integration and ensure that no young person is left behind. A Youth Guarantee 
coordinator  was  lacking  for  part  of  the  reporting  period  and  the  Youth  Guarantee 
implementation plan was not yet adopted. Serbia continued to implement the My First Salary 
programme, which aims at activating young people without prior work experience. The two 
previous  cycles  of  this  programme  covered  over  17 000  young  people  and  the  new  cycle 
reached over 9 000 people in 2022, a majority of whom had secondary education (76%). Since 
the  entry  into  force  of  the  law  on  social  entrepreneurship,  the  Council  for  Social 
Entrepreneurship  has  met  on  a  regular  basis.  As  of  June  2023,  11  social  enterprises  had 
registered. Budget allocations for active labour market policies did not increase in 2023 and 
continued to be far too low to cover the number of jobseekers, with spending around 0.1% of 
GDP.  As  a  result,  only  23.5%  of  the  registered  unemployed  benefitted  from  active  labour 
market  policies  in  2022  and  fewer  than  5%  overall  had  access  to  subsidised  activation 
measures. Workers from across the occupational spectrum continued to emigrate, contributing 
to, among other factors, a 1.3% decrease in working age population in 2022. Serbia continued 
to implement the 2021-2027 economic migration strategy to encourage the return of expatriated 
workers and attract foreign experts. According to the data of the National Employment Service, 
the  largest  workforce  deficits  are  in  the  fields  of  economy,  law  and  administration,  trade, 
catering and tourism, geodesy and construction, mechanical engineering, and metal processing. 

There were no developments as regards preparations for the European Social Fund (see also 
Chapter 22 - Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments). 

In the area of social inclusion and social protection, in 2022, according to the latest survey 
on income  and living  conditions  (SILC), the  at-risk-of-poverty  or social  exclusion rate was 
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28.4% (EU-27 21.7%). As in previous years, there is more poverty in rural than in urban areas. 
The at-risk-of-poverty rate shows that individuals aged 18-24 were the most exposed to this 
risk  (27.7%),  and  individuals  aged  65  and  over  (22.7%).  The  at-risk-of-poverty-rate  for 
children (0-17) was 20.8% in 2021. Only 2.7% of the population were covered by  financial 
social assistance (FSA) benefits. Serbia adopted a support package to help vulnerable families 
and businesses cope  with  the energy  crisis. However, there was no measure to  increase the 
coverage and adequacy of FSA benefits for individuals and families to reduce poverty. Monthly 
financial  social  assistance  for  three-member  households  was  RSD 15 806  (about  EUR 136) 
while  the  minimal  average  basket  and  at-risk-of-poverty  threshold  were  RSD 39 623 
(EUR 337)  and  RSD 43 315  (EUR 368)  respectively.  Therefore,  the  benefit  accounted  for 
around 40% of the minimal basket and was far below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold of 60% 
of the median income. Public expenditure on social protection and budget transfers as a share 
of GDP have been gradually decreasing in recent years. In 2022, out of total public expenditure 
of 46.8% of GDP (47.4% in 2021), social transfers accounted for 13.0% of GDP (13.6% in 
2021), of which pensions accounted for 9.0% of GDP (9.7% in 2021). Furthermore, the number 
of  beneficiaries  of  poverty-targeted  programmes  decreased  while  those  of  categorical 
programmes  increased.  According  to  the  authorities’  ex  post  analysis  of  the  first  year  of 
functioning of the social card register, in use since April 2022, this register has helped social 
welfare  staff  identify  both  ‘errors  of  inclusion’  and  ‘errors  of  exclusion’  in  individuals’ 
eligibility to social assistance benefits. However, CSOs raised concerns on the risks of Roma 
and other vulnerable individuals – such as individuals performing seasonal or part-time work - 
being unduly excluded from the benefits if their specific circumstances, in addition to the data 
automatically  processed  by  the  social  card  register,  are  not  sufficiently  assessed  by  social 
welfare  staff  prior  to  a  decision  being  made.  In  addition,  it  could  be  challenging  for  these 
vulnerable individuals to exercise their right to appeal an exclusion decision.  

A  new  strategy  for  social  protection  and  amendments  to  the  law  on  social  welfare  are  still 
pending.  The  quality  and  coverage  of  social  services  need  to  improve,  and  oversight  and 
regulatory  mechanisms,  monitoring  and  evaluation  need  to  be  strengthened.  Means-tested 
social assistance programmes, with strict eligibility criteria, do not sufficiently reach the poor. 
There are significant regional variations in coverage, and a large share of children living in 
poverty are not covered by any benefit. The capacities of the social protection system were 
slightly increased by recruiting 230 new staff in 2022; however, according to the estimate of 
authorities, an additional 700-1 000 staff are lacking. The system of earmarked transfers to the 
local  level,  introduced  in  2016  by  the  Law  on  social  welfare,  is  still  not  implemented 
systematically and transparently. 

In the area of deinstitutionalisation; an action plan and funding, to accompany the strategy 
adopted  in  January  2022,  is  significantly  overdue.  In  the  field  of  non-discrimination  in 
employment  and  social  policy,  most  complaints  received  by  Serbia’s  Commissioner  for 
Equality  are  still  related  to  the  area  of  employment.  Measures  aimed  at  promoting  the 
employment  of  Roma  have  yet  to  deliver  results  (see  also  Chapter  23  –  Judiciary  and 
fundamental rights).  

In the area of equal opportunities for women and men in employment and social policy, 
the position of women on the labour market in Serbia remains unfavourable in comparison with 
the position of men. The employment rate for men (20-64-year-olds) and their activity rate are 
both 13.9 percentage points higher than those for women. The gender pay gap is 8.8% in Serbia. 
A pay gap also exists in modern occupations, such as the ICT field where the gap is even higher 
at  9.1%.  The  economic  analysis  of  the  monetary  value  of  unpaid  care  work  shows  that  its 
contribution to the national GDP is about 21.5%. Only 25% of women in Serbia are real estate 

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owners.  Although  the  legislation  grants  both  maternity  and  paternity  leaves,  gender-based 
stereotypical  preconceptions  persist  about  childcare  and  household  work  being  a  woman's 
responsibility. Women worked 2.5 hours more per day than men on care work for children and 
older people. This is one of the largest gaps in the field of time (16.2 points) between the EU-
27 and Serbia in the 2021 gender equality index. The legislation is not fully aligned with the 
EU acquis with regards to maternity, paternity and parental leave rights. This includes further 
defining these rights in Serbian legislation in line with their definitions and purpose in the EU 
acquis. The lack of state services for childcare in rural areas also increases the amount of unpaid 
household work for women. 

Chapter 20: Enterprise and industrial policy 

EU industrial policy strengthens competitiveness, facilitates structural change and encourages 
a business-friendly environment that stimulates small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  on  enterprise  and  industrial  policy.  Limited  progress  was 
made with the adoption of a new law on the governance of state-owned enterprises. 

Last year’s recommendations nonetheless remain largely valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  further  improve  the  predictability  of  the  business  environment,  with  the  emphasis  on 

ensuring direct involvement of businesses in the process of regulation; 

→  adopt a new action plan for the implementation of the industrial strategy; and 

→  reallocate  budgetary  resources  for  foreign  direct  investment  incentives  to  financial  and 

technical support to SMEs. 

With  regard  to  industrial  policy,  Serbia  has  been  implementing  the  strategy  for  industrial 
development 2021-2030, together with the related action plan for 2021-2023. Serbia has yet to 
adopt  its annual  report on the implementation  of the industrial  strategy covering 2022. The 
conclusions of this report should feed into Serbia’s new action plan for the subsequent period. 
The  action  plan  should  also  take  into  account  new  circumstances  relevant  to  industry,  for 
example  the  EU  Carbon  Border  Adjustment  Mechanism  and  ensure  a  solid  system  of 
evaluation indicators and benchmarks to support the strategy's implementation. 

On enterprise policy, Serbia adopted in October 2023 a new strategy and action plan to support 
the  development  of  SMEs,  entrepreneurship  and  competitiveness,  replacing  the  strategy  for 
2015-2020.  Serbia  should  initiate  its  implementation  in  line  with  the  related  action  plan. 
Serbia’s  legislation  is  largely  aligned  with  the  EU  acquis  on  combatting  late  payments  in 
commercial transactions. However, work needs to continue towards full alignment, as Serbia 
is still to align its rules on payments, indemnity interest rates, expedited recovery procedures 
and compensation with the EU Directive in this area. In September 2023, Serbia adopted a new 
Law  on  the  management  of  companies  owned  by  the  Republic  of  Serbia,  as  part  of  the 
implementation of the strategy on state ownership and management of business entities owned 
by the Republic of Serbia. Progress on governance reform and the restructuring of industrial 
state-owned enterprises is lagging. The privatisation of Petrohemija was finalised in June 2023. 
Two companies were dissolved, bringing the number of companies in the privatisation portfolio 
down from 62 in June 2021 to 60 in June 2023 (see also The existence of a functioning market 
economy). 

Businesses in Serbia continue to identify corruption and issues in the upholding of rule of law 
as key obstacles to investment and economic development. Serbia should continue to increase 
predictability  in  the  business  and  administrative  environment,  in  particular  for  SMEs. 
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Performance  measurement  for  policymaking  activities  should  be  developed,  and  more 
emphasis should be put on implementing the ‘think small first’ principle. The regulatory impact 
assessment with the SME test needs to be systematically carried out when drafting laws and 
implementing legislation. Implementation of the multiannual administrative reform is ongoing, 
which aims  to  optimise and improve the transparency of  all administrative procedures. The 
digital  e-consultation  portal  for  public  participation  in  legislative  processes  is  increasingly 
used. However, considerable scope remains to mainstream its use among public institutions, 
particularly at the local level. Continued and effective communication on this tool is crucial to 
ensure  that  businesses  are  properly  consulted  and  informed  about  regulatory  changes  in  a 
timely manner. 

On enterprise and industrial instruments, Serbia continues to use budgetary subsidies for 
newly  created  jobs  as  an  incentive  for  foreign  direct  investments.  This  approach  is  not 
consistent with its industrial policy goal of privileging value added over labour cost, and with 
the continued need to better integrate SMEs into domestic and international supply chains. The 
budget for SME measures is growing but remains modest compared to the amounts of State 
aid  and  tailor-made  services  offered  to  large  investors.  The  lack  of  specialised  support  and 
advisory services for businesses limits the possibilities of domestic companies to modernise 
and qualify as suppliers to multinational enterprises. Favourable loans and guarantees for SMEs 
are provided by the Ministry of Economy and the Development Fund through joint programmes 
with  commercial  banks.  These  programmes  provide  financial  support  for  the  purchase  of 
equipment,  financial  support  to  start-ups,  and  financial  support  for  development  projects. 
Nevertheless,  access  to  finance  by  start-ups  remains  an  impediment  to  their  growth.  On  21 
September, Serbia signed the association agreement on its participation in the Single Market 
Programme. 

In sectoral policies, current support for investment continues to prioritise manufacturing.  

Chapter 25: Science and research 

The  EU  provides  significant  support  to  research  and  innovation.  All  Member  States  can 
participate in the EU’s research and innovation programmes and benefit from them, especially 
where there is scientific excellence and solid investment in research and innovation. 

Serbia is at a good level of preparation in the area of science and research. Limited progress 
was made with an increase in efforts to support cooperation between businesses and academia. 
The national level of investment in research remains low. Last year’s recommendations remain 
valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  increase its national funding for research and innovation; 

→  align with the European Research Infrastructure Consortium Regulation; and 

→  follow up on the actions of the new European Research Area. 

On research and innovation policy, the main priorities of the European Research Area are 
implemented through the 2021-2025 strategy for development of a start-up ecosystem and its 
action  plan  for  2021-2023.  Measures  introduced  to  increase  the  number  of  start-ups  and 
opportunities  for  private  investors,  technology  transfer  and  economic  growth  include 
improvement of tax laws  for start-ups and creation of a start-up portal  aimed at  facilitating 

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business and providing access to potential investors and funds. With the implementation of the 
Law on innovation activity, the register of subjects of the national innovation system is now 
managed under the Innovation Fund. This enables companies to register easily and obtain better 
access to funding sources. The Science Fund is fully operational as a funding mechanism. 

The national level of investment in research remains low at 0.99% of GDP in 2021 (0.91% in 
2020),  with  only  one  third  of  this  amount  coming  from  the  private  sector.  Serbia  should 
continue  to  integrate  into  the  new  European  Research  Area  in  accordance  with  its  plan  to 
increase investment into research and innovation by 50% over the next five years. Serbia has a 
smart specialisation strategy in place for the period of 2020-2027. However, it needs to adopt 
and implement the related action plan for 2023-2025. 

Regarding  EU  framework  programmes  and  international  cooperation,  Serbia  has  been 
successfully  participating  in  Horizon  Europe,  EUREKA  and  the  European  Cooperation  in 
Science and Technology (COST). In February 2023, Serbia completed the national ratification 
process of the Horizon Europe Association Agreement. With support from Horizon 2020, a 
new building of the BioSense Institute was opened to serve as a regional centre of excellence 
in the field of nanotechnologies, biosensors and digital agriculture. 

Regarding innovation measures, the Serbian Innovation Fund and the science and technology 
parks  continue  to  be  active  with  increasing  financial  contributions.  The  Innovation  Fund’s 
Katapult Accelerator for start-ups currently supports 39 companies. Further integration into the 
new European Innovation Agenda and activities of the European Innovation Council is strongly 
encouraged. 

Serbia  is  an  emerging  innovator  in  the  European  innovation  scoreboard.  However,  private 
sector  research  and  innovation  expenditure  remains  too  low.  While  public  support  for 
cooperation between businesses and academia has improved, further efforts are needed. 

Chapter 26: Education and culture 

The EU supports cooperation in education and culture through funding programmes and the 
coordination of Member State policies through the ‘open method of coordination’. The EU and 
the Member States must also prevent discrimination and ensure quality education for children 
of migrant workers, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Serbia is at a good level of preparation in the area of education and culture. Some progress 
was  made  on  implementing  last  year’s  recommendations,  by  consolidating  the  national 
qualifications  framework (NQF) system  and taking some steps to  ensure compliance of the 
quality  assurance  system  in  higher  education  with  the  recommendations  of  the  European 
Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), and by amending a number 
of laws in the field of education Last year’s recommendations remain largely valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  increase participation in early childhood education and care, in particular of children from 

disadvantaged backgrounds; 

→  continue  with  the  operationalisation  of  the  NQF  system,  with  additional  focus  on  the 

quality and scope of non-formal education, as well as higher education; and 

→  ensure full compliance of the policy and institutional framework for quality assurance in 

higher education with the recommendations of the ENQA. 

In the area of education and training, Serbia has yet to adopt a new action plan for 2024-2026 
on  the  implementation  of  the  2030  education  strategy.  In  September  2023,  Serbia  adopted 

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amendments  to  three  framework  laws  in  the  area  of  education:  the  Law  on  the  national 
qualifications framework, the Law on secondary education, and the Law on higher education. 
Amendments to the Law on educational inspection were also adopted.  

The level of spending on education in Serbia was 3.3 % of GDP in 2021, below the EU average 
of 5 %. The student population has continued to decrease due to negative demographic trends 
and emigration. Enrolment  and completion rates  in  pre-university education remained high, 
whereas  enrolment  in  secondary  education  lagged  behind  that  of  primary  education.  The 
coverage of children with preschool education slightly increased in 2021 to 65.5 %, down from 
63.7 % in 2020. The enrolment rate in mandatory preschool education remained stable at 97.3 
%  in  2022  as  compared  to  97.8%  in  2021.  Further  efforts  are  needed  to  achieve  equitable 
preschool  education  for  the  most  disadvantaged  children,  by  strengthening  governance  and 
expanding the scope and quality of infrastructure and services. In 2022, the rate of early school 
leavers decreased to 5 %, down from 6.3 % in 2021, while lifelong learning participation in 
2022 dropped further to 3 %, down from 4.8 % in 2021. 

The  digital  transformation  of  the  education  system  continued,  including  in  developing 
infrastructure and teacher digital competencies. In higher education, ICT programmes exist in 
51 institutions that in total result in 1 000 graduates from these programmes annually. The pre-
university  level  curricula  includes  to  mandatory  subject  to  develop  digital  skills  and 
competencies, including computer science. However, while the development of the education 
management information system has progressed,  it requires further consolidation,  including 
capacity-building of staff to use data for policymaking and monitoring purposes. Serbia has yet 
to incorporate green and environmental topics into its curricula. Work to reform the general 
secondary education curriculum continued with the completion of the fourth year of elective 
programmes,  including  for  classes  with  a  stronger  focus  on  specific  fields.  No  significant 
change  took  place  as  regards  the  low  take-up  of  vocational  education  and  training  (VET). 
Serbia should continue modernising and streamlining qualifications standards to improve VET 
relevance and further develop the national work-based learning model for VET. The share of 
recent  graduates  from  VET  benefitting  from  exposure  to  work-based  learning  during  their 
vocational  education  and  training  was  17.1  %  in  2022.  The  number  of  secondary  VET 
graduates who entered higher education dropped slightly in 2022 to 73.8 % (85.5 % boys, 64.9 
%  girls)  ,  down  from  75  %  in  2021.  The  employment  rate  of  VET  graduates  (aged  20-34) 
remained  low  at  66.6  %in  2022  (58.4  %  girls,  72.9  %  boys).Regional  training  centres  for 
training, reskilling and upskilling in the context of lifelong learning have started to be set up. 
However  they  are  yet  to  become  operational  and  capacities  need  to  be  strengthened.  In 
November 2022, Serbia established an Office for Dual Education and a National Qualifications 
Framework tasked with coordinating and monitoring policies. Serbia remains committed to the 
Osnabruck Declaration on VET as  an enabler of recovery and just transitions to digital and 
green economies. 

Concrete operational steps are still pending to strengthen the policy and institutional framework 
for quality assurance in higher education, in line with the recommendations of the European 
Association  for  Quality  Assurance  in  Higher  Education  (ENQA)  on  better  governance  and 
quality  assurance  principles.  The  Serbian  national  accreditation  body  has  yet  to  apply  for 
renewed  membership  of  ENQA,  following  its  suspension  in  early  2020.  The  attainment  of 
tertiary  level  qualifications  for  persons  aged  25-34  (ISCED  levels  5-8)  slightly  decreased 
to33.4% in 2022, down from 33.9 % in 2021, remaining significantly below the 2030 EU target 
of 45%. The sector, higher education in particular, remains vulnerable to corruption.  

The institutional set-up under the NQF should be further strengthened. There is a slow increase 
in the number of developed qualification standards in secondary VET. Higher education is yet 

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to see the development of qualification standards and the way it will link with quality assurance 
procedures  in  higher  education.  In  order  to  have  a  meaningful  impact  on  students’  skills 
development, and in order to address the continued broad skills mismatch on the labour market, 
this  must  be  followed  by  the  development  of  modernised  curricula,  teacher  training  and 
delivery in classrooms. The lack of opportunities for reskilling and upskilling in Serbia is a key 
obstacle  to  higher  youth  and  adult  employment  and  activity  rates.  The  introduction  of  the 
validation system of non-formal and informal learning is progressing slowly and is yet to be 
scaled up systematically. Efforts to create a more favourable environment for standardising and 
expanding career guidance and counselling services should be intensified. 

Progress  was  made in  increasing  the participation of disadvantaged students  at  all levels  of 
education. The implementation of measures to reduce drop-out rates and segregation needs to 
be strengthened, especially at local level. The set-up of assistive technology resource centres 
needs  to  become  functional  to  provide  relevant  additional  support  services  for  inclusive 
education.  It  is  necessary  to  remove  obstacles  to  the  engagement  of  teaching  assistants  for 
children with disabilities as a new service in the education system.  As required by Serbia’s 
Law  on  gender  equality,  efforts  should  be  intensified  to  develop  teaching  materials  and 
empower  teachers  to  build  student  competencies  related  to  gender  equality,  health, 
reproductive health, mental health, sex education, and prevention of, and response to, all forms 
of  gender-based  violence,  including  sexual  abuse.  Serbia  needs  to  make  further  efforts, 
including through legislative amendments, to strengthen local mechanisms for prevention of, 
and protection against, violence and discrimination. In the education system, there is  also a 
need to address the many underlying factors contributing to the criminal behaviour of children, 
including mental health issues, traumatic experiences, or the availability of specific services 
for vulnerable children, including the availability of services for mental health issues. 

Serbia continued to participate in several international assessments, by conducting a Trends in 
International  Mathematics  and  Science  Study  (TIMSS)  and  an  International  Computer  and 
Information  Literacy  Study  (ICILS)  in  2023,  as  well  as  piloting  a  Teaching  and  Learning 
International Survey (TALIS). The introduction of final examinations in secondary education 
has been postponed for the 2025-2026 school year. The institutional, financial and logistical 
preparations  for  its  introduction  should  be  accelerated  and  the  reform  should  be  timely 
communicated to stakeholders. 

In 2022, Serbia continued its participation in the Erasmus+ programme as an associated country 
for the period 2021-2027. Overall, Serbian institutions are participating in almost 800 projects 
(decentralised  actions)  with  430  Serbian  organisations  involved.  In  addition,  Serbia 
participated in various initiatives such as the Erasmus Days and the European Youth Week. 
Serbia is successfully implementing the new cycle of the Erasmus+ programme, including the 
new DiscoverEU component, and the first call for proposals for mobility projects in the field 
of sport. Serbia is participating in the European Education Area working groups 2021-2025. 

In the area of culture, Serbia's cultural policy is implemented under the ‘Strategic priorities for 
the development of culture of the Republic of Serbia from 2021 to 2025’. 

Serbia has yet to adopt a Strategy of Cultural Development of the Republic of Serbia, pursuant 
to Article 19 of the Law on culture and in accordance with the guidelines of the Secretariat for 
Public Policies. 

Serbia  is  implementing  measures  under  the  UNESCO  Convention  on  the  protection  and 
promotion  of  the  diversity  of  cultural  expressions  and  is  also  member  of  the  Convention's 
Intergovernmental Committee. 

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In April 2023, the watermills of Bistrica in  Petrovac na Mlavi were listed as one of the top 
seven most endangered cultural heritage sites in Europe for 2023.  

Serbia actively participates in the Creative Europe programme. Serbia's Creative Europe Desk 
successfully implements activities, in line with the 2022-2024 action plan, through providing 
information and advisory assistance to the institutions and organisations that plan to apply for 
funds across Serbia. In June 2023, the Ministry of Culture notified the European Commission 
of the immediate replacement of the Head of the Creative Europe Desk for Serbia. 

In December 2022, Novi Sad completed its activities under the European Capital of Culture 
(ECOC) programme, which included the restoration of five landmark cultural heritage sites. 
As  a  follow-up  exercise,  the  Serbian  Ministry  of  Culture  launched  the  'National  Capital  of 
Culture', which will last for 4 years. It aims at decentralising the cultural offer and instigating 
local  cultural  development,  and  mainstreaming  culture  in  local  strategic  development 
programmes. The project has identified the city of Čačak as the national capital of culture in 
2023. 

In February 2023, Serbia adopted a youth strategy to 2030 and in  July an action plan on its 
implementation  until  2025.  Serbia  has  yet  to  adopt  the  delayed  action  plan  for  the 
implementation of the youth guarantee mechanism. The national youth council was revived 
and  involves  youth  representatives  that  advocate  for  the  rights  of  the  young  generation  in 
Serbia.  However,  despite  increased  efforts,  youth  policy  and  support  mechanisms  remain 
unevenly developed at local level. The revision and/or preparation of local youth action plans 
in  line  with  the  provisions  of  the  planning  system  law  should  be  accelerated.  The  trend  of 
emigrating  young  and  skilled  people  continued.  Unemployment  and  inactivity  rates  among 
young people remain high. 

Serbia actively participates in the Erasmus+ for sport programme.  

Chapter 29: Customs union 

All Member States are part of the EU customs union and follow the same customs rules and 
procedures.  This  requires  legislative  alignment  as  well  as  adequate  implementing  and 
enforcement capacity, and access to the common computerised customs systems. 

Serbia has a good level of preparation in the area of customs union. Limited progress was 
made  with  the  adoption  of  further  amendments  to  existing  legislation  aimed  at  further 
alignment with the EU acquis. No progress was made on last year’s recommendations, which 
therefore remain valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  further upgrade the customs processing system by integrating risk management; and 

→  further develop the national customs IT system to enable integration with the EU systems. 

Serbia’s customs legislation remains largely aligned with the EU acquis. In December 2022, 
Serbia  adopted  amendments  to  the  customs  law  and  to  two  regulations,  one  on  customs 
procedures and customs formalities, and one on customs enforcement of intellectual property 
rights. These amendments aim at further alignment with the relevant acquis. Serbia is a party 
to the Common Transit Convention, applying EU rules on transit movements. Serbia should 
play a constructive role under this Convention. Rules on customs enforcement of intellectual 
property rights remain broadly in line with the EU acquis. The Regional Convention on pan-
Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) preferential rules of origin is applied in Serbia. Serbia’s customs 
tariff  nomenclature  for  2023  was  harmonised  with  the  EU  combined  nomenclature  in 

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November 2022. During the reporting period, Serbia issued 11 new certificates for authorized 
economic operators, bringing the total number to 51. 

Legislation on free zones and security aspects still needs to be aligned with the EU acquis. Fees 
are  still  charged  at  some  border-crossing  points  on  lorries  entering  customs  terminals  to 
discharge customs obligations, which is not in line with Serbia’s SAA obligations. 

For administrative and operational capacity, total customs and value added tax revenues 
collected by the customs administration in 2022 increased by 19% year-on-year. 

Work is still ongoing on strengthening the risk management system. Serbia should consistently 
carry out pre-arrival/pre-departure risk-based analysis, in line with the EU Customs Code. The 
customs laboratory remain under-equipped. 

In  terms  of  the  fight  against  tobacco  smuggling,  Serbia  has  been  a  party  to  the  Protocol  to 
Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products since 2017. However, Serbia should continue to 
strengthen  its  work,  in  particular  efforts  to  establish  a  track  and  trace  system  of  tobacco 
products,  as  provided  for  by  the  Protocol.  Furthermore,  the  administrative  capacity  for  the 
control of illicit tobacco trade is still insufficient. 

Furthermore, Serbia agreed in April 2022 to accept requests for assistance from EU Member 
States and OLAF under Protocol 6 of the SAA on mutual administrative assistance in customs 
matters in order to investigate suspected cases of circumvention via its territory and/or by legal 
entities  registered  in  Serbia  of  EU  sanctions  introduced  in  the  context  of  Russia’s  war  of 
aggression against Ukraine. This allows EU customs authorities to, where appropriate, seek 
assistance from the Serbian customs authority to investigate EU import or export transactions 
that may have breached any of the EU sanctions packages  (see also Chapter 30 on external 
relations, and Chapter 31 on the common foreign and security policy). 

CLUSTER 4: THE GREEN AGENDA AND SUSTAINABLE CONNECTIVITY 

This  cluster  covers  four  chapters:  14  (Transport  policy),  15  (Energy),  21  (Trans-European 
networks) and 27 (Environment and climate change). The cluster and all chapters were opened 
in December 2021, after Serbia had fulfilled the remaining requirements, namely an action plan 
on oil stocks and an action plan on gas unbundling. This cluster is at the heart of the Green 
Agenda for the Western Balkans and closely linked to Serbia’s Economic Reform Programme 
and the Commission’s Economic and Investment Plan. 

Some progress was achieved particularly on trans-European networks, where Serbia advanced 
on  upgrading  its  infrastructure,  with  works  progressing  on  the  Serbia-Bulgaria  gas 
interconnector,  and  on  climate  change  with  the  adoption  of  the  Low  Carbon  Development 
Strategy 2023-2030. In the coming period, Serbia is invited to focus on the following areas: 
improve  investment  prioritisation,  planning  and  management  across  all  areas;  continue  rail 
reform and improve the strategic transport framework in line with the EU’s and the Western 
Balkans sustainable and smart mobility strategies; urgently implement its action plan on gas 
unbundling and further diversify gas routes and supplies to decrease dependence on Russia; 
adopt  an  ambitious  national  energy  and  climate  plan  (NECP)  consistent  with  the  European 
Green Deal’s zero emission target for 2050 and step up efforts on implementing and enforcing 
environment and climate legislation, in particular on environmental impact assessment, waste 
management,  air  and  water  quality,  transboundary  cooperation  and  law  enforcement  by 
inspectorates. 

Chapter 14: Transport 

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The EU has common rules for technical and safety standards, security, social standards, State 
aid  and  market  liberalisation  in  road  transport,  railways,  inland  waterways,  combined 
transport, aviation and maritime transport. 

Serbia has a good level of preparation in this field. Limited progress was made with the 
amendments  to  the  laws  related  to  railways  and  accelerated  preparation  of  the  national 
transport strategy. Investments in railway infrastructure modernisation are getting closer to 
EU  practices,  as  financing  for  works  has  been  secured  through  blending  EIB  and  EBRD 
loans with EU grant funds. 

The  recommendations from last year remain valid. In the coming year, Serbia, should in 
particular: 

→  on  rail  reform:  strengthen  the  railway  safety  system  and  certification  processes,  and 
implement a public service obligation contract and a multiannual infrastructure contract 
in an evidence-based manner; 

→  on the transport sector in general: accelerate the preparation of  the strategic framework 
(finalise and adopt a national transport strategy, update the general transport master plan, 
adopt  the  strategic  direction  for  intelligent  transport  systems)  and  implement  it  (adopt 
credible  and  costed  rail  and  road  maintenance  plans,  align  and  simplify  road  and  rail 
border crossing procedures and improve road safety at national and local level, strengthen 
inspection services to progress on the social acquis in road transport, improve safety of 
transport systems and improve passenger rights in all modes of transport);  

→  on investment: prioritise investment that is relevant for Serbia’s economic development 
and EU integration, in line with targets of the EU and Western Balkans sustainable and 
smart mobility strategy and the European Green Deal, base all investment decisions on 
feasibility studies conducted in accordance with EU best practices and apply transparent 
procurement procedures. 

For the general transport acquis, an update of Serbia’s strategic framework remains overdue. 
Work on the new national transport strategy started in June 2022. Serbia needs to prioritise its 
finalisation and adoption in line with the agreed sustainable and smart mobility strategy targets. 
Strategic  documents  should  be  based  on  option  analyses,  consider  regional  aspects  and  be 
properly  costed.  For  larger  transport  agglomerations,  sustainable  urban  mobility  plans  that 
respect environmental and social standards should be developed following EU practice.  

Serbia actively participates in the work of the Transport Community and moderate progress 
was  made  on  implementation  of  the  five  TCT  action  plans.  Serbia  needs  to  demonstrate 
effective implementation of the Transport Community Treaty and the smart and sustainable 
mobility strategy. 

Serbia’s framework for future investment planning should be updated accordingly. Investments 
in transport infrastructure should be prioritised through a single mechanism, ranked according 
to  relevance  for  Serbia’s  economic  development  and  EU  integration.  Decisions  need  to  be 
based on feasibility studies and technical designs in line with EU best practice. Procurement 
procedures  need  to  follow  EU  standards,  respect  principles  of  equal  treatment,  open 
competition and transparency, and ensure best value for investment. Investment planning and 
the  financial  structuring  of  railway  projects  need  to  be  improved.  Agencies  implementing 
transport investment projects need to have sufficient capacity and a clear mandate to perform 
and deliver. 

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Overall, administrative capacity in the road and rail sector continued to improve. However, it 
still needs further strengthening, including for the transport of dangerous goods, road safety, 
intelligent transport systems and rail, the railway regulatory body on technical specifications 
for interoperability, and the centre for investigation of rail accidents. Regarding public services, 
Serbia has a high level of alignment with the EU acquis on rail transport, but it is only partially 
aligned on road transport. Serbia is progressing slowly on implementing a methodology for 
track access charges and a new pricing model for access to railway infrastructure, the capacities 
should be further strengthened in respect to that. 

On road transport, Serbia has a good level of alignment with the EU acquis. Alignment with 
EU legislation is still a priority on road charging, the social acquis in road transport, the weight 
and dimensions of vehicles and on access to the profession of road transport operator, to the 
international road haulage market and to the international market for coach and bus services. 
The  new  Law  on  road  traffic  safety  has  been  pending  for  three years,  inspection  capacity 
remains insufficient and the number of road deaths in Serbia exceeds the EU average by more 
than  33%.  However,  Serbia  has  already  implemented  a  number  of  measures  from  the  TCT 
Road Safety Action Plan. This includes the collection of road safety KPIs, the alignment of 
national road safety data to the EU CADaS model and strengthened coordination among all 
relevant actors concerning the roads safety matter. A Road Safety Strategy for 2023-2030 has 
been drafted but needs to be adopted. In 2022, Serbia started issuing smart tachograph cards. 
Legislation on transport of dangerous goods is  mostly aligned with  the EU  acquis  and also 
covers transport of hazardous substances. 

Improving the road maintenance system remains a priority. Work needs to accelerate on service 
level  agreements,  performance-based  maintenance  contracting,  and  road  asset  management. 
Responsibilities in road maintenance need to be further clarified and capacity increased. Serbia 
needs to address the issue of potentially discriminatory road charges against foreign operators 
and the country should decide on its strategic direction for implementing intelligent transport 
systems. Amendments to the Law on roads are pending. 

On  rail  transport,  investment  in  infrastructure  increased  and  overall  reform  efforts  also 
increased.  Licensing  requirements  for  design  and  construction  of  railway  infrastructure 
projects,  under  the  Law  on  planning  and  construction,  delay  project  preparation  and  limit 
competition. In July 2023, the Law on Interoperability of the railway system and the Law on 
Railways were enacted by the Parliament. Serbia needs to continue its work on full alignment 
with the fourth EU railway package. The operational and financial sustainability of independent 
railway  services  and  infrastructure  operators  remains  on  track.  Serbia  regularly  updates  its 
railway  network  statement,  but  it  is  not  yet  fully  compliant  with  the  EU  acquis  and  the 
country’s negotiating framework. Serbia made progress, with EU-funded technical assistance, 
on its deployment plan for the European railway traffic management system. 

In 2023, 16 private freight companies operated on the market, two more than in the year before. 
However, to ensure full opening of the market, further efforts are required, including on train 
driver  licences,  safety  certificates  and  mutual  recognition  of  rolling  stock.  Serbia  needs  to 
continue improving its railway safety system, certification procedures, and its administrative 
capacity  regarding  training  facilities  and  training  programmes.  Formal  adoption  of  the 
provisionally published working versions of 11 technical specifications for interoperability has 
been pending for four years. Serbia needs to ensure that its railway infrastructure is built in line 
with these technical specifications and focus on improving human resource management in the 
railway field (development plans for all rail authorities should be incorporating technological, 
legal  and  administrative  developments).  Progress  was  made  on  strengthening  the  role  and 
capacity of the Railway Directorate following amendments to the Law on railways. 

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Taking  into  account  Serbia’s  geographical  position  as  a  landlocked  country,  legislation  on 
maritime transport is well aligned with the EU acquis. Serbia should continue implementing 
international conventions.  

Regarding  inland  waterway  transport,  Serbia  continues  to  invest  in  its  inland  waterway 
infrastructure. Such investment needs to be done in line with environmental standards and the 
cost-effectiveness principle. Serbia’s operational river information services system is highly 
interoperable with those of EU Member States. Serbia took steps to fulfil the preconditions for 
recognition of navigation certificates in the EU, in accordance with Directive (EU) 2017/2397. 
While Serbia continued improving its infrastructure for inland waterway transport services, it 
did  not  progress  on the river ports network statement or on strengthening its administrative 
capacity. 

Serbia has a good level  of alignment with the EU  acquis on aviation. During the reporting 
period,  Serbia  adopted  several  regulations  on  aerodrome  certificates,  rules  of  the  air  and 
provision  of  air  traffic  control,  alerting  and  flight  information  services,  conditions  for 
performing air operations, and common basic standards on civil aviation security. Regarding 
aviation regulations, Serbia is close to fulfilling all obligations stipulated in the first transitional 
period  of  the  European  Common  Aviation  Area  Agreement.  However,  Serbia  still  needs  to 
further align its secondary legislation on State aid with the acquis and provide a solid track 
record in the implementation of laws on protection of competition and State aid control. In the 
domain of aviation safety, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency continues monitoring 
the implementation of EU safety standards. 

On the Single European Sky, Serbia completed its alignment process. No progress was made 
regarding lifting the suspension of articles on the licensing of air carriers and the normalisation 
of the lower airspace regime over Kosovo, which remain important priorities. Serbia needs to 
apply Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 on common rules for the operation of air services in the 
Community, as incorporated into the European Common Aviation Area Agreement. 

There is no specific legislation on combined transport. Serbia regularly allocates budget funds 
to promote combined transport, but combined transport should be promoted in a more systemic 
and strategic manner. The construction of the first modern intermodal terminal in Belgrade was 
completed in November 2022 and is currently still in the defects notification period. Serbia 
needs to fulfil its obligations related to procurement of equipment and machinery needed for 
effective functioning of the intermodal terminal. The company for managing the terminal is yet 
to become operational. 

Serbia should increase its efforts to align with EU legislation on passenger rights in all modes 
of transport. 

Chapter 15: Energy 

EU energy policy covers energy supply, infrastructure, the internal energy market, consumers, 
renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear energy, nuclear safety, radiation protection and 
nuclear safeguards. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in energy. Some progress has been made with the drafting the 
national energy and climate plan (NECP), adopting the law on energy laying the foundations 
for  the  gas  unbundling,  advancing  the  works  on  the  gas  interconnector  between  Serbia  and 
Bulgaria,  and  opening  the  intraday  electricity  market.  Last  year’s  recommendations  remain 
valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia, should in particular: 

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→  finalise and adopt the national energy and climate plan (NECP), in line with the Energy 
Community  2030  energy  and  climate  targets,  taking  due  account  of  recommendations 
issued  by  the  Energy  Community  Secretariat,  and  energy  sector  development  strategy, 
implement measures envisaged in the Roadmap for the EU Energy Support Package and 
the obligations from the Energy Community Treaty; 

→  implement overdue action plans, significantly accelerate implementation and finalise the 
unbundling of the gas system operators; certify Transportgas Srbija and Yugorosgaz and 
provide effective third-party access at all gas entry points; reduce vulnerability to Russian 
ownership of key energy assets; certify UGS Banatski Dvor in line with the Gas Storage 
Regulation; 

→  align  with  and  implement  the  Electricity  Integration  Package  adopted  by  the  Energy 
Community Ministerial Council in December 2022; determine net transmission capacities 
and capacity allocation on all cross-border interconnections in the context of establishing 
an integrated electricity market. 

The lack of gas market opening and third-party access to the gas network continue to hamper 
Serbia’s security of supply. Works on the EU-funded gas interconnector between Serbia and 
Bulgaria have advanced. It is important to ensure that the interconnector becomes operational 
upon completion, without delay. Serbia subscribed to the joint regional gas purchase platform 
under the REPowerEU mechanism. Serbia’s dependence on its single gas supplier Gazprom 
and  Russian  majority  ownership  of  Serbia’s  gas  infrastructure  and  oil  industry  continued. 
Serbia  must  take  further  steps  to  reduce  this  dependency  on  Russian  fossil  fuel.  Serbia  is 
encouraged  to  initiate  the  needed  steps  to  align  with  the  EU Gas  Storage  Regulation  and 
comply with the obligation to certify gas storage operators by Q1 2024. In the second half of 
2022, Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) continued with high imports of electricity due 
to difficulties in coal production. The problems were partially offset by coal imports. Despite 
coal  shortages  which  continued  in  2023,  due  to  mild  winter  conditions  and  winter  rainfall, 
electricity imports ceased. Significant investments in new renewable capacities are needed in 
order to take forward the decarbonisation of the Serbian economy. In April 2023, EPS became 
a joint-stock company. 

In  December  2022,  Serbia  adopted  a  Roadmap  for  the  EU  Energy  Support  Package.  The 
Roadmap envisages the finalisation of the unbundling of gas sector utilities only by Q4 2024, 
which constitutes a significant and regrettable delay in the commitment given to the EU and 
prolongs  the  long  standing  breach  of  the  gas  legislation.  Serbia  should  take  immediate  and 
concrete  steps  to  accelerate  and  implement  its  significantly  delayed  action  plan  on  gas 
unbundling; this is a matter of credibility for Serbia in the accession negotiations. In July 2023, 
the amendments to the Energy Law allowing for the establishment of the Republic Commission 
for Energy Networks and thus starting the unbundling process were adopted by the parliament.  

In December 2022, in line with the Roadmap, Serbia adopted a Decree on energy vulnerable 
customers. Work on the adoption of a Just Transition action plan is ongoing. It needs to be 
adopted by December 2023 in line with the Roadmap. The preparation of a plan to implement 
the Green Agenda is underway. The list of energy infrastructure and energy efficiency projects 
was adopted in July 2023 in line with the Roadmap. 

Although Elektrosever received a supply license in June 2022, following the adoption of the 
Energy  Roadmap  as  part  of  the  EU-facilitated  Dialogue,  the  conclusion  of  a  commercial 
contract  between  the  distribution  company  KEDS  and  Elektrosever  remains  pending. 
Following the separation of the Kosovo transmission system operator KOSTT from the Serbia 
control block, the Serbian electricity transmission system operator EMS did not determine net 

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transmission capacities and capacity allocation at the interconnection with  Kosovo. Serbia did 
not  make  progress  in  setting  up  regionally  coordinated  auctions  with  its  Western  Balkan 
neighbours. 

Serbia maintained a high level of alignment with the EU acquis on emergency oil stocks. Oil 
stocks continue to increase and corresponded to 35 days of average daily inland consumption 
in  March  2023.  In  Smederevo,  construction  of  four  oil  storage  capacity  units  of  20 000 m3 
continued and should be finalised by December 2023, allowing a further increase of oil stocks. 
A joint public-private partnership is planned to provide additional storage capacity. 

Concerning the internal energy market, Serbia has to align with and implement Electricity 
Integration Package adopted at the Energy Community Ministerial Council in December 2022. 
Trading volumes on the organised day-ahead market decreased by 3% in 2022. An intraday 
electricity  market  was  opened  in  July  2023.  A  balancing  energy  market  is  operational,  but 
prices for balancing services are still regulated. 

The unbundling of the electricity transmission system operator EMS is still not compliant with 
the Energy Community rules. The certification and unbundling of gas companies envisaged in 
Serbia’s action plan for unbundling the gas sector continued to be delayed. There is no third-
party  access  in  line  with  the  Energy  Community  rules  to  the  gas  system  infrastructure  of 
Transportgas Srbija, Gastrans and YugoRosGaz. The Balkan Stream pipeline section in Serbia 
is  operational  but  there  is  no  third-party  access.  Regarding  the  regulatory  regime  for  this 
project, Serbia recognises the need for a tailor-made solution for the Gastrans company that 
will comply with EU legislation. 

During  the  reporting  period,  several  decrees  were  adopted  regarding  the  electricity  and  gas 
network codes. Electricity and gas supply prices are deregulated for all customers, however, 
households and small customers have the right to be supplied under regulated prices. In 2022, 
the  non-regulated  market  slightly  increased  and  accounted  for  51.2%  of  total  end-user 
electricity consumption and 81.3% of total end-user gas consumption. Due to high electricity 
prices on the open market, the government introduced a price cap for the non-regulated market, 
i.e.  industry.  The  regulated  electricity  price  of  universal  supply  to  small  customers  and 
households  is  still  significantly  below  the  market  price,  which  impedes  competition.  The 
International Monetary Fund stand-by arrangement agreed in December 2022 set targets for 
price increases in 2023. In line with this arrangement, Serbia’s electricity and gas suppliers 
increased prices of electricity and gas in January and May 2023. 

The  Serbian  energy  agency  is  legally  and  functionally  independent  from  any  other  public 
entity, but it has no legal enforcement power to ensure compliance of regulated companies. An 
increased  staffing  level  is  necessary  to  allow  the  agency  to  implement  all  regulatory 
responsibilities under the third energy package, the new electricity framework and the new Law 
on renewable energy. 

On hydrocarbons, Serbia is implementing its mining law, adopted in April 2021. However, 
full alignment with the EU Hydrocarbons Directive is pending. 

On renewable energy sources (RES), Serbia made some progress on further alignment with 
the EU acquis. In April 2023, Serbia amended the 2021 Law on RES, paving the way to launch 
the delayed first RES auctions. In June 2023, the Government approved a three-year auction 
plan 2023 - 2025 with a total capacity of 1 300 MW. First auctions for producers of electricity 
from renewable energy sources were conducted in July 2023 and results were published. EPS 
progressed with the preparation of investments for higher capacity RES installations, including 
a windfarm in Kostolac and solar parks at the ash disposal sites of coal thermal power plants, 

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thereby pursuing the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Economic and Investment 
Plan for the Western Balkans. 

For full transposition of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II, Directive (EU) 2018/2001), 
Serbia should ensure a simplified and swift permit-granting process by designating one or more 
contact  points  to  provide  guidance  to  applicants.  Serbia  made  no  progress  in  introducing  a 
national scheme to verify the sustainability criteria for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels. 
The share of RES in the transport sector is still below 1% while the target for 2020 was 10%.  

Overall, Serbia’s share of RES in gross final energy consumption also decreased by 1% year-
on-year and was at 25.28% in 2021. Serbia should set new ambitious annual targets for RES 
up to 2030 in its NECP, in accordance with the December 2022 Decision of the Ministerial 
Council  of  the  Energy  Community.  Serbia  has  submitted  its  draft  NECP  to  the  Energy 
Community  Secretariat  on  29  June  2023,  in  line  with  the  deadline,  and  plans  to  adopt  its 
integrated NECP in autumn 2023, ahead of the deadline of 30 June 2024. The final NECP shall 
be in line with the Energy Community 2030 energy and climate targets and take due account 
of any recommendations from the Energy Community Secretariat.  The lack of human resource 
capacity in  the Ministry of Mining and Energy’s Department  for green  energy hampers the 
implementation of RES support schemes. The total capacity of installed RES power slightly 
increased  compared  with  the  previous  reporting  period.  The  total  capacity  of  wind  power 
remained the same, while the total capacity of other RES used for electricity generation (not 
including big hydropower plants) increased to 190 MW. 

Serbia continued to progress in aligning with the EU acquis on energy efficiency by adopting 
22 acts of implementing legislation under the new Law on energy efficiency and rational use 
of energy, these focused on energy savings, eco-design and energy labelling frameworks. The 
first  comprehensive  assessment  of  the  potential  of  high-efficiency  cogeneration  and  district 
heating,  in  line  with  obligation  under  the  Energy  Efficiency  Directive  is  under  preparation. 
Nevertheless,  only  limited  progress  was  made  in  aligning  with  the  Energy  Performance  of 
Buildings  Directive  (Directive  (EU)  2018/844)  and  setting  up  an  implementing  legislation 
framework  for  the  renovation  of  building  stock.  Serbia  is  missing  a  national  calculation 
methodology for energy performance of buildings, nearly zero-energy buildings standards for 
all new public and commercial buildings, and a legislative framework for the increased use of 
renewable energy, such as an electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Serbia still did not roll 
out  consumption-based  metering  and  billing  in  district  heating,  which  is  a  precondition  to 
attract  large-scale  investments  to  retrofit  the  building  stock.  In  its  NECP,  Serbia  should  set 
ambitious targets for energy efficiency and the annual rate of building renovation. The human 
resource  capacity  in  the  Energy  Efficiency  Administration  (EEA)  needs  to  increase,  its 
institutional role must be strengthened, and energy efficiency financing must be increased to 
take the sector decisively towards the 'energy efficiency first principle'. The EEA still cannot 
manage energy efficiency measures for individuals without the intermediary role of local self-
governments, nor can it run multiannual programmes. In 2023, Serbia continued to expand its 
housing renovation programme and increased funding for this.  

On nuclear energy, nuclear safety and radiation protection, Serbia’s legislation is partially 
in line with the EU acquis. In the reporting period, a Rulebook on Categorisation of Radiation 
Practices  was  adopted.  An  EU-funded  project  is  being  implemented  to  strengthen  Serbia’s 
capacity in the fields of nuclear energy, radiation safety, and radioactive waste management. 
In  May  2023,  Serbia  signed  the  European  Community  Urgent  Radiological  Information 
Exchange  (ECURIE)  Agreement.  Serbia  can  be  considered  a  full  member  of  the  ECURIE 
community  upon  implementing  the  required  technical  arrangements,  which  is  expected  to 
happen  in  the  coming  months.  Serbia  is  also  a  member  of  the  EURDEP  community.  The 

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Serbian public utility ‘Nuclear Objects’ has yet to finalise licensing of two old storage facilities, 
which expired in November 2019, two nuclear research reactors and an abandoned uranium 
mine. The new radioactive waste processing facility received the trail run licence. The Serbian 
Radiation  and  Nuclear  Safety  and  Security  Directorate  will  need  to  increase  its  number  of 
employees in order to fulfil its future obligations. 

On nuclear safeguards, Serbia would need to start adapting the existing systems of accountancy 
and  control  of  nuclear  materials  in  order  to  accommodate  for  the  safeguards  provisions 
(Chapter 7) of the Euratom Treaty. 

Chapter 21: Trans-European networks 

The  EU  promotes 
transport, 
telecommunications and energy to strengthen the internal market and contribute to growth and 
employment. 

trans-European  networks 

the  areas  of 

(TENs) 

in 

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  for  trans-European  networks.  Some  progress  was  made 
overall, including on infrastructure upgrading, transport projects, the construction of the gas 
interconnector  with  Bulgaria  and  on  last  year’s  recommendation  on  Serbia’s  strategic 
framework for the transport sector. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  continue to modernise its transport and energy infrastructure connections in line with the 

EU’s and the Western Balkans’ sustainable and smart mobility strategies; 

→  conclude a contract for sections III and IV of the Trans-Balkan electricity corridor, finalise 

the construction of the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector and put it into operation; 

→  improve the quality of design and tender documents for transport infrastructure projects to 
accelerate  their  effective  implementation  and  contribute  to  open  competition  during 
tendering. 

On transport networks, challenges in the sector remain: decarbonisation, digitalisation and 
resilience of transport infrastructure; multiannual maintenance planning and implementation in 
road and rail; alignment with the TEN-T regulatory framework; and compliance with EU laws 
and standards on public procurement, State aid and environmental impact assessments. Rail 
infrastructure  needs  to  comply  with  the  EU’s  technical  specifications  for  interoperability. 
Serbia  continues  to  invest  substantial  funds  in  the  upgrading  of  its  transport  infrastructure. 
However, Serbia should ensure that investments in its infrastructure from third countries are in 
line with the EU framework for the screening of foreign direct investments. Investment needs 
to be designed and implemented in full respect of environmental standards and based on cost-
benefit analyses following EU best practice. The legal framework defining the planning, design 
and  construction  needs  to  reflect  the  principles  of  transparency  and  equal  treatment.  The 
capacities of agencies  responsible for the implementation  of investment  projects  need to  be 
strengthened.  Proper  financial  structuring  of  projects  remains  a  priority,  also  for  Serbia’s 
absorption of EU funds. 

Serbia is encouraged to remain committed to transport facilitation, focusing on rail and road 
border crossings. The Serbian authorities are committed to implement the ‘green lanes’ and are 
encouraged to take steps in this field.  

In May 2023, Serbia signed a high-level understanding on the revision of the indicative maps 
for TEN-T in the Western Balkans. Regarding roads, works on the Niš-Merdare highway with 
the support of EU funds need to  accelerate. So far only  around 10% of approved EU grant 
funds have been used and the tendering of the sections between Niš and Pločnik is delayed. 
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The preparation of missing project documentation on the section Pločnik-Merdare, for which 
EU funds have also been secured, is also pending. Regarding rail infrastructure, works on the 
remaining  part  of  the  Budapest-Belgrade  line  (the  Novi  Sad-Subotica  sub-section)  are 
progressing  and  are  planned  to  be  completed  by  the  end  of  2024.  Serbian  Railways 
Infrastructure  signed  a  first  works  contract  related  to  the  modernisation  of  the  Niš–
Dimitrovgrad railway line. Works are expected to start in November 2023 thus unblocking the 
long-delayed project. Preparation is progressing, under the EU Economic and Investment Plan, 
for the modernisation of rail corridor X from Belgrade-Niš to the border with North Macedonia. 

The commencement of works on lot 1 of the Stalać-Djunis sub-section funded by the national 
budget is delayed, although the contract was signed in February 2022. The tendering procedure 
for  the  EU-funded  lot  2  is  underway.  Serbia  continued  implementing  its  inland  waterway 
programme  with  delays  on  some  sub-projects.  Regarding  airport  infrastructure,  the 
modernisation of the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade advanced considerably. 

On trans-European energy networks, the administrative capacity for alignment with the EU 
acquis  remains  insufficient.  For  further  decarbonisation  of  the  electricity  sector  and  an 
increased share of renewable sources, energy networks need to be upgraded in line with the EU 
acquis on trans-European networks. Regarding the Trans-Balkan electricity corridor, section 
III from Obrenovac to Bajina Bašta and section IV between Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
and Montenegro are in the tendering phase. Work continued on the gas interconnector between 
Serbia and Bulgaria. The interconnector should be finalised by the end of 2023 and licensing 
should be completed urgently thereafter to bring it into use as soon as possible. 

Chapter 27: Environment and climate change 

The  EU  promotes  strong  climate  action,  sustainable  development  and  protection  of  the 
environment. EU rules contain provisions addressing climate change, water and air quality, 
waste  management,  nature  protection,  industrial  pollution,  chemicals,  noise  and  civil 
protection. 

Serbia has achieved some level of preparation in the area of environment and climate change. 
Overall, Serbia made some progress, including on last year’s recommendations, in particular 
by adopting the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2023-2030, and drafting its national energy 
and climate plan (NECP). Serbia also made progress by continuing to increase environmental 
funding and investments, in particular in the waste management and water quality sectors. The 
adoption of important legislation and strategic documents is pending. 

Last  year’s  recommendations  remain  largely  valid.  In  the  coming  year,  Serbia  should  in 
particular: 

→  modernise  and  simplify  the  overall  sector  structure  and  institutions  to  improve  the 
efficiency and quality of the preparation, implementation and quality control of investments 
as  well  as  further  improve  strategic  investment  planning  and  management  including 
transparency of procedures; 

→  align  the  Law  on  planning  and  construction  with  international  standards;  adopt  EU-
compliant  Environmental  Impact  Assessment  (EIA)  and  Strategic  Environmental 
Assessment (SEA) laws; align and adopt the Directive on Environmental Crime; 

→  implement the Action Plan for Administrative Capacity Development and the Programme 
of  Air  Protection;  adopt  the  Decree  on  appropriate  assessment;  adopt  the  Industrial 
Emissions  Directive;  resume  international  cooperation  on  Transboundary  Rivers; 
implement the Low Carbon Development Plan. 

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Environment 

In the area of horizontal legislation, Serbia has a high level of alignment with the EU acquis. 
However,  implementation  and  enforcement  need  to  be  further  improved,  in  particular  by 
strengthening administrative capacity at central and local levels, including that of inspectorates 
and the judiciary, which will require the implementation of structural, cross-sectoral reforms.  
Legislation  on  Environmental  Impact  Assessment  (EIA)  and  Strategic  Environmental 
Assessment  (SEA)  was  drafted  but  not  yet  adopted.  The  SEA  of  Serbia’s  Spatial  Plan  was 
adopted in March 2023. Serbia should tackle critical deficiencies of the Law on Planning and 
Construction, including the requirement of public participation and transparency in the issuing 
of  construction  permits  set  out  in  the  EIA.  It  should  also  address  the  practices  of  issuing 
construction  permits  before  an  EIA  procedure  and  splitting  projects  into  several  smaller 
projects which, taken individually, do not require an EIA process. EIA implementation needs 
to be considerably strengthened. Serbia needs to carry out SEA for all plans and programmes 
that fall under the framework for projects listed in the EIA Directive. The quality of public 
consultations improved marginally during the reporting period. Serbia needs to ensure greater 
transparency about investments and their environmental effects as well as respect for freedom 
of expression and assembly in the environmental sector.  

In  2022,  an  inclusive  stakeholder  process  started  to  support  the  development  of  a  national 
Environmental Protection Strategy: Green Agenda for Serbia.  In 2023, the Serbian national 
budget for environment and climate action was increased by 18% compared with 2022. Serbia 
has  increased  its  budget  for  environmental  programmes  and  is  implementing  Calls  for 
Proposals  to  replace  heating  equipment,  afforestation,  and  purchase  of  electric  and  hybrid 
vehicles. Although Serbia is substantially increasing investment in environmental protection, 
it still lacks an effective institutional set-up and transparent procedures. All income generated 
from environmental fees should be earmarked for environmental purposes.  

Transboundary cooperation did not improve during the reporting period. Serbia is encouraged 
to  pursue  efforts  to  improve  transboundary  cooperation  with  neighbouring  countries. 
Legislative  alignment  on  environmental  liability  and  environmental  crime  acquis  has  not 
progressed. Enforcement remains a key priority including the need to establish a track record 
on implementing the Environmental Crime Directive. 

The Serbian Environmental Protection Agency’s (SEPA) annual reports were frequently not 
published in a timely manner. Under the European Environment Information and Observation 
Network, Serbia’s provisional scores for core data flows in 2022 dropped by 50% compared 
with 2021, well below the median for EEA-38 countries of 81%. 

In  the  field  of  air  quality,  Serbia  has  a  good  level  of  alignment  with  the  EU  acquis,  but 
implementation and enforcement should be further strengthened. In December 2022, following 
an  extensive  public  consultation,  Serbia  adopted  its  first  Air  Protection  Programme  for  the 
period 2022-2030 and an action plan. Nevertheless, Serbia continued to exceed EU daily limits 
of  air  pollution  in  2022.  Serbia  needs  to  speed  up  implementation  of  air  quality  plans  and 
further improve air quality monitoring. SEPA improved its communication on air quality. In 
May 2023, the EU Air Quality Index was proposed by the Ministry of Environment but not yet 
adopted. The SEPA air quality report for 2021 was published on 21 November 2022. The report 
listed  an  increased  number  of  agglomerations  with  air  pollution  exceeding  EU  limits  (20) 
compared  with  last  year  (19),  meaning  that  around  four  million  inhabitants  are  exposed  to 
polluted air. The pollution caused by the Kostolac B thermal power plant needs to be addressed 
urgently. Serbia has not yet aligned its legislation with the requirements of the EU acquis for 
national  emission  ceilings.  Alignment  with  the  EU  acquis  on  volatile  organic  compound 
emissions needs to continue. Adequate staffing of SEPA need to be ensured. 

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Regarding waste management, Serbia has a good level of alignment with the EU acquis, but 
implementation  should  be  further  strengthened.  In  April  2023,  Serbia  amended  the  Law  on 
waste management. The program for the development of the circular economy was adopted in 
December 2022. Sorting waste at source rose from 318 tonnes in August 2022 to 762 tonnes in 
May  2023  in  four  waste  regions,  thanks  to  Team  Europe  support.  Serbia  had  12  sanitary 
landfills  at  the end of 2022. In 2022, Serbia allocated funds to  clean 233 illegal  dumpsites, 
added  video  monitoring  to  prevent  waste  disposal,  and  improved  cooperation  with  local 
authorities. About 20% of the municipal waste generated in Serbia is still dumped in illegal 
dumpsites. The remediation of the Belgrade landfill and the construction of a waste-to-energy 
facility  continued  in  the  reporting  period.  Serbia’s  inspection  capacity  in  the  waste  sector 
remains insufficient. 

in  monitoring,  enforcement  and 

The level of alignment with the EU acquis on water quality is moderate. Overall, Serbia needs 
to step up its efforts to further align its legislation with the EU acquis in this sector, and to 
strengthen  administrative  capacity 
interinstitutional 
coordination. Pollution by nitrogen and phosphorus originates from the energy sector, waste 
and wastewater public companies, and chemical and mineral industries. Non-compliance with 
water quality standards remains a serious concern and includes areas where arsenic is present. 
Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad do not treat their wastewater; however, works on a wastewater 
treatment plant and sewage network have started in Niš, with EU and Team Europe funding. 
In July 2021, Serbia adopted an action plan for implementing its water management strategy, 
but there is no available monitoring information. Serbia should address river pollution more 
rigorously  and  increase  cooperation  for  transboundary  rivers  such  as  the  Danube,  Drina, 
Dragovištica and Pek rivers. In April 2023, the 1st River Basin Management Plan was adopted. 
No  particular  progress  has  been  reported  on  the  implementation  of  the  memorandum  of 
understanding on EIA and SEA signed by Serbia and Bulgaria in May 2022. Improving local 
governance,  in  particular  for  operating  and  maintaining  water  and  wastewater  facilities, 
remains a priority. Increased transparency on planning, selecting and managing environmental 
investments must be delivered to ensure better compliance with EU laws and standards in this 
sector  and  better  value  for  money.  EU-funded  work  on  adequate  water  fees  and  tariffs 
continued  with  the  participation  of  33  municipalities.  Work  on  developing  flood  risk 
management plans is advancing. 

Alignment with the EU acquis in the field of nature protection, in particular with the Habitats 
and Birds Directives, is moderate. Serbia needs to address gaps in legislation, which currently 
allow the hunting of non-huntable birds, especially the goshawk and the turtle dove. Illegal 
construction in national parks was reported by the inspectorate but no action was taken. Serbia 
needs  to  fully  incorporate  EU  standards  on  prohibited  means  of  capturing  and  killing  wild 
animals, including in its legislation on hunting. Authorities need to address illegal hunting and 
illegal logging more effectively. Preparations for establishing a Natura 2000 network improved 
thanks to an EU-funded project. Institutional and human resource capacity at national and local 
levels  remains  weak,  in  particular  as  regards  enforcement  and  wildlife  trade.  Any  further 
development of hydropower should be in line with EU environmental legislation. 

As regards industrial pollution and risk management, alignment with most of the EU acquis 
is at an early stage across industry, including as concerns the Industrial Emissions Directive. 
The  Kostolac  B  thermal  power  plant  is  Europe’s  biggest  sulphur  dioxide  polluter.  Its 
desulphurisation  plant  started  operating  in  January  2023.  Inspection  and  law  enforcement 
remain  areas  of  concern.  Serbia  needs  to  increase  its  capacity  for  managing  the  integrated 
permitting  processes.  The  quality  of  Integrated  Pollution  Prevention  and  Control  permits 
should be improved. Serbia should enforce the polluter pays principle in order to encourage 

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industry to invest in green solutions. In 2022, the number of inspections decreased from 4 289 
to  3 584  compared  with  2021.  A  new  methodology  for  reporting  is  in  place  but  should  be 
improved. 

Serbia has a high level of alignment with the EU acquis on chemicals. However, developments 
on the REACH Regulation and the Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation, and on 
animal experiments and asbestos legislation, continued to be slow. Serbia needs to boost its 
administrative capacity to implement legislation in these areas and ensure proper monitoring 
of persistent organic pollutants. 

Alignment with the EU acquis on noise remains at an early stage. Serbia needs to improve its 
administrative  capacity  for  preparing  noise  maps  and  action  plans  and  for  enforcing  noise 
legislation. 

Regarding  civil  protection,  Serbia  actively  participates  in  the  Union  Civil  Protection 
Mechanism  (UCPM).  In  February  2023,  Serbia  deployed  urban  search  and  rescue  teams  to 
Türkiye in response to the devastating earthquakes in the region and participated in the work 
of the operational team for sending humanitarian aid to the citizens of Türkiye and Syria. In 
March 2023, Serbia sent several energy items via the UCPM to Ukraine to help repair damage 
caused  by  Russian  attacks  on  civilian  infrastructure.  Serbia  has  a  good  legal  and  policy 
framework  for  disaster  risk  management  based  on  the  Law  on  disaster  risk  reduction  and 
emergency management. Revision of the law is planned in 2023 to address minor shortcomings 
and introduce new instruments to empower those involved at local level. Serbia improved its 
preparedness and response capacities. In October 2022, Serbia launched its online disaster risk 
register  (in  line  with  the  EU  INSPIRE  Directive  and  the  EU  initiative  to  enhance  data 
interoperability)  which  provides  real-time  data  concerning  risks  in  concrete  locations.  Such 
data  is  necessary  to  take  preventive  measures  and  informed  decisions  in  emergency 
management,  post-disaster  reconstruction  and  investment  planning.  Capacities  for  response 
and prevention need to be strengthened through training, particularly for local players involved 
in  emergencies.  Serbia  is  not  connected  to  the  Common  Emergency  Communication  and 
Information System (CECIS) through secure trans-European Services for Telematics between 
Administrations  (sTESTA).  Serbia  expressed  an  interest  to  join  the  read-only  CECIS  Civil 
Protection Lite version available for UCPM participating states that do not yet have the full 
access to sTESTA and CECIS. 

Serbia should inform the EU on the activities of the Niš humanitarian centre, its integration in 
the  emergency  management  system,  and  ensure  that  it  does  not  duplicate  the  role  of  the 
European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre. 

Climate change 

Serbia has some level of preparation in climate change legislation, but enforcement is at a very 
early  stage.  The  Low  Carbon  Development  Strategy  for  2023-2030 was  adopted  by  the 
government in June 2023. Serbia adopted three pieces of implementing legislation necessary 
to implement the climate law.  Serbia needs to continue its efforts to integrate climate action 
into other sectors and ensure policy coordination. Serbia needs to step up efforts to diversify 
energy  sources,  develop  renewables  and  decrease  energy  intensity  in  order  to  translate  its 
commitment to the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans into concrete action. This should 
include the introduction of carbon-pricing instruments and phasing out coal subsidies. Serbia 
needs to take decisive steps for the establishment of a mechanism on carbon pricing, aligned 
with the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), to advance the implementation of the EU 
acquis  and  to  adequately  prepare  for  the  EU  Carbon  Border  Adjustment  Mechanism,  that 
entered into force in its transitional phase as of 1 October 2023.  

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Serbia’s draft national spatial plan, based on its energy strategy, includes new thermal power 
plants. Serbia should set a coal phase-out date as an effective means to comply with Energy 
Community law and Serbia’s Green Agenda commitments on reaching the EU target of climate 
neutrality. 

In  August  2022,  Serbia  submitted,  with  some  delay,  its  updated  nationally  determined 
contribution  to  the  Paris  Agreement,  committing  to  a  33.3%  decrease  in  greenhouse  gas 
emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.  Full alignment of legislation on monitoring, 
reporting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions in line with the EU emissions trading system 
and the effort-sharing Regulation is still pending. Serbia needs to considerably strengthen its 
administrative and technical capacity at all levels and further increase investment in its green 
energy transition. 

CLUSTER 5: RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE AND COHESION 

This  cluster  covers  chapters  11  (Agriculture  and  rural  development),  12  (Food  safety, 
veterinary and phytosanitary policy), 13 (Fisheries and aquaculture), 22 (Regional policy & 
coordination of structural instruments) and 33 (Financial & budgetary provisions). Two out of 
five chapters are open (chapters 13 and 33) with closing benchmarks that remain to be fulfilled 
in each chapter. The Commission has assessed that opening benchmarks have been met for 
chapters 11 and 22. Serbia has yet to meet all three opening benchmarks to open Chapter 12. 

This cluster comprises policies linked to EU structural funds and developing the capacities to 
assume responsibilities of a future Member State. It  also  comprises some  of the key policy 
areas crucial for ensuring sustainable food systems and helping rural communities to develop 
and diversify economically. 

Limited progress was achieved in different areas, e.g. the classification of food establishments 
and establishments handling animal by-products, and the recruitment of additional staff in the 
Plant  Health  Directorate;  on  financial  and  budgetary  provisions  as  regards  the  underlying 
policy areas affecting the correct  functioning  of  the own resources system; and on regional 
policy as regards financial management. 

In the coming period, Serbia is invited to focus on the following areas: increasing the pace of 
implementation of the instrument for pre-accession assistance for rural development (IPARD) 
to ensure a timely use of financial support from the EU so as to avoid further loss of funds; 
progressing with the revision and implementation of the action plan for  acquis alignment in 
agriculture and rural development; adopting a strategy and action plan for alignment with the 
acquis on food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy; adopting framework legislation on 
genetically modified organisms aligned with the acquis; adopting the action plan for alignment 
with the acquis on fisheries; implementing the action plan for meeting the requirements of the 
EU  cohesion  policy  and  improving  capacity  to  manage  indirect  management  programmes 
under EU pre-accession assistance; and drafting an action plan to meet the administrative own 
resources conditions. 

Chapter 11: Agriculture and rural development 

The EU’s common agricultural policy supports farmers and ensures Europe’s food security. It 
helps tackle climate change and the sustainable management of national resources; maintains 
rural areas and landscapes across the EU; and keeps the rural economy alive by promoting 
jobs in farming, agri-food industries and associated sectors. This requires strong management 
and control systems. There are also common EU rules for marketing standards, quality policy 
and organic farming. 

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Serbia has some level of preparation in agriculture and rural development. Limited progress 
was made, in particular on recruitment to the IPARD structures and efficiency of processing 
IPARD applications and payment requests. 

Last year’s recommendations remain valid. In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  take measures to improve implementation and avoid further loss of IPARD funds, ensure 
the smooth rollover of entrusted IPARD measures to the 2021-2027 period, and prepare 
new measures for entrustment; 

→  update  and  speed  up  implementation  of  the  action  plan  for  EU  acquis  alignment  in 

agriculture and rural development. 

Regarding horizontal issues, the adoption of the national programme for agriculture and rural 
development for the period 2022-2024 is still outstanding. Its complementarity with the IPARD 
III programme should be ensured. Implementation of the action plan on alignment with the EU 
acquis on agriculture and rural development should continue, with its updating to be finalised 
in the course of 2023. Serbia should speed up the establishment of the integrated administration 
and  control  system  (IACS)  and  the  transition  from  manual  to  electronic  processing  of  aid 
applications. The procurement of software for the land parcel identification system (LPIS), a 
precondition for the start of the IPA 2021 project on the first phase of  the establishment of 
IACS, is still outstanding and should be fulfilled without further delays. Serbia needs to bring 
its support measures in line with the EU acquis. The farm accountancy data network (FADN) 
is established, but its sample size and the quality of the data needs to be further improved. 

In  the  area  of  the  common  market  organisation  (CMO),  the  adoption  of  implementing 
legislation  in  the  areas  of  marketing  standards,  public  and  private  storage,  and  producer 
organisations is still pending. A new law on wine has been prepared and should be adopted. 

On rural development, Serbia is entrusted with budget implementation tasks for four measures 
under IPARD II. However, delays in payments in 2022 resulted in a loss of EUR 12.8 million 
of IPARD funds and there is a considerable risk of further losses in 2023. It is important that 
Serbia fully implements its action plan for better absorption of funds. While a number of staff 
has been recruited in the IPARD Agency, it is important that Serbia continues filling vacant 
posts,  which  is  essential  for  improved  and  timely  implementation  of  IPARD.  Serbia  is 
encouraged  to  present  proposals  for  credit  guarantee  schemes,  which  will  assist  non-legal 
entities and small agricultural holdings with access to IPARD funds. 

Human resources capacity at the IPARD Agency needs to be secured. A smooth rollover of the 
entrusted IPARD II measures to IPARD III (2021-2027) is essential and preparation for the 
implementation  of  the  programme's  new  measure  –  Agri-environment-climate  and  organic 
farming; Implementation of local rural development strategies (LEADER); and Investments in 
rural public infrastructure – needs to start. 

As  regards  quality  policy,  the  continuing  delay  in  the  adoption  of  legislation  on  quality 
schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs is hindering the sector’s development.  

For organic farming, new legislation aligning with the EU acquis in the area of organics has 
been drafted and should be adopted without further delay. 

Chapter 12: Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy 

EU hygiene rules for foodstuff production ensure a high level of food safety. Animal health and 
welfare, and the safety of food of animal origin, are safeguarded together with the quality of 
seeds,  plant  protection  material,  the  protection  against  harmful  organisms  and  animal 
nutrition. 

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Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy. 
Some progress was made on last year’s recommendations, in particular through recruitment 
of additional staff in the Plant Health Directorate and the classification of food establishments 
and establishments handling animal by-products. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  step  up  the  efforts  to  strengthen  the  capacities  of  the  line  directorates,  in  particular  the 
veterinary  directorate,  through  recruitment  of  new  staff,  training  and  staff  retention 
policies; 

→  prioritise the process of upgrading food establishments to align with the EU acquis; 

→  adopt  legislation  aligned  with  the  EU  acquis  regulating  genetically  modified  organisms 

(see also Chapter 30). 

In the area of general food safety, Serbia presented an advanced draft of a strategy and action 
plan for alignment with the EU acquis, which is yet to be adopted. A number of framework 
laws still remain to be aligned with the EU acquis. Serbia’s risk-based approach for imported 
foods needs to become more transparent and comprehensive. The periodic delays in issuing 
import  certificates  or  abrupt  shortening  of  their  validity  (e.g.  for  meat  or  dairy  products) 
continued to constitute non-tariff barriers. Serbia still has not introduced an audit of inspection 
staff. 

On  veterinary  policy,  annual  programmes  consisting  of  animal  health  protection 
measures were adopted in March 2023. African swine fever (ASF) continued to spread rapidly, 
affecting primarily small holdings in rural areas and causing considerable economic damage. 
No cases of rabies were noted in the reporting period. While the official system to implement 
animal health controls is generally well organised, Serbia  urgently needs to address a long-
standing shortage of official veterinarians,  fill  well over 150 vacant  posts  in  the Veterinary 
Directorate both in inspection and policy departments, and increase the number of trainings in 
the Directorate. Serbia also needs to take additional steps to meet the requirements for export 
of fresh poultry meat and eggs to the EU. Further alignment is required in the area of animal 
health to comply with the most recent EU acquis. Alignment of national legislation on animal 
welfare with the EU acquis remains to be finalised. 

As regards the placing of food, feed and animal by-products on the market, in the reporting 
period Serbia finalised the task of categorisation of food establishments for compliance with 
the  EU  acquis.  However,  focused  efforts  are  now  necessary  to  upgrade  establishments, 
including the introduction of a monitoring system. IPARD funds could serve as an important 
source of funding for this process. Significant work is also needed on field and intermediary 
collection of animal waste and management of animal by-products.  

On food safety rules and specific rules for feed, Serbia made no progress in improving milk 
quality and has not adopted a strategy to align with EU acquis standards. Substantial work is 
needed to gradually widen the scope of related laboratory analysis in this area and increase 
efforts on awareness-raising for improved hygiene during milk production and for prevention 
of mastitis. The permitted level of aflatoxins in milk remains five times higher than the limit 
allowed by the EU acquis, while necessary measures to reduce the presence of aflatoxins in 
animal feed (source of aflatoxins in milk) remain to be implemented. 

The  capacity  of  the  Directorate  for  national  reference  laboratories  requires  further 
strengthening in terms of specialist staff and the analytical scope of its laboratories, including 
those for milk testing. 

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In the area of phytosanitary policy, the 2023 annual programme of plant health measures was 
adopted in February 2023. Implementation of existing national legislation for the sustainable 
use  of  pesticides  remains  low  (e.g.  on  mandatory  control  of  pesticide  application  devices). 
Substantial work is still necessary in this area, including targeted awareness-raising about the 
risks  in  pesticide  misuse.  While  some  progress  was  noted  in  staffing  of  the  phytosanitary 
inspectorate, policy departments of the Plant Health Directorate remain to be strengthened. 

Serbia made no progress to align its legislation on genetically modified organisms with the 
EU acquis, in order to regulate this area in a more transparent and safe manner. This is crucial 
for further progress in negotiations for membership of the World Trade Organisation and is a 
prerequisite for opening this chapter. 

Chapter 13: Fisheries and aquaculture 

The  common  fisheries  policy  lays  down  rules  on  fisheries  management,  protects  living 
resources  of  the  sea  and  limits  the  environmental  impact  of  fisheries.  This  includes  setting 
catch quotas, managing fleet capacity, rules on control and inspection, rules on markets and 
aquaculture  and  support  for  fisheries  and  coastal  communities.  Further,  it  promotes  a 
sustainable aquaculture. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of fisheries and aquaculture. No progress was made 
during the reporting period. Last year’s recommendations still remain valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should: 

→  adopt an action plan for full compliance with the requirements of the EU acquis by the date 
of accession, in particular regarding organisation of markets, aquaculture, data collection 
and control measures, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;  

→  address the severe understaffing of authorities responsible for policy formulation and anti-

fraud controls for fisheries (including border controls). 

Serbia does  not  have a coastline, therefore a large part of the EU  acquis on fisheries is  not 
applicable.  The  fisheries  and  aquaculture  chapter  also  consists  of  inland  fisheries  and 
aquaculture operations. Serbia, however, should not neglect its potential for fish farming and 
processing, and should dedicate necessary efforts to setting up and strengthening administrative 
and  institutional  capacities,  which  is  a  prerequisite  for  the  successful  implementation  of 
fisheries  policy.  No  progress  was  noted  in  the  reporting  period  in  addressing  severe 
understaffing in the policy formulation area and in inter-institutional coordination, including 
border and other anti-fraud controls. 

On resource and fleet management, the European eel, a strictly protected species, is covered 
by a permanent fishing ban. The collection of statistical data on aquaculture for 2022 is yet to 
be  completed.  However,  further  harmonisation  of  national  legislation  for  data  collection  is 
necessary  to  include  the  obligation  to  record  European  eel  catch  both  in  recreational  and 
commercial fishing. The scientific capacity needed to align data collection principles remains 
to be strengthened. In the field of structural actions, the sector was included in the IPARD 
support programme, but actual implementation in this area is yet to start. Structural measures 
have not yet been put in place for small-scale or inland fisheries. On inspections and control, 
Serbia needs to improve official controls of fishery products intended for export to the EU and 
align related laboratory testing with the EU  acquis. The implementation  of the rulebook on 
catch certification and bringing the legal framework into full alignment with the EU acquis on 
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) has been repeatedly postponed to 2024. This 
matter should be addressed as soon as a solution has been found for the fish catch certificate. 
Legislation on market policy still needs to be adopted, in line with the EU acquis. As for State 
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aid  measures,  Serbia  still  needs  to  ensure  their  compatibility  with  the  EU  acquis  and  the 
Common Fisheries Policy before accession. 

Chapter 22: Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments 

Regional  policy  is  the  EU’s  main  tool  for  reducing  regional  disparities  and  investing  in 
sustainable  and  inclusive  socio-economic  growth.  It  is  operating  through  “shared 
management”  between  the  Commission  and  EU  Member  States.  The  implementation  of 
cohesion policy programmes requires appropriate administrative capacity on programme and 
project level, the establishment of systems of sound financial management and control and also 
the  fulfilment  of  other  EU  acquis  elements  such  as  environmental  or  public  procurement 
legislation.  

Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of regional policy and coordination of structural 
instruments. Limited progress has been made on last year’s recommendations. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  urgently  implement  its  action  plan  on  cohesion  policy  and  ensure  the  timely 
indirect 

implementation  of  IPA  III  multiannual  operational  programmes  under 
management; 

→  improve  capacity  for  indirect  management  of  IPA  programmes,  including  operational 
programmes, and guarantee that key positions are permanently filled and key staff retained; 
and 

→  ensure that all instruments are compliant with EU requirements in terms of programming 
and partnership principles and factor in the requirements of the future structural/cohesion 
funds in the institutional set-up. 

Serbia is yet to adopt a legal framework for cohesion policy. Work on the law on cohesion 
policy has reached an advanced stage.  Multiannual budget planning is regulated through the 
Law  on  the  budget  system,  and  national  co-financing  for  EU  pre-accession  programmes  is 
ensured at project level. However, Serbia needs to apply a systematic approach to develop, co-
finance and implement multiannual operational programmes. The decree providing the legal 
basis for the functioning of the Audit Authority under IPA III was adopted in September 2023. 

Progress has been made with regard to the institutional framework for cohesion policy. The 
multiannual operational programmes under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA 
III)  identify  the  institutions  and  bodies  that  will  manage  and  implement  such  programmes. 
Continuity is expected between these institutions and bodies and those that will be in charge of 
structural instruments after accession. Serbia should focus on developing the capacity of these 
institutions  and  bodies  in  view  of  their  future  role  in  cohesion  policy.  Generally,  indirect 
management structures need to keep improving to manage IPA programmes more timely and 
efficiently and to be able to operate in an ex-post control environment. 

Weaknesses persist in  the  administrative capacity of key institutions  managing  EU funds. 
Many managerial appointments are in acting functions only and are not confirmed, creating 
uncertainty. The turnover of staff in key ministries remains a problem, as experienced staff are 
regularly  replaced  by  newcomers.  The  institutions  and  bodies  responsible  for  managing 
multiannual operational programmes need to be staffed appropriately. A more effective and 
holistic  retention  policy  in  the  public  sector  remains  to  be  adopted.  Improvements  in 
administrative capacity are necessary to minimise the risk of losing IPA funds. 

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Serbia continues to participate in the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) 
and  the  EU  Strategy  for  the  Danube  Region  (EUSDR)  which  promote  cooperation  and 
synergies among participating EU and non-EU countries. 

On programming, the adoption of a development plan, which forms the legal basis for Serbia’s 
regional  development  policy,  remains  overdue.  In  2023,  a  working  group  was  established, 
including relevant stakeholders, to draft the national development plan; its first meeting took 
place in March 2023. The development plan should acknowledge the development potential of 
all regions in Serbia and reduce regional and local disparities. The investment planning system 
continues to lack coherence, leading to non-transparent investment planning and financing and 
varied technical standards that have an impact on interoperability. Investment planning should 
be organised to bring Serbia closer to the EU. 

On  monitoring  and  evaluation,  the  relevant  monitoring  committees  set  up  under  indirect 
management continued to function. However, the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation 
system in accordance with the requirements of cohesion policy remains outstanding. 

On financial management, control and audit, the capacity of the national systems for indirect 
management  of  IPA  funds,  including  in  the  Audit  Authority,  continued  to  improve.  The 
resorption of the payments backlog under indirect management is an urgent priority. 

Chapter 33: Financial and budgetary provisions 

This chapter covers the rules governing the funding of the EU budget (‘own resources’). These 
resources  mainly  consist  of:  (i)  contributions  based  on  the  gross  national  income  of  each 
Member  State;  (ii)  customs  duties;  (iii)  non-recycled  plastic;  and  (iv)  a  resource  based  on 
value-added  tax.  Member  States  must  have  the  appropriate  administrative  capacity  to 
adequately coordinate and ensure the correct calculation, collection, payment and control of 
own resources.  

Serbia  has  some  level  of  preparation  in  the  area  of  financial  and  budgetary  provisions. 
Limited  progress  was  made  on  last  year’s  recommendations  as  Serbia  requested  and 
participated in a study visit on the management and coordination of the EU own resources 
system. Limited to good progress was made within the underlying policy areas affecting the 
correct functioning of the own resources system. Last year’s recommendations remain largely 
valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  develop organisational and procedural links between the institutions involved in the own 

resources system; and 

→  continue preparations to meet the specific administrative conditions for own resources as 
laid down in the own resources regulations, including, once the Commission-led workshop 
on the EU own resources system has taken place, draft an action plan with  timelines to 
meet the administrative own resources conditions. 

There was limited to good progress in the underlying policy areas indirectly affecting the own 
resources system (for progress in these areas, see Chapters 16 – Taxation, 18 – Statistics, 29 
– Customs union, and 32 – Financial control). 

Regarding traditional own resources (TOR), the customs legislation is largely aligned with 
the  EU  acquis.  Serbia’s  customs  administration  procedures  ensure  that  cases  of  fraud  and 
irregularities are reported to the national authorities. However, reporting is manual and Serbia 
does not use OWNRES, or any other similar national electronic database, to report on fraud 
and irregularities for amounts over EUR 10 000. Customs continued the simulation of TOR 
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accounts in 2022. However, the current accounting system does not use two different accounts, 
one for collected or secured debts (A account) and the other for uncollected/unsecured debts or 
secured but appealed debts (B account). Several  departments in the customs administration, 
including its internal audit department, carry out control activities. The state audit institution is 
in charge of carrying out external audits. 

As regards the value added tax (VAT)-based resource, sufficient data sources are available 
for the calculation of the theoretical non-deductible VAT, deriving from the supply and use 
tables that were published for the first time in 2019. 

As regards the gross national income-based resource, national accounts are compiled largely 
in line with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). However, continued efforts are 
needed  to  produce  the  complete  data  required  by  the  ESA  2010  transmission  programme. 
Serbia continued to improve the exhaustiveness of the national accounts and the gross national 
income (GNI) calculations. Updated GNI data is available for the period 2005-2020. The GNI 
estimates  include  those  of  the  non-observed  economy.  First  estimates  for  VAT  fraud  were 
calculated without breakdown by with/without complicity, so a VAT weighted average rate is 
still  not  available  .  The  results  of  tax  audits  are  received  from  tax  authorities  and  used  to 
improve the exhaustiveness of the national accounts. Available data generally already meet the 
necessary standards of quality (reliability, comparability and exhaustiveness) to guarantee the 
legitimacy of GNI as a benchmark aggregate. The statistical office continued to improve its 
methods and data sources and regularly transmit GNI and GDP data to Eurostat. The work to 
establish a GNI inventory, based on the already existing description of sources and methods 
used to compile national accounts, started in 2018 and is to be finalised in 2024, together with 
the benchmark revision of national accounts data. 

Regarding administrative infrastructure, the capacity of the institutions in the relevant policy 
areas needs to be further strengthened. The group for the coordination and management of own 
resources  of  the  EU,  tasked  with  ensuring  correct  calculation,  accounting,  forecasting, 
collection, payment, control and reporting on the implementation of the EU’s own resources 
policy and rules, has two employees. In May 2023, Serbia participated in a TAIEX-supported 
study visit which contributed to improving the coordination tasks of the group. Furthermore, 
the  organisational  and  procedural  links  between  the  institutions  involved  in  own  resources 
should still be developed. 

CLUSTER 6: EXTERNAL RELATIONS 

There are two chapters in this cluster: Chapter 30 External relations, and Chapter 31 Foreign, 
security and defence policy. Serbia is yet to meet the two opening benchmarks for Chapter 30, 
which includes finalising the accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In this regard, 
Serbia should adopt a WTO-compliant law on the trade of genetically modified organisms as 
a matter of urgency. 

The  screening  report  on  Chapter  31  is  still  in  the  Council.  Serbia’s  common  foreign  and 
security policy alignment patterns remained largely unchanged. In 2022, Serbia’s alignment 
rate with relevant High Representative statements on behalf of the EU and Council Decisions 
was 46%, and reached 51 % as of August 2023. Serbia continued to participate in EU crisis 
management missions and operations under the common security and defence policy. 

Serbia is invited to continue legislative alignment where necessary, and is also encouraged to 
implement actions under the Common Regional Market based on EU rules, including through 
cooperation  with  the  Central  European  Free  Trade  Agreement  (CEFTA)  and  the  Regional 
Cooperation Council.  

144 

 
 
Serbia should urgently improve its alignment with EU common foreign and security policy, 
including restrictive measures, avoid actions that go against EU positions on foreign policy, 
and step up actions to prevent any attempt to use the territory of Serbia for the circumvention 
of EU restrictive measures. 

Chapter 30: External relations 

The EU has a common  commercial policy towards third countries, based on multilateral and 
bilateral agreements and autonomous measures. There are also EU rules on humanitarian aid 
and development policy. 

Serbia remains moderately prepared in the area of external relations. Limited progress was 
made overall. The capacity to pursue key challenges in trade policy needs to be strengthened, 
in particular in order to move forward with accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), 
where  again  no  progress  was  made.  Serbia  has  yet  to  further  strengthen  the  administrative 
capacity  of  the  Ministry  of  Internal  and  Foreign  Trade  for  handling  trade  with  the  EU  and 
CEFTA, as well as WTO accession. By the end of October 2023, Serbia had lifted all its trade 
restrictions that been introduced on a number of products in the agricultural and energy sectors 
in  non-respect  of  the  provisions  of  the  Stabilisation  and  Association  Agreement  (SAA).  In 
October 2023, Serbia provided an updated list of actions to be taken in the context of the WTO 
accession process as part of the action plan on its remaining legislative alignment with the EU 
acquis. No substantial progress was made on development policy and humanitarian aid. Last 
year’s recommendations therefore remain valid. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular: 

→  adopt  a WTO-compliant law on genetically modified organisms, so  as to move forward 
with remaining bilateral market access negotiations and to move towards finalisation of its 
accession to the WTO; and 

→  continue  to  implement  actions  within  the  Common  Regional  Market  action  plan  2021-
2024; in particular, negotiate and ensure a swift adoption of CEFTA Additional Protocol 7 
on dispute settlement. 

As regards the common commercial policy, no progress was made on Serbia’s accession to 
the World Trade Organization (WTO). This continues to be stalled, primarily due to lack of 
progress on the adoption of a modified law on trade in genetically modified organisms, and on 
the  completion  of  market  access  negotiations  with  a  small  number  of  WTO  members.  The 
Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin is being applied 
in  Serbia.  Serbia’s  customs  tariff  nomenclature  for  2023  was  harmonised  with  the  EU 
combined nomenclature in November 2022. 

The administrative capacity of the unit in the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade in charge 
of trade with the EU and EFTA should be strengthened and Serbia’s capacity to complete the 
WTO accession should be further increased through ensuring representation in Geneva. Further 
work is yet to be done to improve the capacity to collect market statistics through the work of 
the national coordination body for trade facilitation. 

With regard to participation in CEFTA, Serbia has continued the implementation of Additional 
Protocol  (AP)  5  on  Trade  Facilitation  and  AP  6  on  Trade  in  Services.  Negotiations  within 
CEFTA  on  AP  7  on  Dispute  Settlement  are  ongoing.  Serbia  should  continue  to  play  a 
constructive  role  in  CEFTA  and  within  the  Common  Regional  Market,  in  line  with 
commitments taken at the Sofia Summit in November 2020 and the Berlin Process, including 
during its upcoming role as the chair of CEFTA in 2024. 

145 

 
 
Serbia  should  ensure  smooth  implementation  of  the  SAA  and  abstain  from  introducing 
unilateral trade restrictive measures without prior consultation of the Commission, in line with 
its  SAA  obligations.  Throughout  2022,  Serbia  on  repeated  occasions  introduced  temporary 
trade restrictions in the form of export bans or export quotas pertaining to a number of products 
that were all revoked in the course of 2023: export ban on certain agricultural products (from 
10 March 2022 until 11 August 2022); export ban on milk and butter products (from September 
2022 until  31 January 2023); export ban on  certain  raw wood products  (from  26 May 2022 
until 31 October 2022, and from 5 November 2022 until 31 January 2023); export quotas for 
different types of raw wood (from 5 August 2022 until 28 February 2023); export restrictions 
on wood pellets (from 1 December 2022 until 31 January 2023); export ban on Eurodiesel EN 
590 (from 30 June 2022 until 31 March2023); and export ban on natural gas (from 17 October 
2022 until 28 February 2023). In February 2023, Serbia introduced changes to the import duties 
envisaged in the SAA applying to a large number of milk and dairy products. The Commission 
was not notified or consulted, as provided for in the SAA, until after the measure was taken. 
Serbia  claimed  that  this  measure  was  justified  under  Article  32  of  the  SAA  (the  safeguard 
clause concerning agriculture and fisheries) but did not provide sufficient justification despite 
two consultative meetings with  the Commission dedicated to  this specific measure.  In May 
2023, Serbia further extended import duties on concentrated milk and cheese. Serbia requested 
a consultative meeting with the Commission and shared written data before the decision was 
formally taken in line with the procedures stipulated by the SAA, but once again failed to justify 
the measure under the SAA. Without prior consultation or notification, in July 2023, Serbia 
adopted additional amendments to further increase the level of special import duties for certain 
groups of dairy products, mainly: milk and sour cream, yoghurt and related products, whey and 
butter, and in August 2023, Serbia extended the decision for concentrated milk and cheese. 
These unjustified measures expired on 31 October 2023. 

Furthermore, the unilateral measures adopted by Serbia in December 2020, and further adjusted 
in December 2022, with regard to the management of wine imports from the EU, restricting 
the allocation per trader, create a less favourable trade environment. As these measures remain 
in place, Serbia is encouraged to restore the first come, first served arrangement. 

Serbia has committed to take appropriate action in order to stop the possibility  circumvent EU 
restrictive  measures  introduced  in  the  context  of  Russia’s  aggression  against  Ukraine  via 
Serbian territory and/or by legal  entities registered in Serbia, including  through monitoring, 
identifying and inspecting suspicious trade flows of priority battlefield goods and economically 
critical goods (see also Chapter 29 on Customs union, and Chapter 31 on Foreign, security 
and defence policy). 

Serbia’s law on dual-use goods remains to be aligned with Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of May 
2021. In April 2023, Serbia adopted the national control list of dual-use goods aimed at full 
alignment with the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/66 of October 2022. In May 
2023, the national control list of arms and military equipment was aligned with the Common 
Military List of February 2023. Serbia’s applications to join the Wassenaar Arrangement and 
the  Australia  Group  are  still  under  consideration.  Serbia  is  not  a  signatory  of  the  Kimberly 
Process on conflict diamonds. 

Regarding  bilateral  agreements  with  third  countries,  Serbia  signed  a  Memorandum  of 
Understanding  with  China in  April 2023;  this  formally  started the negotiations  of a Serbia-
China free trade agreement which was signed in October 2023. Serbia announced plans for free 
trade agreements also with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and South Korea, but substantial 
negotiations  have  yet  to  begin.  All  the  agreements  that  Serbia  negotiates  must  ensure 
compatibility with the EU acquis and include sunset clauses, which guarantee that Serbia can 

146 

 
 
renounce  the  agreements  upon  accession  to  the  EU.  Serbia  should  also  ensure  that  proper 
scoping exercises are conducted before concluding any negotiations in order to minimise the 
risk of negative effects on specific sectors. 

Serbia has 46 bilateral investment treaties in force, 21 of which are with EU Member States. 
Serbia should develop a strategy for amending or terminating existing treaties that fall short of 
EU  standards  and  expose  the  country  to  risks  due  to  the  broad  and  open  language  used. 
Negotiations on new such treaties are ongoing with South Korea, and have been announced for 
Angola, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, India and the Kyrgyz Republic. 

No substantial progress was made on development policy and humanitarian aid. A new law 
on  development  cooperation  and  humanitarian  aid  is  still  being  prepared.  Development 
assistance and humanitarian aid are granted on an ad hoc basis. 

Chapter 31: Foreign, security and defence policy  

Member States must be able to conduct political dialogues under the EU foreign, security and 
defence  policy,  align  with  EU  statements,  take  part  in  EU  actions,  and  to  apply  agreed 
sanctions and restrictive measures. 

Serbia is moderately prepared in the area of common foreign, security and defence policy 
(CFSP). No progress was made during the reporting period as Serbia’s alignment patterns 
remained unchanged and some of Serbia’s actions and statements went against EU positions 
on foreign policy. Following Russia’s war of  aggression against Ukraine, Serbia aligned 
with  some  EU  positions  in  international  fora  (including  in  the  UN  General  Assembly 
(UNGA).  It  has  continued  not  to  align  with  any  restrictive  measures  against  the  Russian 
Federation and has not aligned with the majority of High Representative (HR) statements on 
this  matter.  It  also  maintained  high  level  relations  with  the  Russian  Federation,  raising 
questions about Serbia’s strategic direction. Serbia has also signed a Free Trade Agreement 
with China in October 2023, which is a strategic concern. Serbia did not make progress in 
line with the Declaration of the EU – Western Balkans Summit (Tirana, 6 December 2022), 
to work on closing space for foreign interference and information manipulation, including 
disinformation. Serbia continued to participate in and contribute substantially to EU crisis 
management missions and operations under the Common Security and Defence Policy. 

In the coming year, Serbia should in particular:  

→  improve, as a matter of priority, its alignment with EU Common Foreign and Security 
Policy, including restrictive measures, and avoid actions and statements that go against 
EU positions on foreign policy; 

→  continue to step up action to prevent any attempt to use the territory of Serbia and/or 
legal entities registered in Serbia for the circumvention of EU restrictive measures; 

→  make  credible  efforts  to  close  space  for  foreign  interference  and  information 
manipulation,  including  disinformation,  and  take  actions  towards  building  societal 
resilience against it and other forms of hybrid threats.    

The political dialogue between the EU and Serbia on foreign and security policy continued. 
In  April  2023,  Serbia  participated  in  the  ninth    EU-Western  Balkans  meeting  of  Political 
Directors. In March 2023, Serbia participated at ministerial level at the first Schuman Security 
and Defence Forum and in May 2023 in a working lunch with members of the Foreign Affairs 
Council.   

147 

 
 
The institutional framework enabling Serbia’s participation in the EU CFSP and CSDP is in 
place.  The  draft  law  on  Foreign  Affairs  has  been  prepared.  In  September  2023,  a  law  on 
participations  of  civilians  in  in  international  missions  and  operations  was  adopted.  Serbia 
apointed a State Secretary who also performs the function of ‘political director’ and there is a 
‘European correspondent’. Serbia supports the implementation of the EU Strategic Compass 
for Security and Defence.  

On the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), in 2022, Serbia’s alignment rate with 
relevant High Representative statements on behalf of the EU and relevant Council Decisions 
was  46%.  As  of  August  2023  its  alignment  rate was  51%.  Serbia  has  not  aligned  with  any 
restrictive measure against Russia, nor with the majority of High Representative Statements 
related to Russia and Ukraine. Serbia failed to align with a number of other HR Statements and 
EU restrictive measures   linked to Russia, China, Belarus and Iran.  Serbia has continued to 
operate flights to Russia. Serbia needs, as a matter of priority, to make serious additional efforts 
regarding its alignment with the EU CFSP.  

In  the  United  Nations  General  Assembly  Serbia  mostly  aligned  with  the  vast  majority  of 
UNGA  Members  on  resolutions  related  to  the  Russian  war  of  aggression  against  Ukraine. 
Serbia aligned with the EU when voting in UNGA on resolutions regarding Russia’s war of 
aggression against Ukraine, its humanitarian impact, the suspension of the Russian Federation 
from  the  UN  Human  Rights  Council,  the  condemnation  of  the  sham  referenda  and  illegal 
annexation  of  Ukrainian  territories  and  on  principles  underlying  a  comprehensive,  just  and 
lasting peace in Ukraine. It however abstained on the UNGA resolution on Russian reparations 
for Ukraine in November 2022. The alignment record in other multilateral forums is mixed and 
Serbia often abstains on positions related to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.  

Following  the  visit  of  the  EU  Special  Envoy  for  the  implementation  of  sanctions  in  May 
2023, which focused on concrete actions aimed at tackling sanctions circumvention, Serbian 
customs authorities took concrete steps to address the issues raised by the EU Special Envoy, 
including with concrete actions to step up export controls. Close cooperation and exchange of 
information between the EU and Serbia authorities is ongoing at technical level. Serbia should 
continue to step up its efforts to fight sanctions circumvention. 

Serbia continued to develop intense relations and strategic partnerships with a number of 
countries  worldwide,  including  maintaining  relations  with  Russia  and  China.  High-level 
contacts and bilateral visits from Russia were maintained, albeit at reduced frequency,  raising 
questions  about  Serbia’s  strategic  direction.  In  October  2022,  Russia’s  Deputy  Foreign 
Minister visited Belgrade, where he hosted a meeting of Russian Ambassadors posted in the 
region. In April 2023, members of the Russian upper chamber, the Federation Council, who 
are on the EU sanctions list, were received by Serbian Speaker, MPs and Minister for Public 
Administration and Local Government. The Russian Ambassador was frequently and regularly 
received  by  the  President,  Speaker,  and  First  Deputy  Prime  Minister  /  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs, and Minister of Energy. In May 2023, the head of the national Security Information 
Agency  attended  the  11th  Moscow  International  Security  conference.  Serbia’s  First  Deputy 
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister announced that he will visit Moscow by the end of 2023. 
The Serbian President met briefly with the Russian President in the margins of Belt and Road 
summit in Bejing in October 2023.   

Serbia  vocally  supported  the  territorial  integrity  of  Ukraine  and  it  provided  humanitarian 
assistance,  inlcuding  ambulances  vehicles,  and  energy  equipment,  including  through  the 
UCPM. The Serbian President met with the President of Ukraine in August 2023 and, also in 
August 2023, the Serbian Prime Minister addressed the Crimea Platform meeting, but Serbia 
has not joined the Crimea Platform Declaration.  
148 

 
 
Close contacts were also maintained with China. The Serbian President accompanied by a high-
level  delegation,  attended  Belt  and  Road  summit  in  Bejing  in  October  2023,  during  which 
Serbia and China signed a free trade agreement, which is of strategic concern. He also met with 
the  Chinese  President  on  this  occasion.  Belgrade  received  visits  of  the  Chinese  Special 
Representative for the China-CEEC cooperation and of the Deputy Head (Vice Minister) of 
the  International  Department  of  the  Chinese  Communist  Party’s  Central  Committee,  in 
November 2022.  

Several  high-level  visits  from  the  United States to Belgrade took  place,  as  well as visits  of 
Belgrade officials to the US. A Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between the 
US State Department and the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was signed in January 2023.  

There was an intense agenda of bilateral visits between the Serbian leadership and the one of 
the United Arab Emirates in 2022 and 2023 (Heads of State and Ministerial visits), with the 
signature of a number of cooperation agreements and a loan signed in September 2022 during 
the Serbian President’s visit to Abu Dhabi. A free trade agreement has also been announced.  

The President of India visited Serbia in June 2023 and a visa simplification mechanism was 
announced, following the reintroduction of visas for Indian nationals as of January 2023. The 
President of Cuba visited Serbia in June 2023, witnessing the signing of an agreement waiving 
visa requirements for holders of official and diplomatic passports. 

High-level  contacts  were  also  maintained  with  Iran.  In  October  2023,  the  Deputy  Foreign 
Minister of Iran was in Belgrade for political consultations with Serbian MFA. In December 
2022, the Iranian Foreign Minister was received by Serbia’s President, with Belgrade providing 
a venue for him to meet all Iranian ambassadors posted in Europe. In August 2023, the State 
Secretary of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs travelled to Iran for political consultations. 
Serbia has also intensified contacts with other members of the Non-Aligned Movement and in 
March  2023  the  Serbian  MFA  took  part  in  the  summit-level  meeting  of  the  Non-Aligned 
Movement Contact Group in Baku.  

Serbia continued to engage actively with international organisations. Serbia does not have 
bilateral immunity agreements granting exemption from the jurisdiction of the International 
Criminal Court and complies with the EU common positions on the integrity of the Rome 
Statute together with  the related EU’s guiding principles  on bilateral  immunity  agreements. 
The issuance of arrest warrants by the ICC against Russian President Putin and the Russian 
Commissioner  for  Children’s  Rights  in  March  2023  was  however  criticised  by  the  Serbian 
leadership as being politicised and not conducive to peace. 

Serbia continued supporting EU measures and documents on conflict prevention. 

Serbia has joined almost all key non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control treaties 
promoted by the EU. Serbia should consider ratifying Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of 
War of the Convention on Certain  Conventional Weapons (CCW). Serbia has a transparent 
reporting  system  on  its  strategic  exports  controls.  At  the  same  time,  frequent  and  recurring 
allegations of corruption in arms trade deals need to be  investigated. Serbia is a very active 
State  Party  to  the  Chemical  Weapons  Convention.  However,  Serbia  has  not  in  recent  years 
(2022 and 2023) aligned with EU statements agreed in The Hague for the Organisation for the 
Prohibition  of  Chemical  Weapons  (OPCW)  Conference  of  States  Parties  and  Executive 
Council meetings. Serbia adopted a new Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for 
the  fight  against  proliferation  of  Weapons  of  Mass  Destruction  for  the  period  2023-2025. 
Serbia is implementing its 2021-2024 strategy and respective action plan  for small arms and 
light weapons control (SALW), with positive results. A new draft action plan (replacing the 
one  of  2019-2020)  is  in  preparation.  theThe  authorities  took  part  in  regional  meetings  on 
149 

 
 
SALW and Serbia is engaging positively on the implementation of the EU Roadmap on SALW 
and announced a tightening of controls following the mass shootings of May 2023. In Geneva, 
in the context of the Conference on Disarmament, Serbia did not systematically align with EU 
statements in 2022 and 2023. At the UN in New York, Serbia occasionally does not align with 
EU statements and sometimes supports positions at the UN General Assembly.  

In  terms  of  security  measures,  Serbia  continued  implementing  its  security  of  information 
agreement with the EU on procedures for exchanging and protecting classified information. 

On common security and defence policy (CSDP), Serbia continued to actively participate 
and contribute substantially to EU crisis management missions and operations, notably the 
EU training missions in Somalia and Central African Republic, and EU NAVFOR Atalanta. 
Serbia  has  expressed  interest  to  contribute  to  EUTM  Mozambique.  Serbia  is  planning  to 
contribute  to  civilian  CSDP  missions.  The  law  on  participation  of  civilians  in  international 
missions and operations was adopted in September 2023. Serbia continued to participate in the 
roster of the EU Battle Groups. Serbia also continued to participate in five UN peacekeeping 
missions.  Serbia  continued  cooperation  with  NATO  and  in  June  2023,  a  miliary  exercise 
“Platinum  Wolf”  was  held.    Under  the  European  Peace  Facility,  Serbia  takes  part  in  the 
Balkan Medical Task Force assistance measure.  

On  hybrid  threats,  in  October  2022,  the  Serbian  authorities  formally  appointed  the  new 
National Focal Point for the EU at the CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear 
Risk Mitigation) Centre of Excellence, after the post remained vacant for over a year. Serbia 
attended at technical level the CBRN ministerial conference hosted by the EU in May 2023. 

150 

 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX I – RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EU AND SERBIA 

Within the framework of the accession negotiations, twenty-two chapters have been opened, 
two  of  which  have  been  provisionally  closed  (chapters  25  and  26).  In  accordance  with  the 
revised enlargement methodology, which Serbia accepted, negotiation chapters are grouped in 
six  thematic  clusters  and  negotiations  should  be  opened  for  each  cluster  as  a  whole  –  after 
fulfilling opening benchmarks – rather than on individual chapters. All chapters of cluster 1 
(fundamentals) and cluster 4 (green agenda and sustainable connectivity) are opened. Cluster 
3 (competitiveness and inclusive growth) is the most advanced cluster to be opened next. Serbia 
tabled its negotiating positions on chapters 2, 3, 10, and 28. 

Serbia is participating in the Stabilisation and Association Process. Serbia continued to build 
a track record in implementing the obligations of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement 
(SAA). However, Serbian legislation remains noncompliant with the SAA in a number of areas, 
including  on  restrictions  on  the  acquisition  of  real  estate  and  on  discriminatory  issuance  of 
payment  cards  by  banks.  Furthermore,  during  the  reporting  period  Serbia  introduced  on 
repeated occasions temporary trade restrictions on a number of products  without presenting 
sufficient justifications, nor always following the procedures set out in the SAA. As regards 
public  procurement,  intergovernmental  agreements  concluded  with  third countries  and  their 
implementation  do  not  follow  the  EU  principles  of  equal  treatment,  transparency,  non-
discrimination and competition for the majority of the value of public procurement contracts. 
As  a  result,  EU  companies  are  prevented  from  participating  in  large-scale  infrastructure 
projects implemented in the country. 

Regular political and economic dialogue between the EU and Serbia continued. Sub-committee 
meetings were held, together with a meeting of a special group on public administration reform. 
The Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee met in November 2022 and June 
2023. Serbia also participates in the ministerial dialogue between the economic and finance 
ministers of the EU and the candidate countries, where joint recommendations are adopted. 
The most recent meeting was held in May 2023. 

Economic integration with the EU remained high. The EU remains the main trading partner 
of Serbia, followed by CEFTA countries. In 2022 Serbia’s total trade with the EU accounted 
for 58.7 % (65.8 % of total exports and 53.9 % of total imports. EU-Serbia trade rose by 27 % 
in  2022,  demonstrating  continued  recovery  from  the  impacts  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic. 
Serbia’s total trade in 2022 was worth EUR 42.7 billion. The country’s trade deficit with the 
EU  amounted  to  EUR 6.3  billion  in  2022.  In  comparison,  Serbia’s  trade  with  CEFTA 
represented around 10.3% of total trade. 

The pattern of Serbia’s alignment with EU common foreign and security policy positions 
remained  unchanged.  Serbia  continued  to  participate  actively  in  EU  crisis  management 
missions and operations under the common security and defence policy. 

Visa-free travel for citizens of Serbia travelling to the Schengen area has been in force since 
December 2009. A readmission agreement between the European Union and Serbia has been 
in force since 2008. The Commission’s October 2023 sixth report under the visa suspension 
mechanism concluded that Serbia continues to meet the visa liberalisation requirements. 
Under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance 2021 – 2027 (IPA III)15 a first financing 
decision  of  EUR 122.14  million  was  adopted  at  the  end  of  2021,  providing  support  in 
connectivity and energy efficiency, strengthening private sector development, trade, research 
and innovation, as well as improving the healthcare system. The second financing decision of 

15 Official Journal L 330, 20.9.2021. 

151 

 
 
 
EUR 162  million  was  adopted  at  the  end  of  2022 providing  support  on  fundamental  rights, 
justice reform, public administration reform, the Green Agenda as well as on social cohesion, 
development, and economic growth. 

At the EU-WB Summit in Tirana in December 2022, the Commission put forward an Energy 
Support Package of EUR 1 billion for the Western Balkans to address immediate, short-term, 
and medium-term needs in the region in the context of the energy crisis and of Russian war of 
aggression against Ukraine. Following this announcement, a EUR 165 million budget support 
programme for Serbia was adopted at the end of 2022 to cushion the energy price increase to 
SMEs  and  vulnerable  households  and  to  accelerate  energy  diversification.  This  first  set  of 
programmes are complemented by a significant package of multi-country programmes and the 
rural development programme IPARD III with a total amount of EUR 288 million, provide a 
significant contribution to kick-start the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan 
for  the  Western  Balkans  and  the  Green  Agenda.  Serbia  participates  also  in  cross-border 
cooperation programmes, transnational cooperation programmes and Union programmes. 

The new activities will add to the on-going programmes under IPA II (2014-2020), which are 
still providing significant support for the social and economic development of the country and 
contribute to key reforms in the rule of law, public administration reform and other sectors. 
Three important budget support operations on public administration reform, integrated border 
management and education were finalised. 

Serbia  continues  to  benefit  from  support  under  the  IPA  multi-country  and  regional 
three  cross-border  cooperation 
programmes.  Additionally,  Serbia  participates 
programmes  with neighbouring  Western Balkan countries and in  transnational  cooperation 
programmes with Member States under the European Regional Development Fund and the IPA 
Adriatic cross-border programme. 

in 

Serbia  participates  with  IPA  support  in  the  following  Union  programmes:  Horizon  Europe; 
COSME; Erasmus+ and Creative Europe; The Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV); 
Employment  and  Social  Innovation  and  the  Digital  Europe  Programme.  To  facilitate  the 
alleviation of the skills mismatch in the country, Serbia is participating, as observer, in a pilot 
project under the Technical Support Instrument. 

152 

 
 
 
 
 
STATISTICAL DATA (as of 31/08/2023) 
Serbia 

Basic data 
Population (thousand) 
Total area of the country (km²) 

National accounts 
Gross domestic product (GDP) (million national currency) 
Gross domestic product (GDP) (million euro) 
GDP (euro per capita) 
GDP per capita (in purchasing power standards (PPS)) 
GDP per capita (in PPS), relative to the EU average (EU-27 = 100) 
Real GDP growth rate: change on previous year of GDP volume (%) 
Employment growth (national accounts data), relative to the previous year (%) 
Labour productivity growth: growth in GDP (in volume) per person employed, relative to the 
previous year (%) 
Unit labour cost growth, relative to the previous year (%) 
**3 year change (T/T-3) in the nominal unit labour cost growth index (2015 = 100) 
Labour productivity per person employed: GDP (in PPS) per person employed relative to EU 
average (EU-27 = 100) 
Gross value added by main sectors 
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries (%) 
Industry (%) 
Construction (%) 
Services (%) 
Final consumption expenditure, as a share of GDP (%) 
Gross fixed capital formation, as a share of GDP (%) 
Changes in inventories, as a share of GDP (%) 
Exports of goods and services, relative to GDP (%) 
Imports of goods and services, relative to GDP (%) 
Gross fixed capital formation by the general government sector, as a percentage of GDP (%) 

Note 

1) 2) 
3) 

Note 

2010 
7 307 s 
77 453 sw 

2017 
7 040 s 
77 594 sw 

2018 
7 001 s 
77 594 sw 

2019 
6 964 s 
77 594 sw 

2020 
6 927 s 
77 594 sw 

2021 
6 872 s 
77 594 sw 

2010 
3 250 581 
31 546 
4 330 
9 685 
38.9 
0.7 
 c 
 c 

2017 
4 760 686 
39 235 
5 590 
11 409 
38.9 
2.1 
 c 
 c 

2018 
5 072 932 
42 892 
6 140 
12 014 
39.7 
4.5 
 c 
 c 

2019 
5 421 851 
46 005 
6 620 
12 803 
40.9 
4.3 
 c 
 c 

2020 
5 504 431 
46 815 
6 790 
12 812 
42.6 
-  0.9 
 c 
 c 

2021 
6 270 097 
53 329 
7 800 
14 349 
44.2 
7.5 
 c 
 c 

 c 
 c 
 c 

7.9 
26.2 
4.1 
61.8 s 
94.6 
17.7 
-  0.1 
32.3 
44.5 
: 

 c 
 c 
 c 

7.2 
26.5 
5.0 
61.4 s 
87.0 
17.7 
1.8 
50.5 
57.1 
: 

 c 
 c 
 c 

7.7 
25.4 
5.4 
61.6 s 
86.0 
20.0 
2.6 
50.4 
59.1 
: 

2018 
110.8 
87 407 
10.0 

 c 
 c 
 c 

7.2 
24.0 
6.9 
61.9 s 
84.8 
22.5 
2.6 
51.0 
60.9 
: 

2019 
111.2 
88 224 
10.1 

 c 
 c 
 c 

7.6 
23.4 
6.6 
62.4 s 
84.1 
21.4 
2.7 
48.2 
56.5 
: 

2020 
111.0 
90 111 
8.6 

 c 
 c 
 c 

7.6 
23.0 
7.3 
62.2 s 
82.8 
23.1 
1.9 
54.5 
62.3 
: 

2021 
118.5 
: 
8.2 w 

Business 
Industrial production volume index (2015 = 100) 
Number of active enterprises (number) 
Birth rate: number of enterprise births in the reference period (t) divided by the number of 
enterprises active in t (%) 

Note 

4 
5 

2010 
95.0 
83 787 w 
10.2 w 

2017 
109.4 
85 546 p 
11.5 p 

153 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5) 

9.8 w 

6.3 p 

6.1 

11.5 

6.9 p 

6.7 w 

4) 6) 

59.7 sw 

59.3 sw 

59.0 sw 

58.5 sw 

58.7 sw 

5 751 sw 
11 980 w 

8 136 sw 
16 442 p 

9 165 sw 
18 047 

10 540 sw 
20 093 

12 245 sw 
21 833 

Death rate: number of enterprise deaths in the reference period (t) divided by the number of 
enterprises active in t (%) 
People employed in SMEs as a share of all persons employed (within the non-financial 
business economy) (%) 
Value added by SMEs (in the non-financial business economy) (EUR million) 
Total value added (in the non-financial business economy) (EUR million) 

Inflation rate and house prices 
Consumer price index (CPI), change relative to the previous year (%) 
**Annual change in the deflated house price index (2015 = 100) 

Balance of payments 
Balance of payments: current account total (million euro) 
Balance of payments current account: trade balance (million euro) 
Balance of payments current account: net services (million euro) 
Balance of payments current account: net balance for primary income (million euro) 
Balance of payments current account: net balance for secondary income (million euro) 
Net balance for primary and secondary income: of which government transfers (million euro) 
**3 year backward moving average of the current account balance relative to GDP (%) 
**Five year change in share of world exports of goods and services (%) 
Net balance (inward - outward) of foreign direct investment (FDI) (million euro) 
Foreign direct investment (FDI) abroad (million euro) 
of which FDI of the reporting economy in the EU-27 countries (million euro) 
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the reporting economy (million euro) 
of which FDI of the EU-27 countries in the reporting economy (million euro) 
**Net international investment position, relative to GDP (%) 
Year on year rate of change in gross inflow of remittances (in national currency) from migrant 
workers (%) 

Public finance 
General government deficit / surplus, relative to GDP (%) 
General government gross debt relative to GDP (%) 
Total  government revenues, as a percentage of GDP (%) 
Total government expenditure, as a percentage of GDP (%) 

4) 

Note 

Note 

Note 

2010 
6.2 d 
: 

2010 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
1 133.4 w 
145.0 w 
36.1 w 
1 278.4 w 
801.8 w 
: 
: 

2010 
-  4.3 w 
40.8 w 
39.3 w 
43.7 w 

2017 
3.3 d 
: 

2017 
- 2 049.0 
- 3 997.0 
966.0 
- 2 532.0 
3 514.0 
140.0 
-  4.4 
46.3 
2 418.1 w 
130.0 w 
67.2 w 
2 548.1 w 
1 701.7 w 
90.7 w 
7.5 sw 

2017 
1.1 w 
58.7 w 
41.5 w 
40.4 w 

: 

: 
: 

2021 
4.0 d 
: 

2021 
- 2 296.0 
- 5 923.0 
1 399.0 
- 2 059.0 
4 287.0 
294.0 
-  5.3 
30.9 
3 656.9 w 
229.1 w 
-  43.0 
3 886.0 w 
1 758.0 
83.9 w 
: 

2021 
-  4.2 ew 
57.5 ew 
43.4 ew 
47.6 ew 

2019 
1.9 d 
: 

2019 
- 3 273.0 
- 5 680.0 
1 012.0 
- 2 478.0 
3 873.0 
276.0 
-  5.7 
30.9 
3 551.1 w 
264.2 w 
124.0 
3 815.3 w 
2 310.0 
88.0 w 
: 

2019 
-  0.2 ew 
52.9 ew 
42.1 w 
42.3 w 

2020 
1.8 d 
: 

2020 
- 2 034.0 
- 5 200.0 
1 101.0 
- 1 529.0 
3 594.0 
252.0 
-  5.4 
38.1 
2 938.5 w 
100.4 w 
 c 
3 038.9 w 
 c 
90.3 w 
: 

2020 
-  8.0 w 
57.7 w 
40.9 w 
48.9 w 

2018 
2.0 d 
: 

2018 
- 2 092.0 
- 5 244.0 
1 093.0 
- 2 067.0 
4 126.0 
251.0 
-  4.6 
26.2 
3 156.5 w 
307.9 w 
95.5 w 
3 464.5 w 
1 932.9 w 
87.6 w 
: 

2018 
0.6 ew 
54.4 ew 
41.5 ew 
40.9 ew 

2018 
62.2 sw 
126.0 w 
6 703.6 w 
8 611.4 w 

Financial indicators 
Gross external debt of the whole economy, relative to GDP (%) 
Gross external debt of the whole economy, relative to total exports (%) 
Money supply: M1 (banknotes, coins, overnight deposits, million euro) 
Money supply: M2 (M1 plus deposits with maturity up to two years, million euro) 

Note 
7) 

8) 
9) 

2010 
74.5 sw 
247.1 w 
2 400.9 w 
3 891.0 w 

2017 
65.1 sw 
132.2 w 
5 652.6 w 
7 360.4 w 

154 

2019 
61.4 sw 
121.0 w 
7 684.2 w 
10 090.7 w 

2020 
65.8 sw 
138.2 w 
10 376.6 w 
13 214.8 w 

2021 
68.4 sw 
127.7 w 
11 915.9 w 
15 036.3 w 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Money supply: M3 (M2 plus marketable instruments, million euro) 
Total credit by monetary financial institutions to residents (consolidated) (million euro) 
**Annual change in financial sector liabilities (%) 
**Private credit flow, consolidated, relative to GDP (%) 
**Private debt, consolidated, relative to GDP (%) 
Interest rates: day-to-day money rate, per annum (%) 
Lending interest rate (one year), per annum (%) 
Deposit interest rate (one year), per annum (%) 
Euro exchange rates: average of period (1 euro = … national currency) 
Trade-weighted effective exchange rate index, 42 countries (2015 = 100) 
**3 year change (T/T-3) in the trade-weighted effective exchange rate index, 42 countries 
(2015 = 100) 
Value of reserve assets (including gold) (million euro) 

External trade in goods 
Value of imports: all goods, all partners (million euro) 
Value of exports: all goods, all partners (million euro) 
Trade balance: all goods, all partners (million euro) 
Terms of trade (export price index / import price index * 100) (number) 
Share of exports to EU-27 countries in value of total exports (%) 
Share of imports from EU-27 countries in value of total imports (%) 

Demography 
Crude rate of natural change of population (natural growth rate): number of births minus 
deaths (per thousand inhabitants) 
Infant mortality rate deaths of children under one year of age (per thousand live births) 
Life expectancy at birth: male (years) 
Life expectancy at birth: female (years) 

Labour market 
Economic activity rate for persons aged 20–64: proportion of the population aged 20–64 that 
is economically active (%) 
*Employment rate for persons aged 20–64: proportion of the population aged 20–64 that are 
in employment (%) 
Male employment rate for persons aged 20–64 (%) 
Female employment rate for persons aged 20–64 (%) 
Employment rate for persons aged 55–64: proportion of the population aged 55–64 that are 
in employment (%) 
Employment by main sectors 
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries (%) 

10) 

Note 

Note 

Note 

12 898.6 w 
17 544.3 w 
: 
: 
: 
12.02 w 
14.00 w 
9.00 w 
103.043 
: 
: 

19 206.3 w 
22 806.4 w 
3.4 pw 
: 
: 
2.27 w 
5.00 w 
2.00 w 
121.337 
: 
: 

22 047.1 w 
24 605.8 w 
12.7 pw 
: 
: 
2.43 w 
4.25 w 
1.75 w 
118.272 
: 
: 

24 011.2 w 
26 743.3 w 
11.2 pw 
: 
: 
1.06 w 
3.50 w 
1.00 w 
117.852 
: 
: 

28 361.5 w 
30 621.0 w 
12.3 pw 
: 
: 
0.08 w 
1.90 w 
0.10 w 
117.578 
: 
: 

32 131.2 w 
33 158.9 w 
11.0 pw 
: 
: 
0.23 w 
1.90 w 
0.10 w 
117.573 
: 
: 

10 001.6 w 

9 961.7 w 

11 261.8 w 

13 378.5 w 

13 491.7 w 

16 454.5 w 

2010 
12 475 
7 067 
- 5 407 
92.8 sw 
60.2 s 
55.9 s 

2017 
17 559 
14 365 
- 3 194 
100.1 sw 
65.7 s 
57.5 s 

2018 
20 074 
15 650 
- 4 424 
98.1 sw 
67.0 s 
55.9 s 

2019 
22 216 
16 859 
- 5 356 
98.9 sw 
66.3 s 
54.7 s 

2020 
21 482 
16 464 
- 5 019 
103.4 sw 
66.2 s 
55.6 s 

2021 
27 332 
21 053 
- 6 279 
106.1 sw 
65.8 s 
53.9 s 

2010 
-  4.8 

6.7 
71.8 
77.0 

2010 
63.8 

51.4 

59.5 
43.5 
32.9 

2017 
-  5.5 

4.7 
73.1 
78.1 

2017 
71.2 

61.4 

68.5 
54.5 
45.5 

2018 
-  5.4 

4.9 
73.5 
78.4 

2018 
72.5 

63.1 

70.5 
55.8 
46.5 

2019 
-  5.3 

4.8 
73.4 
78.6 

2019 
72.9 

65.2 

72.1 
58.2 
50.2 

2020 
-  8.0 

5.0 
71.6 
77.5 

2020 
72.5 

65.9 

72.9 
58.9 
52.2 

2021 
-  10.9 

4.7 
70.0 
75.7 

2021 
75.0 b 

66.7 b 

74.2 b 
59.3 b 
51.4 b 

22.3 s 

17.2 s 

15.9 s 

15.6 s 

14.6 s 

15.0 bs 

155 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Industry (%) 
Construction (%) 
Services (%) 
People employed in the public sector as a share of total employment, persons aged 20–64 
(%) 
People employed in the private sector as a share of total employment, persons aged 20–64 
(%) 
Unemployment rate: proportion of the labour force that is unemployed (%) 
Male unemployment rate (%) 
Female unemployment rate (%) 
Youth unemployment rate: proportion of the labour force aged 15–24 that is unemployed (%) 
Long-term unemployment rate: proportion of the labour force that has been unemployed for 
12 months or more (%) 
Unemployment rate for persons (aged 25–64) having completed at most lower secondary 
education (ISCED levels 0-2) (%) 
Unemployment rate for persons (aged 25–64) having completed tertiary education (ISCED 
levels 5-8) (%) 

Social cohesion 
Average nominal monthly wages and salaries (national currency) 

Index of real wages and salaries (index of nominal wages and salaries divided by the 
inflation index) (2016 = 100) 
GINI coefficient 
Poverty gap 
*Early leavers from education and training: proportion of the population aged 18–24 with at 
most lower secondary education who are not in further education or training (%) 

Standard of living 
Number of passenger cars relative to population size (number per thousand population) 
Number of mobile phone subscriptions relative to population size (number per thousand 
population) 
Mobile broadband penetration (per 100 inhabitants) 
Fixed broadband penetration (per 100 inhabitants) 

Infrastructure 
Density of railway network (lines in operation per thousand km²) 

Length of motorways (kilometres) 

20.5 s 
5.0 s 
51.9 us 
33.1 w 

21.2 s 
4.1 s 
57.5 us 
27.8 w 

22.5 s 
4.4 s 
57.2 us 
27.3 w 

22.6 s 
4.8 s 
56.9 us 
26.6 w 

22.6 s 
5.4 s 
57.5 us 
26.4 w 

23.7 bs 
6.0 bs 
55.3 bus 
25.8 w 

66.9 w 

72.2 w 

72.7 w 

73.4 w 

73.6 w 

74.2 w 

19.3 
18.5 
20.4 
46.3 
: 

16.7 

11.9 

13.6 
13.0 
14.4 
31.9 
7.4 

12.3 

11.8 

12.8 
12.1 
13.8 
29.7 
6.7 

13.4 

10.6 

10.5 
10.0 
11.2 
27.5 
5.5 

11.4 

8.1 

9.1 
8.8 
9.5 
26.6 
4.5 

9.6 

7.6 

11.1 b 
10.2 b 
12.1 b 
26.4 b 
4.9 

14.0 b 

8.4 b 

Note 
11) 
12) 

2010 
47 450 w 

2017 
65 976 w 

2018 
68 629 bw 

2019 
75 814 w 

2020 
82 984 w 

2021 
90 784 w 

102 w 

101 w 

105 w 

114 w 

123 w 

129 w 

: 
: 
8.3 

38 
38.8 
6.2 

36 
37.4 
6.8 

33 
32.1 
6.6 

33 
27.1 
5.6 

33 
28.3 
6.3 b 

Note 

2010 
216.0 
1 357.0 w 

2017 
279.6 sw 
1 231.4 w 

2018 
285.7 sw 
1 207.5 w 

2019 
299.2 sw 
1 217.2 w 

2020 
315.0 
1 192.6 w 

2021 
325.4 sw 
1 250.8 w 

Note 

: 
: 

2010 
43.2 sw 

495 w 

: 
35 w 

2017 
42.5 sw 

963 

: 
30 w 

2018 
42.5 sw 

782 w 

: 
28 w 

2019 
42.5 sw 

928 w 

: 
34 w 

2020 
37.9 sw 

928 

: 
35 w 

2021 
38.1 sw 

928 w 

156 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Innovation and research 
Public expenditure on education relative to GDP (%) 
*Gross domestic expenditure on R&D relative to GDP (%) 
Government budget appropriations or outlays on R&D (GBAORD), as a percentage of GDP 
(%) 
Percentage of households who have internet access at home (%) 

Environment 
*Index of greenhouse gas emissions,  CO2 equivalent (1990 = 100) 
Energy intensity of the economy (kg of oil equivalent per 1 000 euro GDP at 2015 constant 
prices) 
Electricity generated from renewable sources relative to gross electricity consumption (%) 
Road share of inland freight transport (based on tonne-km) (%) 

Energy 
Primary production of all energy products (thousand TOE) 
Primary production of crude oil (thousand TOE) 
Primary production of solid fuels (thousand TOE) 
Primary production of gas (thousand TOE) 
Net imports of all energy products (thousand TOE) 
Gross inland energy consumption (thousand TOE) 
Gross electricity generation (GWh) 

Agriculture 
Agricultural production volume index of goods and services (at producer prices) (2010 = 100) 
Utilised agricultural area (thousand hectares) 
Livestock numbers: live bovine animals (thousand heads, end of period) 
Livestock numbers: live swine (thousand heads, end of period) 
Livestock numbers: live sheep and live goats (thousand heads, end of period) 
Raw milk available on farms (thousand tonnes) 
Harvested crop production: cereals (including rice) (thousand tonnes) 
Harvested crop production: sugar beet (thousand tonnes) 
Harvested crop production: vegetables (thousand tonnes) 

Note 

Note 

Note 

Note 

2010 
4.3 sw 
0.70 
: 

: 

2010 
77.1 w 
456.2 

28.2 
: 

2010 
10 551 
940 
7 229 
308 
5 231 s 
15 608 
38 103 

2010 
100.0 w 
3 541.7 
938.0 
3 489.0 
1 712.0 s 
: 
9 694.4 
3 551.1 
1 084.5 

2017 
3.6 d 
0.87 
0.38 

68.0 

2017 
78.5 w 
418.0 

27.4 
51.5 w 

2017 
10 496 
988 
7 216 
389 
5 330 s 
15 748 
37 045 

2017 
98.9 w 
3 438.1 
899.0 
2 911.0 
1 887.0 s 
1 599.3 
6 793.3 
2 513.5 
1 086.6 

2018 
3.6 sw 
0.92 
0.37 

2019 
3.6 sw 
0.89 
0.40 

2020 
3.5 sw 
0.91 
0.46 

2021 
3.3 psw 
0.99 
0.42 

72.9 

80.1 

81.0 

81.5 

2018 
76.5 w 
394.5 

28.7 
55.5 w 

2018 
10 025 
976 
6 609 
358 
5 385 s 
15 528 
37 426 

2018 
113.3 w 
3 486.9 
878.0 
2 782.0 
1 908.0 s 
1 590.0 
10 529.1 
2 325.3 
829.8 

2019 
75.1 w 
375.4 

30.1 
68.0 w 

2019 
10 219 
941 
6 826 
349 
5 497 s 
15 417 
37 600 

2019 
116.8 w 
3 481.6 
898.0 
2 903.0 
1 833.0 s 
1 597.0 
10 436.4 
2 305.3 
738.5 

2020 
: 
392.1 

30.7 
64.9 w 

2020 
10 969 
921 
7 205 
325 
4 795 s 
15 956 
37 956 

2020 
121.2 w 
3 506.5 
886.0 
2 983.0 
1 887.0 s 
1 583.7 
11 447.6 
2 018.2 
720.1 

2021 
: 
370.9 

29.9 
62.0 w 

2021 
10 187 
894 
6 282 
288 
5 652 s 
16 238 
38 236 

2021 
113.6 w 
3 506.1 
860.0 
2 868.0 
1 890.0 s 
1 563.5 
10 236.4 
2 048.2 
795.7 

157 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Source: Eurostat and/or the statistical authorities in Serbia 

: = not available 
  b = break in series 

c =  confidential value 

  d =  definition differs 
  e = estimated value 
  p = provisional 

s = Eurostat estimate 

  w= data supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authority and published on an "as is" basis and without any assurance as regards their quality 

and adherence to EU statistical methodology 
* = Europe 2020 indicator 

  Footnotes: 

1)  The total area should be regarded as temporary, and since the cadastral surveys are in progress as well as the development of the digital cadastral map, the areas are still not final. 
2)  Data for 31 December of this year 
3)  The data was taken from the Republic Geodetic Authority. 
4)  Unincorporated enterprises are not included. 
5)  Entrepreneurs are included 
6)  Unincorporated enterprises are not included. 

From the reference 2019 NACE S95 activity is included. 

7)  Official external debt of the Republic of Serbia. 
8)  The money supply M1 consists of currency in circulation and funds in giro, current and other accounts belonging to the owners of money balances in banks' liabilities, including 

money balances in the accounts of local government bodies, i.e. accounts from which payments can be made without any restrictions. 

9)  The money supply M2, in addition to M1, includes other dinar deposits, both short-and long-term. 

10)  The money supply M3, in addition to M2, includes short-and long term foreign currency deposits (without the so-called frozen foreign currency savings). 
11)  Wages and salaries paid to employees of legal entities and of unincorporated enterprises. 
12)  Wages and salaries are obtained from administrative sources (tax administration records). Average earnings are calculated on the basis of the total amount of accrued earnings for 

the reporting month and the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. 

158 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
159