SERBIA: Victims’ Families Compensation & more – 22nd July 2025

Dobar dan from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Serbia Update from the 22nd of July twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Serbia.

On Friday the 18th, the Higher Court in the northern city of Novi Sad issued a ruling in the case of the canopy collapse, making the government-owned company Railway Infrastructure of Serbia and the state pay compensation to four families for mental pain suffered by their relatives’ deaths. The grieving families are expected to receive five million dinars, which is around 50,000 dollars, each. However, since this verdict is not final, both the prosecution and the defense can appeal the ruling.

Despite this verdict, the court has still not prosecuted anyone for the collapse of the canopy of the main railway station in Novi Sad that took place on the 1st of November, which killed sixteen people, just four months after it was renovated. Since then, protests led by university students have erupted in the country, demanding accountability and justice from the state.

Over the past eight months of student-led protests and faculty blockades in connection with the canopy collapse tragedy, many of the student protesters have been targets of attacks by the regime's supporters. However, instead of the assailants being charged and prosecuted for the violent attacks on students, they keep receiving pardons from President Vucic, essentially shielding them from facing justice. Just last week, Vucic spoke about his plan to pardon yet another student attacker, this time a woman who ran a student over in her car during a protest in Belgrade.

Belgradian students organized a protest on Saturday the 19th due to the unjust pardoning of attackers, blocking the busy Gazela bridge. The student who was run over held a speech and pointed out the systemic injustice in the country, whose leaders celebrate attackers and imprison students.

On the other hand, Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, said during a press conference in Brussels, on Thursday the 17th, that Serbia could open a new stage of accession negotiations with the EU, if it delivers promised reforms by fall. Kos said that Serbia promised to fulfill specific benchmarks required to open the next stage of accession talks, mainly focused on media laws, electoral laws and legislation regulating the electronic media watchdog REM.

Despite Kos’ optimism, she said that the progress in the first stage of accession negotiations which focuses on the judiciary, fundamental rights and justice, has stopped due to the student protests and the constant breach of human rights by the authorities.

If Serbia wants an EU future, it should get back on track with its accession efforts

The EU is also not fond of Serbia’s plans to take part in joint military exercises with China, making Serbia the first EU candidate country to participate in such an event with China. The exercises are planned to include special army units from both countries.

However, the EU raised concerns and added that such actions go against Serbia’s commitment to EU integration. Recall that the country has promised to align with the EU’s foreign policy, but participating in such events goes against the union’s values.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday the 15th, the Humanitarian Fund NGO, or HLC, has called on the Prosecutor's Office in Serbia to launch an investigation against Tomislav Kovac, the wartime police minister of the Republic of Srpska, who is indicted in Bosnia for genocide. Kovac is currently a free man, residing in Serbia, with the Serbian courts failing to question his involvement in the nineteen ninety-five Srebrenica genocide.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the HLC presented a dossier containing evidence of Kovac’s role in the massacre, especially related to the forcible transfer and mass execution of Bosniak civilians. Kovac, however, has denied his involvement in the genocide.

In nineteen ninety-five, a massacre ensued in Bosnia and Herzegovina led by the armed forces from the Republic of Srpska - one of the two Bosnia’s entities. Many justice institutions, as well as the EU and the UN, recognize the Srebrenica massacre as a genocide.

In other news, on Saturday the 19th, an explosion erupted at the Golo Brdo landfill in the south-western city of Novi Pazar, prompting the city to announce a state of emergency in the area. The explosion is an aftermath of a long-lasting fire at the landfill, which led to a buildup of explosive materials. The local public health institute warned citizens not to go near the landfill area, and to wear face masks due to the thick smoke polluting the air.

Locals have said that the landfill ignited because inspections haven’t been carried out, and that it frequently catches fire in the summer. In the beginning of July, they blocked waste deliveries to the site, demanding its permanent closure.

Golo Brdo landfill is one of more than a hundred unsanitary, unregulated landfills in Serbia, where no one inspects the waste ending up there, posing health and environmental risks.

On energy updates, on Friday the 18th, the state-owned oil company NIS requested the fifth delay to the planned US sanctions against the company due to its large Russian ownership. The sanctions are expected to start on the 29th of July, but NIS is working on reducing the Russian share of the company and is requesting more time. Serbia’s energy minister said that the negotiations with the US about the cancellation of sanctions are not going smoothly, adding that it is difficult to balance between the US and Russia.

Currently, Russia owns less than 50% of NIS, with the Serbian government being the second largest shareholder.

Now for some economic news, the central bank of Serbia, or the NBS, said that the financial institutions projected a steady inflation of around three percent for the year ahead, which is within the NBS’ target bracket. The NBS noted that they are expecting temporary inflation rate increases in the coming months, adding that they may go up to four or five percent, so the prices of many goods and services are expected to rise. Currently, the year-on-year inflation rate stands at four and a half percent.

Since we mentioned inflation, Serbia is already facing a hike in the cost of living. The most affected sectors include food and drinks, with the most expensive groceries being bread, fruits, and vegetables, whose prices have increased by forty percent year-on-year. Aside from food, another basic amenity facing a price hike is electricity, with the state planning a seven-percent increase in October. Even though state officials have promised to raise wages, citizens worry that they still will not cover the basic living expenses.

On a brighter note, the State Statistical Office reported on Wednesday the 16th that the external trade in goods for twenty twenty-four amounted to around eight trillion dinars, which is about seventy-five billion dollars. Compared to twenty twenty-three, the external trade went up by roughly six percent. The total import of goods in twenty twenty-four stood at around four trillion dinars, about forty billion dollars, which is a six percent increase from twenty twenty-three.

The most exported-to country was Germany, with the profits from the trade amounting to 550 billion dinars, around five billion dollars. As for the imports, Serbia got its goods mostly from China and Germany, totalling around 600 billion dinars, about 6 billion dollars, each.

Let’s close this edition with cultural news. Belgrade’s Army Hall started its open-air cinema season on Monday the 21st, and will run it until the end of August. Every evening at nine PM there will be a movie projection - from restored domestic movies to modern worldwide titles. Some screenings are free, while others cost 300 dinars, which is around three dollars. The tickets are available for purchase at the Army Hall’s box office.

For more information, check out the link in the show notes!

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Do daljnjeg, zbogom!