Serbian Monitor

29/04/2026

WORKERS IN WORK FOR CUSTOMERS IN BUT ARE PAID AS IF THEY WERE FROM ASIA
Judging by production and export results from 2025, Kragujevac has once again, like four and a half decades ago, become an industrial centre and one of the engines of Serbia’s economic development.

Last year, companies in Kragujevac exported goods worth more than €1.8 billion, with a record foreign trade surplus of €517 million. By comparison, Serbia recorded a trade deficit of nearly €8.8 billion in goods exchange with the rest of the world, and in this century has only once, in 2022, seen a wider gap between imports and exports.

The results of Kragujevac’s enterprises carry additional weight because 80% of exports to foreign customers consist of cars, trams, railcars, parts for passenger and rail vehicles, and other finished high-tech products, 90% of which end up in markets such as Italy, Germany, and other EU countries.
[Link to the full article in the first comment]

26/04/2026

EMPTY POCKETS OF SERBIAN START-UPS DESPITE BIG AMBITIONS
For every three startups in Serbia last year, one generated no revenue at all, while another recorded annual revenues of up to €50,000. Startups with revenues exceeding €1 million are practically at the level of a statistical margin of error, according to a new report.

Two key trends currently visible in this segment of the economy appear to be misaligned. First, the set of structural conditions has largely remained unchanged, and in some cases has even worsened, explains Tanja Kuzman, Director of the Digital Serbia Initiative.

“Most of the ecosystem continues to operate below significant monthly revenue thresholds, while the percentage of startups older than three years that remain under €1 million in annual revenue has sharply increased. A large number of founders continue to treat their startups as a secondary professional commitment. Employment outcomes have fallen short of stated plans in each of the past three consecutive years,” she noted in their sixth annual Startup Scanner report.
[Link to the full article in the first comment]

17/04/2026

INTERVIEW WITH Milica Batričević (BeFem Femminist Center): “A CAPTURED STATE, CAPTURED WOMEN.”
The condition of women in Serbia today unfolds within a complex and contradictory context, where the gap between formally recognized rights and their actual implementation in everyday life remains evident. Alongside normative progress and a growing presence of these topics in public debate, structural dynamics continue to limit full gender equality.

Within this framework, feminist organizations and civil society actors and organizations are playing an increasingly central role: they not only carry out initiatives and programs, but often step in where institutions are absent or insufficient, keeping key issues alive – such as gender-based violence, women’s participation in public life, and the concrete realization of their rights.

Milica Batričević, Head of Community Programs and Education at the Feminist Cultural Center BeFem

To explore these topics further, we spoke with Milica Batričević, Head of Community Programs and Education at the Feminist Cultural Center BeFem.
[Link to the article in the first comment]

06/04/2026

LICEULICE, A MAGAZINE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
If you live in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Pančevo or Kraljevo, you have very likely already noticed them: they can be found in squares, pedestrian areas and the busiest spots, and are easily recognisable by their blue and orange vests, offering a copy of the magazine with a smile. Magazines

The next time you see them, stop for a moment: by purchasing the magazine, you will not only be making a tangible contribution to helping those in need, but you will also discover rich and thought-provoking content. As their motto says: “By buying the magazine you help others; by reading it you help yourself.”
[Link in the first comment]

02/04/2026

WHO IS VLADAN ĐOKIĆ, RECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE?
Like a youthful rebel, a man in a suit and tie sits, speaking through a megaphone to the gathered crowd about the “authorities’ crackdown on freedom of thought”. That man on the balcony is Vladan Đokić, head of the most important higher education institution in Belgrade.

He is addressing a protest after police entered and searched the Rectorate building in Kapetan Miša’s Mansion for hours, explaining that they were continuing an investigation into the death of a female student from the nearby Faculty of Philosophy a few days earlier. “Perhaps we do not know who the prime minister will be, but we do know who the president will be,” read posts on several social media accounts run by protesting students beneath a photograph of Rector Đokić with his hand raised and fist clenched.

Less than five years ago, Đokić was appointed rector of the University of Belgrade (UB), and during his tenure so far, he has moved from being contested to, in the eyes of many within the academic community, acting as a barrier between the authorities and the students.
[LINK TO THE COMPLETE ARTICLE IN THE FIRST COMMENT]

01/04/2026

SERBIA SECURES NEW GAS DELIVERY FROM
has obtained a three-month extension of its gas arrangement with Russia, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić confirmed after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Serbian president said he had “thanked Putin because we received a three-month extension of the contract on very favourable terms for us”.

“ is currently around 645 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres on the TTF exchange, meaning we would be paying about 690 if we were purchasing it that way, whereas in reality we are paying between 320 and 330 dollars. The extension is under the same conditions – six million cubic metres of gas per day, with a high degree of flexibility. If colder or more difficult days occur, or in the event of flooding requiring more gas, they will allow us that flexibility to import larger quantities. At the same time, pricing remains linked to the oil formula, which means a much, much lower price than the market rate,” Vučić explained.
[LINK TO THE ARTICLE IN THE FIRST COMMENT]

30/03/2026

LOCAL ELECTIONS IN 10 TOWNS IN SERBIA - aNALYSIS AND EXPERT COMMENTARY
Local elections held in 10 cities and municipalities delivered expected, but also some new political messages. The election day was marked by heightened tensions, a large number of observers, and a number of incidents.

Speaking about the results of the local elections, Faculty of Political Sciences professor Dušan Vučićević told N1 that this may indeed be the maximum achievable in the municipalities where the elections were held, but that these are not representative municipalities for the national level, and that overall results could be better.

“There are no large cities, no major urban centres, nor municipalities where the opposition traditionally performs better than the national average. These are rather older municipalities, even though Vučić said these were difficult environments for them,” he stated. [Link in the first comment]

28/03/2026

MASSIVE LAYOFFS IN SERBIAN IT INDUSTRY
The wave of closures was triggered by the Italian company Lottomatica, which shut down its entire branch in Serbia in mid-March, with 348 employees dismissed in a single day.

This was followed by layoffs at the company Block, and then the closure of Zendesk’s office in Belgrade, where 60 people were employed. According to employees’ announcements, Playstudios is also expected to cease its operations here.

The reasons cited for such a sudden and simultaneous shutdown of as many as four companies from one of the most dynamic sectors of the Serbian economy range from business optimisation and increased use of artificial intelligence, to the reduction and abolition of incentives for the industry, as well as rising labour costs.

Milan Šolaja, Director of the Vojvodina ICT Cluster, says that according to available data, 348 employees of Lottomatica/PWO lost their jobs, Zendesk (formerly Novi Sad-based Tymeshift) laid off around 60, while the number for Playstudios has not yet been officially confirmed but is estimated at several dozen.

“Block is a global story – 4,000 layoffs out of more than 10,000 employees, with the number in Serbia unknown. In total, roughly speaking, between 450 and 550 jobs have been lost within about ten days,” Šolaja adds.

Each case had its own logic. Lottomatica represents a typical post-acquisition consolidation. They acquired SKS365 for €639 million, the Belgrade team worked for two years on platform migration, and was disbanded as soon as the job was completed. Artificial intelligence is present in their corporate strategy, but it is not the immediate reason for these layoffs, he says.
[Link to the full article in the first comment]

28/03/2026

HOW SERBIA BECAME AN AUTOCRACY
Due to years of state capture, the undermining of institutions and extensive electoral manipulation, Serbia has been classified as a moderate autocracy, with limited economic transformation and weak governance, in the newly published Transformation Index by the German Bertelsmann Foundation.

“Democracy in Serbia continues to deteriorate, with a significant decline in electoral conditions, the rule of law and media freedom, alongside rising political polarisation,” the report states.

Serbia’s decline across all parameters

Serbia has regressed in almost all parameters compared to the previous BTI, when it was classified as a defective democracy.

In the political transformation index, it received a score of 5.18 out of a maximum of 10, ranking 61st out of 137 analysed countries, ten places lower than in 2024. In the status index, it fell by nine places to 47th, with a score of 5.98.

It performed worst in the governance index, ranking 96th with a score of 3.96, dropping by as many as 15 places, and best in the economic transformation index, ranking 27th with a score of 6.79, one place higher than in 2024.

The report on Serbia highlights a further decline in the rule of law and media freedom, as well as increased political polarisation.

“President Aleksandar Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party dominate the political system, effectively controlling the government, parliament and judiciary, despite the fact that the president has a largely ceremonial role under the constitution,” the report states.

Abuse of the electoral process

The report assesses that the regime has intensified electoral manipulation, that parliamentary oversight is weak because it “primarily approves legislation in line with the president’s will”...
[Link in the first comment]

04/11/2024

Queste sono le aziende cinesi coinvolte nelle operazioni di infrastruttura ferroviaria in Serbia. Per saperne di più...

La caduta del tetto della stazione ferroviaria a Novi Sad ha nuovamente posto l’attenzione sulle due aziende cinesi che hanno operato come principali appaltatori per la ricostruzione e modernizzazione della ferrovia Belgrado Budapest. Si tratta delle aziende China Railway International e China Com...