Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added55. Calls on Serbia to ensure respect for the rights of all national minorities in practice and to show sincere commitment in resolving outstanding issues, including access to education, information, dedicated media space, funding, facilities and religious services in minority languages, as well as full representation at all levels of government, in line with the principle of reciprocity, whenever possible, and with all relevant European standards; regrets the fact that since 2025, there has been no representation of national minorities at the ministerial level, particularly covering the human and minority rights portfolio; highlights that, while Serbia’s legal and policy framework regarding the protection of national minorities is broadly in place, significant shortcomings persist in its effective and consistent implementation; notes the considerable delay in drafting a new action plan for the realisation of national minority rights and stresses the urgent need for Serbia to finalise and implement it promptly; calls for further concrete measures, including clear timelines, adequate resources and robust monitoring mechanisms; calls for the full implementation of anti-discrimination legislation and for the stepping up of efforts to ensure the non-discriminatory treatment of all national and other minorities; calls for effective investigations and convictions for hate-motivated crimes; strongly condemns attacks, intimidation, targeting and harassment of minority communities, including Slovaks, Romanians, Bulgarians and Croatians, and the use of ethnic slurs by pro-government media; stresses that measurable and verifiable progress in minority protection should be treated as part of the fundamentals cluster, with clear benchmarks and monitoring;

Added56. Highlights that access to education in minority languages remains limited in practice and must be guaranteed at all levels without delay or administrative obstacles, in line with fundamental minority rights; calls on Serbia to protect and promote the cultural heritage and traditions of its national minorities, in particular to create a positive atmosphere for education in minority languages, and deplores the violation of minority rights in this area; emphasises the need to fully provide sufficient teachers, textbooks and materials; calls on Serbia to refrain from exploiting national identities and strongly condemns recorded cases of hate speech against some of them;

Added57. Recognises the role of national minority councils but expresses concern about their limited capacities and calls for adequate financial and institutional support to ensure their independence;

Added58. Strongly condemns attempts by the Serbian authorities to undermine the national identity of communities within the country; expresses concern, in this context, over the promotion of narratives such as the so-called ‘Shopi nation’, which seek to erase the existence of the Bulgarian community and deny its historical roots, cultural heritage and right of self-identification, which is protected under international law; calls on Serbia to ensure the right to use names and language specific to minority groups, including women within the Bulgarian community; expresses concern over the demographic decline of certain minority groups;

Added59. Calls on the Serbian Government to ensure equal rights for the Croatian minority in Serbia, just as the Serbian minority enjoys equal rights in Croatia, and to show sincere commitment to resolving outstanding issues concerning the Croatian minority; regrets Serbia’s actions to appropriate Croatian cultural heritage and the origin of its literary tradition or to question the status of the Croatian language; welcomes, at the same time, the approval of preschool education in Croatian in Tavankut; expects that full implementation will commence immediately and encourages national and local authorities to continue their dialogue with the Croatian National Council;

Added60. Highlights the situation of the Romanian minority in Serbia and calls on the authorities to take all measures to ensure its full enjoyment of its linguistic, religious, educational and cultural rights, including by facilitating access to Romanian-language education, religious services and media, and to promote inclusive policies that safeguard its members’ identity and participation in public life; calls on the Serbian authorities to refrain from making distinctions between Vlachs and Romanians; regrets the situation of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Serbia, which is not officially recognised by the state as a traditional church, thus creating significant challenges for Romanian churches and clerics in conducting religious worship for the Romanian community;

Added61. Reiterates its concern regarding restrictive and arbitrary enforcement of the Law on Permanent and Temporary Residence related to the passivation of the addresses of thousands of Albanians in the south of Serbia; urges the Ministry of the Interior to publicise, as soon as possible, comprehensive statistics on citizens passivised between 2011 and 2024 in Medveđa, Bujanovac and Preševo, disaggregated by nationality/ethnicity; underlines that the Ministry for Public Administration and Local Self-Government needs to halt the process of removing the citizens with passivised addresses from the single electoral roll;

Added62. Calls on Serbia to ensure full implementation of the Roma inclusion strategy, including adequate funding, coordination and monitoring with participation of Roma communities; calls for measures to ensure equal access to education and to prevent segregation;

Added63. Expresses concern regarding the increasing political influence of religious institutions and calls on the authorities to ensure respect for secularism, equal treatment and full recognition of all religious communities;

Added64. Condemns the continued climate of hostility, discrimination and hate speech against LGBTIQ+ persons in Serbia; calls for Serbia to improve its implementation of laws on hate crime, hate speech and anti-discrimination; encourages the Serbian authorities to resume, without delay, the legislative process concerning the Gender Equality Law and the Law on Same-Sex Unions in order to strengthen the protection of fundamental rights and ensure alignment with European standards on equality and non-discrimination;

Added65. Notes that the Trafficking in Persons Report highlights the fact that the relevant authorities in Serbia do not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in human beings, despite demonstrating increased efforts compared to the previous reporting period; calls on the authorities to address these deficiencies by strengthening victim-centred approaches, ensuring effective and dissuasive prosecutions, improving interinstitutional coordination, and enhancing cooperation with civil society in line with international standards;

Reconciliation and good neighbourly relations

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Changed19.66. Expects Kosovo and Serbia to fully cooperate and take all the necessarywith measuresKosovo to swiftlyfinally bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2023 terrorist attack in Banjska; deplorescondemns the fact that Serbia still has not prosecuted the culprits, most notably Milan Radoičić, the former Vice-President of Srpska Lista; reiterates that all individuals responsible for acts of violence must be held accountable and face justice without delay, in line with the rule of law and due process; strongly condemns the attack on the Ibër-Lepenc/Ibar-Lepenac canal in the north of Kosovo in November 2024, and calls for the perpetrators to be swiftly apprehended and brought to justice; calls on Serbia to respond without further delay to Kosovo’s January 2025 request for mutual legal assistance in relation to this attack and to cooperate fully with the investigation;

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Removed20. Recalls that the normalisation of relations with Kosovo and implementation of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue commitments remain an integral part of Serbia’s European perspective;

Added67. Acknowledges the important role of Serbia in the Western Balkans region, while strongly condemning any actions or attempts aimed at asserting a sphere of influence that would undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighbouring countries;

Added68. Recalls that the normalisation of relations with Kosovo and implementation of all agreements reached within the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue remain an integral part and a fundamental and necessary component of Serbia's European perspective; stresses that concrete, lasting and verifiable progress in this area is vital in order to strengthen regional stability and advance the country's European perspective; emphasises that normalisation cannot be seen as a secondary concern, but must remain an absolute political priority; underlines the importance of further strengthening the EU’s facilitation efforts between the parties with a view to overcoming the current stalemate;

Added69. Reiterates that good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation remain essential elements of the enlargement process; stresses the importance of Serbia developing good neighbourly relations, in particular by implementing agreements with EU Member States;

Added70. Underlines that European integration cannot go hand in hand with the concept of the ‘Serbian World’, which aims to undermine peace and stability in the region; stresses that such narratives run counter to the principles of good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation, which are core elements of the EU accession process; underlines that such narratives threaten the process of normalisation of relations with the Republic of Kosovo; calls on the Serbian authorities to refrain from rhetoric and actions that may fuel regional tensions;

Added71. Strongly condemns recurring instances of hate speech, hostile rhetoric and inflammatory narratives directed at its neighbouring countries, in particular Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo and Albania, including by public officials and media outlets; underlines that such discourse is incompatible with European values and undermines trust, reconciliation and regional stability; calls on the Serbian authorities to actively counter hate speech, ensure accountability, and promote a climate of respect and constructive dialogue in the region;

Added72. Reiterates its call to improve the quality of the dialogue process through the participation of women, increased transparency towards the public, and the meaningful involvement of civil society;

73. Reiterates its full support for the EU-facilitated Dialogue and welcomes the extended mandate of Peter Sørensen as the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue until 29 February 2028;

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Changed22.74. Reiterates the importance of constructive engagement on the part of the authorities of both Kosovo and Serbia in order to achieveadvance athe comprehensive,implementation legallyof bindingthe normalisationAgreement agreement,on basedthe onPath mutualto recognitionNormalisation and inthe accordanceimplementation withannex internationalthereto, law;which remains valid and legally binding on both parties; calls on both Kosovo and Serbia to implement the Brussels and Ohrid Agreements,Agreements in full, including through the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities and the lifting of Serbia’s opposition ofto Kosovo’s membership inof regional and international organisations, and to avoid unilateral actions that could undermine the dialogue process;

Change 14

Removed23. Calls on Serbia to take a more active approach to tackling war crime denial and historical revisionism, particularly concerning the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo;

Added75. Condemns the repeated negative, aggressive and chauvinistic rhetoric from Serbian political leaders directed at neighbouring countries and peoples, which undermines efforts to establish good neighbourly relations, including regarding the unconstitutional celebration of Republika Srpska Day, which threatens the stability and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina; calls on Serbia to refrain from escalatory narratives and ensure that its security and defence policies are aligned with European values and respect good neighbourly relations;

Removed24. Notes that unresolved ‘missing persons’ cases remain a serious challenge; urges Serbia to step up its reconciliation efforts and take a more active approach, particularly when it comes to missing persons;

Added76. Condemns the aggressive and inflammatory rhetoric used by the President of Serbia against neighbours when claiming, without evidence, that Croatia, Albania and Kosovo were preparing to attack Serbia, and using this as a pretext to purchase Chinese supersonic missiles;

Added77. Regrets the fact that Serbia continues its attempts to isolate its neighbouring country Kosovo from the international scene by campaigning against its recognition or by excluding the country from international organisations; calls on Serbia to stop opposing Kosovo’s application to become a member of the Council of Europe, which contradicts the 2013 agreement between Kosovo and Serbia on the normalisation of relations;

Added78. Calls on Serbia to take a more active approach to tackling war crime denial and historical revisionism, particularly concerning the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo; calls on the Serbian authorities to achieve justice for victims by recognising and respecting court verdicts on war crimes, fighting against impunity for wartime crimes and supporting domestic prosecutors in bringing perpetrators to justice; strongly condemns the widespread public denials of international verdicts for war crimes, including the denial of the Srebrenica genocide; calls for the denial of war crimes and the glorification of war criminals to be included in the Criminal Code, with a view to prosecuting any form of denial of war crimes determined by the verdicts of the International Criminal Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice;

Added79. Regrets the fact that Serbia has not demonstrated a genuine commitment to addressing its past and effectively investigating and prosecuting war crimes, as reflected in its failure to indict high-level suspects, the absence of a Chief Public Prosecutor for War Crimes since 2023, and the widespread public denial of international war crimes verdicts, including the denial of the Srebrenica genocide; deplores the continued promotion of convicted war criminals by the ruling party and through pro-governmental media outlets, which provides them the space for historical revisionism and hate speech;

Added80. Reiterates its position on the importance of opening and publishing wartime archives, and reiterates its call for the former Yugoslav archives to be opened up and, in particular, for access to be guaranteed to the files of the former Yugoslav secret service (UDBA) and the Yugoslav People’s Army Counterintelligence Service (KOS), and for the files to be returned to the respective successor governments if they so request;

Added81. Underlines the need for a meaningful regional cooperation in handling of war crimes by avoiding conflicts of jurisdictions and ensuring that war crimes are prosecuted without any discrimination, underlining that all outstanding issues in this regard must be fully resolved;

Added82. Notes that unresolved ‘missing persons’ cases remain a serious challenge and significant obstacle to normalisation of relations; urges Serbia to step up its reconciliation efforts and take a more active approach; calls on Serbia to fully cooperate with the judicial authorities of the EU Member States in their investigations into war crimes, including those involving crimes against missing persons, and to provide all relevant information that would enable their identification; calls for meaningful bilateral cooperation with the other states concerned through the swift exchange of information, including through access of documentation and archives and through resolution of cases of missing persons, the settlement of succession matters, the prosecution of war crimes and the return of cultural property; urges Serbia to finally adopt its long-announced law on missing persons in a truly inclusive and transparent manner;

Added83. Condemns the use of the Serbian Orthodox Church as an extension of Serbian influence across the region and calls on religious leaders in the country to promote messages that foster good neighbourly relations and understanding among different countries and religions in the region, as well as to contribute actively to preventing a culture of confrontation; calls for the protection of religious minorities in Serbia and Kosovo and for access to places of worship to be ensured;

Socio-economic reforms

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Changed25.84. Recalls that support from the Reform and Growth Plan is conditional on respect for effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi-party parliamentary system, free and fair elections, pluralistic media, an independent judiciary, the rule of law, and the fulfilment of all human rights obligations;obligations, and constructive engagement in the normalisation of relations with Kosovo; notes with concern that in January 2026, the Commission nevertheless approved the first release of funds to Serbia under the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans; calls on the Commission to explain how the preconditions were fulfilled; notes that providing funds to Serbia sends the wrong message to other countries seeking EU membership, suggesting that EU funds can be obtained without genuine progress on accession-related reforms; believes that European funding should better support the country’s democratic reforms; calls for the relevant existing and future EU funding to be reprogrammed to redirect more funds towards supporting judicial reforms, anti-corruption measures, independent media and civil society organisations and the independent cultural sector, in order to support their critical work; stresses that support channelled through the Serbian Government should be suspended immediately given the absence of clear and credible progress in the areas of the rule of law, media freedom and electoral conditions;

Change 16

Added85. Notes that the EU accession process is based on the approximation of national legislation with the EU acquis; stresses the need for further efforts in implementing public financial management and public administration reforms and in addressing continued administrative capacity constraints through sustained EU investment in high-quality capacity development and knowledge-sharing frameworks; calls on Serbia to step up efforts and increase investment in the socio-economic development of its border regions to address depopulation and ensure that residents have access to essential services, including professional opportunities, healthcare and education;

Added86. Calls for the EU and the Western Balkan countries to establish a framework for cooperation between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and its Western Balkan counterparts and swiftly conclude bilateral working arrangement with the EPPO in order to ensure that the EPPO can effectively exercise its competences on IPA III and Western Balkan Facility funds in the recipient countries; calls for funding under future Global Europe to be disbursed under strict rule of law conditionality;

Added87. Expresses concern about the scale and scope of contracts awarded that are exempted from the existing legislative framework on public procurement;

Added88. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to open negotiations with Serbia and other Western Balkan countries with a view to their integration into the EU’s ‘roam like at home’ regime; emphasises that extending the ‘roam like at home’ area to the Western Balkans would deliver tangible benefits to citizens and businesses alike, fostering people-to-people contacts, boosting economic ties, supporting educational exchanges and facilitating tourism; calls for the swift adoption of the negotiating mandates and the timely conclusion of bilateral agreements with the Western Balkan partners;

Added89. Welcomes the fact that banks in Serbia officially began executing cross-border euro transactions through the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) system;

Added90. Notes with regret the demographic challenges faced by Serbia due to an ageing population and low birth rates, exacerbated by a youth exodus driven by political uncertainties and socio-economic difficulties;

Added91. Calls on Serbia to strengthen occupational health and safety protections by adopting specific national policies on psychosocial and emerging risks, including in the gig and platform economy, and by ensuring that workers have an effective right to disconnect; calls on Serbia to ensure that domestic workers are fully covered by occupational health and safety legislation and effectively protected in practice, including through adequate labour inspection and enforcement mechanisms; calls on Serbia to ensure equal pay between women and men by adopting effective measures capable of delivering measurable progress in reducing the gender pay gap;

Added92. Calls on Serbia to bring its legislation on the right to strike into line with ILO standards; calls on Serbia to step up efforts to reduce the gender employment gap and to promote measurable progress in the representation of women in executive positions;

Added93. Notes that social dialogue and social partner consultation remains weak and calls on the authorities to strengthen collective bargaining, in law and practice, and to use the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans to support capacity building for the social partners; notes that the disbursement of the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans must remain conditional on the involvement of social partners in drawing up the Reform Agenda;

Added94. Reiterates the need for Serbia to strengthen transparency regarding the examination of foreign direct investments;

Energy, the environment, sustainable development and connectivity

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Changed26.95. Notes the politically sensitive developments regarding the oil and gas company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) and the transformation of its ownership structure, in the context of the sanctions imposed by the United States and NIS’s majority ownership by the Russian companies Gazprom and Gazprom Neft; notes the engagement and support of the EU and Croatia to find a sustainable solution to this crisis; takes the view that it is an essential security policy objective for Serbia to wean itself off Russian energy;

Change 18

Added96. Calls on the Serbian authorities to urgently step up efforts to diversify gas supply sources, including through enhanced regional interconnectivity, investments in renewable energy and alignment with the EU’s energy diversification strategy; regrets the fact that despite Serbia’s efforts to diversify its energy supply away from Russia, recent talks have led to a new gas import deal with Russia, undermining the country’s progress towards alignment with EU energy policy and raising serious questions about Serbia’s commitment to reducing its strategic dependence on Russian energy sources; notes that energy diversification can be viewed as part of the strategic orientation of the country;

97. Reiterates the importance of protecting environmental standards in Serbia, particularly with regard to mining projects, while fully respecting the rights of local communities;

Change 19

Added98. Calls on Serbia to properly and transparently scrutinise and evaluate inward foreign direct investment, particularly in terms of environmental standards and sustainability; expresses concern over the reported environmental degradation and social impact linked to large-scale extractive projects, and about the serious environmental and public health impacts of mining and industrial activities involving Chinese investors, which has led to intensified exploitation of copper, gold and other rare materials in the municipalities of Bor and Majdanpek; stresses that Serbia must fully safeguard its constitutional order, ensure strict compliance with environmental standards and protect the rights of local and national minority communities when approving and implementing such projects; calls on the Serbian authorities to ensure full transparency, accountability and due diligence in public procurement, privatisation and concession processes involving foreign state-owned companies, including Chinese contractors;

Added99. Is concerned about the recent blockades at border crossings into the Schengen Area by professional drivers from Western Balkan countries in relation to the implementation of the EU Entry-Exit System (EES), threatening the livelihood of people in the candidate countries and potentially disrupting supply chains in the EU; calls on the Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States, to assess possible pragmatic and legally sound solutions that balance operational realities in the transport sector with the need to preserve the integrity of the Schengen acquis, ensuring appropriate safeguards and preventing any abuse;

Added100. Calls on Serbia to increase its efforts towards the transposition of the relevant environmental and climate acquis and to ensure the proper application of environmental protection standards; urges the Serbian authorities to improve the transparency and environmental impact assessment of all investments, including those from China and Russia; welcomes the adoption of the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment and the Law on Strategic Environmental Assessment; stresses, however, that effective implementation remains essential, in particular in terms of ensuring that all projects are subject to full and transparent assessment procedures, that public participation is meaningful and timely, and that no administrative practices allow projects to bypass comprehensive environmental scrutiny;

Added101. Calls on Serbia to accelerate its alignment with the Birds and Habitats Directives and to significantly step up efforts to identify and pre-designate sites for the Natura 2000 network with a view to meeting core obligations under Chapter 27, and to expand and effectively manage protected areas, including by strengthening enforcement against wildlife crime; expresses concern about increasing pressures from extractive industries on high-value biodiversity areas, including protected areas and old-growth forest ecosystems; reiterates its regret over the lack of action on pollution, including of the River Dragovishtitsa, by mines operating in the region and the detrimental effect on the health of the local people and the environment;

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Changed28.102. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the European Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,Policy and the governments and parliaments of the Member StatesStates, and to have this resolution translated into Serbian and forward it to the President, Government and National Assembly of Serbia.