Overview

• During a Belgrade visit on Oct. 15, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged President Aleksandar Vučić to get concrete about EU accession.
• She demanded measurable progress on rule of law, the electoral framework and media freedom, as well as alignment with EU sanctions on Russia.
• Von der Leyen noted Serbia has reached 61% foreign-policy alignment and invited Vučić to Brussels in about a month to review implementation, welcoming steps like a unified voter register and the REM Council.
• Serbia has not adopted sanctions on Moscow and relies heavily on Russian energy, while its oil company NIS is under U.S. sanctions due to majority Russian ownership.
• Months of protests after the Novi Sad train-station canopy collapse have drawn rights concerns; Vučić defended policing as minimal and warned of a tough winter while seeking EU energy support.