Overall Assessment: Deteriorating Conditions for Free and Fair Elections The course of the election campaign was marked by circumstances that threatened free participation in the elections, reflected in attempts to restrict freedom of information, the exercise of the right to vote, participation in the campaign, freedom of expression and association, and independent election observation. Efforts […]
Ahead of general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, EUCRTA brought together election experts from the two countries and the wider European election observation community to discuss electoral integrity, emerging risks and the role of the EU. Despite differences between the two countries, the discussion highlighted a common lesson: protecting elections requires looking well […]
Before this year’s summer break, new energy was injected into the debate on how to reform the EU enlargement process to make it better suited to deliver results – and to do so swiftly. Four documents emerged at the EU level in May and June: Chancellor Merz’s proposal for associated membership for Ukraine; Franco-German non-paper; […]
The European Union has finally recognised that democratic resilience is no longer simply a governance issue but a security imperative. The European Democracy Shield (EDS) reflects an important shift in thinking: foreign information manipulation, AI-driven disinformation, electoral interference and hybrid threats are now understood as challenges requiring a coordinated European response rather than fragmented national […]
On 15 July 2026, the European Commission was supposed to publish its seventh annual Rule of Law Report. This exercise has become a familiar ritual aimed at providing a thorough stock-take of where judicial independence, media freedom, anti-corruption efforts and checks and balances stand across the Union and four candidate countries, followed by recommendations that […]
The European Parliament’s annual Report on Serbia, adopted on 7 July, reflects the realities on the ground and acknowledges many of the concerns that civil society organisations have consistently documented and raised over the years. It confirms that the voices of citizens, journalists, academics, activists and independent organisations are heard in the European Parliament. The […]
On 15 March 2025, the largest protest in Serbia’s history took place. It served as the culmination of the ongoing student-led protests, seeking justice for the 16 victims of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse on 1 November 2024. More than 300,000 citizens answered the call and filled the streets of Belgrade demanding accountability. […]
The Unified Voter Register (UVR) represents one of the core pillars of electoral integrity in Serbia. Functioning as the official database of all citizens eligible to vote, it has a direct effect on the credibility of every election process. An accurate, transparent, and regularly updated voter list is a prerequisite for any free and fair […]
On 28 January 2026, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted a package of five amendments to key judicial laws, widely referred to in the public as the “Mrdić’s Laws”, after their proposer, Uglješa Mrdić, a Member of Parliament from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). President Aleksandar Vučić signed the laws […]
Summary The European Commission’s proposed 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) signals a decisive shift in EU policy, making enlargement a central pillar of its geopolitical strategy, underpinned by record funding, stricter conditionality and a streamlined external action framework. Enlargement as a core strategy: the European Commission now treats enlargement as a top geopolitical priority, viewing […]