- Mass protest in Belgrade ends up in clashes with police and arrests
Tens of thousands of people took part in an anti-government rally in Belgrade on the evening of June 28. For more than six months, student-led demonstrators have been demanding to punish those responsible for the Novi Sad tragedy, which killed 16 people in November 2024, blocking universities and organizing major demonstrations across the country, demanding a transparent investigation.
A few weeks before the current protests on Vidovdan (June 28), students categorically demanded early parliamentary elections and removal of the pro-government student’s tent camp in front of the office of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
The rally in Belgrade on June 28 was one of the largest student protests in more than six months. According to the Public Assembly Archive, there were about 140,000 demonstrators there, which is considerably higher than the police estimations of 36,000. “We want elections!” chanted the protesters with Serbian flags and banners displaying names of towns and villages from across the country.
In contrast to previous, peaceful rallies, anti-government protesters clashed violently with police. Attempting to reach the government quarter, protesters threw bottles, flares at law enforcement, who responded with tear gas, stun grenades.
Nearly 50 officers and more than 20 civilians were injured, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic told reporters on June 29.
In a statement, the students leading the protests accused the government of escalating tensions on the night of June 29. “They (the authorities) … chose violence and repression against the people. Every radicalization of the situation is their responsibility,” they said.
At the same time, President Vučić wrote on his Instagram page that “you cannot defeat Serbia with violence,” praising the police for their “patriotic, serious approach” to “defeating the attackers with minimal use of force” in a separate post.
“The country will be protected, and the bandits will be brought to justice,” he told reporters after the first night of protests.
After a large protest in Belgrade on the occasion of Vidovdan, mass arrests of citizens, students, and activists took place.
77 people, one of whom is a minor, were detained overnight on June 28-29, Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said. On the orders of the High Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, 29 people were detained for 48 hours for violent behavior after the protest.
Eight suspects were arrested on charges of preparing actions against the constitutional order and security of Serbia. On the eve of the protests, six more people were detained as well.
In response, students and citizen groups launched “civil disobedience” acts. On the evening of June 29, protesters blocked the main streets of Belgrade, as well as several other cities throughout Serbia.
On the morning of June 30, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that the police had removed road blockades in Belgrade overnight and traffic could function normally. According to media, police intervened in some places, students and citizens voluntarily moved from the city streets to the sidewalks, though some continued to block traffic in some other cities.
Students on social media write about the continuation of the protests. At the same time, judging by the statements of the Serbian leadership, the authorities are not going to fulfill the protesters’ demand about early elections but will continue to punish the movement’s activists.
- Montenegro closes seventh negotiating chapter in EU
Montenegro closed Chapter 5 (Public Procurement, the first chapter in Cluster 1 (Fundamentals)), at the Intergovernmental Accession Conference in Brussels on 27 June, thus taking a meaningful step towards the EU membership.
The Montenegrin delegation was led by Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro. The progress achieved in the chapter “Public Procurement” demonstrates Montenegro’s institutional maturity and its ability to align with European standards in areas necessary for the functioning of the rule of law and ensuring the integrity of public administration, he noted. “It also strengthens the overall confidence in our reform efforts, not only within the accession process, but also in achieving European standards as a future EU Member State,” the Montenegrin Prime Minister added. According to him, Chapter 5 is of particular importance, as it directly reflects the quality of governance — through transparency, accountability and effective prevention of corruption.
Spajić thanked the Polish Presidency, the Member States and the European Commission for their support and underlined Montenegro’s determination to join the European Union by 2028.
With the closure of Chapter 5, the number of negotiation chapters provisionally closed by Montenegro has increased to seven (out of 33). Previously, chapters 25 (Science and Research), 26 (Education and Culture), 30 (External Relations), 7 (Intellectual Property Law), 10 (Information Society and Media) and 20 (Entrepreneurship and Industrial Policy) had already been closed.
The closure of Chapter 31 (Foreign, Security and Defence Policy) has remained blocked since December last year due to existing controversial issues with Croatia, such as the Prevlaka peninsula border dispute, ownership of the sailboat Jadran, punishment for war crimes during the 1991 Dubrovnik attack, and Croatian minority rights in Montenegro.
Podgorica and Zagreb have established a joint working group to resolve all controversial issues. As part of this process, Montenegro transferred the Josip Marković Cultural Center in Tivat to Croatia on June 21. Bilateral consultations are ongoing on other problematic issues.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina adopts draft Reform Plan to receive EU funds
The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina unanimously adopted the Reform Agenda needed the country to receive the first tranche of the EU Growth Plan funds for the Western Balkans on June 27.
“Congratulations, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for adopting your Reform Agenda! This is great news for the BiH people. Better roads, train links, digital infrastructure & more — thanks to our Growth Plan for the Western Balkans”, Marta Kos, the Commissioner for Enlargement, wrote on X.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is the last of the Western Balkan countries to submit its final Reform Agenda to the European Commission. Similar documents for Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia were approved by the European Commission back in October 2024.
The EU has already disbursed pre-financing from the Growth Plan to North Macedonia and Albania in March 2025, to Montenegro in May and to Serbia in June. Kosovo still needs to fulfil the procedural requirements to receive pre-financing, including ratification of the agreements.
- EU leaders reaffirmed their “strong support for the Western Balkans’ accession process to the EU”
“The European Union will continue to work closely with the Western Balkans and support their reform efforts on their paths towards EU membership”. “The future of the Western Balkans is in the European Union”, as stated in a resolution adopted by the European Council on June, 26-27.
EU leaders stressed that “the European Council remains committed to advancing the gradual integration between the European Union and the region during the enlargement process itself”, and that the accession process is based on the achievements of each country. This was the last meeting of the European Council under the Polish Presidency. Denmark will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2025.
According to the official statement, EU enlargement has been identified as one of the main priorities of the Danish presidency. Enlargement is a geopolitical necessity and the only way for the EU to effectively contribute to the stabilization of the European continent and strengthen the resilience of countries vulnerable to negative influence from outside. Therefore, as noted, Denmark will work hard to promote the enlargement of the Union in a reversible and merit-based manner and prepare the EU for enlargement through internal reforms. It will advance the enlargement negotiations with Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans.
- “Platinum Wolf 25” NATO military drills took place in Serbia
The “Platinum Wolf 25”multinational tactical exercises (“Platinasti vuk 25”) took place at the South Base near Bujanovac in Serbia.
More than 700 soldiers participated, including members of the Armed Forces of Serbia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Romania, the United States, the United Kingdom and Azerbaijan.
For several days, the participants had the opportunity to practice convoys protection, base security, patrolling, blocking and surveying the area — these are not a complete list of the activities within the framework of peacekeeping missions.
“This exercise confirms the ability of the Serbian Armed Forces to participate side by side with partners from around the world in peacekeeping operations and respond to all security challenges. Cooperation with our partners not only strengthens interoperability, but also deepens trust and mutual commitment to peacekeeping,” said Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic.
Paul Jukic, acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Serbia, emphasized the importance of the exercises as a foundation for bilateral military cooperation. “Platinum Wolf” is a cornerstone of our cooperation and a notable priority for both armies. We hope to see the Platinum Wolf Exercise continue for years to come,” Jukic said.
Multinational tactical exercises “Platinum Wolf” has been held in Serbia since 2014. The goal is to improve cooperation during peacekeeping operations. The organizers are the Serbian Armed Forces with the support of the U.S. European Command.
“Platinum Wolf Exercises” is being held in Serbia despite a moratorium on joint military exercises with foreign partners announced by Belgrade after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, the traditional Serbian-Russian-Belarusian “Slavic Brotherhood” military exercises have not been held since 2021.
- Serbia halts arms and ammunition exports
For the second time in a month, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine. The statement made public on the Service’s website on June 23, the previous one was published on May 28.
The new SVR statement says that “despite the increased Moscow’s pressure on Belgrade,” Serbian military-industrial complex enterprises “are stepping up the export of military products to the zone of confrontation between the “collective West” and Russia.”
On the same day, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that Serbia was not exporting any ammunition. “So now we are not exporting anything; we have halted all exports. Any further export must be based on special and specific decisions. Now ammunition only goes to our barracks and stockpiles,” Vučić said at a meeting of the expanded collegium of the Chief of the General Staff on June 23.
Later, the Serbian Ministry of Defense announced the suspension of the export of weapons and military equipment manufactured in the Republic of Serbia. “In accordance with the instructions of the President of the Republic, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces and Chairman of the National Security Council Aleksandar Vučić, the export of weapons and military equipment produced in the Republic of Serbia is suspended.
In the future, the export of arms and military equipment produced in defence industry factories will require, in addition to the consent of other competent ministries and agencies, the consent of the National Security Council in accordance with Article 16, paragraph 4 of the Law on the Export and Import of Arms and Military Equipment,” the Ministry of Defense said.
On June 24, the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, said that he believed the statements of the Serbian leadership about the suspension of arms exports, but would check how they were being implemented.
When asked what reaction Moscow expects from Belgrade after the SVR information regarding Serbia’s supplies of military products to Ukraine, Naryshkin said: “As far as I understand, the reaction already took place yesterday. President Vučić spoke, made a statement that Serbia, if it does not stop, will stop the supply.”
When asked whether Moscow believes the words from Belgrade, the head of the SVR replied: “We will check.” There is no public report on issued arm export permits Serbia supplies and its quantities.
- The US has postponed sanctions against Serbia’s NIS oil company for the fourth time
The sanctions have been postponed for another month, until July 29.
Last week, the company NIS asked the US Department of Treasury to postpone the implementation of US sanctions.
“We had tough negotiations, but we managed to secure another postponement. This is good news for the citizens of Serbia,” said Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović.
As of December 2024, Gazprom Neft (Russia) was the largest NIS shareholder with 50 % of the shares. Five percentage belonged to Gazprom (Russia), 29.87 % to the Government of Serbia, the remaining shares — to minority shareholders.
In February 2025, NIS ownership changed: Gazpromneft transferred about 5 % to Gazprom, reducing its stake from 50 to approximately 44.85 %.
US sanctions against the “Oil Industry of Serbia” were introduced on January 10 this year by decree of the previous US president, Joe Biden, due to Russian owner.
The US has already postponed sanctions against NIS three times — at the end of February, March and April. In April — for two months at once.
Congress’ decision is required to lift the sanctions. “The procedure is complicated, and there are “hawks” in Congress who do not want concessions from Russia. Serbia is caught between two stools,” an energy expert, Petar Stanojević says.
