- The largest protest since the fall of Milošević in Serbia
Tens of thousands of students, as well as farmers, actors and citizens, gathered at a central Slavija Square in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on December 22 to demand accountability for the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station that killed 15 people on November 1.
According to the Public Assembly Archive, which has been monitoring public gatherings since 1991, around 100,000 people took part in the protest, more than during the mass demonstrations in Belgrade that ended Slobodan Milošević’s rule on October 5, 2000. At the same time, the Ministry of Interior issued a statement saying that 28,000-29,000 citizens took part in the rally.
The protest was the result of student protests that began in late November after a hooligan attack by alleged supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) on students from the Faculty of Drama Arts who were commemorating the victims of the Novi Sad tragedy. The students blockaded their faculty, prompting a wave of university blockades across the country, leading to the largest student protest in Serbia since the 1990s.
The students’ main demands include the publication of full documentation on the Novi Sad railway station reconstruction project, the prosecution of those responsible for the Novi Sad tragedy and those who attacked the Faculty of Drama Arts students.
Before the rally began, the organizers warned on social media that the protest was a “non-partisan, student initiative” and “representatives of political parties are not welcome.”
However, Serbian officials believe, the student protests are a political action, even a hybrid attack, aimed at overthrowing the Serbian government led by President Aleksandar Vučić.
- Priština CEC does not accredit Serbian List
The Central Election Commission of Kosovo has not registered the leading Kosovo Serb party, Serbian List, to participate in the elections.
The reason for this was the “nationalistic kind of appeals made by the Serbian List leader, Zlatan Elek”, voiced during the presentation of the electoral list.
The parliamentary elections in Kosovo will be held on February 9, 2025.
The US Embassy, the EU Delegation and the OSCE Mission, and the ambassadors of individual EU states have criticized the decision of the Kosovo CEC, condemning the politicization of the electoral registration process.
Commenting on the CEC decision in Priština, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was trying to eliminate the only political opponent in Kosovo, the Serbian List, and “wants to destroy the Serbian people.”
The leading Serbian Party in Kosovo has appealed the CEC decision.
Experts believe that the Kosovo CEC decision will likely be changed.
- Political crisis in Montenegro due to dispute over the Constitutional Court
On December 17, the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro approved the decision to dismiss three judges of the Constitutional Court due to their retirement age.
The decision was made despite a protest by opposition MPs who set off a smoke bomb into the hall. Representatives of the opposition called the actions of the Constitutional Committee a “constitutional coup”, because the Constitutional Court itself, not a Parliamentary Committee, is authorized to inform the Parliament about the retirement of judges of the Constitutional Court.
After the resignation of the three judges, the Constitutional Court may remain dysfunctional, as at least four votes are required for this institution to adopt decisions.
The decision of the Constitutional Committee was confirmed at a meeting of the Assembly (Parliament). Against the opposition MPs’ “cries of treason,” the Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament, Andrija Mandić announced the termination of the mandate of Judge Dragana Đuranović, approved by the Parliament.
The dismissal of the other two judges elected by the President was to be announced by the President himself. However, President Jakov Milatović also spoke out against the controversial decision and the unlawful transition of the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction to the Constitutional Committee, which could have far-reaching consequences. “We are at a critical moment of violation of the constitutional and legal order, which can be disastrous for the further democratic development of the country and our European path,” Milatović said.
The opposition MPs did not allow the next parliamentary sessions to be held, demanding to reverse the parliamentary majority’s decision to dismiss the Constitutional Court judges.
The proposal to cancel the decision is also supported by President Milatović.
- A one-year ban on TikTok in Albania
The Albanian government is banning TikTok for one year after a 14-year-old student was killed and another injured in a fight outside a school in Tirana a month ago. The fight erupted over a social media dispute. According to authorities, it is TikTok that spreads violent propaganda among teenagers.
The popular platform will be blocked in early 2025, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on December 21 after meeting with parents and teachers from across the country.
Albanian authorities plan to study other countries’ practice over TikTok throughout a year to decide whether to allow the platform in the country, Rama said.
According to experts, not only child safety, but also the upcoming parliamentary elections may be the reason to ban TikTok in Albania. Official Tirana may have decided to proact, amid accusations of abuse and manipulation on TikTok during the election campaign in Romania, and the ongoing EU’s investigation.
- Belgrade and Priština agree on the work of the Commission for the Search for Missing Persons
Following negotiations in Brussels led by the EU Special Envoy for the Belgrade-Priština Dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák, and the Belgrade-Priština Chief Negotiators, Petar Petković and Besnik Bislimi, an agreement was reached on the Guiding Principles for the Work of the Joint Commission for the Search for Disappeared Persons.
The Joint Commission for Missing Persons, chaired by EU mediators, will monitor the implementation of the Declaration on Missing Persons, in particular, the cooperation between the two sides in identification of burial sites and further excavations, access to accurate and reliable information, the use of satellite data and advanced technologies to detect mass graves, and respect for the rights of families of missing persons.
Of the 6,065 people reported missing in the Kosovo war, between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2000, 1,607 cases are unresolved.
The issue of searching for missing persons is part of the overall agreement on the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Priština.
