- Ukraine-South East Europe Summit held in Odesa, Ukraine
At the summit on June 11, the leaders discussed issues of strengthening regional security, preventing hybrid threats, as well as issues of trade, energy security, demining, reconstruction of Ukraine, and humanitarian aid.
The event in Odesa was the fourth Ukraine-South East Europe summit. The previous ones were hosted by Athens, Greece, on August 21, 2023; Tirana, Albania, on February 28, 2024; and Dubrovnik, Croatia, on October 9, 2024.
The Odessa summit was attended by the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania Elisa Spiropali, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning of the Republic of North Macedonia Izet Mexhiti, as well as President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Romania Nikušor Dan, President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Rosen Zhelyazkov, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Tanja Fajon.
For the first time, representatives of Kosovo were not participants in the Ukraine-Southeast Europe meeting.
Following the summit, all participants, except for President Vučić of Serbia, supported the joint declaration.
The document, first of all, “in the strongest possible terms” condemns “Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine,” which is “a grave crime against the Ukrainian people, a blatant violation of international law,” “a severe threat to peace, security, and stability across the wider European continent and globally,” and reaffirms “unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”
The declaration condemns “war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian armed forces and other military formations in and against Ukraine” and reaffirms the importance of “effective and independent investigations of Russia’s war crimes against Ukrainians”.
The summit participants also called on the international community to “maintain and further strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation”.
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“The declaration that was adopted was not easy or simple for us, and that is why I abstained, and that is why my name and Serbia are not among the signatories of the declaration,” President Aleksandar Vučić said following the event in Odesa, adding that the text of the declaration refers to sanctions against Russia, which is why Serbia did not sign it. “You cannot go against yourself, your country, and the policy that you are pursuing,” he added.
The Serbian president also noted that he knew many people in Serbia were emotionally reacting against Ukraine, and asked what Ukraine had done against Serbia. “Because Ukraine is a country that did not invite representatives of Pristina here (to the summit in Odesa). Do we have to thank them for that? I think we do. And what can I criticize this for? They allowed me to be here, to be restrained, not to sign and not to have Serbia as a signatory to the declaration. What else do you all want? Both from Ukraine and from us. What does anyone really want from Serbian policies? I think this is the peak that a small country can achieve in implementing its independent policies. I am proud of it,” he said.
The Serbian President stressed that he hopes that the level of cooperation between Serbia and Ukraine will be improved and raised to the highest possible level. “We will be useful not only in humanitarian aid, but also in other issues. I even proposed some new models and directions of cooperation between Serbia and Ukraine,” he said.
During the summit, the Serbian president said Serbia would like to rebuild one or two cities or a smaller region in Ukraine and thus provide support to the citizens of that country. “I hope we can do something for the Ukrainian people without any loud slogans or anything like that,” Vučić said.
- Montenegro joins EUMAM
On June 12, the Montenegrin parliament voted to send Montenegrin military personnel to the EUMAM mission in support of UKriane.
The European Union approved the establishment of the European Union Assistance Mission Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) on October 17, 2022. The Mission’s objective is to contribute to strengthening the military capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to effectively perform combat missions in order to help Ukraine defend its territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, effectively ensure its sovereignty and protect civilians.
The Mission primarily involves training Ukrainian military personnel on the territory of European countries.
The draft decision on Montenegro’s accession to EUMAM had been submitted to parliament nine months ago, awaiting adoption since then.
In his address to parliament on June 12, Montenegrin Defense Minister Dragan Krapović emphasized that Montenegrin troops would not be deployed in Ukraine, but would instead perform non-combat roles within the EU mission. “There is no doubt or possibility that any Montenegrin soldier would be deployed on Ukrainian soil,” Krapović repeatedly said, explaining the decision. “I want this to be crystal clear. I would never support such a thing. All the activities of the mission are carried out on EU territory, in Poland and Germany,” the minister stressed.
The decision on Montenegro’s participation in EUMAM was supported by 49 out of 81 members of the Montenegrin parliament, with three abstaining. The members of the Europe Now Movement of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, the Democratic Party, the Bosnian Party, the Socialist People’s Party, the Democratic Party of Socialists, the Social Democrats, the Croatian Civic Initiative and the majority of members of the For the Future of Montenegro coalition, which is considered pro-Russian, voted “in favor”, including the leader of the said political force and the New Serbian Democracy party, Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić. Other members of the For the Future of Montenegro bloc, members of the Democratic People’s Party led by Milan Knežević, abstained. No one voted against.
The decision adopted by the Montenegrin Parliament, and especially the position of Mandić and his affiliates, has drawn devastating criticism from extra-parliamentary pro-Russian forces and pro-Russian media in Montenegro, who have accused the speaker and the Montenegrin Parliament in general of an “identity crisis” and “betrayal”. The fact that the decision to provide aid to Ukraine was voted on June 12, Russia Day, was particularly outrageous to the pro-Russian forces. At the same time, Defense Minister Krapović, commenting on the vote, noted that he was not surprised the deputies of Mandić’s New Serbian Democracy voted to send Montenegrin soldiers to the EU mission to assist Ukraine. He said the ruling coalition includes Mandić’s party, which has an agreement within the ruling majority that covers “a whole range of issues,” and that deal is being implemented.
- Ruling party triumphant at local elections in Serbia
Local elections were held in Zaječar and Kosjeric in western and eastern Serbia on Sunday, June 8. In both municipalities, the Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) was in power, also enjoying a majority at the republican level.
The June 8 elections served as a first electoral test for the Serbian authorities since the start of large-scale student protests over the 16 deaths caused by the collapsed canopy at the Novi Sad rail station in November 2024. Kosjeric also became the first location where students officially called for a united opposition and endorsed the opposition list.
According to tentative data from the election commission, the largest number of voters in Kosjerić voted for the list “Ne damo Srbijo – Aleksandar Vučić” (“We will not give Serbia away – Aleksandar Vučić”) of the Serbian Progressive Party. The ruling party received 51 more votes than the opposition, sealing 14 mandates, one more than the opposition gained.
The opposition list “United for Kosjerić” won 13 of the 27 seats.
In Zaječar, the list “Ne damo Srbiju – Aleksandar Vučić” also won the most votes, more than 48 percent, 27 seats out of 50, tentative data show.
The opposition list “Promena u koju verujemo” (“Changes we believe in”) gained over 33 percent and 19 seats. Another opposition party, “Ujedinjeni za spas Zaječara” (“United for the salvation of Zaječar”), has over 7 percent and four mandates.
The CRTA organization (Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability, Centar za istraživanje, transparanje i odgovornost) reported numerous violations during the election campaign and the polling process.
“The elections in Zaječar and Kosjerić were held under extremely unfair and unfree conditions, while the atmosphere on election day resembled a state of siege. The election campaign was marked by systematic institutional pressure, media and physical violence, which led to a polling day filled with fear and anxiety among the residents of the two local communities.
Election day in Kosjerić was neither free nor fair, while in Zaječar the result did not reflect the will of the citizens, as serious violations were recorded in as many as 19% of polling stations,” the CRTA report said.
The opposition contested the election results.
At the same time, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić thanked the residents of Kosjerić and Zaječar for their “enormous trust” and invited all “who think differently at all levels” to negotiations and agreements. “The more common denominators we find, the better it will be for our country,” Vucic said in a social media post on June 9.
Analysts are seeing the local elections in Koseric and Zajecar as a test for both the government and the opposition, ahead of possible snap elections. The results of the June 8 election thus showed that Vucic’s party, although retaining a chance to hold on to power, is at a slim advantage, which carries significant risks.
- Snap parliamentary elections in Serbia to be held in late 2026 or early 2027.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced this at the GLOBSEC 2025 security conference in Prague.
The Serbian president said protesters were demanding elections, but Serbia currently has a lot of work to do in connection with the Expo international event and in the field of European integration.
“The elections will be held either at the end of next year or in early 2027. We had elections a year ago, and now we have a lot of work to do to prepare for Expo 2027. We also need to work hard on our European path. Then the people will decide who will take helm of the country,” Vučić said.
As previously reported, students participating in anti-government protests had put forward demands for the authorities to announce early parliamentary elections. The protesters called the current developments in the country “a decisive turning point for Serbia” and warned that, if the elections are not announced within a reasonable timeframe, they will launch civil disobedience actions not to allow the system, which, by their definition, ignores public will, to function normally.
According to analysts, after the local elections in Zaječar and Kosjerić, Vučić realized that calling early parliamentary elections in the near future would be too big a risk for him. Therefore, he will try to pump up popular ratings of his political force, the Serbian Progressive Party, through successful projects such as Expo 2027, before launching a new nationwide election campaign.
- Leader of Serbia’s leading opposition party arrested in Republika Srpska (BiH)
The head of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and mayor of the city of Teslić (Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Milan Miličević, was arrested on June 9 as part of anti-corruption Operation Block run by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska.
The Serbian Democratic Party is the leading opposition force in Republika Srpska, the main opponent of the ruling Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) led by RS President Milorad Dodik.
Along with Milicevic, RS police detained two local deputies also representing opposition parties.
The detainees are suspected of accepting bribes and “trading in influence”. The Banja Luka District Court has authorized several searches at locations linked to the suspects.
During the raids, police reportedly seized 400,000 Bosnian marks, or about 200,000 euros, from Miličević and 50,000 marks, or about 25,000 euros, from another person targeted in the case.
“The money found is not of criminal origin,” Miličević said following his arrest, insisting that his case was politically motivated.
“This is a clear attempt at political intimidation and chaos” by Milorad Dodik’s ruling Union of Independent Social Democrats, the Serbian Democratic Party stressed.
The arrest of Milan Milicevic has made it impossible to implement opposition’s plan, masterminded together with parties in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to exclude Milorad Dodik’s Union of Independent Social Democrats from the ruling coalition at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The work of the central government of BiH has been blocked for several months after the parties united in the “Troika” coalition – the Social Democratic Party of BiH (SDP BiH), Narod i pravda (“People and Justice”) and Naša stranka (“Our Party”) – broke the coalition agreement with Dodik’s SNSD over his unconstitutional actions. On May 9, a coalition of opposition parties in Republika Srpska, led by the Serbian Democratic Party, signed a platform for cooperation with the Troika coalition, aimed at creating a new one at the state level and unblocking state institutions. Now these plans are apparently in limbo.
- Serbia, Kosovo reach no concrete agreement after latest round of EU-mediated talks
Peter Sorensen, the new EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, met with the chief negotiators from Serbia and Kosovo, Petar Petković and Besnik Bislimi, on June 10 in Brussels. The talks in Brussels took place in several formats – the Serbian and Kosovo delegations held separate bilateral meetings with the EU delegation, as well as a trilateral meeting, the first since Sorensen succeeded Miroslav Lajčák as negotiator. The previous meeting between the representatives of Serbia and Kosovo mediated by the EU took place in Brussels in December 2024.
“Hosted a long meeting of Chief Negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels. Spoke about advancing the normalisation of their relations in preparation of a high-level Dialogue meeting, pending implementation obligations, and current issues. Agreed to continue the discussion soon,” the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue wrote on the X platform.
Petković, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija and Belgrade’s chief negotiator, said the talks were difficult and tense. According to him, Belgrade insists on normalization, which should begin with the de-escalation in northern Kosovo and the formation of the Association of Serbian Municipalities (Zajednica српских општина, ZSO) in Kosovo.
“The most important thing is that the Association of Serbian Municipalities should be formed and that the discussion of the ASM statute should continue. It was suspended a year and a half ago. Pristina did not want to continue discussing the issue. And then the terrible decision was made to abolish the dinar. We should discuss the statute and create the ASM,” Petković said.
According to Besnik Bislimi, “it is too early to talk about concrete results,” but “Sorensen has a more or less clear vision of how to proceed in the next meetings.” The talks in Brussels resulted in an agreement to continue the negotiations at a technical level in early July, while in the meantime, the EU mediator in the dialogue, Peter Sorensen, and his aides will visit Belgrade and Pristina.
