Changes to Serbia’s citizenship law pose security risks for EU, Brussels says

The European Commission (EC) is concerned about announced changes to the citizenship law of the Republic of Serbia that could ease the procedures for foreign nationals to obtain a Serbian passport.

“The Commission has expressed concern that the planned amendments to the Serbian Citizenship Law could pose a risk to the public policy or security of the European Union (EU), given that Serbian citizens enjoy visa-free access to the EU,” said a written statement from the European Commission to Radio Free Europe (RSE).

It adds that the simplified procedures would allow third-country nationals who would otherwise need a visa to travel to the EU to do so without one.

In this context, it is confirmed that the EC is aware of the large number of resettled Russian citizens in Serbia following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

“The European Commission is closely monitoring the situation and regularly makes inquiries of the Serbian authorities about the presence of Russian citizens in Serbia. The EC has asked Serbia to take its concerns into account,” the written statement reads.

It reminds Serbia that, as a candidate country for semi-legal EU membership, it is expected to align progressively with EU policies and decisions.

In the year of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russians have sought temporary or permanent residence in Serbia.

In the seven months of 2023, almost the same number as in the whole of 2022.

In 2022, the number of Russian citizens who received a Serbian passport tripled compared to the year before the invasion.

This trend continued in 2023.

The Nationality Act allows the government to grant nationality under special procedures, subject to certain conditions.

According to the law, citizenship is granted under this procedure if “admission to citizenship would be of interest” to Serbia.

According to the decisions of the Government of Serbia published in the “Official Gazette”, 76 citizens of other nationalities had been granted Serbian citizenship by 21 August. Most of them are from Russia.

Earlier this year, the EC warned that Serbia would risk a visa-free regime because of the simplified procedures for obtaining Serbian citizenship.

Serbia is one of the few countries in Europe that has not imposed sanctions on Russia and has had direct flights with Moscow since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine./RSE/