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Statement | European civil society stands in solidarity with the people of Serbia

07 March 2025

We, representatives of European civil society from across the continent, express our deep concern over the rapid escalation of restrictions, attacks, and repression against civil society in Serbia and call on the Serbian authorities to stop them. The latest illegal police raid on five leading non-governmental organisations represents a stark and deeply troubling intensification of the systemic effort to silence critical voices and suppress fundamental freedoms. This targeted assault underscores the growing crackdown on organisations that directly empower citizens to participate in public life and hold authorities accountable.

We stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Serbia who are courageously resisting state oppression and systemic misgovernance. The mass protests were sparked by the tragic collapse of the newly renovated train station in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024, which claimed 15 lives and left two others seriously injured. This disastrous incident laid bare the authorities’ systemic corruption and negligence, which is why the protests demand systemic change in addition to the government taking responsibility for the tragedy. The Serbian government has responded to these legitimate expressions of grief and outrage with increasing repression against civil society.

The scale of state violence and intimidation is deeply alarming. Dozens of attacks on protesters have been documented, including vehicles being driven into crowds and the brutal assault of a female student by ruling party activists. These examples illustrate the lengths to which the government is willing to go to quash dissent and deny responsibility for the disaster. Those who express support for the movement — students, professors, activists, and independent voices — are accused of acting on behalf of foreign interests and face threats, surveillance, police interrogations, and losing their job.

These attacks are not new. For over a decade, Serbia’s political leadership has steered the country away from democratic values and the commitments required for EU integration. Civic space in Serbia rated as “obstructed” by the CIVICUS Monitor, underscoring the longstanding challenges faced by those committed to this path. These trends are part of an authoritarian playbook that we have come to know and experience in our EU countries too.

Yet, in the face of this repression, the resilience of Serbian society inspires us and gives us hope. The protests, which have spread to at least 245 cities and towns, have drawn tens of thousands — sometimes up to 100,000 people — onto the streets. The broad support enjoyed by the movement from trade unions, farmers, the bar association, private businesses, and self-organised citizens, shows how rooted it is in the Serbian society. It is the largest mobilisation in Serbia in decades, signalling the strength of civil society and the unyielding spirit of the Serbian people in their struggle for democracy and justice.

All our struggles, in each of our countries, are interconnected and the strength of this movement is another brick in our collective power. The Serbian people’s fight for democracy, transparency, and human rights is also a fight for the fundamental values upon which the EU itself claims to be built. But the EU’s failure to act decisively has contributed to the deepening distrust among Serbian citizens towards the European path, weakening the enlargement process as a whole, and discrediting the EU’s external policy. Clearer messages and concrete actions are urgently needed to show citizens and civil society organisations that they are not alone in this fight, and that the EU truly upholds the values it claims to stand for.

We stand in solidarity with the people of Serbia in their pursuit of a shared democratic future.

Signatories

  1. European Civic Forum (coordinator)
  2. Balkan Civil Society Development Network (coordinator)
  3. Ökotárs-Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation — Hungary
  4. Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF) — Romania
  5. Platforma dobrovoľníykch centier a organizácií — Slovakia
  6. CIVIL – Center for Freedom — North Macedonia
  7. Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) — United Kingdom
  8. Society for Threatened Peoples/Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker — Germany
  9. RECLAIM (reclaiming.eu) — EU
  10. ARCI — Italy
  11. Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law — Bulgaria
  12. Humanitas – centre for global learning and cooperation — Slovenia
  13. Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre — Ireland
  14. Irídia – Human Rights Defense Centre — Spain
  15. BlueLink foundation — Bulgaria
  16. Migrant Tales — Finland
  17. Community Rights in Greece — Greece
  18. Democracy International — International
  19. Umanotera — Slovenia
  20. Association for Culture, Education and Communication (ACEC) — Slovakia
  21. APADOR-CH — Romania
  22. Ekopolis Foundation — Slovakia
  23. Rada mládeže Slovenska — Slovakia
  24. Media Diversity Institute Western Balkans — Serbia
  25. Media Diversity Institute Global — Belgium
  26. Carpathian Foundation Slovakia — Slovakia
  27. League for Mental Health in Slovakia — Slovakia
  28. MEMO 98 — Slovakia
  29. Nadace na ochranu zvířat — Czech Republic
  30. Centar za promociju civilnog drustva — Bosnia and Herzegovina
  31. Netherlands Helsinki Committee — Netherlands
  32. Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) — Kosovo
  33. Inklucity — Slovakia
  34. Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia — Slovakia
  35. Pravo na grad — Croatia
  36. Kosova Womens Network — Kosovo
  37. Lëvizja FOL / FOL Movement — Kosovo
  38. Centar za građanske inicijative Poreč — Croatia
  39. Institute for Development Policy – INDEP — Kosovo
  40. CESI – Centar za edukaciju, savjetovanje i istraživanje — Croatia
  41. Partners Albania for Change and Development — Albania
  42. Rainbow Families Croatia — Croatia
  43. Association for Civil Society Development SMART — Croatia
  44. Slovak Governance Institute — Slovakia
  45. Community Development Fund-CDF — Kosovo
  46. CO2 — Croatia
  47. Mentor Vrajolli — Kosovo
  48. European Network for Citizen Initiatives in Global Solidarity —EU
  49. Fundusz Partnerstwa — Poland
  50. Stowarzyszenie Greenways Polska — Poland
  51. Art Kontakt — Albania
  52. Social Contract Institute — Albania
  53. Social Contract Institute — Albania
  54. Environmental center for Development Education and Networking (EDEN) — Albania
  55. Help the Life Association — Albania
  56. NetRDA — Albania
  57. Beyond Barriers Association — Albania
  58. Albanian Women Empowerment Network — Albania
  59. Albania Community Assist — Albania
  60. Group for Legal and Political Studies — Kosovo
  61. Statewatch — International
  62. Center Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) — Albania
  63. Plesna udruga Tiramola — Croatia
  64. Organic Agriculture and Environment Association — Albania
  65. Voice of Roma in Albania — Albania
  66. Civil Liberties Union for Europe — Germany
  67. Youth for Youth — Romania
  68. Iskorak — Croatia
  69. BlueLink Foundation — Bulgaria
  70. Rrjeti per Demokraci i Gruas Shqiperi — Albania
  71. Irish Council for Civil Liberties — Ireland
  72. Association No limit pets — Romania
  73. PIC – Legal Center for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment — Slovenia
  74. Albanian Center for Population and Development — Albania
  75. Defending Democracy Initiative — EU
  76. DokuFest — Kosovo
  77. Danes je nov dan, Inštitut za druga vprašanja — Slovenia
  78. Multimedijalna koliba — Croatia
  79. La Strada International — Netherlands
  80. Vatra Psycho-Social Center — Albania
  81. Centre for peace, nonviolence and human rights-Osijek — Croatia
  82. Nerea Bellomo Corpa — Netherlands
  83. Mareena — Slovakia
  84. RADKA — Czech Republic
  85. CIOFF ALBANIA — Albania
  86. NEW EUROPEAN PEOPLE’S FORUM — EU
  87. Politiscope — Croatia
  88. European Institute foundation — Bulgaria
  89. European Youth Forum — EU
  90. Focus Association for Sustainable Development — Slovenia
  91. Association of Youth Information and Counseling Centers in the Slovak Republic — Slovakia
  92. My Brain My Choice Initiative — Germany
  93. Finnish Development NGOs Fingo — Finland
  94. Transparency International Slovenia — Slovenia
  95. Impact: Center against Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence in Conflict — Netherlands
  96. ILGA-Europe — EU
  97. COSPE — EU
  98. Life Quality Improvement Organisation FLIGHT — Croatia
  99. Young European Federalists (JEF) — EU
  100. International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) — International
  101. European Policy Institute of Kosovo — Kosovo
  102. DRUŠTVO ZA ISTRAŽIVANJE I POTPORU – DIP — Croatia
  103. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — France
  104. Counselling Line for Women and Girls Albania
  105. Baltic Human Rights Society — Latvia
  106. VIDA — Portugal
  107. Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD — Portugal
  108. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders — International
  109. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders — International
  110. European Movement in Albania — Albania
  111. SOLIDAR — EU
  112. Women’s Room
  113. SOS Malta — Malta
  114. Bits of Freedom — Netherlands
  115. Women’s Rights Agenda Belarus — Belarus
  116. Kooperativa-regional platform for culture — EU
  117. DOOR (Društvo za oblikovanje održivog razvoja) — Croatia
  118. Forumi Civil Selenicë — Albania
  119. Shoqata e Perdoruesve te Burimeve Natyrore Velcan Pogradec Albania — Albania
  120. PPNEA — Albania
  121. Ana Maria Acostăchioaei — Romania
  122. Centre for Peace Studies — Croatia
  123. Open Gate/La Strada — North Macedonia
  124. National Youth Council of Serbia — Serbia
  125. European Network against Racism — EU
  126. Croatian Platform for International Citizen Solidarity — Croatia
  127. Croatian Youth Network — Croatia
  128. Prešovské dobrovoľnícke centrum — Slovakia
  129. Slagalica – zaklada za razvoj lokalne zajednice (Community Foundation Slagalica) — Croatia
  130. Metamorphosis Foundation for Internet and Society — North Macedonia
  131. BIOM Association — Croatia