Serbia - Articoli

Self-defence against SLAPPs in Serbia

11/12/2024 -  Massimo Moratti Belgrade

In Serbia, the investigative newspaper KRIK is the target of frequent legal harassment. To counteract it, the editorial team has developed strategies based on civil society solidarity, public denunciation and monitoring of trials


Former Yugoslavia and Palestine, between solidarity and divisions

05/12/2024 -  Giovanni ValeSanja Mlađenović StevićAnna Lodeserto

More than a year ago, the Israeli invasion of Gaza began. In the countries of the former Yugoslavia, governments and civil society have reacted differently. If governments – with the exception of Slovenia – have all but sided with Israel, civil society organisations have organised protests and demonstrations in favour of Palestine


Serbian journalism, stronger EU support is needed

13/11/2024 -  Serena EpisSava Mirković

Amid a systematic erosion of editorial independence by the government, stronger international support is needed to uphold media freedom in the country. An interview with Igor Božić, news director of the independent N1 TV


Navigating chapter 22: challenges and opportunities in Serbia’s path to EU accession

31/10/2024 -  Luisa ChiodiSukanya Sengupta

Chapter 22 on cohesion policy is one of the most complex negotiating chapters Serbia has to deal with for EU accession. In this interview, Dragana Djurica provides crucial insights into the critical role of civil society, the importance of regional development, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead


Addressing Key Challenges to Media Freedom in Albania and Serbia

30/10/2024 -  Serena EpisSukanya Sengupta

To contribute to the European Commission’s Rule of Law monitoring, OBCT, in partnership with SCiDEV and IJAS, produced two Shadow Reports outlining the challenges and gaps in media freedom in Albania and Serbia. The main findings were presented during a webinar


Open Balkan, a failed step in the right direction

20/08/2024 -  Sava Mirković

Conceived as an alternative to EU cooperation, the Open Balkan initiative, promoted by Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia, aimed to create a regional common market to allow the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. The reasons for its failure


Oskar Maurer and Serbia’s natural wine revolution

13/08/2024 -  Ian Bancroft

From being criticised for his unconventional wines to finding them in the cellars of top Michelin-starred restaurants, Oskar Maurer is a reference for natural wine production in Serbia. We spoke to him about his winemaking philosophy and much more


Winemaking in Serbia: coping with a changing climate

07/08/2024 -  Ian Bancroft

Climate change is affecting wine production around the world. Adaptation and resilience are the only answers to this ever-changing situation. Radovan Đorđević, owner of Vinarija Čokot, is facing this situation in the Serbian region of Župa


Digital security in Serbia: another challenge to media freedom

22/07/2024 -  Serena Epis

Media outlets in the country are increasingly exposed to cyber attacks, online threats and manipulations. We talked about digital security and its impact on independent journalism in Serbia with Bojan Perkov, digital policy coordinator at SHARE Foundation


Migration management in the Balkans

18/07/2024 -  Massimo Guglietta

Despite various reports of migration mismanagement and human rights abuses in Serbia, the European Commission at the end of June signed an agreement with Belgrade to strengthen cooperation on migration control


Western Balkans: Europe's future mining colony?

28/06/2024 -  Sanja Mlađenović StevićAleksandar Samardjiev

Are the Western Balkans becoming a mine of raw materials needed for the upcoming “green revolution”? Civil society organisations and many citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia answer resolutely: NO! The battle to protect the environment and health continues


Serbia: media independence is an exception rather than the rule

13/06/2024 -  Serena Epis

Increasing political and financial pressure threatens the independence and editorial autonomy of many media outlets in Serbia. We interviewed Irina Milutinović, Senior Research Associate at the Institute of European Studies in Belgrade and co-author of the Country Report on Serbia of the Media Pluralism Monitor 2023


War crimes: slow justice in Serbia

13/06/2024 -  Massimo Moratti Belgrade

For the Serbian leadership, the recent adoption of the UN General Assembly Resolution on Srebrenica was unnecessary, as the country has already tried those responsible for war crimes. A careful analysis, however, shows a very different reality


Balkan rivers: "Water is never just water"

02/04/2024 -  Marco Ranocchiari

The defence of rivers and water: a highly symbolic struggle which in recent years has successfully mobilised very different layers of the societies of south-eastern Europe, bringing to light both potential and contradictions. An interview


Serbia, no justice for the Ćuruvija murder

07/02/2024 -  Massimo Moratti

Twenty-five years after the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija and nine after the start of the trial against the four accused of the murder, after a first conviction in 2019 and the repetition of the trial, on Monday 5 February the Court of Appeal of Belgrade acquitted the defendants


Serbia, EU cohesion policy between challenges and opportunities

02/02/2024 -  Serena Epis

The management of European funds is an often complex task that requires specific administrative and technical-financial skills. For accession countries such as Serbia, preparation to the negotiation stage is key


Serbia: media pillory for independent journalists

31/01/2024 -  Massimo Moratti

Verbal attacks and serious threats against two journalists from independent broadcasters, the Cenzolovka portal and even an NGO and a Belgrade court judge raise concerns about the climate of increasingly heavy repression in Serbia


CINS Inside SNS’s Call Center

05/12/2023 -  Ivana MilosavljevićTeodora ĆurčićVladimir Kostić

Near the Port of Belgrade, tucked away from the public eye, there is a large call center. From there, more than 100 people call citizens every day to ask them if they will vote for the Serbian Progressive Party in the upcoming elections. It is a well-organized group, and the way they work raises suspicions of vote buying and funding using "black money". Everything was witnessed first-hand by a CINS journalist who was briefly part of this group


Serbia: new early elections

29/11/2023 -  Antonela Riha Belgrade

Early political elections will be held in Serbia on December 17 for the fourth consecutive time. Since 2012, i.e. since the SNS party came to power and since Aleksandar Vučić became president, this will be the seventh time that Serbian citizens have been called to the polls


Regional policy in Serbia's EU accession process

30/10/2023 -  Serena Epis

Serbia has not yet opened Chapter 22 of the EU accession negotiations on regional policy and coordination of structural instruments. For the European Commission, the lack of an institutional framework and administrative capacities in key institutions remains the main obstacle


Serbia, little security for online journalists

23/08/2023 -  Ettore Morello

A recent report by the Association of Independent Journalists of Serbia together with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network analyses the problems concerning the safety of journalists on the web, looking at the specific case of Serbia, and suggests how to make the editorial environment less dangerous


A long way to go: the Western Balkans and the green transition

15/06/2023 -  Marilen Martin

To eventually access the European Union, the Western Balkans have to align their legislation with EU law. This includes the Green Deal, which commits countries to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, there’s still quite a long way to go for the Western Balkans in their progress towards the green transition


Femicide in Serbia: Crime and Lesser Punishments

10/07/2023 -  Teodora ĆurčićJovana Tomić

Over the past ten years, more than 300 femicides have occurred in Serbia. The families of the murdered persons look for justice in court, but CINS’s investigation reveals that they often do not find it there.


Aleksandra Godfroid: Serbian media and the war in Ukraine

27/06/2023 -  Francesco Martino Belgrade

In Serbia, local media play a central role in shaping the narrative of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We talked about it with Aleksandra Godfroid, journalist of the N1 TV network


Sasha Seregina: protesting in Serbia against the Russian invasion of Ukraine

15/06/2023 -  Francesco Martino Belgrade

When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, a segment of Serbian society - traditionally pro-Russian - took to the streets to protest against the Kremlin. Among the first demonstrators there were many Russian citizens, including Sasha Seregina. We interviewed her


Protests in Belgrade and violence in reality shows

30/05/2023 -  Massimo Moratti Belgrade

After the massacres of the recent weeks, street demonstrations continue against the government and above all the media, which according to critics have created a climate of intolerance and violence over the years


Serbia and Ukraine, a forgotten friendship

23/05/2023 -  Massimo Moratti Belgrade

Serbia and Ukraine used to have close geopolitical positions, but such friendship has been jeopardised by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A study tries to take stock of the bilateral relations between Kyiv and Belgrade. We interviewed author Kateryna Shymkevych


Serbia in shock and in mourning

11/05/2023 -  Antonela Riha

In two days, Serbia witnessed two massacres in which 17 people died and several were injured, many of whom were minors. Unprecedented facts that have shocked the country so far. The news of the events and the behaviour of the media and politicians after the massacres


Media pluralism in a legal limbo in Serbia

02/05/2023 -  Massimo Moratti Belgrade

The allocation of national broadcasting frequencies in Serbia highlights the lack of transparency and pluralism in the sector. Frequencies are only awarded to government-friendly media. Concerns have been expressed by both the European Commission and the European Parliament


Slavko Ćuruvija: impunity of the deep state in the case of murdered journalists in Serbia

12/04/2023 -  Massimo Moratti

24 years after the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, the perpetrators are still unpunished in Serbia. Although there is finally progress and hopefully the case will be finally solved, impunity remains widespread