08.12.2025. 21:53h
Serbia is the only candidate for membership in the European Union (EU) from the Western Balkans that has not complied with the new EU decisions on restrictive measures against Russia, Brussels announced.
According to the EU, Serbia has not complied with the decision of October 3 and 9, which “extended restrictive measures against Russia due to its destabilizing activities”, as well as with the decision of November 20, which expanded the list of legal and natural persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures due to the situation in Russia.
North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have aligned themselves with these two decisions of the EU Council, which, according to Brussels, will ensure that national policies are in line with them.
It is added that Serbia, together with the countries of the region, has aligned itself with new EU decisions related to Sudan, Turkey, the so-called Islamic State and Al Qaeda.
They expand the list of legal and natural persons subject to restrictive measures due to activities undermining stability and political transition in Sudan, extend restrictive measures against Turkey until November 30, 2026 “due to unauthorized drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean” and expand the list of individuals, groups and entities subject to restrictive measures due to their association with ISIL and Al-Qaeda.
Serbia is among the few European countries that have not imposed sanctions on Moscow due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 24, 2022. The Serbian government has repeatedly stated that it will not impose sanctions on Russia, even though as a candidate country it should gradually align its foreign policy with that of Europe.
The reasons cited by the authorities in Belgrade include their policy of non-alignment with the West or the East, Russia’s political support for Serbia on the issue of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, and their dependence on Russian energy sources, which Serbia needs for heating, transportation, and industry.
Neither Belarus nor Turkey imposed an embargo on Russia, nor did Bosnia and Herzegovina, which formally joined the EU declarations but did not implement the sanctions.
The European Union has adopted 19 packages of sanctions against Russia to date. Serbia has not joined any of them. Official Belgrade has not even complied with individual foreign policy decisions accompanying the embargo, including extensions and expansions of the lists of sanctioned individuals and entities.
According to an analysis by the ISAC Fund, Serbia has not complied with 63 EU declarations and decisions relating to Russia since Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
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