Belgrade – Rule of law, democracy, equality before the law, transparency, and criminal accountability—these are the principles Serbian students are fighting for. These are human rights, the core values the EU claims to uphold. “Personally, I don’t see any reason why anybody should not support us,” says Milica Ivković, a 22-year-old electronics student at the University of Belgrade. She speaks for hundreds of thousands, as frustration grows over the EU’s failure to back their anti-corruption demands.
Three months of relentless protests following the collapse of Novi Sad’s railway station canopy on 1 November 2024—which claimed 15 lives—have made one thing clear: students are now the driving force of change. Speaking to The New Union Post, Lenka Vučković, a 19-year-old electrical engineering student, emphasised that “we are definitely sticking to our initial demands, we think that our strength lies in the fact that they are universal.”
Support across the country is widespread, but external backing is notably absent—particularly from the very institutions that claim to uphold the principles of democracy and the rule of law: the European Union. “We are extremely disappointed by the lack of support from Brussels,” said Anja Despotović, a 25-year-old Biomedical Engineering student, criticising the “minimal” interest in Serbia’s protests “from the beginning,” including from European media.
Is a political uprising on the horizon?
In recent months, the level of organisation behind the protests has reached remarkable heights. An interactive map provides daily updates on demonstrations and meetings, city by city. Universities are occupied, with decisions made through grassroots democracy in student plenums. Schools at all levels are either closed or holding discussions between teachers, parents, and pupils on the state of democracy and education. Meanwhile, artists are mobilising against the heads of cultural institutions.
Every day at 11:52 a.m.—the time of the Novi Sad tragedy—students block major crossroads, yet no drivers honk in frustration. Instead, people of all ages join their marches or cheer them on, urging to continue. In response, students raise their hands, forming heart shapes as a symbol of unity. “After three months, we are still here because our demands have not been met,” Vučković stressed. “We are not stepping back,” she added, emphasising that students are prepared to use “every means necessary to increase pressure and keep this fight going.”
It is clear that President Aleksandar Vučić’s regime cannot meet the students’ anti-corruption demands without jeopardising its own survival. Take the Novi Sad railway station, for example—reopened just months before the tragedy after a three-year renovation by a consortium of Chinese companies. Yet, no public information is available on the tender or the project behind the infrastructure. When asked whether students fear a violent crackdown from the regime to silence their voices, Ivković pointed out that “we hope that nobody will use violence against us, because this is exactly what we are fighting against.”
Students are realistic enough to know that their demands will not be met overnight—their “ultimate goal” is criminal accountability. But they also understand the crucial role of external support in sustaining their movement. The Serbian diaspora has played a key role, organising protests in major cities across the US and Europe. “It is really heartwarming to see that people who left Serbia—mainly because of the system of power—still have faith in us,” Vučković said.
It’s always about economics
Why have the EU institutions—particularly the European Commission—chosen to support President Vučić’s regime with their deafening silence, despite its blatant violations of the rule of law, a principle enshrined in Serbia’s EU accession process? “Primarily because of their significant interest in lithium,” said Jelica Minić, Vice-President of the European Movement in Serbia, in an interview with The New Union Post.
The EU-Serbia Memorandum of Understanding on lithium, signed in July 2024, concerns the extraction of a resource crucial to the European automotive sector’s green transition from the Jadar River valley in eastern Serbia—home to one of the world’s largest deposits. More than just an economic deal, it exposes the nature of Vučić’s grip on power. “He approaches foreign policy as a matter of trading with partners,” said Minić, noting that such agreements on natural resources “often yield results.”
Students fully share this view. “We see that the EU prioritises its interests over its core values, especially when it comes to our land, quality of life, democracy, and people,” Vučković said. Despotović echoed this sentiment: “We feel that we have been left alone in this fight for justice, as if it is not considered important or significant by the EU.” Beyond this, there is also a deeper frustration that makes the situation harder to comprehend. “Serbia is a candidate country for EU membership, geographically part of Europe, and the goals we are fighting for are European values,” she added, her voice tinged with exasperation
However, while acknowledging public discontent, EU institutions “see no clear alternative to Vučić on the horizon,” noted the Vice-President of the European Movement in Serbia. With the majority of Serbians opposed to the mining project, Brussels fears that any successor to Vučić—despite his many controversies—could withdraw from the lithium agreement.
The logical consequence of this stance is a deep disillusionment among Serbian citizens towards the European Union project. “Being for or against the EU is now completely irrelevant to these protests; it is not even an issue,” said Isidora Stakić, Senior Researcher at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, speaking to The New Union Post. While the regime “is panicking” because “people are with the students, and widespread corruption cannot lead to the criminal accountability demanded by the population,” Stakić argued that the EU should “clearly support the protests, as it could be a real turning point.”
Serbia’s path ahead
The protests seem endless, but gradually the time will come when these demands will need to find a political solution. However, at this stage, elections “are not an option,” as the electoral system is “completely rigged” and results are “stolen through different methods of fraud,” Despotović stated, conveying the students’ viewpoint.
It is true that, as Ivković mentioned, “what we are witnessing in our universities is the purest form of democracy, a sort of ‘think globally, act locally’.” And, as Vučković recalled, “none of us wanted to think so much about politics, but it has become a necessity in our life.” While the students have managed to spark the protests and mobilise the country, “we cannot be the only part of the solution.” There is no trust in opposition parties, but at the same time, “we don’t have the capacity or the means to deal with it,” Despotović added, calling for political forces to step in and ensure the conditions for “free and fair elections.”
Regarding the relationship with Brussels, Vice-President of the European Movement in Serbia Minić explained that it would be “much easier” for the EU to support a regime change “if there were clear signals of a draft programme for Serbia’s future that aligns with EU goals.” This would involve “concrete fragments of a future strategy for the next government.” According to Minić, “we must choose our side, and we cannot forget that we are a true European country with a European value system.”
Asked whether they see their future within the EU or outside of it, the three students’ representatives from the Faculty of IT and Engineering responded cautiously. “For us, Europe is the logical place to be, but this is something that must be decided through voting, not by students.” First, they emphasised, “we have to address the situation in our own country,” and only then “look to international questions.”
The support from the European Parliament is seen as “a step in the right direction.” It could signal that when European democracies act in accordance with democratic principles, people are more likely to trust them.
