Brussels – Boško Savković is not a man who scares easily, nor one who spares his fiercest criticism when he deems it necessary. “For the past 12 years in Serbia, we have lived under an autocracy, openly supported by the EU through its backing of Aleksandar Vučić,” he said. But for almost a year now, “students have risen up against everything that is wrong in our country.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the world premiere of Seven Days That Changed the Century at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels on 16 September, the Serbian writer and producer—who also serves as Co-chair of the EU–Serbia Joint Consultative Committee—explained The New Union Post that “I was refused a venue in Belgrade because my name is Savković and I was arrested two years ago during peaceful protests.”
According to him, “the same is happening to many actors and singers—they are simply not allowed to perform.” Even tennis champion Novak Djoković has left Belgrade for Greece, following mounting tensions with pro-government media over his support for the student protests.
“Some believed that stabilocracy was the solution to everything here, but for someone like him it simply means: ‘I can do whatever I want’,” Savković said, referring to politicians who promise reforms and EU accession while in practice ruling through cronyism, corruption and the suppression of free expression.
The Serbian president has struck deals with Chinese and Russian companies to build highways, railways and other infrastructure without public tenders. “Nobody knows the details of the contracts he signed or how much money the Serbian state paid.” At the same time, Vučić has taken “many wrong steps”—neglecting education, young people, universities and culture—while focusing instead on “money laundering and cultivating international ties.” Savković noted that “he thought he was untouchable and began to resemble Lukashenko. But unlike Belarus, Serbia is an EU candidate.”
The hope for Serbia’s present and future lies in the mass mobilisation led by students since November 2024. “This is a revolution of young people and the educated. It is not driven by the desire for power, but by the need to change a corrupt system,” Savković emphasised. Despite almost all media being under the ruling party’s control, the students enjoy broad support across the country.
“They understood that the political class can only survive through continued corruption,” he said. After months of protests, they demanded early elections. However, Vučić is refusing, “because he knows public opinion and fears the risk of going to the polls.” Acknowledging that Vučić “has stolen elections before and will try again,” Savković is confident that “this time the students are so organised that they will not let him.”
Almost a year of protests in Serbia
Following the collapse of Novi Sad’s railway station canopy on 1 November 2024—resulted in 16 deaths—a wave of mass protests erupted across the country. After students were attacked in Belgrade during a silent tribute to the victims, blockades of educational institutions began on 22 November at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, with other faculties and high schools joining in soon after.
The level of organisation behind the protests has reached remarkable heights all over the country. 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. Every day at 11:52 a.m.—the time of the Novi Sad tragedy—students block major crossroads in Belgrade and in the other cities, observing 16 minutes of complete silence. People of all ages join their marches and urge to continue.
It is clear that President 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.
Repression has intensified after huge protest in Belgrade on 30 June, when dozens of students and citizens were beaten and arrested. Starting from 13 August, pro-government loyalists have staged counter-demonstrations, attacking protesters with the backing of police officers, who have also deployed stun grenades and tear gas. At a press conference on 17 August, President Vučić threatened “extraordinary measures” against protesters demanding his resignation, and welcomed Russia’s pledge to assist its Serbian partner.
However, Serbian students see the EU prioritising economic interests over core democratic values. The lithium extraction project in the Jadar River Valley is the most frequently cited example. The EU-Serbia Memorandum of Understanding on lithium, signed in July 2024, concerns the extraction of a resource crucial to the EU automotive sector’s green transition from one of the world’s largest deposits. More than just an economic deal, it exposes the nature of Vučić’s grip on power and the European Commission’s vulnerability, which gave the green light to the Jadar Mine as an EU strategic raw materials project on 4 June 2025.
