EU Offers Serbia a Fresh Path After Vučić’s Election Defeat

“The door to the EU is open,” European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said after Serbia’s Student List won a projected 135 to 140 seats. The European Union offered to work with the student-backed movement on reforms, including stronger rule of law, freer media and action against corruption. The offer gives the incoming leadership a chance to reset ties with Brussels, but also sets out what the EU expects. ³

That projected majority came after Aleksandar Vučić conceded defeat in Sunday’s parliamentary election. The former president said his Serbian Progressive Party would take about 105 of the 250 seats, while the Student List would lead the next parliament. Final results were not yet available. The vote followed nearly two years of protests that began after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in 2024, killing 16 people. Demonstrators linked the disaster to corruption and government failures. ^1,2

The 16 deaths turned anger over safety and corruption into a broad political challenge. Students helped lead protests, but the movement’s election candidates were not students; it drew support from people across Serbian society. Their win ends Vučić’s dominance of Serbian politics since 2014 and gives the new bloc a chance to form a government. For Serbia, EU membership remains a longer-term question: talks have stalled amid concerns about democratic standards, rule of law and Vučić’s close ties with Moscow. ^3,15

Those stalled talks now give the incoming government a clear test. EU leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, said they were ready to support Serbia’s path towards membership. The next step is for the Student List to turn its projected majority into a government and decide whether to pursue the reforms Brussels has called for. The EU offer is clear; the choices belong to Serbia’s new leaders. ³