Serbia is moving further away from the European Union (EU), and this has become particularly evident since the end of 2025, when, according to the assessment of the prEUgovor Coalition, even the simulation of reform activities came to an end. At a panel held at the European House during the presentation of the Alarm Report on Cluster 1, participants concluded that laws are being adopted without meaningful public debate, without consultations with relevant institutions, and without genuine alignment with European standards.
In the reporting period (November 2025 – April 2026), Serbia moved visibly further away from its goal of European Union membership, slipping from stagnation into open backsliding. It is no longer merely a matter of the authorities persistently refusing to fully implement priority reform measures, but of actively dismantling what had previously been praised — albeit imperfect — as a success, such as judicial reform.
As strong advocates of press freedom, we are gravely alarmed at reports published earlier this week suggesting that United Group is preparing to sell the Adria News Network (ANN), including N1, Nova S, Radar and Danas as well as approximately a dozen further outlets across the Western Balkans to the European Future Media Investments fund controlled by Portuguese investment firm Alpac Capital. The Autonomous Women's Center is among the civil society organizations that signed this statement.
Regarding the latest version of the Draft Law on Amendments to the Family Law, which was publicly released after reviewing proposed solutions and comments submitted during the public consultation process, the Autonomous Women’s Center has addressed the Working Group, urging it to reconsider certain legal provisions of critical importance for protecting the best interests of the child, ensuring the safety of victims of domestic violence, and aligning the proposed provisions with Serbia’s domestic legal framework and international obligations.
In its comment on the Draft Law on Internal Affairs, the Autonomous Women’s Center recalled that the Government of the Republic of Serbia committed, through measures in the Reform Agenda, to regulate the issue of police independence from the Ministry of the Interior during the pre-investigation and investigation phases, and noted that the Draft does not do so to a sufficient extent. Although the Draft formally prescribes the operational independence of the Police, its further provisions retain broad powers for the Minister regarding the organisation of work, direction, reporting, proposing and dismissal of the Director of Police, as well as regulating certain issues relevant to the operational functioning of the Police.
The Autonomous Women’s Center agrees with most of the provisions proposed in the draft of the new Law on Weapons and Ammunition. However, AWC considers that certain provisions should be regulated more precisely or differently, in order to avoid varying interpretations and to ensure more efficient exchange of information among institutions.
The Autonomous Women’s Center submitted comments and proposals to the Ministry for Family Care and Demography regarding the Draft Law on Amendments to the Family Law. It was noted that efforts to align the amendments with the Istanbul Convention and the EU Directive 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and domestic violence are not fully harmonised. This is particularly evident in relation to recognising children who witness domestic violence as victims, as well as in the implementation of Article 31 of the Istanbul Convention, highlighted in the recommendations of both GREVIO reports for Serbia (2020 and 2025).
Over the past six months, Serbia has experienced a deepening erosion of its democratic order, further distancing the country from its aspiration of European Union membership, concludes the new prEUgovor Alarm Report for the period May–October 2025. AŽC also took part in its development.
The report compiled by the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation examines the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, adopted by the European Union in November 2023, as well as the accompanying national reform agendas, through a gender lens. The Autonomous Women’s Center is among the organizations that contributed to the development of this report.
The Autonomous Women's Center invited all citizens to join in sending comments and suggestions to the Ministry of Justice on the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code introducing the milder crime of Sexual intercourse without consent. The Ministry of Justice is requested to withdraw that proposal, as well as to alter the definition of the basic form of the criminal act of rape so that it should include any involuntary sexual relationship, including cases in which there was no physical resistance of the victim.
The Autonomous Women's Center submitted general comments to the Working Group for the Development of the National Strategy for Realizing the Rights of Victims and Witnesses of Criminal Crimes in the Republic of Serbia. All comments that were made during the drafting of the expiring Strategy remained the same.
