A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has taken aim at the government of longtime Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, citing what it calls “serious setbacks” in democracy and the rule of law, as well as Belgrade’s ties with US adversaries Iran, Russia, and China.
Republican Representative Joe Wilson, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said that “under President Vucic, Serbia has deliberately moved further and further away from the rule of law and closer to enemies of freedom, such as the war criminal [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, the Communist Party of China, and the terrorist regime in Tehran.”
“Despite widespread protests against corruption, Vucic’s government threatens to destabilize the region and beyond. The people of Serbia deserve better,” Wilson said after submitting the bill on August 27.
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Serbia Seeks To Maintain Balancing Act As Zelenskyy Visits BelgradeThe bill, also sponsored by Democrat Bill Keating, a fellow member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, would impose visa bans and sanctions on individuals who undermine the stability of the Western Balkans or the territorial integrity of any state in the region.
It would also target individuals who take part in “undermining democratic processes and institutions, corruption, serious human rights violations, or actions that obstruct regional agreements and frameworks for security, peace, cooperation, or mutual recognition.”
The legislation, known as the Serbia Act, specifically calls out Vucic over what it describes as the excessive use of force against recent student-led protests and calls for an investigation into, and accountability for, the 2024 railway tragedy in Novi Sad that helped ignite the demonstrations.
The measure is not yet law. It would have to pass the full House and Senate before being sent to the president for signature.
US-Serbia Relations
Keating said that “democracy, rule of law, and anti-corruption must remain key pillars in the US-Serbia bilateral relationship.”
“The United States has an enduring interest in a stable, democratic, and sovereign Serbia that is committed to regional peace and security and firmly anchored in Euro-Atlantic institutions and free from malign external influence,” the bill text states.
The proposed legislation would also direct Secretary of State Marco Rubio to press Belgrade on ensuring free and fair elections, fighting corruption, strengthening the rule of law, and addressing Serbia’s ties with Iran, Russia, and China.
If those issues are not adequately addressed, Keating and Wilson said the United States should suspend its participation in the US-Serbia Strategic Dialogue.
The dialogue was held in Washington in July, with the two sides issuing a joint statement outlining areas of cooperation.
Vucic, who has been president of Serbia since 2017 after serving as prime minister for three years, has long sought to balance his country’s aspirations to join the European Union with its historically close ties to Russia.
He has faced nearly two years of student-led street protests, initially sparked by the collapse of a railway-station roof in Novi Sad in November 2024 that killed 16 people. The demonstrations later expanded into broader complaints about Vucic’s government and allegations of corruption.
Vucic and pro-government media have accused the students and their professors of working with unidentified Western security services in an effort to remove him from power. He has provided no evidence to support the claims.
Vucic's Next Move?
In July, Vucic said he would resign as Serbia’s president, despite having almost a year remaining in his term. Few expect that to mean he will leave Serbian politics, where he has been the dominant figure for more than a decade.
Vucic, 56, has already been elected president twice and is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.
Analysts say that by stepping down, Vucic could potentially return as prime minister if his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) wins early parliamentary elections. Vucic has said the elections will be held in October, although they were not otherwise due until December 2027.
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Could Vucic Become Serbia's Prime Minister Again?“His possible move to the position of prime minister would simply place him, constitutionally, where he already is -- the country’s key political figure who makes all the important decisions,” Dusan Spasojevic, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Belgrade, told RFE/RL’s Balkan Service in July.
The bill also lays out conditions under which Washington could seek closer ties with Belgrade.
If the Serbian government takes steps to strengthen its Euro-Atlantic path, including through a credible and independent investigation into the Novi Sad railway collapse and accountability for the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, the legislation says the US president should take steps to improve bilateral relations.
Those steps could include measures aimed at strengthening Serbia’s democratic institutions and its resilience to what the legislation describes as harmful foreign influence.