Balkan Legal News – 01 October 2025
- Ned Vucijak
- Oct 1
- 3 min read
The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 25 September to 01 October 2025.
Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.
Bosnia and Hercegovina – 1 October 2025
The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Hercegovina has adopted the Reform Agenda, thereby opening the way to access the EU fund of 917 million euros, with the obligation to implement 114 measures in the areas of green transition, business environment, education, and the rule of law. The full article can be found here.
Serbia – 1 October 2025
In an interview with Russian media weeks after he took office in April, Serbian Prime Minister Djuro Macut vowed to strengthen ties between Belgrade and Moscow, declaring Serbs and Russians “brotherly nations whom no one can divide”. The full article can be found here.
Bosnia and Hercegovina – 1 October 2025
After months of calls for a boycott of early presidential elections in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik’s ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, has chosen a candidate, Sinisa Karan (one of his closest allies) to succeed Dodik, following his court conviction. The full article is available here.
Serbia – 1 October 2025
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has granted a special licence delaying full sanctions on Serbia's Russian-owned oil company NIS and allowing its operations to continue until 8 October 2025, NIS said on 1 October. NIS - in which Gazprom Neft owns a 44.9% stake, Gazprom 11.3% and the Serbian government 29.9% - operates Serbia's sole refinery, in the town of Pancevo, just outside Belgrade. The full article can be found here.
Moldova – 29 September 2025
The pro-European Action and Solidarity Party, PAS, achieved a significant victory in parliamentary elections held in Moldova on Sunday 28 September 2025, securing 50.14 per cent of the vote, with 99.82 per cent of the total votes counted by Monday morning. Five parties and political blocs crossed the 5 per cent electoral threshold to enter the upcoming Parliament. PAS won 55 out of 101 seats, giving the party a majority to govern independently for the next four years, during which time Moldova aims to gain EU membership. The full article can be found here.
Serbia – 29 September 2025
Nebojsa Pavković, a former Yugoslav Army general sentenced to 22 years in prison for war crimes, arrived back in Serbia on Sunday after being released by the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals before the expiry of his sentence. In its decision from Friday, which was published only on Monday, Mechanism president Judge Graciela Gatti Santana said that, “there are compelling humanitarian reasons demanding Pavković’s early release, subject to appropriate conditions”. The full article can be found here.
Albania – 27 September 2025
On Wednesday 24 September, speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Albanian President Bajram Begaj called for stronger multilateral cooperation and condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. He further urged recognition of Kosovo and respect for Albanians in the Presheva Valley, while pushing for Albania’s EU accession by 2030. President Begaj’s full statement can be found here.
Bosnia and Hercegovina – 27 September 2025
On Friday 26 and Saturday 27 September, NATO Deputy Secretary General, Radmila Shekerinska visited Sarajevo, where she engaged in high-level meetings and participated in the Sarajevo Security Conference. She restated NATO’s commitment to Bosnia and Hercegovina’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, constitutional order and state-level institutions. Ms. Shekerinska also underscored NATO’s support to the EU-led Operation Althea, reiterating that a security vacuum in Bosnia and Hercegovina would not be allowed to emerge. The full article can be found here.
Moldova – 25 September 2025
Moldovan businessman and former party leader Vladimir Plahotniuc was extradited from Greece to Chisinau on Thursday to face trial on fraud charges. Local television showed police escorting him from a plane with his hands restrained before being taken to a detention facility. Mr. Plahotniuc has dismissed all the allegations as politically motivated. The full article can be found here.