Serbia has repeatedly used its budget reserves in 2026 to finance a wide range of projects and institutions, including the government’s Office for Kosovo, the EXPO 2027 project, the Serbian Orthodox Church, sports federations and an infrastructure project in Republika Srpska, according to an investigation by Radio Free Europe (RFE).
Under Serbian budget rules, reserve funds are intended primarily for unforeseen expenditures. However, RFE found that since the beginning of 2026, the Serbian government has adopted more than 130 decisions allocating money from the budget reserve.
The publicly disclosed allocations exceed €122 million, while the actual amount is likely significantly higher because more than 30 government decisions published in the Official Gazette do not specify the exact sums to be withdrawn from the reserve.
Serbia’s independent Fiscal Council has previously described the use of budget reserves as excessively broad and insufficiently transparent. Neither the Serbian government nor the Ministry of Finance responded to RFE’s questions about why reserve funds had been used so frequently.
Millions allocated to EXPO 2027
Among the largest beneficiaries is EXPO 2027, the international specialized exhibition scheduled to take place in Belgrade next year.
Although EXPO construction is already included among the major spending categories in Serbia’s 2026 budget, additional funds have been allocated from the budget reserve on four occasions.
More than €11.8 million was allocated to the Republic Directorate for Water and the Electric Power Industry of Serbia for projects including riverbank protection near Surčin and cable infrastructure at the National Stadium.
Two other decisions formally allocated only 1,000 dinars each, or roughly €10, for supporting the EXPO project and construction works in exhibition zones. Economists cited by RFE said such symbolic allocations can effectively open new budget lines whose larger funding is determined later.
Economist Goran Radosavljević warned that opening such budget lines without parliamentary approval or a formal budget revision could amount to misuse of budget legislation.
EXPO has been promoted by President Aleksandar Vučić’s government as a landmark national project, but it has also faced criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups over transparency and alleged preferential treatment of companies close to the authorities.
Millions for the Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church has also received significant funding from the state budget reserve.
Since the beginning of 2026, the church has received reserve funds at least six times, including around €2 million for the completion of the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade.
Additional funds were allocated to Serbian Orthodox dioceses outside Serbia. The Diocese of Bihać and Petrovac in Bosnia and Herzegovina received around €1 million in financial assistance, while the Diocese of Buda in Hungary received approximately €300,000.
Around €200,000 was allocated for the restoration of the Patriarchal Residence in Dalj, Croatia.
The government also provided approximately €150,000 for the construction of a church in Klokočevac near Majdanpek and around €128,000 for another church in Lučani.
The Ministry without Portfolio for International Economic Cooperation, headed by pro-Russian politician Nenad Popović, also allocated around €500,000 for donations to churches in Serbia and abroad.
The Serbian Orthodox Church did not respond to RFE’s questions regarding the state funding or how the money was being spent.
Undisclosed funds for Serbia’s Office for Kosovo
Four government decisions adopted since the beginning of the year allocated money from the reserve to Serbia’s Office for Kosovo.
More than €400,000 was earmarked for support to young people and women entrepreneurs, while more than €75,000 was allocated for social assistance to Serbs displaced from Kosovo.
Another €130,000 was provided for assistance to Serbian nationals imprisoned in Kosovo, whom Belgrade describes as victims of politically motivated proceedings.
One government decision concerning Kosovo did not specify the amount of money allocated. It covered the construction and reconstruction of residential buildings in Kosovo.
The Office for Kosovo did not respond to RFE’s questions about the amount of funding or where and how the money would be spent.
The office oversees Serbian institutions operating in Kosovo that Prishtina considers illegal parallel structures. Although Kosovo authorities closed many of these institutions in 2024, some continued operating from alternative locations in towns in Serbia near the Kosovo border.
€10 million for a highway in Republika Srpska
Around €10 million was transferred from Serbia’s budget reserve to Bosnia and Herzegovina in early July to support the construction of the Rača–Bijeljina highway in Republika Srpska.
The approximately 20-kilometre section is part of a broader project intended to connect Belgrade with Banja Luka.
The Bijeljina–Rača section is estimated to cost around €180 million, with Serbia financing 80% and Republika Srpska covering the remaining 20%.
The main contractor is Integral Inženjering, a company based near Banja Luka that was placed under U.S. sanctions in 2022 over alleged corruption and links to former Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik. The sanctions were lifted in 2024.
Budget reserves also used for municipalities and sports
Several Serbian cities and municipalities, including Belgrade, Niš, Irig, Čačak, Vrbas and Kladovo, received funding from the state reserve during 2026.
Niš received around €9.4 million in two allocations, while Belgrade received approximately €1.2 million.
Kladovo received more than €480,000 less than a month before local elections held there in March, which were won by Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party.
Sports organizations have also benefited substantially.
The Basketball Federation of Serbia received more than €12 million from the budget reserve, while the Football Association of Serbia received more than €6 million.
According to the Football Association, the funds were used partly to maintain state-owned stadiums in Leskovac, Loznica and Zaječar, as well as to provide assistance to clubs and organize a sports camp for children from Ukraine.
The Tennis Federation received approximately €500,000 through the Ministry of Sport.
Economist Radosavljević argued that the extensive use of the reserve suggests that many expenditures were likely anticipated in advance and that the executive branch was given broad discretion over how the money was distributed.
€148 million later returned to the reserve
The budget reserve was not only depleted during 2026 but was also replenished.
In May, various state budget users, including the presidency, ministries, courts and administrative districts, transferred a combined €148 million back into the current budget reserve, giving the government additional funds to distribute through subsequent decisions.
The government also redirected money originally allocated by the Ministry of Defence for mandatory military service to other purposes, including mobile medical units, sporting competitions and the purchase of works of art.
President Vučić has said that Serbia’s planned 75-day mandatory military service is expected to begin in March 2027.
The extensive use of budget reserves has raised broader questions about transparency, parliamentary oversight and the distinction between genuinely unforeseen expenditures and projects that could have been included in the regular state budget.
