Serbia’s authorities have not invited the European Parliament to send an election observation mission for the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections, with the deadline for issuing an invitation expiring on October 8, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported.
The European Parliament confirmed to RFE/RL that it had received no invitation from Serbian authorities. Without a formal request, the institution cannot deploy an observation mission.
According to the European Parliament, its Conference of Presidents, which brings together the Parliament’s president and the leaders of its political groups, held a regular meeting on October 8 at which an observation mission was due to be approved. Even if an invitation arrives after the deadline, procedural requirements would prevent the Parliament from organizing a mission in time for the vote.
Serbia’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 25.
Relations between Belgrade and Brussels remain strained
Relations between Serbia’s authorities and the European Parliament have deteriorated in recent years, with tensions increasing after Croatian MEP Tonino Picula was appointed the Parliament’s standing rapporteur for Serbia.
Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who is also a candidate to become the country’s next prime minister, has previously used derogatory language to describe European lawmakers.
Earlier this year, Serbian government representatives boycotted a European Parliament mission, claiming it had arrived without an invitation. The Parliament rejected that assertion.
In September 2026, the European People’s Party (EPP), of which Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is an associate member, launched a review of the SNS’s membership status. No confirmation has been provided on the review’s progress.
The EPP has also condemned the glorification of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić, who was convicted by an international tribunal of genocide and war crimes.
European Parliament has raised concerns over Serbia’s EU path
In a resolution adopted in July, the European Parliament said Serbia was stagnating on its path toward European Union membership. It also criticized what it described as inflammatory rhetoric by Serbian officials toward EU member states opposing the opening of Cluster 3 in Serbia’s accession negotiations.
The resolution further raised concerns about alleged Russian intelligence activities operating from Serbia and the country’s procurement of Chinese missiles.
Serbia is now the third EU candidate country in which the European Parliament does not observe elections, according to RFE/RL. Turkey is the only candidate country whose elections the Parliament has never observed, while it sent observers to Georgia’s parliamentary elections in 2024.
Serbia invited the European Parliament to observe its December 2023 parliamentary elections. No European Parliament observation mission was deployed for the 2020 elections because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, EU accession negotiations between Brussels and Belgrade have remained stalled since 2021, according to the report.
