The Serbian government will fail to meet key anti-corruption recommendations issued by GRECO, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption watchdog, even by the second extended deadline expiring in ten days, according to a new analysis published by Transparency Serbia.
The recommendations, issued in 2022, focus on preventing corruption within the executive branch and the police, yet no meaningful progress has been made, the report finds.
Key Laws Still Missing or Ignored
Transparency Serbia highlights that during 2025, the government failed to adopt a new Law on Internal Affairs and did not amend the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, despite draft versions having been prepared in previous years specifically to address GRECO’s concerns.
Equally troubling, the government made no attempt to expand the scope of the Lobbying Law, a move GRECO explicitly recommended to reduce corrupt influence over law-making.
Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information were drafted, but GRECO’s recommendation to allow appeals when information is denied by the government or the president was entirely ignored.
Public Debate Further Weakened
Instead of strengthening transparency, the government introduced new grounds to exclude public consultations from the legislative process, rather than ensuring that all laws are preceded by public debate, as required by democratic standards.
Basic Transparency Measures Deliberately Avoided
Transparency Serbia notes that the authorities showed no political will to implement even the least demanding GRECO recommendations, which required no legal amendments at all.
“The clearest example is the refusal to publish the names of advisers and special advisers to the prime minister and deputy prime ministers, along with their areas of responsibility,” the report states.
The government has neither proactively published this information nor provided it upon formal freedom-of-information requests.
At the same time, the Anti-Corruption Agency once again excluded government members and the president from its annual asset control plan, while the government failed to appoint new members to the Anti-Corruption Council or review its reports.
The Ministry of Interior also failed to publish guidelines for implementing the Police Ethics Code, despite amendments made in 2024 following GRECO recommendations.
TOK Undermined Despite GRECO’s Call for Stronger Powers
One of the most serious warnings concerns the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK). GRECO recommended that TOK be granted expanded powers, yet the Ministry of Justice has openly questioned whether TOK should exist at all.
Transparency Serbia warns that such actions risk weakening Serbia’s anti-corruption system instead of strengthening it, directly contradicting official claims of commitment to EU integration.
Corruption Risk Analyses Systematically Bypassed
The analysis shows that ministries routinely violate their legal obligation to assess corruption risks in draft laws. In 2025 alone, ministries were required to seek opinions from the Anti-Corruption Agency in at least 28 cases, but did so only four times.
Some controversial laws — including the so-called “legalization law” — avoided scrutiny altogether, either through inaction or by being submitted directly by MPs, bypassing mandatory oversight mechanisms.
Illegal Appointments Continue Unchecked
Transparency Serbia also found that many appointments of acting officials (caretakers) remain illegal, as the government continues to ignore the legal obligation to appoint senior civil servants through open competitions, a violation ongoing for nearly two decades.
Public Anger Ignored Amid Anti-Corruption Protests
Perhaps most strikingly, the report notes that despite widespread public protests and growing anger over corruption, the authorities missed an opportunity to demonstrate even symbolic commitment to reform by implementing GRECO’s recommendations.
Instead, Serbia appears to be moving backward, raising serious questions about the credibility of its anti-corruption policies and European aspirations.
