Letter in solidarity with the people of Serbia by over 130 European civil society organisations

We, representatives of European civil society from across the continent, express our deep concern over the rapid escalation of restrictions, attacks, and repression against civil society in Serbia and call on the Serbian authorities to stop them. The latest illegal police raid on five leading non-governmental organisations represents a stark and deeply troubling intensification of the systemic effort to silence critical voices and suppress fundamental freedoms. This targeted assault underscores the growing crackdown on organisations that directly empower citizens to participate in public life and hold authorities accountable.

We stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Serbia who are courageously resisting state oppression and systemic misgovernance. The mass protests were sparked by the tragic collapse of the newly renovated train station in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024, which claimed 15 lives and left two others seriously injured. This disastrous incident laid bare the authorities’ systemic corruption and negligence, which is why the protests demand systemic change in addition to the government taking responsibility for the tragedy. The Serbian government has responded to these legitimate expressions of grief and outrage with increasing repression against civil society.

The scale of state violence and intimidation is deeply alarming. Dozens of attacks on protesters have been documented, including vehicles being driven into crowds and the brutal assault of a female student by ruling party activists. These examples illustrate the lengths to which the government is willing to go to quash dissent and deny responsibility for the disaster. Those who express support for the movement — students, professors, activists, and independent voices — are accused of acting on behalf of foreign interests and face threats, surveillance, police interrogations, and losing their job.

These attacks are not new. For over a decade, Serbia’s political leadership has steered the country away from democratic values and the commitments required for EU integration. Civic space in Serbia rated as “obstructed” by the CIVICUS Monitor, underscoring the longstanding challenges faced by those committed to this path. These trends are part of an authoritarian playbook that we have come to know and experience in our EU countries too.

Yet, in the face of this repression, the resilience of Serbian society inspires us and gives us hope. The protests, which have spread to at least 245 cities and towns, have drawn tens of thousands — sometimes up to 100,000 people — onto the streets. The broad support enjoyed by the movement from trade unions, farmers, the bar association, private businesses, and self-organised citizens, shows how rooted it is in the Serbian society. It is the largest mobilisation in Serbia in decades, signalling the strength of civil society and the unyielding spirit of the Serbian people in their struggle for democracy and justice.

All our struggles, in each of our countries, are interconnected and the strength of this movement is another brick in our collective power. The Serbian people’s fight for democracy, transparency, and human rights is also a fight for the fundamental values upon which the EU itself claims to be built. But the EU’s failure to act decisively has contributed to the deepening distrust among Serbian citizens towards the European path, weakening the enlargement process as a whole, and

discrediting the EU’s external policy. Clearer messages and concrete actions are urgently needed to show citizens and civil society organisations that they are not alone in this fight, and that the EU truly upholds the values it claims to stand for.

We stand in solidarity with the people of Serbia in their pursuit of a shared democratic future, and we call on European leaders to do the same.

Signatories

1. European Civic Forum (coordinator)
2. Balkan Civil Society Development Network (coordinator)
3. Ökotárs-Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation — Hungary
4. Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF) — Romania
5. Platforma dobrovoľníykch centier a organizácií — Slovakia
6. CIVIL – Center for Freedom — North Macedonia
7. Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) — United Kingdom
8. Society for Threatened Peoples/Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker — Germany
9. RECLAIM (reclaiming.eu) — EU
10. ARCI — Italy
11. Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law — Bulgaria
12. Humanitas – centre for global learning and cooperation — Slovenia
13. Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre — Ireland
14. Irídia – Human Rights Defense Centre — Spain
15. BlueLink foundation — Bulgaria
16. Migrant Tales — Finland
17. Community Rights in Greece — Greece
18. Democracy International — International
19. Umanotera — Slovenia
20. Association for Culture, Education and Communication (ACEC) — Slovakia
21. APADOR-CH — Romania
22. Ekopolis Foundation — Slovakia
23. Rada mládeže Slovenska — Slovakia
24. Media Diversity Institute Western Balkans — Serbia
25. Media Diversity Institute Global — Belgium
26. Carpathian Foundation Slovakia — Slovakia
27. League for Mental Health in Slovakia — Slovakia
28. MEMO 98 — Slovakia
29. Nadace na ochranu zvířat — Czech Republic
30. Centar za promociju civilnog drustva — Bosnia and Herzegovina
31. Netherlands Helsinki Committee — Netherlands
32. Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) — Kosovo
33. Inklucity — Slovakia
34. Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia — Slovakia
35. Pravo na grad — Croatia
36. Kosova Womens Network — Kosovo
37. Lëvizja FOL / FOL Movement — Kosovo
38. Centar za građanske inicijative Poreč — Croatia
39. Institute for Development Policy – INDEP — Kosovo
40. CESI – Centar za edukaciju, savjetovanje i istraživanje — Croatia
41. Partners Albania for Change and Development — Albania
42. Rainbow Families Croatia — Croatia
43. Association for Civil Society Development SMART — Croatia
44. Slovak Governance Institute — Slovakia
45. Community Development Fund-CDF — Kosovo
46. CO2 — Croatia
47. Mentor Vrajolli — Kosovo
48. European Network for Citizen Initiatives in Global Solidarity —EU
49. Fundusz Partnerstwa — Poland
50. Stowarzyszenie Greenways Polska — Poland
51. Art Kontakt — Albania
52. Social Contract Institute — Albania
53. Environmental center for Development Education and Networking (EDEN) — Albania
54. Help the Life Association — Albania
55. NetRDA — Albania
56. Beyond Barriers Association — Albania
57. Albanian Women Empowerment Network — Albania
58. Albania Community Assist — Albania
59. Group for Legal and Political Studies — Kosovo
60. Statewatch — International
61. Center Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) — Albania
62. Plesna udruga Tiramola — Croatia
63. Organic Agriculture and Environment Association — Albania
64. Voice of Roma in Albania — Albania
65. Civil Liberties Union for Europe — Germany
66. Youth for Youth — Romania
67. Iskorak — Croatia
68. BlueLink Foundation — Bulgaria
69. Prjeti per Demokraci i Gruas Shqiperi — Albania
70. Irish Council for Civil Liberties — Ireland
71. Association No limit pets — Romania
72. PIC – Legal Center for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment — Slovenia
73. Albanian Center for Population and Development — Albania
74. Defending Democracy Initiative — EU
75. DokuFest — Kosovo
76. Danes je nov dan, Inštitut za druga vprašanja — Slovenia
77. Multimedijalna koliba — Croatia
78. La Strada International — Netherlands
79. Vatra Psycho-Social Center — Albania
80. Centre for peace, nonviolence and human rights-Osijek — Croatia
81. Nerea Bellomo Corpa — Netherlands
82. Mareena — Slovakia
83. RADKA — Czech Republic
84. CIOFF ALBANIA — Albania
85. NEW EUROPEAN PEOPLE’S FORUM — EU
86. Politiscope — Croatia
87. European Institute foundation — Bulgaria
88. European Youth Forum — EU
89. Focus Association for Sustainable Development — Slovenia
90. Association of Youth Information and Counseling Centers in the Slovak Republic — Slovakia
91. My Brain My Choice Initiative — Germany
92. Finnish Development NGOs Fingo — Finland
93. Transparency International Slovenia — Slovenia
94.  Impact: Center against Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence in Conflict — Netherlands
95. ILGA-Europe — EU
96. COSPE — EU
97. 98. Life Quality Improvement Organisation FLIGHT — Croatia
98. Young European Federalists (JEF) — EU
99. International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) — International
100. European Policy Institute of Kosovo — Kosovo
101. DRUŠTVO ZA ISTRAŽIVANJE I POTPORU – DIP — Croatia
102. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — France
103. Counselling Line for Women and Girls Albania
104. Baltic Human Rights Society — Latvia
105. VIDA — Portugal
106. Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD — Portugal
107. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders — International
108. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders — International
109. European Movement in Albania — Albania
110. Women’s Rooom — EU
111. SOLIDAR — EU
112. SOS Malta — Malta
113. Bits of Freedom — Netherlands
114. Women’s Rights Agenda Belarus — Belarus
115. Kooperativa-regional platform for culture — EU
116. DOOR (Društvo za oblikovanje održivog razvoja) — Croatia
117. Forumi Civil Selenicë — Albania
118. Shoqata e Perdoruesve te Burimeve Natyrore Velcan Pogradec Albania — Albania
119. PPNEA — Albania
120. Ana Maria Acostăchioaei — Romania
121. Centre for Peace Studies — Croatia
122. Open Gate/La Strada — North Macedonia
123. National Youth Council of Serbia — Serbia
124. European Network against Racism — EU
125. Croatian Platform for International Citizen Solidarity — Croatia
126. Croatian Youth Network — Croatia
127. Prešovské dobrovoľnícke centrum — Slovakia
128. Slagalica – zaklada za razvoj lokalne zajednice (Community Foundation Slagalica) — Croatia
129. Metamorphosis Foundation for Internet and Society — North Macedonia
130. BIOM Association — Croatia
131. ERA LGBTI ASSOCIATION FOR WESTERN BALKANS AND TURKIYE