The European Commission has deemed Serbia's granting of citizenship to Russians a threat

The European Commission notes that Serbia’s simplified procedure for granting citizenship to Russian citizens poses potential security risks to the entire European Union. Of particular concern are cases where Russians subject to EU sanctions have obtained Serbian passports. 

This was reported on Thursday in Brussels by Guillaume Mercier, the European Commission’s spokesperson for enlargement, following a monitoring review.

According to the EU official, this issue is not new to Brussels and was already officially noted in the 2025 annual report on enlargement. At that time, European partners recommended that Belgrade urgently continue full alignment with EU visa policy and ensure more thorough checks of individuals upon visa-free entry from third countries. The report explicitly noted that the automatic acquisition by Russian citizens of the right to visa-free entry into the territory of EU countries through the acquisition of a Serbian passport opens opportunities to circumvent sanctions and poses a security threat and a risk of illegal migration.

These concerns and recommendations for the Serbian government remain fully relevant today. Guillaume Mercier emphasized that the European Commission continues to engage in active bilateral dialogue with the Serbian authorities on this critically important issue. Belgrade’s progress in aligning its visa regime with European standards will remain under close scrutiny by European institutions and will directly influence assessments in future reports on Serbia’s readiness for EU membership.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine

Following a warning from Brussels, the Serbian authorities planned to abandon their plans to issue passports to Russian citizens and other foreigners who have lived in the country for at least one year.

The European Parliament approved visa-free travel for Kosovo.