Serbia - January 2025

After widespread protests in response to the deadly canopy collapse at Novi Sad train station in November 2024, Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, who was Novi Sad's Mayor at the time of the reconstruction of the train station, has resigned. Protests have been led by students and included major traffic blockages, marches from Belgrade to Novi Sad and school strikes. The protest on 22 December, which reportedly attracted around 100,000 people, became one of the largest in the country’s history. Protesters have blamed corruption as a factor in the canopy collapse and demanded full transparency in the case. They also protested against the alleged pro-government bias of the public broadcaster. President Aleksandar Vučić claimed the students were being financed by “Western powers.” There were also reports of violence against protesters, with one incident involving a man deliberately driving into a woman at high speed. As of 1 February, the protests were still ongoing. 

Sources: Danas, Euractiv, Balkan Insight (1), Balkan Insight (2), European Western Balkans (1), European Western Balkans (2), Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, International IDEA