EUROPEAN COMMISSION OPENLY TELLS SERBIA: Implement all recommendations of the Venice Commission in the shortest possible timeframe!

The European Commission expects Serbia to fully implement all recommendations of the Venice Commission in the shortest possible timeframe and, in the meantime, suspend the application of judicial laws.

“We have taken note of the opinion of the Venice Commission on the amendments to the laws regulating the work of the judiciary and the prosecution, which were adopted in Serbia at the end of January this year,” stated the response of the European Commission spokesperson for the Savremena Politika portal.

In Brussels, it is added that the opinion of the Venice Commission on the set of judicial laws is fully aligned with the assessment of the European Commission.

“We now expect Serbia to fully implement all recommendations of the Venice Commission in the shortest possible timeframe. In doing so, a transparent and inclusive consultation process must be respected with all relevant actors, including the European Commission and the Venice Commission,” it is added.

THE VC PUBLISHED AN URGENT OPINION ON “MRDIĆ’S” LAWS

On April 24, the Venice Commission (VC) published an urgent opinion on the amendments to the laws regulating the judiciary and the prosecution, which were adopted by the National Assembly of Serbia on January 28, 2026, on the proposal of SNS MP Uglješa Mrdić.

The opinion was requested from the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, by the President of the Assembly, Ana Brnabić.

In the urgent opinion on the amendments to five Serbian laws regulating the judiciary and the public prosecution, the Venice Commission also provided nine key recommendations for eliminating deficiencies that undermine the protection mechanisms for the autonomy of the public prosecution and the independence of the judiciary.

The urgent opinion will be presented to the Venice Commission for endorsement at its plenary session in Venice on June 12–13.

As a reminder, the High Prosecutorial Council today rejected the recommendation of the Venice Commission to return prosecutors to the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime, as well as to the Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes.

Namely, the HPC refused to put that item on the agenda with a vote of 6:5.