The Venice Commission issued an urgent opinion on five Serbian laws concerning the judiciary and prosecution - and the findings are not mild. The reforms were prepared without public debate, without consultation with domestic stakeholders, and without a thorough impact assessment. The core problem: the amendments fail to provide adequate guarantees for judicial independence and prosecutorial autonomy.

The changes affect five laws - on the public prosecution service, the Supreme Council of Prosecutors, the Law on Judges, and laws on the seats of courts and prosecution offices. The Commission identified "serious deficiencies that must be corrected" and recommended nine concrete corrective steps. Among them - reinstating prosecutors whose temporary mandates were prematurely terminated, and limiting the renewal of mandates for court presidents.

The stakes are high: the EU has warned it could freeze around €1.5 billion in credits and grants for Serbia. That is not a small warning. Vučić pushed these amendments through in December 2025 via expedited procedure - now international institutions are saying that's not acceptable. Will Belgrade accept the recommendations, or risk losing access to European funding?

On the Balkans, judicial reforms almost always mean one thing: control over the judiciary. The Venice Commission, it seems, read it the same way.