Foreign Influence in Serbia: How the Domestic Economy Was Divided Among Foreigners
AMO
/ Ed. 29. 1. 2025
For several years, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Serbia has been criticized for "sitting on two chairs" due to its refusal to impose sanctions on Russia. However, from an economic perspective, there seem to be far more chairs, aligned both toward the East and the West.
Serbia is also known for offering generous benefits to foreign investors, despite the fact that many companies not owned domestically provide minimal wages and fail to treat their employees adequately.
A crucial aspect of this situation is that while some subsidies given to foreign entities are disclosed, numerous contracts remain shrouded in secrecy. This has led the public to justifiably question whether such arrangements create opportunities for money laundering and corruption.
Financial incentives, favorable infrastructure, tax and contribution exemptions, cheap labor, and other benefits provided by Serbia make the country attractive to foreign entities.
The article by Ljiljana Bukvić and Kristina Bondžulić was originaly published with the support of the project Enhancing the Capacities of Serbian Investigative Journalists in Mapping Foreign Influence in Serbia by Danas. You can read the original version in Serbian here.
