According to the publication Parametar, Croatia has become the most popular European Union country for Serbian citizens to relocate to, according to Eurostat data. In 2024, approximately 46,000 residence permits were issued to Serbian citizens in EU countries for the first time, of which about 14,500 were in Germany and about 10,000 in Croatia.
Croatia was followed by Austria and Slovenia, where Serbian citizens received approximately 4,000 initial permits each, as well as Slovakia, with about 2,500.
More broadly, from 2013 to 2024, 494,048 Serbian citizens moved to EU countries. The rate of emigration accelerated during this period: while approximately 0.33% of Serbia’s population moved to the EU in 2013, the figure rose to about 0.70% by 2024.
According to Eurostat, in 2024, EU countries issued a total of 3.5 million first-time residence permits to non-EU citizens, which is 8.3% less than the previous year. Against this backdrop, the Serbian migration flow remains particularly prominent in the labor migration segment, which explains the high figures for Croatia and Germany as markets with sustained demand for labor.
The Croatian destination stands out particularly not only because of its geographical proximity and the country’s EU membership, but also due to the relatively low language barrier. The Serbian and Croatian languages are almost completely mutually intelligible, and this is likely also one of the factors facilitating the relocation, job search, and daily adaptation of Serbian citizens in Croatia.
According to Serbian Economist, Croatian police at the Karasovici border crossing (border with Montenegro) found €500,000 in cash in a car with Czech license plates driven by a 24-year-old Ukrainian citizen, the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Police reported.
According to the police, the incident occurred while attempting to leave Croatia for Montenegro. During the inspection, law enforcement officers and customs officials noticed changes in the interior of the car, used special equipment to detect hidden packages, and requested a search warrant. After the search, by decision of the County Court in Dubrovnik, 13 packages containing a total of €500,000 in cash were found in the side panels of the rear of the car.
The money and the car were seized, and the driver was detained. Upon completion of the investigation, he was charged with money laundering and transferred to a detention center. The police also stated that the investigation had established that the money had been transported from Western European countries and that its final destination was one of the countries of Southeast Europe.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2287
According to Serbian Economist, Croatia is discussing a gas interconnector project with Serbia that could give the Serbian market access to liquefied natural gas (LNG) via a terminal on the island of Krk. Croatian Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar said that “only about 15 km of pipeline” is needed to connect the two gas systems, and Belgrade, according to him, is showing interest in such a route.
Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Jedovic-Handanovic confirmed that the option of supplies via Croatia is being considered, but noted caution due to past episodes of oil supply disruptions via the JANAF pipeline.
Serbian Economist interprets the possible interconnector primarily as a tool for changing the market structure: with Serbia’s annual gas consumption of around 2.7-3.0 billion cubic meters and high dependence on a single import corridor via TurkStream, even relatively small volumes of LNG could strengthen its negotiating position and create real “optionality” in procurement. Initial deliveries via the LNG route could amount to 0.5-1.0 billion cubic meters per year (15-35% of demand), and a realistic window for infrastructure commissioning is 2028-2031.
The emergence of an alternative entry point will gradually “tie” the discussion of prices within Serbia to European benchmarks, although this also means greater sensitivity to global volatility in the LNG market.
The context for the discussion is the ongoing search by countries in the region for alternative supply routes and the strengthening of TurkStream’s role as a key pipeline channel for Russian gas to Europe after the cessation of transit through Ukraine.
According to Serbian Economist, the Ukrainian chain of seafood restaurants Chernomorka has announced the launch of a farm for growing mussels, sea bass, and sea bream in the Adriatic Sea near the city of Ston (Croatia).
According to the chain, the project is being implemented in the form of mariculture in collaboration with a Croatian team. It provides for constant monitoring of water quality and living conditions, as well as compliance with European food safety standards.
The first commercial deliveries of mussels, sea bass, and sea bream are planned for March 2026. The main sales channel will be the chain’s restaurants, with the possibility of expanding sales to the partner market in the restaurant segment.
Chernomorka was founded in Kyiv in 2013. The founder and co-owner of the project is Olga Kopylova. According to the chain’s website, in December 2025, Chernomorka operated 40 establishments in Ukraine, Moldova, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2174
According to the Serbian Economist, Croatia is officially reintroducing compulsory military service on January 1, 2026 after a 17-year hiatus.
According to changes to the Defense Law approved by the Croatian Parliament in October 2025, the country is introducing two months of basic military training for conscripts amid rising tensions in Europe and the Balkans.
According to Ministry of Defense clarifications and government communications, the mandatory service will apply to men, primarily young men born in 2007 and onward, while women will be able to participate on a voluntary basis. The first calls for medical examinations are scheduled to be sent out at the end of December, while the first conscripts will enter military units in March 2026.
Basic service (temeljno vojno osposobljavanje) will last two months and include handling personal weapons, use of modern equipment, first aid and basic self-defense skills.
Recruits will receive about 1,100 euros per month (2,200 euros for the entire term of service), with payment for food, accommodation and travel; the time of service will be counted in the employment record. For conscientious objectors, civilian service in the civil protection system for up to three or four months with a lower payment (about 250 euros per month) is envisaged.
Previously, compulsory conscription in Croatia was abolished in 2008 amid the transition to a professional army and NATO membership. The authorities explain the decision to return military service by the need to strengthen defense capabilities and prepare the population to act in crisis situations against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the general growth of instability in the region.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2005
According to Serbian Economist, the Croatian parliament has approved a law paving the way for the construction of a radioactive waste management center at the Čerkezovac site on Trgovska Gora Mountain in Sisak-Moslavina County, less than a kilometer from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to the law, the Čerkezovac site will become the central facility for storing low- and medium-level waste from the Slovenian-Croatian Krško Nuclear Power Plant, as well as so-called “institutional” radioactive waste from Croatian hospitals and industry. The site is located approximately 800 m in a straight line from the BiH border and about 1 km from the water intake of the Novi Grad community, which supplies drinking water to about 15,000 people.
The adopted act creates a regulatory framework for the design and construction of the facility and establishes Čerkizovac as a priority location for a waste management center. Geological surveys, seismic risk assessments, and measurements of the “zero” radiation background have already been carried out at the site, as reported by the Croatian side in documents sent to international organizations.
A surface storage facility is planned to operate until the 2090s, after which the waste will be transferred to a deep geological repository.
Strong reaction from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Zagreb’s decision has been strongly criticized by politicians and environmental activists in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country’s authorities had previously set up interdepartmental expert and legal groups to follow up on the issue at international forums and insist that the facility poses a risk to the Una River, border communities, and drinking water supplies.
Political parties and authorities in BiH consider the law to be a violation of the principles of good neighborliness and are demanding that Croatia reconsider its decision or seek an alternative site, citing, among other things, the Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context.
The Croatian side, in turn, states that the environmental impact assessment procedure will include the participation of the public and the competent authorities of BiH.
https://t.me/relocationrs/1977
