Hungary has decided to strengthen security around its section of the TurkStream gas pipeline and place it under military control following an incident on Serbian territory, according to the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist”.
According to the report, the decision was made after an emergency meeting of the defence council convened by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said the military would guard the entire Hungarian section of the pipeline — from the border with Serbia to the border with Slovakia.
The move followed an incident in Serbia, where, according to Serbian and Hungarian authorities, powerful explosive devices were found near gas infrastructure through which Russian gas is delivered to Hungary and further into the region.
At the same time, the episode has already triggered political debate. Some publications and commentary in the region question the official version of events and suggest the story may have a political dimension, particularly against the backdrop of the election campaign in Hungary.
Ukraine, for its part, has officially rejected any attempts to link it to the incident in Serbia.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia is increasingly becoming a key industrial platform for China to enter the European market. This is no longer a matter of scattered investments, but rather a well-established system that integrates metallurgy, mining, transport infrastructure, and export channels.
A turning point was the acquisition by the Chinese company HBIS of the steel plant in Smederevo in 2016 for approximately €46 million, followed by investments in modernization. The second major flagship project was Zijin Mining’s expansion in Serbia’s copper sector—in Bora and at the Čukaru-Peki deposit, where total investment commitments exceeded €3 billion. This allowed Serbia to take a more prominent place in the European steel and copper supply chain.
Analysts emphasize that Chinese capital in Serbia controls several links in the industrial chain at once: copper mining, processing and smelting, steel production, and the export of products to European markets. Against this backdrop, Serbia is increasingly acting not merely as a recipient of foreign investment, but as a functional extension of China’s industrial base within the European economic space.
This is also reflected in trade. By 2025, China had become Serbia’s second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding $7 billion. At the same time, a significant portion of exports from Serbia to China is provided by Chinese companies operating in the country, primarily in the copper and metallurgical sectors.
Infrastructure plays a distinct role. Analysts link the new model to projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, including the Belgrade–Budapest railway, bridges, highways, and logistics hubs. In this system, Serbia serves as a transit hub between Piraeus, the Balkans, and Central Europe, reducing transportation costs and speeding up deliveries to the EU.
In addition to metals, China’s presence is expanding in the manufacturing sector as well. Consider the Linglong tire plant in Zrenjanin, valued at around €900 million, as well as projects by Hisense in Valjevo and the Minth Group in the automotive components sector. These manufacturers leverage Serbia’s lower costs and its trade preferences for supplying the EU market.
The country’s trade architecture has been an additional factor. Serbia combines preferential access to the EU market with a free trade agreement with China, which entered into force in 2024. As a result, the country has become a rare hub where Chinese capital can operate simultaneously under both European and non-European trade regimes.
At the same time, this model faces new constraints. The importance of the energy transition and the CBAM mechanism is growing, which could increase costs for Serbia’s energy-intensive export sectors. This is pushing Chinese investors toward the next phase—investments in renewable energy, storage, and grid infrastructure—to maintain the competitiveness of assets in Serbia on the European market.
Thus, Serbia is increasingly establishing itself as an industrial and logistics hub between China and Europe. However, the further development of this role will depend on Belgrade’s ability to simultaneously retain Chinese capital and adapt to the EU’s stricter regulatory requirements.
Serbia will allocate EUR2 million to support Ukraine’s energy sector במסגרת a joint project with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist” reported, citing official data.
According to the report, the Government of the Republic of Serbia and UNDP signed an agreement providing for the financing of the procurement and delivery of high-voltage transformers. These are critical pieces of equipment needed to restore electricity transmission systems and ensure stable power supply.
The funds will be provided under UNDP’s green energy recovery programme for Ukraine. The initiative is aimed at supporting basic services in the regions most affected by the war, including electricity, heating and water supply.
Serbian Ambassador to Ukraine Andon Sapundji said that Belgrade’s contribution is intended to support critical infrastructure and help ensure uninterrupted energy supply for the population.
In turn, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Auke Lootsma stressed that Serbia’s assistance will contribute not only to the restoration of damaged facilities, but also to the modernization of Ukraine’s energy system.
According to international estimates, since 2022 Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has suffered extensive destruction. Total losses in the sector are estimated at $88.2 billion, of which about $17.1 billion relates specifically to the power sector, including generation and transmission.
The project is being implemented as part of cooperation between Ukraine and the United Nations in the field of sustainable development and is in line with the strategic goal of transitioning to a more resilient and modern energy system.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced from the headquarters of the Serbian Progressive Party in New Belgrade that the ruling party’s lists, featuring his name, had won in all 10 municipalities where local elections were held on March 29. “It’s 10 to 0,” he said following the vote count.
Elections were held in Bora, Smederevska Palanka, Bajina Bašta, Kula, Lučani, Aranđelovac, Kladovo, Knjaževac, Majdanpec, and Sevojno. Even before Election Day, Vučić had said he would be satisfied only with a victory in all 10 municipalities, although at the time he estimated the possible outcome as 7-3 or 6-4.
After the elections, government officials also publicly confirmed this result. In particular, SNS Chairman Miloš Vučević called the party’s victory in all ten municipalities “very significant” and repeated the 10:0 score.
At the same time, opposition and independent commentators interpret the results more cautiously. N1, citing political analyst Boban Stojanović, notes that despite the SNS’s formal victory in all ten municipalities, in nine of them the party, according to his assessment, saw a decline in support compared to previous election cycles.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2532
According to The Serbian Economist, Serbia has aligned itself with two European Union resolutions that extend existing restrictive measures related to the war in Ukraine.
The first EU resolution concerns measures against Russia’s actions regarding the occupied regions of Ukraine that are not under Kyiv’s control. Essentially, this is an extension of the special sanctions regime for another year—until February 24, 2027. Serbia supported this extension along with a number of other EU candidate countries and partners.
The second decision concerns sanctions against specific individuals, companies, and organizations in connection with the situation in Ukraine. These are not “general sanctions against Russia as a whole,” but rather an extension of the list of targeted restrictions on specific individuals until March 6, 2027.
The wording stating that Serbia “will ensure the alignment of its national policy” with this decision means the following: Belgrade has declared that it will act in line with EU policy on these two specific issues. The European Union separately noted and welcomed Serbia’s alignment in official statements.
This does not mean that Serbia has fully aligned itself with the entire EU sanctions package against Moscow. It concerns specifically these two separate decisions, not full alignment with Brussels on sanctions.
For Serbia, this is yet another example of partial foreign policy alignment with Brussels on issues related to Ukraine and Russia.
Serbia is a candidate country for EU membership and is regularly under close scrutiny by Brussels regarding the alignment of its foreign and sanctions policies with European decisions. Against this backdrop, such steps by Belgrade are usually seen as a signal of its willingness to maintain working-level coordination with the EU on specific international issues, primarily those related to the Ukrainian agenda.
According to Serbian Economist, the Hungarian government has designated the “Hungary–Serbia” oil pipeline and related infrastructure as a priority investment project, which is expected to speed up administrative procedures and construction work. Budapest views the project as part of a broader strategy to better coordinate the energy and fuel markets of Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia. The Hungarian side believes this will enhance the resilience of regional energy supplies and reduce dependence on external risks.
Hungarian media reports state that the government’s goal is to bring the system into full operation in 2027 or 2028. The new route is intended to create an additional foundation for oil supplies to the region amid the continued vulnerability of existing supply lines.
The issue is particularly sensitive for the region following supply problems with the Druzhba pipeline, a section of which on Ukrainian territory was damaged in January. Against this backdrop, Budapest has in recent weeks linked energy security issues to broader regional policy.
For Serbia, accelerating the project is important both in terms of diversifying supply routes and in the context of ongoing uncertainty surrounding NIS and oil imports. The new pipeline could become one of the country’s key energy infrastructure projects.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2509
