According to Parametar, Montenegro will host the Berlin Process Leaders’ Summit on October 21–22. The meeting will take place at the Sveti Stefan resort and will be the main event of Montenegro’s presidency of this regional forum in 2026, the country’s government announced.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are scheduled to open the summit.
Leaders of six Western Balkan countries—Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Kosovo—have been invited to Sveti Stefan, along with representatives of Berlin Process member states, EU leadership, international financial institutions, and regional organizations.
For Serbia, this meeting will be important primarily in terms of regional trade, transport and energy links with the EU, a common regional market, and the further economic integration of the Western Balkans.
Montenegro will hold a series of sector-specific meetings leading up to the October summit. Economy ministers will meet on September 30 in Cetinje, foreign ministers on October 1 in Budva, and events dedicated to the digital agenda, Roma community issues, and science and research will also take place in October.
What is the Berlin Process?
The Berlin Process was launched by Germany in 2014 as a framework for EU cooperation with the six countries of the Western Balkans. Its goal is to accelerate regional economic integration, the development of transportation and energy infrastructure, and the free movement of people and businesses, as well as to help countries in the region align with EU standards. However, the Berlin Process does not replace official EU accession negotiations; rather, it complements them with specific regional initiatives and projects.
In addition to the countries of the Western Balkans, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria are participating in the process, as well as EU institutions and international organizations.
The Ukrainian government has officially approved the country’s participation in the World Specialized Exhibition EXPO 2027 Belgrade, which will take place in the Serbian capital from May 15 to August 15, 2027.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the relevant resolution on September 21. Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna has been appointed General Commissioner of the Ukrainian national pavilion.
The costs of Ukraine’s participation are to be covered by funds from the EXPO 2027 organizer, donor and sponsor funding, charitable contributions, and other permitted sources. The Ministry of Economy and Environment will coordinate the preparation of the Ukrainian exhibition, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will officially notify the Serbian government of the appointment of the Commissioner-General.
Berezhna already has experience organizing Ukraine’s participation in world expos. She served as Commissioner-General of the Ukrainian pavilion at EXPO 2025 in Osaka.
The Belgrade expo will be held under the slogan “Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All.” Organizers expect more than 4 million visitors over the 93 days of the expo.
EXPO 2027 will be the largest specialized expo in terms of the number of participants in the history of such events. According to the latest data from the organizers, 143 international participants have confirmed their participation. For comparison, the previous record for specialized EXPO events was held by Astana 2017, which featured 117 participating countries.
Among the largest countries that have confirmed or already registered their participation in the Belgrade exhibition are are the United States, China, Russia, India, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, South Africa, and Egypt.
According to “Serbian Economist”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Serbian pavilion at the first Carpathian Economic Forum in Bukovel, which is taking place on September 18–19 as part of the summit of the new regional format, the Carpathian Eight (C8). This was reported by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Serbia is represented at the forum by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Serbian Development Agency, Expo 2027 Belgrade, as well as Serbian companies, including Mind Park and Millennium Team. The main goal of Serbia’s participation is to present the country’s investment opportunities and establish new contacts with companies, investors, and financial organizations in the region.
The forum itself has become a major business platform: according to the Office of the President of Ukraine, approximately 1,400 people from 25 countries are participating, including representatives of nearly 400 companies from the C8 countries. The forum’s total investment portfolio includes 95 projects valued at over 42.5 billion euros in the energy, industrial, transportation and logistics, technology, agricultural, real estate, and other sectors.
Serbia is particularly interested in projects in the energy, rail and road transportation, logistics, industry, and cross-border trade sectors. At the summit, Aleksandar Vučić stated that trade between Serbia and Ukraine grew by 42% in the first half of 2026.
The new C8 format brings together Serbia, Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary. Its participants aim to develop infrastructure and energy links, investment projects, and closer integration of the Carpathian and Danube regions.
C8, FORUM, INVESTMENT, SERBIA, UKRAINE
According to the “Serbian Economist,” a new plant for assembling Israeli-designed military drones has been built in Serbia. According to Aleksandar Vučić, the plant will employ about 100 people, and its products are intended for both the Serbian Armed Forces and the armed forces of other countries.
Journalists were not allowed inside the plant.
Vucic attributed this to the confidentiality of the production process. Some of the models being produced were shown only in a video he released.
At the same time, the current plant is intended to be only the first phase of cooperation with Israel. Vucic stated that he expects to open at least three more similar plants in Serbia. He named areas near the Lajevci and Niš airports as potential locations for the new production facilities.
Earlier, an investigation by BIRN and Haaretz reported that Serbia’s partner in the project is Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest defense company. According to the journalists, Elbit is set to hold a 51% stake in the joint venture, while the Serbian state-owned company Yugoimport-SDPR will hold 49%.
The plan is to produce both drones for close-range missions and more sophisticated aircraft for long-range flights. Elbit and SDPR have not publicly disclosed details of the project.
Serbia is gradually building its own drone manufacturing cluster by bringing together local defense companies with the technologies of foreign partners. Vučić stated that the project’s goal is to strengthen the capabilities of the Serbian army while also expanding exports of military products.
According to “Serbian Economist”, Serbia handed over to Ukraine a 48-year-old woman whom Ukrainian law enforcement officials suspect of organizing a network providing sexual services in Kyiv, the Life website reported. Following an international manhunt, her whereabouts were traced to Serbia, after which the extradition process was carried out.
According to investigators, back in 2022, the group created a channel on a messaging app where they posted photos and videos of women, along with a list of services and prices. After receiving an advance payment, clients were directed to hotels and rented apartments in Kyiv; according to the police, the meetings were organized, in particular, during curfew hours.
Two alleged participants in the scheme—a 47-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man—were charged back in 2022. A third suspect fled Ukraine after the scheme was uncovered and went into hiding abroad.
After her extradition from Serbia, she was notified of charges under Part 2 of Article 303 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—pimping committed against several individuals, repeatedly, and by a group of persons acting in prior conspiracy. The maximum penalty under this article is up to seven years of imprisonment. The court ordered her to be held in custody with the option of posting bail in the amount of 1.47 million UAH.
The Serbian business publication Parametar has prepared an interesting analysis of the parliamentary elections in Serbia. President Aleksandar Vučić has called for early parliamentary elections on October 25. Serbia has 250 parliamentary seats to fill, but in essence, the campaign is turning into a choice between preserving the current model of government and attempting a political reset.
The main favorite is the “Aleksandar Vučić—United Serbia” bloc centered around the SNS. Vucic himself is running as a candidate for prime minister. According to the Serbian media outlet Parametar, his campaign will focus on stability, infrastructure development, investment, economic growth, and the argument that the country must not return to a period of political instability.
For the first time, the main competitor is not a traditional party, but the Student List, which emerged from the protests following the tragedy in Novi Sad. Its main themes are corruption, government accountability, the independence of institutions, and bringing new people into politics. The movement’s slogans are as simple as possible: “Students Will Win” and “Either Serbia or the Mafia.”
Part of the opposition has already decided to support the students, but there will be no single anti-government list. Running separately are the pro-European “European Serbia,” the “People’s Serbia” bloc, Ivica Dačić’s Socialists, and several national-conservative and sovereigntist groups.
The campaigns of the two main power centers are also divided by fundamentally different emotional agendas. According to sociologist and co-founder of Active Group Aleksandar Pozniy, Vučić will build his campaign primarily around the theme of stability—reminding voters of economic growth, large-scale infrastructure projects, an influx of investment, and the overall progress Serbia has made in recent years. This strategy aims to convince voters that a change in government carries the risk of losing the country’s hard-won achievements. The Student List, on the other hand, will appeal to the long-standing demand for fighting corruption and reforming the political system, contrasting the current elite with new faces unaffiliated with traditional parties. Thus, the election may largely turn into a clash between two basic formulas—“stability and economic results” versus “a change in power and the cleansing of institutions.”
That is precisely why the key question will be what voters deem more important: preserving economic and political stability or the demand for profound systemic change.
Parties representing national minorities will traditionally form a separate segment. A special electoral system applies to minorities: they are not required to clear the general 3 percent threshold, and when seats are allocated, their results are adjusted using a special coefficient. At the start of the campaign, the Union of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), the Bosnian parties SPP and SDA, representatives of the Albanian and Romani populations, and a number of small regional groups are expected to participate. Their composition may still change before the registration deadline.
Polling data so far is conflicting. Faktor Plus gives the SNS about 47% and the Students’ Party about 32%. An earlier CRTA poll showed the opposite picture—about 45% for the Students’ Party versus 36% for the SNS.
On international betting platforms, Vučić currently appears to be the clear favorite, but there is still a month and a half until the election, and the final list of candidates is still taking shape.
Read more at Parametar.rs.
