On 25 February, Serbian police raided the offices of four NGOs—Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability, Civic Initiatives, Center for Practical Politics, and Trag Foundation—after the Special Department of the Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into their use of US funds. However, this investigation “has nothing to do with USAID or the use of funds by civil society organisations,” warned Isidora Stakić, Senior Researcher at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, speaking to The New Union Post.

According to Stakić, Belgrade’s authorities are using these allegations as “an excuse” to control finances and intimidate organisations “that have long exposed corruption, electoral irregularities, and other breaches of law by state institutions.” In other words, the latest investigations appear to be “a stunt by a repressive regime aimed at suppressing critical voices,” she added.

Chief Public Prosecutor Nenad Stefanović stated that that orders had been issued for the immediate removal of all documentation related to US donations and for interviews with the individuals responsible. Stakić argued that this alleged fight against corruption is merely a pretext to label civil society groups as “agents of foreign influence and enemies of the state.” In reality, she pointed out, NGOs in the country “have always been subjected to rigorous financial audits.”

The impact of USAID funds in Serbia

The raids followed US President Trump’s decision to curb the activities of USAID—the agency established in 1961 to oversee US aid abroad—by imposing a 90-day spending freeze on 24 January. Exactly one month later, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that Belgrade “will assist” the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its investigation into the financing of Serbian NGOs. According to the agency’s website, USAID has invested $811 million “to stimulate economic growth, strengthen the rule of law, and promote good governance” in the Balkan country.

It is important to highlight, as Stakić pointed out, that the largest recipient of the US agency’s funding in Serbia “was the state, not NGOs.” Nevertheless, the potential withdrawal of US aid would have a “significant” impact on the work of civil society organisations, “unless other international actors,” such as the EU and individual Member States, step in to “fill the gap.”

While the government is “openly abusing state resources to silence and mistreat its critics,” Stakić added, there is “evidence” that phantom NGOs have received “significant” funds from the state budget. She pointed out that, despite these allegations of public resource misuse, the Prosecutor’s Office has yet to take action. This suggests that “the law in Serbia is not applied equally to everyone,” she concluded.

New Union Post

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