Serbia may refuse to issue Passports to Russians because of the EU

Serbia has frozen plans to issue passports to Russians and other foreign nationals who have lived in the country for just one year after the EU warned it could end visa-free travel to the Balkan country, writes the "Financial Times".

The draft law proposed by the government in Belgrade in April specified that one year of temporary residence would be sufficient to allow foreigners who worked for local companies or were self-employed to obtain a Serbian passport. Currently, foreigners must live in Serbia for a minimum of five years before applying for citizenship.

But the European Commission has warned that it is monitoring Belgrade's visa-free regime "to prevent and mitigate possible risks to EU security". Visa-free travel can be suspended if it is deemed that granting citizenship under these schemes "poses an increased risk to internal security".

Over the past year, Brussels has tried unsuccessfully to pressure Belgrade to accept a sanctions regime against Russia, ban direct flights from the country and crack down on Russian companies and individuals seeking to evade Western travel bans and asset freezes. also writes "Financial Times".

According to an adviser to the Serbian government, the draft law is "a simple proposal" that "has not been accepted". The goal of the reform, which also includes simplification of rules for the registration of foreigners, is to attract low-skilled workers to the country with a shrinking population. News of the legislative changes has reverberated on Russian-language social media over the past few weeks, with a new wave of emigrants preparing to move to Serbia in the hope that they will soon be able to move to other European countries.

Among them is Timur, a 27...