Serbia faces scrutiny over military buildup and Brussels Agreement stance

The President of Serbia’s Constitutional Court, Vladan Petrov, has publicly acknowledged his previous criticisms of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. In an interview with Radio Beograd, Petrov stated that while the agreement was initially debatable from a strict constitutional perspective, he now recognizes its profound importance for the country’s broader constitutional and state interests. He emphasized that the agreement was signed with the European Union rather than Pristina, a distinction he believes is vital for the younger generation to understand.

Concurrently, Croatian leadership has expressed significant concern regarding Serbia’s military expansion. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković described Serbia’s procurement process as an extraordinary “shopping spree” and urged neighboring countries to examine why Belgrade is investing so heavily in weaponry. Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anušić added that Serbia has been intensively arming its military with advanced systems for approximately ten years. Anušić criticized Belgrade’s rhetoric as “aggressive” and “hostile,” noting that reports of Serbian hypersonic missiles with ranges up to 400 kilometers have prompted Zagreb to seek defensive countermeasures to prevent a return to the regional conflicts of the 1990s.