The European Commission has expressed concern over Serbia's granting of citizenship to Russian citizens. According to the institution, the growing number of Russian citizens who, by obtaining Serbian citizenship, can enter the European Union countries without visas poses a potential security challenge for the entire bloc.
According to the European Commission spokesperson, this issue is regularly mentioned in the institution's reports.
"Last year's report also specifically emphasized that the acquisition of the right to visa-free travel to the EU by Russian citizens, through the granting of Serbian citizenship, poses potential threats to the security of the European Union," said Guillaume Mercier, spokesman for the European Commission, RTK writes.
For European Union countries, this poses a problem, as among the people who receive Serbian citizenship there may also be Russian citizens who are subject to European sanctions or who are considered a threat to the security of the continent.
Serbia is one of the countries with the largest concentration of Russian citizens, especially since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. According to official data, last year around 50,000 Russian citizens had temporary residence in Serbia.
European officials confirm that they are pushing forward the dialogue with Serbia on this issue, which they consider of particular importance.
