Serbia should have prepared earlier for the possibility of sanctions against its largest oil company, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), experts said on “Utisak nedelje.” Economists and political analysts criticized past privatization and the government’s lack of proactive negotiation with both Russia and the United States, warning that Serbia’s dependence on foreign ownership of strategic resources created significant economic risk.
Dejan Šoškić, former governor of the National Bank of Serbia, said the government had months to address potential sanctions but failed to act, demonstrating “obvious incompetence” in mitigating the risk. He stressed that the foreign owner’s influence over NIS and related companies could trigger broader economic impacts, including higher fuel prices and recessionary effects.
Ognjen Radonjić, professor at the University of Belgrade, noted that privatization agreements had placed Serbia in a position of “complete dependence on Russia,” including the sale of domestic oil and gas fields. Radonjić criticized recent legalizations of unregistered buildings, calling them populist and financially motivated, while highlighting safety concerns.
Dušan Nikezić, deputy of the Freedom and Justice Party, argued that the legalization law primarily benefits ruling party investors and does not help ordinary citizens, citing a pattern of corruption in major state projects.
All experts agreed that Serbia’s initial handling of NIS privatization and subsequent negotiations with Russia and the U.S. weakened its strategic position, leaving the country reliant on external decisions and reducing its leverage in international discussions.
