Aleksandar Mastilović from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Digital Transformation explained to RTS that Serbia’s upcoming Artificial Intelligence law, expected by late 2024 or early 2025, will largely follow the EU’s AI Act to ensure smooth alignment with the EU digital market regulations. Despite Serbia not being an EU member, the EU AI rules already apply to Serbian companies operating within the EU digital space.
The main challenges include deciding which state body will oversee AI regulation nationally and ensuring sufficient professional capacity for supervision. Additionally, Serbia must harmonize AI legislation with existing laws such as personal data protection, copyright, and labor law.
Mastilović emphasized that compliance with EU regulations is crucial for Serbian companies to access the EU single digital market, considered vital for the country’s economic interests. He noted that court cases have already emerged where AI use has led to legal violations, particularly concerning labor law and employee surveillance.
On the global stage, while the EU is implementing strict AI regulations, the US is currently more deregulated and fragmented in its approach, creating uncertainty for companies. Mastilović believes that Serbian companies will find US regulatory conditions more challenging than the EU framework, which is clearer despite its strictness.
Regarding China’s call for a global AI cooperation organization, Mastilović highlighted that Serbia currently chairs the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence—a multilateral initiative led by France and Canada including about forty countries.
Overall, Serbia aims to balance its EU accession commitments with global AI developments, positioning its companies to compete effectively amid differing international regulatory environments.
