Balkans in September 2026: the most important developments in politics
The Balkans in September 2026 were dominated by Serbia's early election, the funeral of Ratko Mladic and the sentencing of Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic dissolved parliament by decree on 9 September and called early parliamentary elections for 25 October, after months of protests. On 14 September he said he would run for prime minister, and he announced his resignation as president at the UN on 24 September; it took effect around 27 September, with Ana Brnabic taking over. He also announced pardons, including for 12 Novi Sad activists and 11 attackers. Serbia's student movement formed an electoral list to contest the vote. Vucic told CNN he wants a fair race and warned of possible unrest, and he said at the UN that he had been through painful meetings with Western leaders. Within the European People's Party, pressure grew to expel Vucic's SNS party.
Mladic's body was returned to Serbia on 3 September, and a funeral was held in Belgrade. The EU, the UK and the European Parliament condemned what they called the glorification of a war criminal, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was horrified. Brussels questioned Serbia's EU path. On 8 September Bosnia withdrew most of its embassy staff from Serbia and expelled two Serbian diplomats. Vladimir Putin met leaders of Republika Srpska, including Milorad Dodik, on 29 September.
On 16 September the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague sentenced Thaci to 25 years in prison for war crimes. The verdict drew angry reactions, with unrest reported in Pristina, and on 29 September Kosovo's Assembly called the ruling on former KLA leaders unacceptable. Vucic criticised the verdict. Kosovo's parliament re-elected Albin Kurti as prime minister on 13 September and chose its first female speaker.
Elsewhere, Montenegro's aim of joining the EU by 2028 faced pressure from Croatia over unresolved bilateral disputes, and at the UN Vucic accused Croatia of a Nazi past while Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic called this a baseless campaign. North Macedonia's government said EU accession should be merit-based and questioned adding Bulgarians to its constitution.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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