Belgrade — The European Commission says Serbia plans major growth-enhancing investments centrally and in a fragmented, opportunistic way, and calls for a unified framework to coordinate and rank public-investment projects. The assessment appears in its Serbia 2026 Report, dated 4 November 2026.
Serbia’s public-investment model is increasingly shaped by large national projects, while the wider system for selecting and coordinating regional investment remains fragmented. The report says decisions on regional development and major investments are made without a sufficiently coherent, systemic and partner-inclusive approach.
Responsibilities for regional planning are spread across ministries, and local development agencies are not fully integrated into policy design. The Commission warns that this creates a risk of mistaking construction activity for a development strategy.
A motorway, exhibition complex or rail line can support growth during construction, but longer-term value depends on complementary industrial sites, local suppliers, utilities, housing, skills and private investment. Delivering those elements requires coordination across levels of government.
For the next phase of public investment, the report calls for a single planning framework to rank projects by economic return, readiness and regional impact. The Commission’s assessment is that Serbia does not lack ambition or capital, but needs a more coherent system to turn both into durable productivity gains.
