National Assembly President Zoran Stevanović (left) and his Serbian counterpart Ana Brnabić address the press in Belgrade. Photo: Tanjug/STA
Zoran Stevanović, president of the Slovenian National Assembly, has picked Serbia for his first official bilateral trip abroad since taking office in April. Slovenia's continued support on Serbia's path to the EU dominated the agenda, but media interest focused on what was officially not discussed.
The 16-18 June visit attracted significant media attention in both countries, also because in early June Serbia's Minister for Human and Minority Rights Demo Beriša said Belgrade and Ljubljana were entering preliminary discussions to formally recognise the Serbian community as a minority.
The statement immediately fuelled speculation, also because back in November 2025, before his populist Truth party entered parliament, Stevanović told a Serbian news portal that he would support granting Serbs minority status.
However, the issue was not discussed during the visit. Stevanović repeatied the position he made in the run-up to his trip: that the Slovenian Constitution, which recognises only the Hungarian and Italian ethnic minorities, was "sacred" to his party.
On the eve of his visit, Slovenia's parliament passed amendments that strip non-EU nationals with permanent residence status in the country of the right to vote in local elections. Most of these residents come from the region of the former Yugoslavia, including Serbia.
Stevanović's counterpart Ana Brnabić would not comment on the matter, while Stevanović said some local communities in Slovenia "have problems with such massive immigration they can no longer absorb it", adding that some local governments were "facilitating and encouraging that".
Efforts to enhance bilateral ties further
The visit, during which Stevanović met Serbia's most senior officials, including President Aleksandar Vučić, passed off in amicable atmosphere with both sides praising bilateral relations and talking up expanding cooperation further in various fields, including business.
The two countries posted €2.7 billion in bilateral merchandise trade last year and Slovenian companies in Serbia employ 11,000 people.
"We want this relationship to continue and that our farmers and our businesses continue to be satisfied with the business environment in Serbia," said Stevanović. His visit was to serve as impetus for further improvement in the relationship.
He assured Serbian officials that Slovenia would continue to staunchly support Serbia on its path to the EU. Brnabić thanked Slovenia for its support, asking to be "even louder and more active" in these efforts. Both Brnabić and Foreign Minister Marko Đurić also noted Slovenia's important role the region.
Invitation to Expo show in Belgrade
In a post on social networks, Vučić said he and Stevanović had "a good discussion" on how to further enhance the relationship between the countries, on topical regional and European issues and ways to improve parliamentary cooperation. He also invited Slovenia to take part in the Expo 2027 who in Belgrade.
"I thanked Slovenia for its support on Serbia's European path and noted that it is particularly important for our country to continue the policy that promotes cooperation, connectivity and maintaining stability in the region," Vučić wrote.
According to the Slovenian parliament, the Serbian president told Stevanović that Serbia's foreign and security policy should be gradually harmonised with those of the EU and that Serbia's role in the European security architecture should be strengthened.
Commenting for N1 Serbia news portal, Zijad Bećirović, director of the IFIMES Institute, said Stevanović's visit could be understood as a stopover ahead of his visit to Moscow, which the Slovenian National Assembly president announced he would make soon after assuming office.
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