Deputies of the Serbian Assembly (Parliament) by a majority vote approved the new composition of the Cabinet, headed by the chairman of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SPP), former Defense Minister Milos Vucevic, who promised to continue the path to the EU, but not to impose sanctions against Russia.
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The Serbian Assembly spent two days considering the composition and program of the future cabinet proposed by the candidate for prime minister. On Wednesday, Vucevic announced to deputies the direction of the government’s work for more than 3.5 hours, after which a debate with the opposition began, during which personal complaints were also voiced.
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“152 voted for, 61 against, there were no abstentions. I state that the Assembly approved the program and elected the government,” Speaker of Parliament Ana Brnabic said on Thursday, broadcast by the press service of the Assembly.
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The elected prime minister previously stated that the “cornerstones” of the work of the new government are military neutrality and political independence of Serbia. Vucevic promised that the Cabinet under his leadership would not humiliate the country by recognizing Kosovo and supporting sanctions against the Russian Federation. He also emphasized that full membership in the EU remains Belgrade’s strategic goal, and noted the importance of cooperation with China and the United States.
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The post of first first deputy prime minister and minister of finance was taken by the current head of the Ministry of Finance, Sinisa Mali. The place of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was taken by the former head of the office for Kosovo and Metohija, in recent years by Ambassador to the United States Marko Djuric, and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic was proposed for the post of Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which he previously held. The Ministry of Defense was headed by Bratislav Gašić, who at different times had already led it and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Until recently, the head of the Security and Information Agency (BIA, intelligence and counterintelligence) of Serbia, Alexander Vulin, became Deputy Prime Minister, despite US sanctions imposed against him in July 2023.
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Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic retained her position in the cabinet proposed by Vucevic, as did Minister of Construction and Infrastructure Goran Vesic. Among the ministers in Russia, Nenad Popovic is well-known; he was previously responsible for innovation and technological development; in November 2023, he was included in the US sanctions list, and now he has become a minister without portfolio. The leader of the previously opposition right-wing patriotic party “Zavetniki” Milica Djurdzhevich-Stamenkovski entered into a coalition with the SPP and took the post of Minister of Family Affairs and Demography.
There are a total of 31 ministers in the new Serbian government.
