to the Office, the amendments risk paralysing proceedings in the most complex and sensitive cases. For several months, the Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime has been the target of an aggressive campaign by pro-government tabloids and sharp criticism from ruling party officials, who have accused it of being“detached from the people” and under the influence of“foreign centres of power.” The backdrop to these attacks are ongoing investigations involving three ministers from the ruling party in connection with cases linked to the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad and the General Staff building. Another controversial provision concerns the reorganisation of the Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime, which under the new rules becomes a special department within the Higher Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. Some legal experts have warned that this restructuring could increase executive influence over the prosecution of online offences and lead to a rise in proceedings related to social media posts. Furthermore, the amendments require the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office responsible for international legal cooperation to obtain prior consent from the Ministry of Justice, a measure critics describe as an additional constraint and a potential narrowing of prosecutorial autonomy. Both the High Prosecutorial Council and the High Judicial Council publicly called for the withdrawal of the legislation. The European Union also reacted immediately after adoption, with Brussels describing the laws as a serious setback in the field of rule of law and urging Serbia to suspend their implementation pending an opinion from the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. European Parliament mission to Serbia, establishment of a new EU accession operational team Between 22 and 24 January, a delegation of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs(AFET) paid a visit to Serbia. The nine-member delegation met with selected representatives of the authorities—senior state officials declined to attend—as well as with opposition representatives, media, civil society organisations, members of the academic community and students. Discussions focused on issues highlighted in two European Parliament resolutions adopted last year on Serbia, including the state of democracy, media freedom, electoral conditions and the repression of protesters. Opposition representatives called for targeted sanctions against individuals in government whom they allege are implicated in violence and corruption. MEP Marta Temido, head of the delegation, stated that members of the European Parliament had received “worrying reports” concerning repression. During the visit to Novi Sad, delegation member MEP Vladimir Prebilič laid flowers at the railway station before meeting students, activists and university representatives, including Professor Jelena Kleut. According to Prebilič, the delegation received from the Rector of the University of Belgrade a concise overview of the financial, political and social pressures faced by the academic community, which he indicated would be reflected in a report to the European Parliament. Members of the EP mission in the Serbian parliament; Photo: FoNet The visit was also marked by controversies. In the lobby of the National Assembly, the delegation was greeted by an exhibition titled“Jasenovac – A Lasting Warning.” Exhibition was assessed as instrumentalising the memory of one of the gravest crimes against Serbs for day-to-day political purposes, given the Croatian ethnic background of delegation member Tonino Picula, who was specifically targeted by pro-government media outlets. Pro-government media claimed that the MEPs had sought to avoid the exhibition; the delegation denied these allegations and visited it. At the same time, Speaker of Parliament Ana Brnabić accused the mission of conducting a“political mission in support of the blockaders,” referring to the months-long student protests. Pro-government outlets mounted a sustained media campaign against the delegation. In its report following the visit to Serbia, European Parliament delegation noted a deeply polarised political landscape and called on authorities to ensure prompt, transparent and impartial investigations into allegations of unnecessary and excessive use of force, as well as unlawful 3