In November 2024, the first round of presidential elections ended with far-right Calin Georgescu taking the lead, and a subsequent scandal after the press revealed his ties with fascist and ultranationalist Romanian groups. The election was annulled in December and the second round was cancelled due to alleged Russian interference on behalf of Georgescu. Georgescu ran on a campaign promoting Euroscepticism, wishing to stop Romania’s support for Ukraine and pull the country out of NATO. He also has ties to Romanian fascist organisations like the Iron Guard and has been accused of copying fascist speeches. In 2020, he said that “the legionary movement (the Iron Guard) was the most powerful expression of health and goodwill that has come from the Romanian people”.

The elections have been rescheduled for May 2025. Candidates have to apply until March 15 at the latest.

Augustin Zegrean, former president of the constitutional court, has said that, as of right now, Calin Georgescu cannot be prohibited from running again. The law says that the right to run for president ceases at the moment of a final conviction.

Over 40 other people associated with Calin Georgescu were searched on Wednesday. Horațiu Potra, a man Georgescu was photographed with on several occasions, was also searched. Police found almost a million dollars in cash hidden in a safe under his floor. They also confiscated a large number of illegal weapons, including grenades. Potra has fought for The French Foreign Legion, a subdivision of the French Army that was created in order to allow foreign nationals into French service, and has been one of over 20 mercenaries that have been protecting Calin Georgescu since the election. Investigators believe he also has ties with the Wagner Group, a Russian state-funded private military company that has been accused of killing and torturing civilians in Ukraine. The UK now considers them a terrorist group.

Georgescu was welcomed by hundreds of supporters outside the prosecutors’ office, including two other far-right party leaders. As he left the Prosecutors’ office, he was spotted doing what experts are claiming is a Nazi salute, akin to the one Elon Musk was alleged of doing last month. Musk has shown his support for Georgescu with a recent post on X, citing “They just arrested the person who won the most votes in the Romanian presidential election. This is messed up”. Calin Georgescu has not yet been arrested, he is just being questioned.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the conference.

Donald Trump and NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded partly to stop Soviet expansion into Europe and to forbid “the revival of nationalist militarism”. The main agreement of the treaty is that if one country is attacked, the rest will defend it. Although still in NATO, Donald Trump’s demands threaten the organisation. He has suggested the European members of NATO should increase their national spending on defence and that he will cut US funding. NATO now mandates that countries contribute 2% of their GDP, a number expected to increase to 3% to accommodate for new spending. 

Funding for Ukraine

The new US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, made several statements about the United States’ involvement in the Ukraine war. This is clear signaling of the new Trump administration’s stance on the war, with Hegseth saying that it is “unrealistic” for Ukraine to expect to return to its pre-2014 borders and that Europe should be the one to provide the majority of funding to support Ukraine.

Negotiations to end the war in Ukraine will begin this week in Saudi Arabia, even though no European states or Ukraine were invited to take part in the talks. President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated on numerous occasions that he will not accept a deal made in his absence.

JD Vance’s speech

The US Vice-President’s speech turned out to be an attack on the EU and UK’s policies and democracies, garnering backlash from many European leaders. He echoed Trump’s claims by saying Europe has to “step up in a big way to provide for its own defence”. He also spent a long time attacking Europe’s leaders by saying they have departed from their “fundamental values” and that they are ignoring citizens’ concerns about immigration and free speech. He also brought up Romania’s recent presidential elections, which were annulled due to alleged Russian interference. He claimed that “If your democracy can be destroyed with a few $100,000 of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with”. 

The future of European security

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated last week that “our message is so stark to our European allies — now is the time to invest because you can’t make an assumption that America’s presence will last forever”. Europe might now face a future where spending on defence will have to rise substantially and not rely on the United States’ protection. Donald Trump’s position might weaken Europe’s security, driving countries to a position where they have to pick between his side and the European one. This and US trade tariffs are putting countries like the UK in a difficult position, with UK prime minister Keir Starmer saying that the UK is “not choosing between the US and the EU”.

In the future, a European Union army might be constructed, with immense defense spending to come, projected at anywhere between 5 to 11%. Further talks might be held by the European Commission this week in this regard. The French foreign minister stated that “We will have to face difficult days, make complicated decisions and even sacrifices which we weren’t expecting until now to ensure this security”. EU Enlargement Commissioner, Marta Kos, mentioned a possible rapid accession of Albania and Montenegro to the European Union, in an effort to include the Western Balkans and Moldova in the security talks. 

In his closing speech, the chairman of the Munich Security Conference brought up JD Vance’s speech, saying that “we have to fear that our common value base is not that common anymore”.

Early on 1 November 2024, 15 people were killed in an accident at a train station in the northern Serbian city Novi Sad. The recently renovated roof of the train station collapsed that morning, inciting protests across Serbia that blame the Government and its corruption for the tragedy.

Renovation work on the station began in 2021, as part of a Chinese-led programme to upgrade Serbia’s railways. The Novi Sad station is part of the 1,032-kilometer proposed railway link between Budapest and Athens, built with the help of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Protests

Nation-wide protests began soon after the tragedy, with hundreds of thousands of students striking and many Universities and high schools closing. The protests only amplified after a woman was severely injured at a protest on 16 January. The 20-year-old student was attending one of the rallies in Belgrade when a car plowed through the crowd, hitting her, then speeding away. The driver was later found by police and is now under arrest for attempted murder. On 27 January, farmers joined the protests and blocked a major traffic intersection in Belgrade with the help of tractors.

The Construction Minister, Goran Vesić, handed in his resignation in November, with 13 people  being charged over the disaster, including him. “Goran Vesić is one of the people most responsible for massive corruption in construction, for the policy of secret contracts with investors, and this is now leaving behind human victims,” said Radomir Lazović, co-chief of the opposition party Green-Left Front, after the accident.

The strike

Students have now called for a general strike starting on 24 January. Sources cite over 5,000 academic staff have joined the student-led initiative, with many small businesses, stores, restaurants, cultural centers, and even cinemas closing for the day. As the Serbian Nova news reported, “several media outlets, cultural institutions, state service unions, and city governments have joined the call, as have some categories, including doctors, lawyers, and farmers. Some opposition parties also announced protests and blockades”.

Protesters are demanding the resignation of the prime minister, Miloš Vučević, and the mayor of Novi Sad. In addition, they are asking that the cases against protesters who were arrested during anti-government demonstrations in November be dropped, as well as for the publication of the documents relating to the Novi Sad renovation, and for criminal charges to be raised against people responsible for violence against protesters.

President Vučić has accused the protesters of being ‘foreign agents’ and some activists have reported being questioned by Serbia’s national security and intelligence agency in relation to the protests.  

Corruption

According to a Corruption Assessment Report on Serbia from 2023, “the results suggest that corruption in Serbia is widely perceived as a significant issue that extends beyond institutional levels to impact different structures of society. According to 42.2% of citizens, corruption will always exist in Serbia, but it can be limited to a degree”. However, “more than 50% of citizens believe that corruption will always exist in Serbia”.

The government

The current leading party, the Serbian Progressive Party, has been in power since 2012. These have been the largest manifestations since they took control of the country. They have faced numerous scandals, including allegations of election fraud in 2023, links to organised crime, and several incidents like the 2016 demolition incident and the Novi Sad tragedy. 

In June 2023, The New York Times Magazine published an article alleging president Aleksandar Vučić’s ties to a criminal gang and their supposed Russian connections. The leader of the gang, Veljko Belivuk, alleged that they had performed many tasks for the government, including intimidating political opponents, and that he had personally met the president.

Serbia’s last elections took place in December 2023. These elections were contested by the opposition as fraud and caused national turmoil. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights’ report on the early parliamentary elections cites several issues that could have been improved, “including those related to ensuring a level playing field, measures to prevent misuse of public office and state resources, separation between the official functions and campaign activities, and effective mechanisms to prevent intimidation and pressure on voters, including vote buying”. In Belgrade, pro-Russian Aleksandar Šapić won the mayoral election, prompting weeks-long protests and local re-elections.

All things considered, Serbs still support their president. Different sources claim this is due to economic changes like increased wages and lowered unemployment rates. The article cites that “Many Serbs are aware that Vučić controls the media and intimidates the opposition, sometimes by broadcasting their private sex tapes on daytime TV. But many also overlook these flaws, either because they think he is delivering for the majority, or because they view the alternative as even worse”.

In light of the protests, the President has suggested an “advisory referendum” on his presidency, however the opposition rejected this idea, pushing for the establishment of a transitional government and new elections.

The EU and the future of Serbia

Serbia applied for EU membership in 2012, though several issues have stalled the process of adherence. The main issue is Serbia’s refusal to accept Kosovo’s independence and the country’s close ties to Russia. “Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russia violates the United Nations statute and international law on which the European Union is founded, and aligning with Russia is not compatible with the principles of the EU and contrary to what EU membership requires,” says spokesman for the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. 

The current situation is driving a further rift between Brussels and Belgrade, with the European Commission spokesman for Enlargement, Guillaume Mercier, stating on Friday that “freedom of assembly is a fundamental right of the EU, which must be protected and exercised peacefully and with full respect for the rule of law and public order”.

These orders represent some of his policy priorities, which his campaign relied on. They will be implemented as law, though some may face legal challenges.

Here is a rundown of the most important changes he has made so far.

Immigration

Birth-right Citizenship

Among the several immigration-focused orders, this was the most controversial. It aims to deny the right to citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants, starting 30 days from the day it was signed. The 14th Amendment of the US constitution has been protecting this right, making Trump’s order challenging to implement.

National emergency at southern border

Trump signed a directive declaring a state of emergency at the southern border, aiming to implement stricter immigration policies as well as to resume building physical barriers along the US-Mexico border.

Deportation

Trump issued a directive that ends the “catch and release” policy, which used to allow immigrants awaiting their hearings to live temporarily in the US.

Terrorism

Another directive was signed in order to now classify drug cartels as terrorist groups. Migrant gangs like the Salvadoran MS-13 and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua will be added to the list of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, which lists groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda. 

Gender and diversity

Gender

An order issued declares that the US will only recognise two sexes: male and female. This order will affect policies protecting transgender individuals as it addresses the idea of gender ideology, stating that “Gender ideology replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity, permitting the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and requiring all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true”. Through this, protections for transgender people serving time in federal prisons are removed.

DEI

Through this directive, Trump aims to stop “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) programmes, which includes federal grants and federal contracts.

Re-namings

One of Trump’s first orders aims to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” and to rename Alaska’s Mount Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, to Mount McKinley. This reverses President Obama’s directive that changed the name from McKinley to Denali in accordance with the name native tribes had given it.

Pardons for January 6 Capitol attackers

Trump granted clemency to nearly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the January 6th 2021 attack on the Capitol. He also commuted the sentences of 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militia, two seditionist far-right groups.

Leaving the World Health Organisation

Trump signed a directive that initiates the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO). He accused the WHO of mishandling the Covid-19 pandemic and claimed that “World Health ripped us off”. The US is one of the biggest financial backers of the organisation,  contributing around 18% of its overall funding.

TikTok ban

The president ordered a directive delaying the federal TikTok ban by 75 days, saying “I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have originally”.  This comes after he issued an executive order in 2020 to bar app stores from making TikTok available to download in order to push for American ownership of the company.

Government

Federal workforce

This directive reclassifies thousands of federal workers as political hires, stripping them of their civil service protection. He also ended remote work policies for federal workers and froze federal hiring with the exception of  “military personnel of the armed forces or to positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety”.

Department of Government Efficiency 

Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency was signed in through an executive order and aims to improve governmental spending.

Censorship

Trump also signed a directive that orders “the restoration of freedom of speech and preventing government censorship”.

Climate and the Environment

Paris Agreement

Trump signed an order to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, a treaty aiming to manage and mitigate the climate crisis. He also pulled out of the agreement in 2017, but the change was not finalised until 2020 due to United Nations regulations. In 2021, Biden re-entered the agreement. This time, the withdrawal could only take a year.

Green New Deal

Another executive order aims to end Biden’s Green New Deal, a series of measures that would regulate the fossil fuel industry and limit pollution.

Electric vehicle targets

Trump also signed a directive that revoked an order signed by President Biden that aimed to make half of all vehicles sold by 2030 electric. He stated that “The United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity”.

National Energy Emergency

Trump declared a state of national energy emergency in an effort to boost US energy and fossil fuel infrastructure and production.

Another directive called “Unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential” will open up the Alaskan wilderness to more oil and gas drilling.

Economy

Tariffs

Although not yet signed, Trump promised to bring a directive that imposes 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting 1 Feb.

Inflation

Trump signed a federal directive aiming to address the cost of living crisis. Through this, he hopes to lower the cost of housing, groceries and fuel, though the directive did not outline a plan for these changes.