Foreign investments in the Serbian economy in the first half of 2025 amounted to 1.5 billion euros, which is 40% less than in the same period last year, when they reached 2.6 billion.
"This is mainly the result of global uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, tariffs and everything else," says Branimir Jovanovic, an associate at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies.
Although government representatives blame the protests in Serbia for the worsening economic situation, according to Jovanovic, "it is now clear to everyone that external factors are the main reason."
The drop in foreign investment is not a consequence of the domestic political crisis.The protests do not threaten foreign companies, and foreign investors are not afraid that the demonstrators will nationalize their factories."Foreign investment is declining across the region simply because companies don't know what's going to happen with tariffs and whether a trade war is going to start," Jovanovic said.According to him, Serbia is, in a sense, paying the price for an economic model that in recent years has been too heavily dependent on attracting foreign investment.
Source: Serbian Monitor
