AI Regulation Tracker / National strategy
Serbia's 2025 to 2030 AI strategy routes coordination to a council created a year earlier, with no binding AI law behind it
Serbia published its Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy for 2025 to 2030 in the Official Gazette on 17 January 2025. It is a planning document adopted under the national planning system law, and it establishes an AI Council rather than a regulator.
What the Official Gazette published
The strategy appears in Službeni glasnik RS No. 5/2025, dated 17 January 2025. That is the formal act of publication, and it is the date to cite. Coverage that dates the strategy to its government adoption a week earlier is describing a different step in the same process.
It succeeds Serbia's earlier national AI strategy, extending the planning horizon to 2030.
Why the planning-law basis matters
The strategy states its own legal footing in its opening line: it is adopted under Article 38(1) of the Law on the Planning System of the Republic of Serbia, published in Službeni glasnik RS No. 30/18. In the Serbian system a strategy adopted on that basis is a planning document. It sets goals, measures and responsible bodies, and it drives budgeting and action plans.
It does not create rights or duties for private parties. That distinction gets lost in translation frequently, and it is the difference between a compliance obligation and a policy signal.
The AI Council, and what a council is not
The Council for Artificial Intelligence is not a creation of this strategy. The strategy records that it was established during 2024 by a decision of the Government, tasked with aligning and coordinating activity under the strategic framework for AI development and monitoring delivery of planned measures. A council of this kind coordinates and advises. It is not a market surveillance authority, it has no investigatory powers of the sort the EU AI Act confers, and it does not issue penalties.
If you are mapping who could open a file on your AI system in Serbia, the answer is not the AI Council. It is the data protection authority, acting under Serbia's data protection law, and any relevant sectoral regulator.
Serbia's position outside the EU AI Act
Serbia is an EU candidate country with a Stabilisation and Association Agreement, not a member state. Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 does not apply in Serbia of its own force. Serbian alignment with the AI Act would come through the accession process and future domestic legislation, neither of which has produced a binding Serbian AI statute.
The practical consequence for a US firm is asymmetry. If you serve Serbian users from an EU entity, the AI Act reaches your activity through the EU side. If you operate purely in Serbia, it does not.
Western Balkans and neighbouring comparison
The regional picture is uneven, and the dividing line is EU membership rather than ambition.
| Country | EU status | Binding AI instrument | Body created |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | Candidate, SAA in force | None. Strategy only | Council for AI (est. 2024, advisory) |
| Slovenia | EU member | National AI law in force since Nov 2025 | Agency for Communication Networks and Services as single point of contact |
| Croatia | EU member | No national implementing law yet | Central State Office coordinating |
| Bulgaria | EU member | No national implementing law yet | Ministry of Electronic Governance coordinating |
What a US firm operating in Serbia should actually track
Two things, and neither of them is the strategy. The first is Serbia's data protection regime, which applies to AI processing today and is enforced by a real authority with real powers. The second is the accession calendar, because that is the mechanism through which AI Act-style obligations would eventually arrive in Serbian law.
The strategy is still worth reading for one reason: it tells you what the Serbian state intends to build and fund, which is a reasonable leading indicator of where a future binding instrument lands. Treat it as a forecast of the regime, not the regime.
What the strategy does not create
No obligations for AI providers or deployers. No registration, conformity assessment or penalty regime. No regulator with enforcement powers. No implementation of the EU AI Act. It does not create the AI Council either, which came a year earlier. It is a national plan, and it should be cited as such.
Frequently asked questions
Does the EU AI Act apply in Serbia?
Not of its own force. Serbia is an EU candidate country, not a member state, so Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 does not apply directly. It can still reach Serbian activity indirectly where an EU-established entity is involved.
Is Serbia's AI strategy binding on companies?
No. It is a planning document adopted under Article 38(1) of the Law on the Planning System. It sets objectives and measures for the state, not duties for private parties.
What is the AI Council?
A body established by a decision of the Government during 2024, before this strategy, to align and coordinate activity on the AI strategic framework and monitor delivery. It is not a market surveillance authority and it does not carry enforcement or penalty powers.
What regulates AI systems in Serbia today?
General law rather than AI-specific law, principally Serbia's data protection regime and any applicable sectoral rules.
Last verified: July 27, 2026