H.R. 10183

I
  119TH CONGRESS
  2D SESSION
  H. R. 10183
  To authorize certain actions with respect to Serbia.
  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  AUGUST 27, 2026
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. KEATING) introduced the
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
  and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
  subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
  cerned
  A BILL
  To authorize certain actions with respect to Serbia.
1Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
  2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3   SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
4This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting the Rule
  5 of law, Building Institutional Justice, and Accountability
  6 Act’’ or ‘‘SRBIJA Act’’.
7   SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
8In this Act—
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1(1) the term ‘‘European Union’’ means the po-
2litical and economic union of that name, including
3its member states and institutions;
4(2) the term ‘‘NATO’’ means the North Atlan-
5tic Treaty Organization; and
6(3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
7of State.
8   SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
9It is the sense of Congress that—
10(1) Serbia has experienced serious democratic
11backsliding, as reflected in the 2024 Country Report
12on Human Rights and European Parliament’s 2025
13report on Serbia, which cited significant problems
14with the rule of law, judicial independence, media
15freedom, and corruption;
16(2) the Government of Serbia, under the leader-
17ship of President Aleksandar Vučić and the ruling
18coalition, has responded to sustained student-led and
19civic protests with measures that international ob-
20servers, the European Parliament, and United Na-
21tions experts have characterized as including exces-
22sive use of force, arrests of demonstrators, and pres-
23sure on independent media;
24(3) the Government of Serbia has simulta-
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25neously pursued a foreign policy deepening political,
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1economic, and security ties with the Russian Federa-
2tion and the People’s Republic of China, even as it
3maintains formal candidate status for European
4Union membership;
5(4) the United States has an enduring interest
6in a stable, democratic, and sovereign Serbia that is
7committed to regional peace and security and firmly
8anchored in Euro-Atlantic institutions and free from
9malign external influence;
10(5) the collapse of the renovated railway station
11canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, which
12killed sixteen people, and which many Serbian citi-
13zens attribute to corruption-linked negligence in
14state infrastructure contracting, warrants a full,
15transparent, and independent accounting;
16(6) the Secretary should press the Government
17of Serbia to permit independent, credible investiga-
18tions into the Novi Sad disaster and into allegations
19of excessive force against peaceful protesters, and to
20hold accountable any officials found responsible;
21(7) Serbia and Iran have deepened technological
22and political ties despite extensive United States and
23international sanctions on Iran, signing a memo-
24randum of understanding on information and com-
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25munications technology and artificial intelligence co-
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1operation in February 2025 and holding bilateral po-
2litical consultations in April 2025; and
3(8) in July 2026, the Government of Serbia
4sent a cabinet minister to Tehran as President
5Vučić’s personal envoy to the funeral of former Ira-
6nian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, joining delega-
7tions from Russia and China at a time when most
8European governments were not represented.
9   SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
10It is the policy of the United States—
11(1) to support the aspirations of the citizens of
12Serbia for transparent, accountable, and democratic
13governance and impress upon the Government of
14Serbia that deepened United States engagement de-
15pends on credible, verifiable progress toward demo-
16cratic accountability and rule of law;
17(2) to impose financial and visa sanctions on
18malign actors who contribute to the destabilizing sit-
19uation in the Western Balkans, including in Serbia
20under Executive Order 14033 as well as those in the
21Western Balkans who support the Russian Federa-
22tion’s malign actions around the world under Execu-
23tive Order 14024; and
24(3) to impose sanctions described in section
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258335 of the Western Balkans Democracy and Pros-
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1perity Act (22 U.S.C. 10704) for foreign persons
2who the President determines have—
3(A) undertaken actions or policies that
4threaten the peace, security, stability, or terri-
5torial integrity of any area or state in the West-
6ern Balkans;
7(B) engaged or attempted to engage in ac-
8tions or policies that undermine democratic
9processes or institutions in the Western Bal-
10kans;
11(C) engaged or attempted to engage in cor-
12ruption related to the Western Balkans, includ-
13ing corruption by or on behalf of, a government
14in the Western Balkans, or a current or former
15government official in the Western Balkans;
16(D) engaged or attempting to engage in se-
17rious human rights abuses in the Western Bal-
18kans; or
19(E) engaged or attempted to engage in,
20acts that obstruct or threaten the implementa-
21tion of any regional security, peace, coopera-
22tion, or mutual recognition agreement or frame-
23work or accountability mechanism related to the
24Western Balkans, including—
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25(i) the Prespa Agreement of 2018;
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1(ii) the Ohrid Framework Agreement
2of 2001;
3(iii) United Nations Security Council
4Resolution 1244;
5(iv) the Dayton Accords;
6(v) the Conclusions of the Peace Im-
7plementation Conference Council held in
8London in December 1995, including the
9decisions or conclusions of the High Rep-
10resentative,  the     Peace  Implementation
11Council, or its Steering Board; and
12(vi) the International Criminal Tri-
13bunal for the former Yugoslavia, or, with
14respect to the former Yugoslavia, the
15International  Residual  Mechanism        for
16Criminal Tribunals.
17    SEC. 5. REPORT AND STRATEGY.
18(a) REPORT.—
19(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
20after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
21retary, in coordination with the Director of National
22Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense, shall sub-
23mit to the appropriate congressional committees an
24unclassified report, which may include a classified
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25annex, examining—
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1(A) the extent of Russian political, eco-
2nomic, energy, and security influence in Serbia;
3(B) the extent of investment, infrastruc-
4ture, and political and security-sector ties be-
5tween Serbia and the People’s Republic of
6China, including any implications for NATO
7and European Union interests in the Western
8Balkans; and
9(C) the extent to which Serbia’s close eco-
10nomic, political, and other ties with the Russian
11Federation and the People’s Republic of China
12risk United States interests, including when
13pursuing bilateral cooperation in the fields of
14defense, telecommunications, and national secu-
15rity.
16(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term
17‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means—
18(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations,
19the Select Committee on Intelligence, and the
20Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
21and
22(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the
23Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,
24and the Committee on Armed Services of the
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25House of Representatives.
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1(b) STRATEGY.—
2(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after
3the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary,
4in coordination with the heads of other relevant Fed-
5eral departments and agencies, shall submit to the
6Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
7resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela-
8tions of the Senate a detailed strategy that—
9(A) outlines specific objectives for bilateral
10engagement that reflect the current domestic
11political environment in Serbia including an as-
12sessment of how the U.S.-Serbia Strategic Dia-
13logue will further these objectives;
14(B) assesses the tools, resources, and for-
15eign assistance funding available to support
16independent media, civil society, and judicial re-
17form in Serbia;
18(C) assesses whether the Government of
19Serbia has taken credible steps to investigate
20the Novi Sad disaster and allegations of exces-
21sive force against protesters;
22(D) assesses the extent to which the Gov-
23ernment of Serbia’s foreign and security policy
24remains aligned, or has diverged, from that of
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1NATO and the European Union, including
2through its ties to Russia and China;
3(E) includes bilateral consultations on
4issues of corruption, public procurement, and
5rule of law including in the context of EXPO
62027; and
7(F) includes a path forward for the United
8States to support continued progress in the Eu-
9ropean Union-led dialogue between Serbia and
10Kosovo in accordance with section 8340 of the
11Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity
12Act (22 U.S.C. 10709).
13(2) FORM.—The report required by paragraph
14(1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, with a
15classified annex as necessary.
16    SEC. 6. U.S.-SERBIA STRATEGIC DIALOGUE.
17(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall cease partici-
  18 pation in the U.S.-Serbia Strategic Dialogue unless the
  19 Secretary, at a minimum, addresses the following issues
  20 during any iteration of the U.S.-Serbia Strategic Dia-
  21 logue:
22(1) Serbia’s relations with Russia, China, and
23Iran.
24(2) Ensuring free and fair elections in Serbia.
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1(3) Anti-corruption, public procurement, and
2rule of law reform in Serbia.
3(4) Strengthening democratic governance, the
4freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly in
5Serbia.
6(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Not less than 10
  7 days prior to any iteration of the U.S.-Serbia Strategic
  8 Dialogue, the Secretary shall submit in writing to the
  9 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa-
  10 tives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen-
  11 ate a certification that the issues described in subsection
  12 (a) will be addressed and a detailed overview of how the
  13 Secretary or the appropriate Department of State rep-
  14 resentative at the Dialogue plans to address the issues
  15 during that iteration of the Dialogue.
16(c) CESSATION OF FUNDING.—If the Secretary fails
  17 to provide the certification required by subsection (b), no
  18 Department of State official or employee is authorized to
  19 participate in the U.S.-Serbia Strategic Dialogue or ex-
  20 pend any appropriations to that end.
21    SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE TO SERBIA.
22(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
  23 gress that, after the submission of the certification de-
  24 scribed in subsection (c), should the Government of Serbia
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  25 take steps to reinforce its Euro-Atlantic path, including
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  1 a credible and independent accounting of the Novi Sad
  2 canopy collapse and accountability for excessive use of
  3 force against peaceful protesters—
4(1) the President should take steps to improve
5the bilateral relationship between the United States
6and Serbia, including actions to bolster Serbia’s
7democratic institutions and its resilience to malign
8foreign influence;
9(2) the Secretary, in consultation with other
10heads of relevant Federal departments and agencies,
11should seek to further enhance people-to-people con-
12tacts and academic exchanges between the United
13States and Serbia; and
14(3) the President, in consultation with the Sec-
15retary of Defense, should maintain, and as appro-
16priate, expand security and defense cooperation with
17Serbia consistent with Serbia’s alignment with
18NATO and European Union security priorities.
19(b) IN GENERAL.—Upon submission to Congress of
  20 the certification described in subsection (c), additional as-
  21 sistance is authorized to be provided to Serbia.
22(c) CERTIFICATION DESCRIBED.—The certification
  23 described in this subsection is a certification submitted to
  24 Congress by the President that Serbia has shown signifi-
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  25 cant and sustained progress toward independent judicial
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  1 accountability, media freedom, and alignment of its for-
  2 eign and security policy with that of the European Union
  3 and NATO.
4   SEC. 8. SUNSET.
5This Act shall cease to have any force or effect begin-
  6 ning on the date that is five years after the date of the
  7 enactment of this Act.
  Æ
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