[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10183 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
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 concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize certain actions with respect to Serbia.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting the Rule of law, Building
Institutional Justice, and Accountability Act'' or ``SRBIJA Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``European Union'' means the political and
economic union of that name, including its member states and
institutions;
(2) the term ``NATO'' means the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization; and
(3) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of State.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) Serbia has experienced serious democratic backsliding,
as reflected in the 2024 Country Report on Human Rights and
European Parliament's 2025 report on Serbia, which cited
significant problems with the rule of law, judicial
independence, media freedom, and corruption;
(2) the Government of Serbia, under the leadership of
President Aleksandar Vucic and the ruling coalition, has
responded to sustained student-led and civic protests with
measures that international observers, the European Parliament,
and United Nations experts have characterized as including
excessive use of force, arrests of demonstrators, and pressure
on independent media;
(3) the Government of Serbia has simultaneously pursued a
foreign policy deepening political, economic, and security ties
with the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China,
even as it maintains formal candidate status for European Union
membership;
(4) the United States has an enduring interest in a stable,
democratic, and sovereign Serbia that is committed to regional
peace and security and firmly anchored in Euro-Atlantic
institutions and free from malign external influence;
(5) the collapse of the renovated railway station canopy in
Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, which killed sixteen people, and
which many Serbian citizens attribute to corruption-linked
negligence in state infrastructure contracting, warrants a
full, transparent, and independent accounting;
(6) the Secretary should press the Government of Serbia to
permit independent, credible investigations into the Novi Sad
disaster and into allegations of excessive force against
peaceful protesters, and to hold accountable any officials
found responsible;
(7) Serbia and Iran have deepened technological and
political ties despite extensive United States and
international sanctions on Iran, signing a memorandum of
understanding on information and communications technology and
artificial intelligence cooperation in February 2025 and
holding bilateral political consultations in April 2025; and
(8) in July 2026, the Government of Serbia sent a cabinet
minister to Tehran as President Vucic's personal envoy to the
funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, joining
delegations from Russia and China at a time when most European
governments were not represented.
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to support the aspirations of the citizens of Serbia
for transparent, accountable, and democratic governance and
impress upon the Government of Serbia that deepened United
States engagement depends on credible, verifiable progress
toward democratic accountability and rule of law;
(2) to impose financial and visa sanctions on malign actors
who contribute to the destabilizing situation in the Western
Balkans, including in Serbia under Executive Order 14033 as
well as those in the Western Balkans who support the Russian
Federation's malign actions around the world under Executive
Order 14024; and
(3) to impose sanctions described in section 8335 of the
Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity Act (22 U.S.C. 10704)
for foreign persons who the President determines have--
(A) undertaken actions or policies that threaten
the peace, security, stability, or territorial
integrity of any area or state in the Western Balkans;
(B) engaged or attempted to engage in actions or
policies that undermine democratic processes or
institutions in the Western Balkans;
(C) engaged or attempted to engage in corruption
related to the Western Balkans, including corruption by
or on behalf of, a government in the Western Balkans,
or a current or former government official in the
Western Balkans;
(D) engaged or attempting to engage in serious
human rights abuses in the Western Balkans; or
(E) engaged or attempted to engage in, acts that
obstruct or threaten the implementation of any regional
security, peace, cooperation, or mutual recognition
agreement or framework or accountability mechanism
related to the Western Balkans, including--
(i) the Prespa Agreement of 2018;
(ii) the Ohrid Framework Agreement of 2001;
(iii) United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1244;
(iv) the Dayton Accords;
(v) the Conclusions of the Peace
Implementation Conference Council held in
London in December 1995, including the
decisions or conclusions of the High
Representative, the Peace Implementation
Council, or its Steering Board; and
(vi) the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia, or, with respect to
the former Yugoslavia, the International
Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
SEC. 5. REPORT AND STRATEGY.
(a) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with
the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of
Defense, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees an unclassified report, which may include a
classified annex, examining--
(A) the extent of Russian political, economic,
energy, and security influence in Serbia;
(B) the extent of investment, infrastructure, and
political and security-sector ties between Serbia and
the People's Republic of China, including any
implications for NATO and European Union interests in
the Western Balkans; and
(C) the extent to which Serbia's close economic,
political, and other ties with the Russian Federation
and the People's Republic of China risk United States
interests, including when pursuing bilateral
cooperation in the fields of defense,
telecommunications, and national security.
(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Select
Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on Armed
Services of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of Representatives.
(b) Strategy.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with
the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies,
shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate a detailed strategy that--
(A) outlines specific objectives for bilateral
engagement that reflect the current domestic political
environment in Serbia including an assessment of how
the U.S.-Serbia Strategic Dialogue will further these
objectives;
(B) assesses the tools, resources, and foreign
assistance funding available to support independent
media, civil society, and judicial reform in Serbia;
(C) assesses whether the Government of Serbia has
taken credible steps to investigate the Novi Sad
disaster and allegations of excessive force against
protesters;
(D) assesses the extent to which the Government of
Serbia's foreign and security policy remains aligned,
or has diverged, from that of NATO and the European
Union, including through its ties to Russia and China;
(E) includes bilateral consultations on issues of
corruption, public procurement, and rule of law
including in the context of EXPO 2027; and
(F) includes a path forward for the United States
to support continued progress in the European Union-led
dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo in accordance with
section 8340 of the Western Balkans Democracy and
Prosperity Act (22 U.S.C. 10709).
(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, with a classified annex as
necessary.
SEC. 6. U.S.-SERBIA STRATEGIC DIALOGUE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall cease participation in the
U.S.-Serbia Strategic Dialogue unless the Secretary, at a minimum,
addresses the following issues during any iteration of the U.S.-Serbia
Strategic Dialogue:
(1) Serbia's relations with Russia, China, and Iran.
(2) Ensuring free and fair elections in Serbia.
(3) Anti-corruption, public procurement, and rule of law
reform in Serbia.
(4) Strengthening democratic governance, the freedom of the
press, and freedom of assembly in Serbia.
(b) Certification Required.--Not less than 10 days prior to any
iteration of the U.S.-Serbia Strategic Dialogue, the Secretary shall
submit in writing to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a
certification that the issues described in subsection (a) will be
addressed and a detailed overview of how the Secretary or the
appropriate Department of State representative at the Dialogue plans to
address the issues during that iteration of the Dialogue.
(c) Cessation of Funding.--If the Secretary fails to provide the
certification required by subsection (b), no Department of State
official or employee is authorized to participate in the U.S.-Serbia
Strategic Dialogue or expend any appropriations to that end.
SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE TO SERBIA.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, after the
submission of the certification described in subsection (c), should the
Government of Serbia take steps to reinforce its Euro-Atlantic path,
including a credible and independent accounting of the Novi Sad canopy
collapse and accountability for excessive use of force against peaceful
protesters--
(1) the President should take steps to improve the
bilateral relationship between the United States and Serbia,
including actions to bolster Serbia's democratic institutions
and its resilience to malign foreign influence;
(2) the Secretary, in consultation with other heads of
relevant Federal departments and agencies, should seek to
further enhance people-to-people contacts and academic
exchanges between the United States and Serbia; and
(3) the President, in consultation with the Secretary of
Defense, should maintain, and as appropriate, expand security
and defense cooperation with Serbia consistent with Serbia's
alignment with NATO and European Union security priorities.
(b) In General.--Upon submission to Congress of the certification
described in subsection (c), additional assistance is authorized to be
provided to Serbia.
(c) Certification Described.--The certification described in this
subsection is a certification submitted to Congress by the President
that Serbia has shown significant and sustained progress toward
independent judicial accountability, media freedom, and alignment of
its foreign and security policy with that of the European Union and
NATO.
SEC. 8. SUNSET.
This Act shall cease to have any force or effect beginning on the
date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>