Serbia’s government is talking about a law for same-sex couples again. If you’re a couple in Belgrade, Niš or Novi Sad, you’ve probably learned to wait for the fine print.

Here it is.

What the minister said

On September 6, Serbia’s Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, Demo Beriša, said the Law on Same-Sex Unions is “only in the preparatory phase.” It “will not manage to enter the legislative part this year,” he said, “but it will certainly reach the spring part,” Radio 021 reported.

He admitted that “our society is slightly sensitive” on the subject, but said Serbia is mature enough to talk about it, and promised that “an open table on the topic of same-sex marriages will soon be organized.”

Two days later, Niške novine added some useful detail:

  • The announcement followed meetings with the Council of Europe on the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
  • Beriša named inheritance between same-sex partners as one of the problems a law needs to solve, since current rules don’t cover it.
  • He said LGBTQ+ people should not be pushed to the margins of the legal system because of who they are.
  • No date was given for the roundtable. We couldn’t find one announced since.

Then the calendar changed

On September 9, President Aleksandar Vučić called snap parliamentary elections for October 25, Balkan Insight reported. He cited more than 18 months of “turbulence,” a reference to the student-led protests that began after the November 2024 Novi Sad railway station collapse that killed 16 people.

That matters for the union law in a very practical way. “Spring” now means spring under a new parliament and possibly a new government. Promises made by ministers before an election don’t automatically carry over to the next cabinet.

Why couples have heard this before

This isn’t Serbia’s first draft. Far from it.

  • February 2021: A draft Law on Same-Sex Unions was published. Nothing followed, Balkan Insight noted.
  • May 2021: Vučić told the daily Blic he would not sign such a law, citing the constitution’s definition of marriage.
  • August 2023: He went further: “While I am President, I will not sign any law or anything where it will be possible to have a third gender that is not male or female.” He also said he had asked then-prime minister Ana Brnabić not to advance same-sex marriage legislation: “I am the one who didn’t allow it.” Belgrade Pride responded that “the President has no right to divide and discriminate against citizens based on his personal opinion.”
  • April 2026: At a Family Law roundtable in Niš, minister Jelena Žarić Kovačević said draft amendments to family law do not provide for same-sex marriage. Serbian LGBTQ+ organisation Da se zna! called the position discriminatory, in a statement that ended: “Human rights are not a matter of political will – they are an obligation.”

Note what’s actually on the table now: a union law, not marriage. Serbia’s constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman, which is why every serious proposal so far has been a separate partnership framework.

What’s at stake for couples

Right now, same-sex couples in Serbia have no legal recognition at all, as we laid out in our state-of-rights explainer. No inheritance rights, no automatic say in a partner’s medical care, no next-of-kin status, however long you’ve been together.

That gap costs Serbia in European rankings too. ILGA-Europe’s 2026 Rainbow Map dropped Serbia two places to 29th, with 34%, citing the missing partnership law among other problems. Da se zna! points out that Serbia has been bound by Council of Europe requirements on recognising same-sex couples since 2015.

And the neighbours are moving. Montenegro has had same-sex life partnerships since 2021, and its government has now sent parliament a package covering partners’ citizenship and residence. Just last week, the Council of Europe adopted its first-ever LGBTI equality strategy, to be launched in January under Montenegro’s presidency of its Committee of Ministers.

The honest read

There’s real reason for caution: a published draft in 2021, a presidential veto threat, a minister ruling out marriage in April, and now an election that resets the government.

But there’s also something new. A sitting human rights minister is publicly naming concrete problems like inheritance, tying the law to Council of Europe talks, and promising an open public discussion. That gives Serbian activists something specific to hold the next government to.

The questions worth asking every party before October 25:

  • Will you keep the Law on Same-Sex Unions in the new government’s plan for spring?
  • Will the promised roundtable include LGBTQ+ organisations and couples themselves?
  • Will you vote for it when it reaches parliament?

Serbian couples have waited more than five years since the first draft. “Spring” is a date. Now it needs to be kept.

Sources: Radio 021; Niške novine; Balkan Insight; Balkan Insight (2023); Da se zna!. Photo: Anton Borzenkov / Unsplash.