Serbia’s parliament advanced a controversial project after President Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party enacted a law to remove the site’s cultural protections, declaring it a project of national importance using a constitutional provision. Opposition lawmakers, including center-left MP Marinika Tepić, criticized the move, accusing the government of sacrificing the country’s history to appease Donald Trump. Tepić stated, “In a place where bombs once fell, you now plan to pour champagne.” Vučić defended the project as essential for improving relations with Washington, accusing critics of hindering better ties with the Trump administration.
Jared Kushner, who has no official White House role but often advises his father-in-law, has engaged in several major global real-estate projects, including a luxury resort in Albania. In 2022, Serbia’s government granted Affinity Partners, Kushner’s private investment firm, a 99-year lease to develop the Trump-branded project in Belgrade.
Over the past year, anti-corruption activists have protested across Serbia against what they see as government impunity and lack of accountability. The European Commission recently noted Belgrade’s slow progress on reforms concerning corruption and rule-of-law standards in its annual enlargement progress report.
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