Negotiation position for Chapter 23

As the coordinator of the Working Group for Chapter 24 within the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU), BCSP compiled joint comments from nine NCEU member organizations on the Draft Law on Internal Affairs, which was subject to official public debate in April 2026.

This paper examines how the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) is portrayed in existing research and media discourse, primarily as a major conduit of Russian influence in the Western Balkans through narratives tied to the Kremlin’s “Russian World” project and hybrid warfare activities.

This publication assesses how six external actors - Russia, China, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel, and Azerbaijan - engage with the Western Balkans (WB) and how such engagement affects the European Union (EU) enlargement process.