FLASH
Shkruar nga Ana Curic
Belgrade's leadership is increasing spending on powerful lobbyists linked to Donald Trump, hoping to improve the country's image in the White House. However, recent economic sanctions and harsh tariffs from Washington have severely dented Serbia's hopes for preferential geopolitical treatment.
According to recent BIRN revelations, Serbia has spent a total of $3.2 million on lobbying activities in Washington since July 2023. Almost half of this amount was spent in the last 12 months, precisely after Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Currently, Belgrade is paying 3 American lobbying companies, two of which are run by former close Trump advisers: Valcour and Matt Mowers (former White House adviser at the State Department) and BGR Governmental Affairs, led by David Urban (former Trump adviser during the 2016 presidential campaign).
Based on data from the prestigious American organization Open Secrets, BGR Governmental Affairs is one of the 4 lobbying firms that have recorded the largest increase in turnover since the beginning of Trump's second term, with a 59 percent increase between 2024 and 2025, reaching a record value of $71.5 million.
On the other hand, the Serbian government hired the Valcour company last year, specifically to promote "EXPO 2027", the major international trade fair expected to be held in Belgrade.
With Trump’s return to power, Serbia radically changed its strategy. Instead of trying to convince human rights organizations like Freedom House or the mainstream liberal American media, it is now seeking direct contact with officials in the new administration and influential right-wing media outlets.
Dimitrije Milić, program director at the research institute Novi Treći Put (New Third Way) and CEO of the Belgrade-based consulting firm Lidington Research, emphasizes that lobbying money alone will not be enough to clean up Serbia’s image in the United States.
"Due to the dark legacy of the 1990s, Serbia faces a chronic lack of trust from the American establishment. Lobbying activities are not enough to gain the trust of political decision-makers and key interest groups in the United States," Milić explains.
The promotion of “EXPO 2027” and unexpected sanctions
In July 2023, during the presidency of Joe Biden, Serbia signed two lobbying agreements with the companies KARV Communications and BGR Governmental Affairs.
Milić explains that this “proactive” strategy came at a time of high geopolitical polarization following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which created “a particularly unfavorable international context for the traditional Serbian policy of neutrality.”
Documents from the US Department of Justice show that KARV has received about $1.6 million, while BGR Governmental Affairs has received $1.4 million from the Serbian state budget.
In the first 9 months of 2025 alone, these two companies have collected $1.1 million. Moreover, in an effort to raise the profile of “EXPO 2027”, Serbia paid Valcour another $195,000 last year.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and the ruling party (Serbian Progressive Party - SNS) have invested enormous political capital to ensure the success of this fair. In mid-2025, the government in Belgrade signed agreements with four local marketing companies with a total value of 15.5 million euros.
However, critics and the opposition in Belgrade have harshly accused the Serbian leadership of bypassing regular public procurement procedures and changing laws in order to favor friends of the government in the EXPO project.
But the biggest blow came where it was least expected. After Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the US imposed a 35 percent tariff on imports from Serbia and harsh sanctions on the Serbian oil company NIS (which is 45 percent controlled by the Russian state-owned giant Gazprom Neft).
These measures completely destroyed Belgrade’s hopes of benefiting from Trump’s pragmatic or “transactional” approach to international relations.
According to Milić, Serbia hoped that Trump's willingness to talk to Vladimir Putin would bring about a thaw in relations between the two great powers, which would reduce the pressure on Serbia to ultimately choose between East and West. "But this hope turned out to be completely in vain," he says.
Right-wing media campaign and denial of "sonic weapons"
At the same time, Serbia has secured the support of Matt Mowers, who is described on the official Valcour website as one of the “top fundraisers” for the Trump-Vance inauguration committee.
According to reports submitted to US authorities, during 2025 KARV Communications and BGR Governmental Affairs organized numerous meetings between Serbian and American officials, distributed materials to the press and attempted to secure interviews on major television stations for Serbian leaders.
Në vitin 2023, gjatë administratës Biden, KARV Communications u përpoq të organizonte një takim mes qeverisë serbe dhe Freedom House, organizatës ndërkombëtare që monitoron gjendjen e demokracisë në botë.
Sidoqoftë, nuk dihet nëse ky takim u realizua ndonjëherë. Në raportin e saj të marsit 2023, Freedom House nënvizonte se partia e Vucic (SNS) ka “dobësuar sistematikisht të drejtat politike dhe liritë civile, duke ushtruar presion mbi mediat e pavarura, opozitën politike dhe shoqërinë civile”.
BIRN ka dokumentuar se edhe në vitin 2020, lobistë të angazhuar nga Dhoma e Tregtisë së Serbisë kishin tentuar të bënin presion mbi këtë organizatë për të zbutur raportet kritike. Freedom House refuzoi t’u përgjigjej pyetjeve të BIRN-it për këtë çështje, ashtu siç bëri edhe Marko Đurić, Ministri i Jashtëm serb dhe ish-ambasador i Serbisë në Uashington.
Në vitin 2024, lobistët raportuan se kishin kontaktuar zyrtarë amerikanë për të shpërndarë ftesa për ngjarje nëpër ambasada dhe komunikata që promovonin qëndrimin e Beogradit kundër Rezolutës së Asamblesë së Përgjithshme të OKB-së, e cila shpalli 11 korrikun si Ditën Ndërkombëtare të Kujtimit të Gjenocidit në Srebrenicë në vitin 1995.
Ndërkaq, në vitin 2025, me Trump-in sërish në Shtëpinë e Bardhë, lobistët e Serbisë u fokusuan te mediat konservatore të krahut të djathtë, si Breitbart. Sipas raportimeve të BGR Government Affairs, autoritetet serbe u dërguan komunikata mediave amerikane ku mohonin me forcë përdorimin e një “arme sonike” kundër protestuesve paqësorë më 15 mars 2025.
Ato protesta masive kishin shpërthyer pas indinjatës popullore për vdekjen e 16 personave nga shembja e strehës së stacionit hekurudhor në Novi Sad në nëntor të vitit 2024. Një e-mail me subjektin “Serbia hedh poshtë akuzat për përdorimin e paligjshëm të armëve sonike kundër protestuesve” iu dërgua 19 gazetarëve të
mediave më të mëdha botërore, përfshirë The Washington Post, The New York
Times, Reuters, Politico dhe ABC News.
Përfaqësuesit e kompanive KARV, BGR Government Affairs dhe Valcour, nuk iu përgjigjën kërkesave të BIRN-it për koment.
Lobimi, jo një shkop magjik
Pavarësisht transparencës ligjore të punës së lobistëve në SHBA, një pjesë e madhe e këtyre aktiviteteve dokumentohet nga vetë ata, gjë që rrezikon të ofrojë një pasqyrë të njëanshme dhe të zbukuruar.
“Edhe kur deklaratat janë teknikisht në përputhje me ligjin, ato nuk i ofrojnë publikut një imazh të plotë dhe real të aktiviteteve që qeveritë e huaja ndërmarrin për të ndikuar në politikën amerikane”, shpjegon Scott Greytak, zëvendësdrejtor i Transparency International USA.
“Problemi këtu është strukturor. Këto aktivitete shpesh dalin në dritë vetëm pasi ndikimi është realizuar. Kur qeveritë e huaja shpenzojnë miliona dollarë për të ndikuar në politikën e SHBA-së, publiku ka të drejtë të dijë se kush fshihet pas këtyre veprimeve dhe cilat janë synimet e vërteta”- shton ai.
Greytak adds that foreign governments have legitimate opportunities to present their positions to the US Congress through official channels, such as public hearings or official meetings with lawmakers.
"When lobbying is done openly and in accordance with the law, it is part of normal international activity. The problem arises when lobbying firms or intermediaries are used to hide the true role of a foreign government or to evade diplomatic responsibility. In these cases, transparency is lost and democratic guarantees are undermined," he emphasizes.
Mladen Lišanin, a researcher at the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade, emphasizes that lobbying is simply one of the many tools at the disposal of states and that it cannot replace state diplomacy.
"It is important that lobbying be added to traditional diplomatic channels, so that foreign policy does not completely shift into an informal sphere of personal relations," says Lišanin.
According to him, Serbian public opinion and many officials oscillate between two wrong extremes.
"Some see lobbying as a magic wand that can solve any problem with Washington, while others consider it something completely useless and a waste of public money. Both of these perceptions are wrong. Lobbying is very useful, but only if it is used as part of a well-thought-out, coherent and competent foreign strategy ," the researcher concludes./ Adapted from "Pamphlet", from "Balcani Caucaso"
Lini një Përgjigje