Green-Left Front (ZLF) Co-president Radomir Lazovic warned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the “deeply problematic and corrupt nature” of the EXPO 2027 project, “which does not serve the interests of Serbian citizens,” said the ZLF on Tuesday.
In a press release, this opposition party said that Lazovic addressed an open letter to the German chancellor who recently confirmed Germany’s participation in 2027 EXPO specialized exhibition in Belgrade.
“EXPO 2027 – under Serbia’s corrupt government – has become nothing more than a mechanism for funneling public funds into private pockets of individuals close to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), leaving Serbian citizens with enormous debts for generations to come,” he wrote.
Lazovic, who is also a member of the Serbian Parliament, detailed in the letter the mechanisms and corrupt schemes employed by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) regarding the EXPO 2027 project, the ZLF said in a press release.
He said the project is part of a “well-established scheme of SNS-affiliated companies that have benefited from lucrative state contracts, where the government used extraordinary legal mechanisms to hand over public land and resources to private investors under non-transparent conditions, raising serious concerns about corruption and political favoritism.”
Lazovic said some examples include the SNS-linked construction giant Millennium Team, which had been awarded numerous state-funded projects, benefiting from preferential treatment in public procurement processes, and companies owned by Zvonko Veselinovic and Milan Radoicic, which are “under US sanctions for organized crime.”
The ZLF said that, in addition, Lazovic also explained that the SNS “introduced a Lex specialis for EXPO 2027, explicitly exempting the project from standard public procurement regulations,” which allows the government to handpick contractors without competition, transparency, or accountability.
The letter also reads that “they proposed amendments to the law allowing buildings to be used without usage permits.”
Lazovic said the Serbian authorities plan to borrow billions of euros for the construction of EXPO-related infrastructure, and that the burden of repaying these debts falls squarely on Serbian taxpayers, while profits will be funneled to private companies close to the ruling party.
“By confirming participation in EXPO 2027 without acknowledging its corrupt nature, Germany risks undermining its credibility and sending the wrong message – that economic interests of financial and political elites take precedence over the principles of good governance and democratic accountability,” Lazovic wrote in his letter to Scholz.
He emphasized that “for months, students and citizens in Serbia have been protesting against the devastating consequences of corruption, after the collapse of a newly renovated Novi Sad train station killed 15 people.”
“Hundreds of thousands of students and citizens are demanding justice and accountability, insisting that institutions do their job to prevent such tragedies in the future,” wrote Lazovic.
He told Scholz that Germany has a choice: “to stand with Serbian citizens who are demanding the unhindered functioning of institutions, accountability for the consequences of corruption, and rule of law, or to strengthen the regime that undermines democracy and leaves devastating consequences, even in the form of human suffering, by supporting the corrupt project,” said the ZLF.
