First published: July 27, 2026 at 08:05 AM
Last update: July 27, 2026 at 07:18 PM
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Issue for July 27, 2026
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Last update: July 27, 2026 at 07:18 PMCards: 6Stories: 1
Fresh issue
July 27, 2026
July 27: Žabalj residents protest a tyre-recycling plant 800 metres from homes, and a car drove into a protest column in Bačka Palanka. Hajdin Bridge in Belgrade has barred freight trains and passing passenger trains. Vučić named end-September as the NIS deal target, while five bus routes in Voždovac will use diversions from July 28.
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Žabalj held a protest on July 26 against a planned waste-tyre recycling plant. N1 reports that the facility would have capacity of up to 72 tonnes a day and that its industrial-zone site is about 800 metres from the nearest homes; residents demand that the project be moved or cancelled.
Restrictions have been introduced on the Hajdin rail bridge on the Belgrade–Stara Pazova line because of identified safety risks. Citing Radar's reporting, N1 says freight trains are barred and passenger trains cannot pass one another on the bridge; infrastructure services notified operators after examining the structure.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he hopes to complete the transaction to buy the Russian stake in NIS by the end of September. This is a target rather than an announced agreement: N1 says the talks concern the sale of Gazprom Neft's stake, with the outcome dependent on completing technical work and external approvals.
Context: NIS and sanctions
On the evening of July 26, a car drove into a column of people during a Bačka Palanka protest walk supporting students. N1 reports eyewitness accounts of two people lightly injured; emergency services attended and traffic police intervened after the vehicle stopped.
Partizan beat Mačva 3–1 in Šabac in the second round of Serbia's SuperLiga. Danas reports that the home side equalised after a Mačva player was sent off, but Demba Sek scored the decisive goal in the 88th minute and Čaka Traore sealed the result in stoppage time.
Because of district-heating network works in Braće Jerković Street, routes 18, 18N, 50, 80 and ADA3 will use diversions from July 28 through August 6. The city lists temporary stops in Darvinova Street; the right lane by numbers 123A–123V is closed toward Darvinova.
Context
Long-running stories with updates
Stories
NIS and sanctions
NIS is Serbia's key oil company and the operator of the Pancevo refinery. This story follows how sanctions against the Russian stake in the company affect fuel supplies, Serbia's talks with MOL, Gazprom Neft, and the United States, and control over strategic infrastructure.
- On June 11, 2026, minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said Serbia and MOL had agreed on the shareholder framework around NIS.
- The next step is an agreement between Gazprom Neft and MOL, followed by approval from the US administration.
- Before the current OFAC license expired on June 16, 2026, NIS requested a new special license.
- If Gazprom Neft sells 56.15 percent of NIS to MOL and OFAC approves the transaction, Serbia is supposed to buy another five percent of the shares.
- With that extra five percent, Serbia's stake would rise to roughly 35 percent, while MOL would remain the controlling owner with 51.15 percent.
- According to the minister, the Hungarian side has undertaken to keep the Pancevo refinery running at least around the average annual level of the four years before sanctions.
- By evening, N1 and Danas added expert framing: without changing NIS's statute, the extra five percent does not give Serbia new control, and the question remains dependent on Gazprom Neft, MOL, and OFAC.
- On June 12, Forbes/N1 added a check on an alternative Serbian buyer: Ranko Mimovic's company, tied to Reuters' report of a EUR 2 billion offer for NIS, had six account blocks over tax rulings in half a year and received a first court dispute for RSD 98,496.
- On June 13, 021/RTS carried Jelica Putnikovic's assessment: the next key fork is Tuesday, June 16, when existing NIS licenses expire, while the outcome depends on OFAC, concrete contracts, and guarantees for the Pancevo refinery.
- On June 16, the Energy Ministry and MOL signed a shareholder agreement: it takes effect only if MOL reaches a deal with Gazprom Neft to buy 56.15 percent of NIS and OFAC approves the transaction.
- Under the agreement Serbia is to buy an additional five percent of the shares, the Pancevo refinery should operate for at least 10 years at capacity comparable to the four years before US sanctions, and Petrohemija should avoid disruption.
- Aleksandar Vucic said from Tbilisi that, based on information he was receiving from Washington, NIS's operating license may be extended for another 15 days, but this had not been officially confirmed at the moment of his statement.
- On June 19, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said the Serbian side had completed its part of the talks with MOL, and that the next practical step is a Gazprom Neft-MOL agreement acceptable to OFAC.
- On June 23, 021 reported that OFAC extended NIS's operating license and MOL's license for talks on buying the Russian stake until July 1; the previous licenses had been valid until June 16.
- On June 30, Danas reported that two OFAC licenses expire on July 1: the operating license for importing oil via JANAF and the license for Gazprom Neft-MOL talks on the Russian stake; NIS filed a new request several days before the deadline.
- Danas sources split in their assessment: one points to the risk of sanctions and NIS exclusion from SWIFT, another expects a new delay, while Serbia's authorities told the IMF they are preparing executive and legal measures if Gazprom Neft-MOL talks fail.
- Later on June 30, N1 added Hungarian context around MOL: the European arrest warrant for company chief Zsolt Hernadi remains valid, while Hungary is expanding its excess-profit tax on MOL based on the Urals-Brent price difference.
- On July 1, Danas/BBC and Novosti reported that the US operating license for NIS was extended for another 30 days, until July 31.
- The extension lets NIS keep supplying the fuel market and lets the Pancevo refinery continue processing crude oil while MOL-Gazprom Neft talks on the Russian stake continue.
- Later on July 1, N1 and Danas reported that JANAF also received an OFAC license until July 31 to fulfill obligations to NIS, while MOL received a license until July 31, 2026 to continue talks on buying the majority Russian stake.
- On July 26, Aleksandar Vučić named the end of September as a target for completing the purchase of the Russian stake in NIS, stressing that this was hope for technically concluding the talks, not an announcement of a signed deal.
Timeline
How the story developed
Serbia privatized NIS and the controlling stake moved to the Russian side. From that point on, ownership in NIS became not only a business question but also part of Serbia's relations with Russia, the EU, and the United States.
US sanctions against NIS became a practical threat to the company's operations and required special OFAC licenses so that NIS could continue operating while a solution on ownership was being sought.
MOL and Gazprom Neft announced a preliminary framework for the purchase of 56.15 percent of NIS, but the transaction remained dependent on OFAC, regulatory approvals, and a final sale contract.
Serbia and MOL announced a compromise on the shareholder agreement: Serbia gets additional governance rights, the Pancevo refinery is supposed to keep operating, and the key immediate deadline remains June 16, 2026. Later the minister clarified that Serbia had completed its part, but the deal now depends on Gazprom Neft, MOL, and the United States; evening N1 and Danas items stressed that without a statute change, the extra five percent of shares is not the same as control.
Forbes/N1 checked Ranko Mimovic's company, which Reuters had linked on May 6 to a EUR 2 billion offer to buy NIS. KFT Senator Treasury G.T.7 Dva had its account blocked six times in half a year at the Tax Administration's initiative, and on May 28 a first court dispute for RSD 98,496 was opened against it; this deepened doubts around alternative Serbian offers for NIS.
021, citing RTS, carried Jelica Putnikovic's assessment that the key decision is expected on Tuesday, June 16, when existing NIS licenses expire. She tied the outcome to OFAC consent, concrete contracts, possible governance changes, and the future of the Pancevo refinery.
Serbia and MOL signed a shareholder agreement on the future management of NIS. It depends on MOL's final deal with Gazprom Neft for 56.15 percent of NIS and OFAC approval; the same day Vucic said he expects the NIS license to be extended by 15 days.
Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said that after the agreement with MOL, the Serbian side has completed its part of the talks, while the final NIS sale now depends on Gazprom Neft, MOL, and whether the solution is acceptable to OFAC.
021 reported that OFAC extended NIS's operating license and MOL's license for negotiations on buying the Russian stake until July 1, temporarily preserving the company's operations and oil refining after the previous June 16 deadline.
Danas reported that on July 1 NIS's operating license for importing oil via JANAF and the Gazprom Neft-MOL negotiation license expire; NIS filed a new request, while Serbia's authorities told the IMF they have fallback executive and legal measures if talks fail. N1 later added that the talks are unfolding amid Hungarian political-legal risks around MOL: the European arrest warrant for Zsolt Hernadi remains valid, and MOL's excess-profit tax is being expanded.
The US extended NIS's operating license for another 30 days, until July 31. According to Danas/BBC and Novosti, this keeps the company operating, fuel supplies flowing, and crude oil processing continuing at the Pancevo refinery; later, N1 and Danas added that JANAF received a license until July 31 for deliveries to NIS, while MOL received a license until July 31, 2026 to continue talks on the majority Russian stake.
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