site.btaSerbian Students Arrive in Brussels After 2,000-Kilometre Protest Run

The group of Serbian students who embarked on a marathon to Brussels to raise awareness among EU institutions about the political situation in Serbia arrived in the Belgian capital on Monday evening, according to an Instagram post by the runners. The students covered over 2,000 kilometres across seven countries in just 18 days, making several symbolic stops along the way.

Initially planned as a symbolic run with 16 participants – to honour the 16 victims of the Novi Sad train station collapse – the group eventually grew to 21 students. They split into four teams, each covering more than 20 kilometres per day. Among them was 18-year-old Maja Strunic from the First Belgrade Gymnasium, previously profiled by BTA on April 25, the day the marathon began.

The tragedy in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, when a concrete canopy at the railway station collapsed and killed 16 people, ignited nationwide protests. Demonstrators, largely led by students, blamed corruption and substandard renovation work for the disaster. In response, around 60 university faculties were blocked as part of civil disobedience actions. Protesters are demanding criminal and political accountability, as well as institutional reform and an end to political interference.

The student-run movement gained early support from Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger, whose remarks triggered a diplomatic rebuke from Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Duric, who called her statement "direct interference in Serbia’s internal affairs".

Earlier this spring, another student group cycled from Novi Sad to Strasbourg, arriving on April 16 to advocate for similar demands. On May 1, Serbian students called for snap parliamentary elections and pledged not to run for office themselves, instead supporting a list of new, non-political candidates.

Meanwhile, for the first time since the protests began, the European Parliament passed a resolution on Serbia’s political crisis, affirming that the students’ demands align with the reform expectations tied to Serbia’s EU accession path.

On Tuesday, student-led protests were held again in Belgrade, Kragujevac, and Novi Sad. Organizers declared that now is the moment for united action and urged citizens to join their call for early elections and democratic reform.