Serbia to prepare an amendment to allow nationalization of NIS if necessary

The Serbian authorities will introduce an amendment to the draft budget for 2026, which will allow, if necessary, to nationalize the Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) company, which is controlled by the Russian Gazprom. This was stated by the Chairman of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, in an interview with Euronews Serbia.

According to her, she does not personally support this decision, but it is necessary for the country's energy security.

"I would not nationalize NIS precisely because I am an economic liberal. I think nationalization is the wrong way to go, because it opens a Pandora's box. Once you nationalize it, it's easier to say every time: there are reasons, let me nationalize it," she said.

Brnabic emphasized that all key decisions in this crisis are made by the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucicwho "is the only one with sufficient political influence" to resolve the issue with Russia and other parties.

• NIS, Serbia's second largest company, has been facing the threat of US sanctions since the beginning of 2025. The previous US president Joe Biden imposed sanctions against NIS with a delay until Gazprom Neft fully withdraws from the shareholding.
• At the time of the sanctions, Gazprom Neft's share was 50%.
• on February 26, it announced its reduction to 44.85%. At the same time, Gazprom increased its stake from 6.15% to 11.30%, and in September transferred its shares to another Gazprom Group company, the St. Petersburg-based Intellectuals Joint Stock Company. Another 29.87% of NIS shares are owned by Serbia, and the rest are held by minority shareholders.
• These changes were not enough, and in early October sanctions against NIS came into force.