Romania–Serbia relations are the bilateral relations between Romania and Serbia. Both are Southeastern European countries sharing common history, geography and a 546.4 kilometres long border, Romania and Serbia established diplomatic relations on April 19, 1841. Both countries are members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

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Romanian-Serbian relations

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Although Serbia unofficially opened a kind of diplomatic agency in Bucharest in March 1836,^[1] officially, the first Serbian diplomatic agency in Bucharest was established in February 1863, with Kosta Magazinović, as its first diplomatic agent. Reciprocally the first Romanian diplomatic agency in Belgrade was established on 12/24 March 1863 and the first diplomatic agent was Teodor Calimachi.^[2]

In 1879, as a consequence of the independent state status, the diplomatic agencies from Belgrade and Bucharest became legations and the diplomatic agents, resident ministers. Thus on 14/26 April 1879 the Romanian diplomatic agency in Belgrade became legation, having Lascăr Catargiu as its first resident minister.^[3] In the summer of 1879 Milan A. Petronijević became Serbia's first resident minister in Romania.^[4] Later, after Romania and Serbia became kingdoms, in 1881 and 1882, their diplomatic representatives became "extraordinary envoy and plenipotentiary ministers". It was only in 1939 when the legations from Belgrade and Bucharest became embassies.

However, a gradual cut-off of international relations between Romania and Serbia (in that time Yugoslavia) happened in May 1941, after Romania recognized the independence of the German-controlled Independent State of Croatia, due to Romania being an Axis power at the time.

Modern relations between Romania and Serbia began right after the Romanian Revolution and the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars. In the last decade of the 20th century, relations between the two countries were mostly affected after Romania decided to join the international community and enforced the embargo UN imposed over Yugoslavia during the Bosnian War, leading to a political rupture of the good historical relations between the two countries.^{[citation needed]}

This, inadvertently, led to one of the biggest illegal trafficking network in Europe at the time. As the embargo prevented Yugoslavia from purchasing fuel, Romanian citizens, impoverished by the internal crisis inadvertently caused by the fall of the communist regime, began illegally crossing the Danube in order to sell petrol, diesel and other forms of fuel to their Serbian neighbours. During a two years period, between 1993 and 1995, a lot of Romanians in the villages on the Danube shore got rich by illegal means, helping their Serbian counterparts. Any form of gas in Yugoslavia was around five times more expensive than in Romania. The network abruptly shut down in 1995, and it is believed that, despite their position, the Romanian government involved in it. Around ten to twenty people were killed during those years, either by the Romanian border guards or other smugglers.^[5]

Politic relations got even worse during the late years of the same decade, when Romania, on its way of accession to NATO, allowed NATO planes to use Romanian airspace in order to strike targets in Serbia. Supporting NATO during the Yugoslav Wars got Romania's position as an official NATO member in 2004. However, civilians continued showing support to Serbia, most Romanian citizens not agreeing with their government position.^[6]

After the end of the Yugoslav Wars, relations gradually improved, with Romania supporting Serbia's integration with the international community. Nowadays, symbolizing the good relations between Romania and Serbia, there is in the former a sentence that says "Romania only has two friends: the Black Sea and Serbia". However, this phrase and the state of the relations between both has been disturbed by the Romanians in the Timok Valley in Serbia, where they are known in Serbian as "Vlachs", claiming a separate ethnic identity from the Romanians.^{[7] [8]}

Relations between Romania and the Republic of Kosovo are nonexistent as of 2024. Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia caused debates and outrage in Romania. The country is one of the states in the world that is strongly opposed to Kosovo's independence.^{[citation needed]} Romania is among the five countries part of the European Union who does not recognize Kosovo, and one of the seven countries boycotting Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe in 2023.

The main reason for this is the Székely Land problem that Romania faces: it is considered that, if Romania would recognize Kosovo's independence, Székely Land, with a majority of ethnic Hungarians and Székelys, would seek to obtain its autonomy or independence, with some public nationalist individuals such as Corneliu Vadim Tudor claiming that Székely Land would instantly follow joining neighbouring Hungary, country that used to control the area for hundreds of years.^[9]

A vote was held on 18 February 2008 in the Parliament of Romania, the day after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, to determine if Romania would recognize Kosovo as an independent country. The result was a landslide against, with 357 ”No” votes and only 27 ”Yes” votes, most votes in favor coming from an ethnic-Hungarian party UDMR. (Hungary recognized Kosovo's independence on March 19 of the same year.) Furthermore, both the president Traian Băsescu and prime minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu were opposed.^[10][11]

A potential policy change emerged during the leadership of Victor Ponta, who stated that ”Romania must follow EU's lead" after the European Union urged Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain to reconsider their decisions regarding Kosovo. However, after his resignation in 2015, the Government of Romania never addressed a change in recognition.^[12]

Romania maintains a liaison office in Pristina, but not an embassy.

Romania has an embassy in Belgrade and a consulate-general in Vršac and Zaječar. Serbia has an embassy in Bucharest and a consulate-general in Timișoara.

Both Romania and Serbia are members of the:

• South-East European Cooperation Process Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe
• Central European Initiative
• Southeast European Cooperative Initiative
• Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation

The Serbs of Romania are a recognized ethnic minority. According to the 2011 census, there were 18,076 Serbs in Romania (~0.1%). Serbs mostly live in western Romania, in the Romanian part of the Banat region, where they constitute an absolute majority in two communes and a relative majority in one other.

The Romanians of Serbia are a recognized ethnic minority. According to the 2022 census, there were 23,044 Romanians in Serbia (~0.3%), while 21,013 people declared themselves "Vlachs". There are differing views among some of the "Vlachs" over whether or not they should be regarded as Romanians or as members of a distinctive nationality. Romanians and "Vlachs" mostly live in northeastern Serbia, in the Timok Valley and in the Serbian part of the Banat region to be exact, where they constitute a minority in two municipalities and in Vojvodina. Romanians of the Timok Valley have no schools where to practice their maternal language.

• Romania has an embassy in Belgrade and consulates-general in Vršac and Zaječar.
• Serbia has an embassy in Bucharest and a consulate-general in Timișoara.

• Embassy of Serbia in Bucharest

• Foreign relations of Romania
• Foreign relations of Serbia
• Accession of Serbia to the European Union
• Romania–Serbia border
• Banat
• Romania's reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
• Romanians in Serbia
• Serbs of Romania
• Romania–Yugoslavia relations