The Serbian Parliament has adopted a lex specialis enabling the redevelopment of the former General Staff building in central Belgrade — a decision that paves the way for a $500mn luxury hotel and residential complex backed by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.

Out of 171 MPs present, 130 voted in favour of the law, 40 against, while one did not vote, RTS reported on November 7. The vote in the parliament took place amid nationwide protests over corruption, cronyism and weakening rule of law, grievances increasingly symbolised by the contentious redevelopment of Belgrade’s wartime ruins.

The government described the project as being of “general interest” vital to Serbia’s economic development. However, opposition lawmakers fiercely opposed the move, calling for the bill’s withdrawal and accusing the government of ignoring legal procedures and public sentiment.

Ivana Rokvić of the People’s Movement of Serbia criticised the decision, arguing that the lex specialis undermines Serbia’s laws on urban planning and cultural heritage. She drew parallels with other controversial developments — including Belgrade Waterfront and the sale of Makiško Polje — claiming the General Staff site, a symbol of “history, sacrifice and resistance”, was now being sacrificed “for a little bit of Trump’s mercy”.

The project, developed by Kushner’s Affinity Global Development in partnership with UAE-based Eagle Hills, will include a luxury hotel, 1,500 apartments and a museum. The site, designed by architect Nikola Dobrović, was badly damaged in Nato’s 1999 bombing of Belgrade and has since stood as a memorial to the victims.

In May 2024, the government granted Kushner’s consortium a 99-year lease on the property. The same year, it was removed from the register of protected cultural heritage sites, a decision that later triggered controversy after Goran Vasić, acting head of Serbia’s cultural heritage institute, was arrested for allegedly falsifying documents supporting the delisting. The case remains under investigation.