Balkan News

Politicians in the Balkans frequently accuse the EU of double standards in its dealings with the region. Do they have a point? 

In the months-long protests in Serbia, those marching every weekend are not all demonstrating for purely political reasons – but also to raise their voices over other burning everyday problems.

Sarajevo is about to host the ‘small winter Olympics’, as the European Youth Olympic Festival is often nicknamed – and it is bringing together not only sportsmen and women but a divided city, too.

Ahead of a vote in the Greek parliament on Friday, which is expected to ratify its neighbour’s accession to NATO, Macedonia is gearing up to start using its newly agreed name – Republic of North Macedonia.

Alas, there is little to laugh about and plenty to cringe over in the politics of south-east Europe, particularly for ordinary citizens who find themselves hostage to their political leaders. 

Hundreds of protesters in Pristina on Thursday voiced anger over what they called official inaction to claims that a teacher and a local policeman had sexually abused an underage girl.

A London court has forfeited frozen bank accounts containing half a million pounds, belonging to the former prime minister of Moldova's son, after investigators decided the cash came from his father’s corrupt activities. 

Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska has appointed Israeli historian and Holocaust researcher Gideon Greif to head its controversial commission probing crimes committed in Srebrenica during the Bosnian war.

Deputy PM's proposal to 'integrate' Roma communities by curbing welfare and demolishing unauthorised settlements has alarmed human rights groups – which accuse nationalist parties of whipping up anti-Roma sentiment for election reasons.

Ombudsman Lora Vidovic says pressures and threats will not deter her from tackling a worrying upsurge in historical revisionism that seeks to relativize Fascist crimes committed in World War II.

There is cautious optimism that ratification of Macedonia’s accession protocol will meet no obstacles in NATO member state parliaments – but experts fear the process may be slower than some expect.

The Pristina government will pay US and British law firms 400,000 euros to provide legal advice on presenting Kosovo’s position to the Hague-based Specialist Chambers, which is expected to try senior ex-guerrillas.

In his first TV appearance since he went into hiding during protests over his son’s death, Davor Dragicevic alleged that the authorities in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska authorities want him dead.

Interpol has issued a red notice calling for the arrest of Zoran Adamovic, a former Bosnian Serb Army serviceman who is charged with committing crimes against humanity in the Kljuc area in 1992.

The Hague-based Specialist Prosecutor’s Office has interviewed former Kosovo Liberation Army commander Sylejman Selimi - who was recently freed from jail after a war crimes sentence - as a suspect, his lawyers said.

A Kosovo man has told police he tore down a plaque commemorating two Serb journalists who disappeared while reporting on the war in 1998 - the seventh time that the memorial has been vandalised.

From the next school year, all Croatian pupils will be given civic education lessons, and the Ministry of Science and Education has recommended that they visit the WWII Jasenovac concentration camp site as part of their studies.

Macedonia took a big step towards full NATO membership on Wednesday when NATO state ministers in Brussels signed its accession protocol– which will enable it to become the club's 30th member under its new name, Republic of North Macedonia.

Under Erdogan, Turkish politicians and people with roots in the Balkans are coming under fire amid the rise of identity politics.

NATO officials on Wednesday will sign an accession protocol with Macedonia under its new name, marking the final stage on the country's path to becoming the 30th member of the alliance.