Balkan News

Historic compromises appear to be in the air in the Balkans, sometimes within reach and at other times perpetually elusive, yet cobbling them together is usually not the end of the game – implementation always lurks in the shadows. 

In President Vucic’s alternative reality, Serbia never waged a war in Kosovo, and therefore never lost it. Only it did.

The Croatian tourism sector is thriving but seasonal workers on the coast face tough working conditions, exploitative employers and a lack of protection from the authorities, trade unionists say.

Romanians say the remark by right-wing Interior Minister Matteo Salvini ignored the responsibility of Italy to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci suggested holding a referendum on his recent proposal for a ‘correction of borders’ between Kosovo and Serbia, but Pristina-based analysts question its legality.

Moldova adopted a controversial fiscal reform package on Thursday which critics say could turn the country into a ‘paradise for criminals’.

Koha Group, publisher of one of the most popular Kosovo dailies, Koha Ditore, announced it will stop covering President Hashim Thaci after he stated that the paper is working for Serbia’s leader Aleksandar Vucic.

Macedonia’s right-wing opposition has increased in popularity amid the ongoing, emotionally-charged debate about the forthcoming referendum on changing the country’s name, a survey suggests.

Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska is preparing to adopt a law declaring Cyrillic script must be used by all officials and public institutions, but Bosniaks and Croats argue that the plan is unconstitutional.

Serbia has invited Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova to attend the annual Guca brass band festival, known for being one of the wildest parties in the Balkan region.

Kosovo’s Basketball Federation accused the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina of delaying the issuing of visas for its Under-16 youth basketball team, potentially thwarting its participation in a European tournament.

The Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, GRECO, urged Macedonia to boost its efforts to curb corruption among MPs, judges and prosecutors, saying that progress so far has been disappointing.

In the absence of international consensus, a growing number of European states are taking up the fight for justice in Syria in their own courts, drawing on the witness testimony of those who fled.

Romanians are returning home from several EU countries to attend an anti-government protest on Friday sparked by anger about the relaxation of the fight against corruption and alleged official incompetence.

Serbia has been laying the foundations for Kosovo’s partition for years. But experts say the risks are enormous.

If former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders who are now senior political officials are indicted by the new Hague-based war crimes court, the crucial Pristina-Belgrade negotiations could be seriously disrupted as they enter a critical stage.

There are only a few statues of women in the streets and parks of the Croatian capital, where the overwhelming majority of the people commemorated by sculptues and street names are male.

President Hashim Thaci said that a ‘correction’ of Kosovo’s border with southern Serbia, not partition of the country along ethnic lines, will be a factor in Pristina’s final deal on normalising relations with Belgrade.

Total dependence on Russian natural gas and electrical energy from breakaway Transnistria has caused the current Moldovan Government to take action during its final months in power.

A Romanian cabinet move to cut the spending of the country’s presidential administration and intelligence service and fund a huge Orthodox cathedral has boosted political tensions in Bucharest.