Balkan News

As the UK and America withdraw from the region, Europe’s ability to use ‘soft power’ to nudge the Balkans in the direction of liberal democracy will further decline, making instability more likely.

It may be somewhat new to the Balkans - but crowdfunding platforms are fast becoming a valuable new financial resource for aspiring Bosnian entprepreneurs.

UN team working on enforced disappearances says government in Albania has done far too little to help victims of communist persecution find the bodies of the missing or mass graves.

European integration will not stop Balkan governments from cracking down on independent voices unless societies have built up strong means of resistance, Kiril Koroteev, of the Moscow-based human rights centre Memorial told BIRN.

Serbia's Foreign Minister hailed an arms deal with Russia, dismisses potential EU opposition to it, and launches a stinging attack on Croatia, accusing it of building up weapons for an attack on Serbia.

After its overwhelming win in Sunday's elections, the PSD is set to nominate a Prime Minister, although President Klaus Iohannis is refusing to accept its leader, Liviu Dragnea, owing to his two-year suspended jail sentence.

President Hashim Thaci visited a memorial to Serb war victims in Hoqa e Madhe/Velika Hoca, saying that he wanted to promote reconciliation for the sake of Kosovo’s future.

In closing arguments at Ratko Mladic’s trial, the defence said UN prosecutors did not prove the former Bosnian Serb military chief’s forces committed genocide in six Bosnian municipalities in 1992.

The start of the trial in Belgrade of eight former Bosnian Serb policemen accused of involvement in the massacre of Bosniaks from Srebrenica in July 1995 was delayed by a legal challenge.

For all the talk of Slavic, Orthodox solidarity, Russia has little to offer Serbia these days except continued support in its diplomatic battle over Kosovo.

Latest results suggest the ruling VMRO DPMNE party won slightly more votes than the opposition Social Democrats - but it remains unclear which of them will be able to form a government.

The government will change the law on benefits for Kosovo Liberation Army veterans as it cannot afford to pay the monthly pensions of 28,000 former fighters - more than were originally budgeted for.

Our team brings you live updates of the most important events and developments in the Balkans as they happen.

An OSCE survey has revealed that Albanians have very ambivalent feelings about the communist past - which has dismayed and angered victims of communist persecution.

Iconoclastic former editor of ‘Feral’ says old-style journalism is dead, Croatia’s Social Democrats should be smashed to pieces and calls Prime Minister Plenkovic a human ‘slot machine’.

According to the first exit poll, Romania’s centre-left wing Social Democrats were victorious in Sunday’s elections, winning 45.8 per cent of the votes, but will have to negotiate a coalition with a smaller party to form a majority government.

170 neue geheime Steuer Abkommen mit Firmen, die Finanz Mafia in Luxwnburg lässt grüßen und das nennt sich Europa und „Westliche Werte Gemeinschaft“ Luxemburg-Leaks   1.3 Unter Finanzminister Juncker (1989–1994) 1.4 Unter Premier : Jean-Claude Juncker (1995–2013) Die grösste Geldwäsche Bank der Welt: rund um Waffen, Betrug und Drogen: 1972: Die in Luxemburg registrierte Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) wird gegründet. 1975: Die BCCI wird zur „Drogenbank“; sie kauft die kolumbianische Banco Mercantil in Bogota.[15]   Leaked Documents Expose Global Companies’ Secret Tax Deals Tiny European duchy a “magical fairyland” for corporations seeking to cut tax bills. The Global Muckraker > 2016 > Luxembourg added 172 new tax […]

Man kann nur den Kopf schütteln, über soviel korrupte Verblödung der Regierungen und Nullen, welche sich heute Politiker nennen. Mit krimineller Idiotie vorwärts getrieben: Zu blöde für Alles, vor allem das Auswärtige Amt, die EU und US Aussenpolitik, weil man keine Allgemeinbildung hat, die Geschichte ignoriert. Erste Amtshandlung: Berliner Bürgermeister gönnt sich Luxusdienstwagen für 325.000 € Berlins Senatschef Müller ist mit seinem neuen Mercedes S 600 Guard in einem der sichersten Fahrzeuge in der Hauptstadt unterwegs. „Denn das Fahrzeug erfüllt die Voraussetzungen der Schutzklasse VR9. Konkret heißt das, dass das Fahrzeug einem Beschuss aus einem Nato-Sturmgewehr mit Stahlhartkern-Munition standhalten müsste“, erfährt man aus der Berliner Morgenpost. Anonymous – 11. Dezember […]

  12 Jan 16 Albania Conducts Mass Testing of Teachers For the first time, the abilities of around 19,000 school teachers in Albania are being assessed in order to find out what skills they lack, although a few have refused to take the test. Fatjona Mejdini BIRN Albania Albanian education minister Lindita Nikolla (standing) inspecting the testing of teachers in Tirana | Photo: Twitter. All teachers in Albania with fewer than 20 years’ experience are being tested in order to measure their abilities in the first-ever attempt to work out what professional training is required across the country. On January 23, around 15,000 teachers all over Albania are going to take the test; around 4,000 […]

Turkish experts and citizens are pondering the security and political implications of the latest terror attacks that killed 38 in Istanbul for which Kurdish militants have claimed responsibility.