All the news

Romania, travelling to tell stories

10/01/2024 -  Oana Dumbrava

A journalist and a photographer from Romania have been living in a van for ten years to be able to write their investigations on how life is in Romania and how expatriate Romanians live. They are Elena Stancu and Cosmin Bumbut: we met them

All the world’s regions ignored by our street names

04/01/2024 -  Lorenzo Ferrari

Analysing street names in major European cities, it turns out that people of African and Asian descent are strongly underrepresented. Barely 0.1% of streets commemorate non-white personalities born outside Europe

Trieste, last stop: becoming adults along the Balkan route

03/01/2024 -  Sara Varcounig Balbi

Trieste, a border city, is the last stop on the Balkan route. In 2023 the data recorded an increase in the arrivals of unaccompanied minors. What does it mean to grow up along the Balkan route? What happens once in Trieste? An analysis

North Macedonia, an endless hiking trail

31/12/2023 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev Tetovo

Crossing North Macedonia in an endless circle, savoring the beauty of its pristine mountains: this is the goal of a group of mountain enthusiasts who are implementing the "Sammiana" project

Azerbaijan, tackling the problem of landmines and unexploded ordnance

27/12/2023 -  Onnik James Krikorian

The regions around Nagorno Karabakh are contaminated with thousands of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). An urgent matter, but demining takes a long time

The EU solidarity fund

20/12/2023 -  Ornaldo Gjergji

Over the last 20 years, the EU has distributed more than 8 billion Euros to help member states and candidates deal with the consequences of natural or health disasters. How does the fund work? Which countries have benefited the most?

Georgia celebrates EU candidate status

19/12/2023 -  Onnik James Krikorian Tbilisi

On December 14, the European Council granted EU candidate status to Georgia. An important step, celebrated the following day in the capital Tbilisi, both by the authorities and the population. However, the path towards the EU still remains ahead

Azerbaijan’s crackdown: same old tactics, just different names

13/12/2023 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

Recently a series of arrests in Azerbaijan, targeting independent media and their few journalists, has brought to mind the repression of civil society and bloggers 10-15 years ago. But has the persecution of Azerbaijan's civil society ever stopped?

North Macedonia - EU: from words to deeds

13/12/2023 -  Angelina Cvetkovska

Reforms, integrity of the judicial system, corruption: the latest report from the European Commission on North Macedonia's progress towards future EU membership is probably the worst in recent years. For Brussels, Skopje must move beyond words and onto actions

Armenia and Azerbaijan, a rare declaration rekindles hopes for peace

12/12/2023 -  Onnik James Krikorian

Armenia and Azerbaijan issued a late-night joint statement that surprised even the most seasoned of commentators. Though it remains unclear whether this could be a long-awaited breakthrough in negotiations, the international community was united in welcoming the move

Ivo Danchev: photography between roots and dreams

11/12/2023 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

Between the desire to document and the need to dream - this suspended territory is the realm of Ivo Danchev, one of the most talented Bulgarian photographers, who for some years has dedicated himself body and soul to documenting the tradition of the "kukeri". An interview

Croatia: fighting femicides

07/12/2023 -  Jelena Prtorić

The Croatian government has announced its intention to recognise feminicide as a distinct type of crime. An important novelty - but a much broader social change is needed, warn those fighting for women's rights

Romania, corruption in hospital wards

06/12/2023 -  Mihaela Iordache

Despite some positive signs, corruption continues to weigh on the Romanian healthcare system. The main victims are citizens, forced to pay under the table to obtain the services of doctors and nurses

CINS Inside SNS’s Call Center

05/12/2023 -  Ivana MilosavljevićTeodora ĆurčićVladimir Kostić

Near the Port of Belgrade, tucked away from the public eye, there is a large call center. From there, more than 100 people call citizens every day to ask them if they will vote for the Serbian Progressive Party in the upcoming elections. It is a well-organized group, and the way they work raises suspicions of vote buying and funding using "black money". Everything was witnessed first-hand by a CINS journalist who was briefly part of this group

Armenia and Azerbaijan, border commissions meet amid stalemate

01/12/2023 -  Onnik James Krikorian

As negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan appear to have stalled, border commissions from both sides met on 30 November. However, it remains unclear whether the meeting was nothing more than symbolic

Adriatic views: Brindisi, Punta Riso pier

01/12/2023 -  Fabio Fiori

In his wanderings along the Adriatic, Fabio Fiori returns to Brindisi, the gateway to this sea full of charm and light. An out-of-season dive takes him back to an essay by Tonio Hölscher on the sea, body culture and eros in ancient Greece

Serbia: new early elections

29/11/2023 -  Antonela Riha Belgrade

Early political elections will be held in Serbia on December 17 for the fourth consecutive time. Since 2012, i.e. since the SNS party came to power and since Aleksandar Vučić became president, this will be the seventh time that Serbian citizens have been called to the polls

Historical Macedonia and art: travelling with the Lexicon

27/11/2023 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev Tetovo

After starting almost by chance, over the last twenty years Vlatko Miloshevski has collected dozens of works of art created in the territories of the historical region of Macedonia in the period 1850-1950. A heritage now also accessible online

Austria and the Balkans, between interests and populism

23/11/2023 -  Francesco Martino Valona

Austria remains one of the EU countries most sincerely interested in enlargement to the Western Balkans, but its policy towards the region suffers from populism and a lack of vision. We talked about it with Adelheid Wölfl, historical correspondent from the region for the newspaper Der Standard

Cyprus’ Plan for a Maritime Humanitarian Aid Corridor to Gaza

21/11/2023 -  Mary Drosopoulos

While the international community is facing the challenge of getting humanitarian aid to Gaza amid restrictions in place, Cyprus has proposed the creation of a maritime corridor to reach civilians in need. Despite the technical challenges lying in its implementation, EU leaders seem to be supportive of this plan