All the news

Kosovo: Music riots in Mitrovica

22/01/2010 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

“The music by emerging bands tells of young people's bitterness for the surrounding world. Words are brutal, lyrics are cruel, and music soaks rebellion". A journey through the music scene in North Mitrovica and its young protagonists

Serbia: waiting for Fiat

21/01/2010 -  Lucia Manzotti Kragujevac

A journey to Kragujevac, the home town of Zastava - the “Made in Yugoslavia” car. The expectations of citizens and workers in the “Yugoslav Turin” in the wake of the recent agreement between Belgrade and the Fiat Group to establish the new Fiat Automobili Serbia in that city

Profession: documentarist

20/01/2010 -  Irene Dioli

Documentary cinema in Greece: theoretical debates, material conditions, and relationships with institutions according to director Anneta Papathanassiou. Our interview

New year, same old elections

15/01/2010 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

By-elections in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, show old tactics on the side of the government and a diminishing influence of the opposition in society. The surprise move of Nikol Pashinyan, the increase of voter apathy

Moldova: austere budget

13/01/2010 -  Iulian Lungu Chişinău

In 2009, the economic crisis was aggravated by the difficult political situation in the country. The ruling Alliance for European Integration had to present an austere budget, characterised by tax raises and cuts in subsidies

Serbia: towards a regional truth on war crimes

12/01/2010 -  Cecilia Ferrara Belgrade

The work of the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor in Belgrade, public opinion, and the initiative of a group of NGOs to create a regional truth commission. An interview with Bogdan Ivanisevic, consultant of the International Center for Transitional Justice

Voting In Azerbaijan

08/01/2010 -  Arzu Geybullayeva Baku

Local elections in Azerbaijan have been accompanied by allegations of fraud. The limited electoral participation can be explained by the local administrations' lack of real power and the lack of authentic democratic competition

Europe's minarets

07/01/2010 -  Fazıla Mat

There has been a strong reaction in both Turkey and Switzerland to the Swiss vote banning the construction of new minarets in the Confederation. A look at the significance of the referendum for migrant workers, the views of political parties and institutions such as “the House of the People” in Zurich, and the public debate

Greece: the crisis will do us good

04/01/2010 -  Gilda Lyghounis

In an exclusive interview with Osservatorio, Serafeim Fyntanidi, director of Eleftherotypia, one of Athens's most influential dailies, talks in-depth about the economic and social crisis besieging Greece. He says he is convinced that the country will emerge from the crisis stronger.

Macedonia: He who sings means no evil

30/12/2009 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

Recently, a group of young protesters from Skopje seems to have chosen music as the credo of their civic and political activism. They protest by singing. They call themselves Raspeani Skopjani [Singing Skopjans], and their popularity has been growing

Serbia: visa free

29/12/2009 -  Danijela Nenadić Belgrade

From December 19, citizens of Serbia can go to Szeged, Thessaloniki, or Trieste for coffee...without a visa. There is happiness, but not for everyone. The most disappointed are adolescents and those who were born and grew up under the sanctions. A commentary

Slovenia: 1989 or 1992?

28/12/2009 -  Stefano Lusa Koper

In Slovenia, the period from the second half of the ‘80s until the country's independence in 1992 saw the beginning of the Yugoslav crisis, the emergence of nationalism, and Ljubljana’s final separation from Belgrade. A contribution to the dossier "The long lasting ’89"

EU enlargement: the race of the snail

24/12/2009 -  Alvise Armellini Brussels

After the Lisbon Treaty, the EU enlargement process continues - slowly and quietly. The voice of public opinions, the moods of the 27, and the countries' perspectives in the analysis of our correspondent

Serbia: bread instead of reforms?

22/12/2009 -  Cecilia Ferrara Belgrade

A cynic and a pessimist according to many, he disagrees with most of the economic policies implemented by the Serbian government and does not think that postponing reforms to avoid social unrest is a good idea. An interview with economist Miroslav Prokopijević

After the Quake

21/12/2009 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

Gyumri, the city symbol of the quake that 21 years ago struck Armenia. The stories of the homeless, the domiks, the migrants, waiting for the opening of the borders with Turkey. Reportage

IDPs in Azerbaijan

17/12/2009 -  Gunel GuliyevaJvan Yazdani Baku

The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh caused the displacement of over 600,000 ethnic Azeris. Some achieved good living standards. But many live in collective accommodations or in dwellings officially owned by other private persons

Kosovo's stolen properties

15/12/2009 -  Veton Kasapolli Pristina

In Kosovo many buildings, mostly belonging to Serbian citizens, are occupied or sold illegally in the owners' absence. Swindlers often use false documents and conniving officials, unveiling the weakness of the rule of law. The case of Peja/Pec

The return of non-aligned Serbia

14/12/2009 -  Marco Abram

If Serbian diplomats get what they want, Belgrade will be the place where the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement is celebrated in 2011. Yet, many commentators are now questioning the advantages of such a movement in a world which has changed so radically in the last half-century

Kosovo elections: conflicting realities South and North of the Ibar

11/12/2009 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

The mid-November local elections in Kosovo stressed once more the two different realities of the Serbs living north and south of the Ibar river. For those living south, some kind of participation was considered as a vital necessity to retain local power. North of Mitrovica, the boycott was almost complete

The partial fall of the Schengen wall

10/12/2009 -  Mustafa Canka Podgorica

On 30 November, the Council of Interior Ministers of the EU approved the request to cancel visa requirements for citizens from Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Citizens from these countries will be able to travel freely to EU countries starting from 19 December. The reactions from Podgorica, Montenegro.