All the news

Four ways of looking at European cross-border rail links

12/04/2021 -  Gianluca De Feo

According to absolute numbers, Central Europe can count on the most cross-border train connections on the continent. What happens, however, if we take into account the length of each country’s borders and their population sizes?

The Uyghur question between Ankara and Beijing

12/04/2021 -  Filippo Cicciù Istanbul

Relations between Turkey and China are growing strong, as confirmed by the recent visit to Ankara by the Chinese Foreign Minister. Relations, however, are complicated by the unresolved question of the Turkish-speaking Uyghurs repressed by Beijing

Balkans in the EU: a future to be designed together

09/04/2021 -  Paolo Bergamaschi

The European Parliament seems much more inclined to open up to the Western Balkans than the Commission and the Council, and recently requested to include these countries in the Conference on the Future of Europe which will open on 9 May

Kosovo: the lost battle against corruption

07/04/2021 -  Nicasia PiccianoCemaliye Beysoylu

International and local efforts to fight corruption in Kosovo need a common long-term strategy that boosts local ownership

A single constituency: more democracy in North Macedonia?

01/04/2021 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev Tetovo

The current electoral system, which divides North Macedonia into six constituencies, clearly favours the main parties to the detriment of the smaller ones, that are now asking to move to a single constituency

North Macedonia, a slow start for the vaccination campaign

30/03/2021 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev Tetovo

The vaccination campaign in North Macedonia is struggling to start due to lack of doses. The first deliveries, coming from Russia or thanks to the support of neighbouring Serbia, have now been joined by the first delivery secured through the COVAX mechanism

More and more trains crossing European borders

29/03/2021 -  Gianluca De FeoLorenzo Ferrari

A dense network of cross-border rail connections cuts through the continent, and it’s set to expand even further in the coming years thanks to new infrastructure and the birth of the European single rail market. However, there are still profound differences between the central and peripheral regions of Europe

European Parliament and the Western Balkans: I wish I could

26/03/2021 -  Željko Pantelić

In the plenary session of yesterday, 25 March, the European Parliament passed resolutions on Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia in an enlargement perspective. But many important representatives were absent from the parliamentary debate

Serbia: the criminalisation of civil society

26/03/2021 -  Vukašin Obradović Belgrade

An attempt is underway in Serbia to discredit civil society. Serious and heavy attacks against some Serbian non-governmental organisations came from the parliament benches, in particular from Aleksandar Martinovic, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party

Where do we stand on the road to a European Gigabit Society?

25/03/2021 -  Federico Caruso

The road towards universally accessible ultra-fast connectivity in Europe still seems long and bumpy

China and Central-Eastern Europe, "17+1" at the end of the line?

23/03/2021 -  Francesco Martino

It was created in 2012 to foster economic cooperation between China and Central-Eastern Europe. After the last edition, held online with disappointing results, the "17+1" initiative appears to be in decline, so much so that some analysts openly question its survival

Jens Woelk: Status quo in Bosnia and Herzegovina is an illusion

22/03/2021 -  Lejla Gačanica

Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot wait any longer. It must embrace the constitution, which can no longer be just an "annex" to the Dayton Peace Accords. The opinion of the jurist Jens Woelk

Serbia: journalists don’t feel safe

19/03/2021 -  Vukašin Obradović Belgrade

The media situation in Serbia continues to deteriorate, as illustrated by the recent withdrawal of five journalists’ and media associations from the Working group on safety and protection of journalists, set up by the government last December. Repeated attacks against KRIK journalists were the straw that broke the camel’s back

Croatia: public TV against its own journalists

16/03/2021 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

For the second time, Croatian public television HRT fires journalist Hrvoje Zovko, a defender of media freedom for many years. The employer cites a breach of contract, Zovko's lawyer Vanja Juric the desire to punish him for his trade union activity

Food alerts in Europe: from Polish chickens to Indian sesame seeds

16/03/2021 -  Gianluca De Feo

Last year, more than half of the alerts issued by the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed concerned products from non-EU countries. If these countries are unable to adapt their production chains to EU food safety regulations over the next few years, the risks to European citizens will continue to grow.

Serbia, vexatious lawsuits against journalists

12/03/2021 -  Vukašin Obradović Belgrade

The director of the N1 television station and the editor-in-chief of the television portal have been sued with a request for one million Euros in compensation by Telenor, which is becoming increasingly aggressive towards United Media – a company that owns some Serbian media including N1

The gender gap in EU parliaments

11/03/2021 -  Openpolis

While the proportion of women in the legislative bodies of the member states of the European Union has grown over the years, access to key positions of political influence is still limited — in some member states more than in others.

The gender gap in EU governments

10/03/2021 -  Openpolis

Women constitute less than a third of the members of governments in the EU member states. This share has been increasing over the years and it is above 50% in a few countries. However, women still struggle when it comes to access to the most influential positions in the government

Armenia and Azerbaijan: women peacebuilders on the post-conflict scenario

08/03/2021 -  Claudia Ditel

Women are not only victims of conflict, but also of gender discrimination, exacerbated by war. We talked about it with peace activists from Armenia and Azerbaijan

Migrations, media, and the pandemic

04/03/2021 -  Majlinda Aliu

In recent years, migrations have been widely covered by the European media, often in controversial terms. With the outbreak of the pandemic, the situation has changed dramatically, but not for the better. An analysis