All the news

Greece: air, water, and democracy

16/07/2020 -  Elvira Krithari Volos

In Volos, central Greece, people are struggling for the quality of air – threatened by incinerators – and for public ownership of water, but also and above all for a transparent, democratic administration

North Macedonia at the polls today

15/07/2020 -  Ilcho Cvetanoski Skopje

After the postponement because of COVID19, Macedonian voters are called today to elect the new parliament. Preceded by an election campaign rich in populist rhetoric and bombastic promises, today's consultations feature elements of continuity, but also interesting news

Elections in Turkey: faraway, so close

10/07/2020 -  Filippo Cicciù Istanbul

The next elections in Turkey are scheduled for 2023. Despite the assurances of President Erdoğan himself, however, the political spectrum is in turmoil, between new projects and signs of fatigue in the AKP electorate

25 years in search of Selma

09/07/2020 -  Nicole Corritore

Selma Musić disappeared in 1995 during the capture of Srebrenica. She was 7. In 2019, her parents discovered in a photo that she had arrived safely on the territory of the Federation. A glimpse of hope to continue their search

Two voices on Kosovo

08/07/2020 -  Paolo Bergamaschi

A real diplomatic race between the US and the EU has recently started on the Serbia-Kosovo negotiations. The opinion of Lulzim Peci of the Kosovar Institute for Political Research and Development and Sonja Biserko, founder and president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia

Donbas: the miners' protest

06/07/2020 -  Claudia BettiolMartina Napolitano

In Donbas, miners went on strike for unpaid wages. Local authorities responded with repression: isolation of strikers, telephone lines cut, arrests and fines. Meanwhile, the conflict continues, albeit in international silence

Post-COVID-19 in Tbilisi: towards a more sustainable future?

03/07/2020 -  Onnik Krikorian Tbilisi

Georgia has been a success story with its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic - not just regionally, but also globally. As of 29 June, there have been just 924 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and 15 deaths. But can Georgia build on that success and use the opportunity to resolve some of the problems that have long plagued the country, and especially in the capital Tbilisi?

Serbia, the election of losers

02/07/2020 -  Florian Bieber

Everyone ended up losing in Serbia's recent political elections. President Vučić, because his authoritarian regime has been exposed; the opposition, because the boycott led to nothing; the EU, because it appears less and less capable to foster democratic processes in the area

Armenia's heated political summer

30/06/2020 -  Armine Avetysian Yerevan

In Armenia, a trial has been launched against the main opposition leader - and among the wealthiest people in the country - accused of electoral corruption

“Abchazja” and other untranslated bits of Wojciech Górecki's Caucasus trilogy

26/06/2020 -  Giorgio Comai

Górecki spent a lavish amount of time in the Caucasus, meeting people across the region and hearing their stories. His Caucasus trilogy makes for excellent reading. Yet, not all of it is accessible to the international readership it deserves

Lgbt in Albania, goodbye conversion therapy

24/06/2020 -  Christian Elia

Albania's Order of Psychologists has decided to ban so-called "conversion therapy", i.e. the attempt to change a person's sexual orientation. However, much remains to be done in Albania on LGBT issues

Croatia, police abuse is systemic

22/06/2020 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

While the world is outraged and protests after George Floyd's death to denounce institutionalised violence, migrants have been beaten and tortured on the Balkan route for years. A brutal practice often covered up, even by the EU itself

Kosovo: new government, weaker parliament

18/06/2020 -  Arta Berisha Pristina

The creation of a new government in Kosovo, without going through early elections, has had multiple consequences on the political landscape, including leaving many of the most voted MPs of the last elections out of parliament

Serbia: dangerous liaisons

18/06/2020 -  Antonela Riha Belgrade

On the eve of the elections, yet another scandal invests Serbia's leadership. A photograph portrays the son of President Vučić at a bar in the company of some other people, including a member of a mafia clan

Serbia after Covid-19: "best economy in Europe"?

17/06/2020 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

Despite the pompous statements by President Aleksandar Vučić on the economic solidity of Serbia after Covid-19, supported by the Minister of Finance, the situation presents more than one weakness

Kosovo, Brussels, and the enlargement process

16/06/2020 -  Paolo Bergamaschi

The EU enlargement process in general and the recent developments in Kosovo, this is what we've talked about with Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, German Green/EFA Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur for Kosovo for the European Parliament

Albania: public information becomes a casualty of COVID-19

11/06/2020 -  Gentiola Madhi

COVID-19 has exposed the weaknesses of Albania’s public information. The monopolisation of communication on coronavirus has raised concerns over the government’s accountability on pandemic management as well as media freedom

Covid-19 and Russian aid in Lombardy: narratives in the Italian media

11/06/2020 -  Irene Dioli

Cooperation or interference? Russia's military presence in Lombardy has been the subject of doubts, clashes, and conflicting narratives in the Italian media

Trump, elections, and the Balkans

09/06/2020 -  Paolo Bergamaschi

Elections for the US presidency are approaching and Donald Trump is determined to score some foreign policy success for his election campaign. He failed with Kim Jong-un and North Korea. Why not try the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo?

Greece: justice for a femicide

05/06/2020 -  Elvira Krithari Athens

The brutal murder of Eleni Topaloudi, which recently resulted in the conviction of her two killers, has put the concept of "femicide" at the centre of the debate in Greece for the first time, also leading to a legal reform on the definition of rape. An analysis by OBCT