All the news

Serbia, Europe's most polluted country

23/01/2020 -  Antonela Riha Belgrado

Serbia sets the pollution record in Europe: the Kostolac B thermal power plant alone emits more sulfur dioxide per year than all the thermal power plants in Germany combined. And Serbia does not seem willing to spend the funds received on loan from various international agencies for environmental protection

Six graphs to show how affordable and fast trains in Europe are

23/01/2020 -  Journalism++

Where in Europe is taking the train fast and affordable, and where is it not? The European Data Journalism Network has gathered data on train journeys from 28 booking websites across Europe, collecting more than 8,000 single journey ticket prices and travel times for 73 sample routes

Moldova, a "slow" invitation to discover the world of wine

22/01/2020 -  Francesco Martino Chișinău

From Cricova's mysterious tunnels to the small wineries of Gagauzia, the Republic of Moldova aims to become an alternative to mass tourism destination thanks to hospitality traditions and the millenary cultural and historical heritage. The ace up its sleeve? Viticulture

Azerbaijani elections, for Rasul Jafarov this time is different

16/01/2020 -  Claudia Ditel

Well-known human rights defender, lawyer, and former political prisoner Rasul Jafarov intends to run for the next parliamentary elections with the REAL party – only if the regime allows him to. An interview

The problem with refugee camps in Greece

14/01/2020 -  Eleni Stamatoukou Thessaloniki

More than 100,000 migrants and refugees are still present in Greece. Many of them live in refugee camps, which are not appropriate accommodation solutions because of their location in faraway, poory connected areas

Azerbaijan: 2019, year of make-up

13/01/2020 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

It was a rather hectic year in 2019 in Azerbaijan, President Aliyev decided on a series of changes, layoffs and replacements of senior officials. For some a wave of reforms, for others yet another make-up, in view of the early parliamentary elections of 9th February

Albania: the winter of representative democracy

09/01/2020 -  Gentiola Madhi

A new wave of protests is expected to mark the beginning of 2020 in Albania. With a fragmented opposition and a non-representative Parliament, civic protests may serve as a catalyst for further democratisation and freedom of speech

Indians of Armenia

30/12/2019 -  Armine Avetysian

The number of foreign citizens migrating to Armenia is constantly growing, including Indian citizens. Thousands arrived in the first nine months of 2019

Croatia, moving to the islands

23/12/2019 -  Giovanni Vale

Usually, people tend to leave the Dalmatian islands to seek a more comfortable life on the continent. However, digital and foreign nomads are going against the trend

Albania: the civic duty of protecting the National Theatre

18/12/2019 -  Gentiola Madhi

The 20-month long protests against the demolition of the National Theatre reflect not only the need to protect the country's common historical and cultural heritage, but also citizens’ demands for further democratisation of Albania

Datajournalism, my wife, and the Romanian presidential elections

13/12/2019 -  Giorgio Comai

Take a man passionate of datajournalism and Eastern Europe and make him drive the wife to a polling station, you'll end up with a very special analysis on the recent Romanian presidential elections. The making of

North Macedonia in the "mini Schengen" looking glass

12/12/2019 -  Ilcho Cvetanoski Skopje

North Macedonia has enthusiastically welcomed the mini-Schengen initiative in the Western Balkans, wanted by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. A deeper analysis, however, reveals many doubts and concerns

Media capture: Toolkit for 21st century autocrats

10/12/2019 -  Matteo Trevisan

On 12 December 2019, OBCT will participate in the "Newsocracy" conference, organised in Budapest by ECPMF to discuss how to protect Public Service Media from political interference. Some ideas from our presentation

Ukraine: Zelenski-Putin meeting

09/12/2019 -  Filippo Rosin

Today in Paris, within the framework of the "Normandy Group", Ukrainian President Zelensky and Russian President Putin will meet. A picture of the political situation in Ukraine and in the Donbas

Balkans, dreaming of a future elsewhere

06/12/2019 -  Majlinda AliuAleksandar ManasievAleksandra Bogdani Dušan MladjenovićMilica Marinović

Many people, above all young and qualified, emigrate or dream of emigrating from the Balkans to other European countries. A phenomenon that puts entire sectors of the economy at risk, and that warrants urgent answers

Equality, you know what I mean?

04/12/2019 -  Valentina Vivona

Over the last twenty years, European directives have facilitated the creation of equality bodies. The majority of these institutions are still not very familiar to European citizens, but there are some exceptions in south-eastern countries

Greece: New Democracy pushes a tougher agenda on refugees

02/12/2019 -  Elvira Krithari Atene

After the victory in the last elections, New Democracy has given a new course to policies for migrants and refugees, which risks further weakening the protection mechanisms available to them

Romania’s 2019 presidential elections: the diaspora at the ballot box

26/11/2019 -  Giorgio Comai

At the latest Romanian presidential elections, almost one million Romanians voted from abroad, largely by casting their ballots in more than 800 polling stations open from Friday through Sunday. A visual exploration of the data

Insight: the Ukrainian Lgbt+ community

26/11/2019 -  Claudia Bettiol

It has operated for over ten years alongside Ukraine's LGBT+ community. A meeting with some Insight activists and their views on Ukrainian society and the slow progress on rights in post-Soviet Ukraine

2019: escape from the Balkans

25/11/2019 -  Francesca RolandiChristian Elia

A growing phenomenon with worrying implications: the flight of workers, skilled or otherwise, from former Yugoslavia. A look at the data and political responses.