Economy

‘This is no life’: The disillusionment of Azerbaijani migrants in Poland

11/08/2020 -  OC Media

Long hours, unsavoury jobs, low wages, and almost no institutional protections — life in Poland for Azerbaijani workers is far from the European dream

How agriculture changes in Serbia

05/08/2020

Temperatures are rising, winds are blowing the humus away and extreme weather events are increasing: a problem for agriculture in Serbia. A video report

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

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: economic losses and opportunities after COVID19

21/05/2020 -  Arta Berisha Pristina

The COVID19 epidemic has seriously impacted on the Kosovar economy and is likely to heavily affect many sectors also in the future. Yet, some also see opportunities to be seized in the post-coronavirus world

EU: An ever smaller, ever older population

28/05/2020 -  Miriam Santoro

A recently published study outlines the EU’s demographic future: in 2080, if current trends continue, the EU population will fall from the current 513 million people to 504 million, while flight from rural areas shows no sign of slowing. We take a look at south-eastern Europe, by way of the global context

Croatia, the financial consequences of Covid-19

08/05/2020 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

Also Croatia is entering the so-called phase 2. While the health emergency seems to be under control, the economic situation is worrying. The lockdown could bring out the structural problems of an economy which is mainly tourism-based

Family bees

15/04/2020

Maria lives in northern Albania. She has not had an easy life, far from it. But to help her support her family and to accompany her on her journey she found thousands of small insects: bees

Greece, coronavirus and new winds of crisis

24/03/2020 -  Elvira Krithari Athens

As the coronavirus epidemic came, Greece was initially distracted by other issues. Now, however, everything is blocked, and the country is dealing with a crippled healthcare system and a new economic crisis on the horizon

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

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

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

Strait of Otranto: Italy vetoes the proposed protected reserve

05/11/2019 -  Stefano Valentino

FAO is negotiating a series of new measures to reduce the devastating impact of trawling and make fishing in the Adriatic Sea sustainable. The institution of the Mediterranean's largest protected reserve was part of the package, but the Italian government has blocked it

Serbia: who profits from arms sales?

28/10/2019 -  Antonela Riha Belgrade

In the arms trafficking scandal recently exposed in Serbia, a state-owned company was allegedly damaged to the advantage of a private company that involved the father of the Minister of the Interior. The whistleblower ended up in jail

Croatia: retirement without peace

21/10/2019 -  Ana KuzmanićIvana Perić

More than 11,000 retired Croatian are still working. Some of them seek a more active life, but the majority lives on the brink of poverty without any other option other than to keep working – a problem in common with many other European countries

Croatia: those who leave

19/09/2019 -  Francesca Rolandi

While Croatia may be a paradise for tourism, actually living and working there is a lot more difficult. Croatian workers move abroad in large numbers: a phenomenon rooted in a combination of both long-term and short-term factors. An analysis

What future for tourism in Bulgaria?

23/08/2019 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

According to Sofia's Ministry of Tourism, the sector now represents as much as 12% of the country's gross domestic product, for a turnover of around 4 billion Euros in 2018. However, Bulgaria has not yet managed to go from "alternative solution" to "preferred destination"

Tampons are subject to the same VAT regime as tobacco and wine

07/08/2019 -  María Álvarez Del VayoEva Belmonte

Since 2007, the EU allows member states to reduce the so-called Tampon Tax. But half of the countries, including Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, continue to apply a general VAT rate on such products

Are you in your thirties? Too old to find a job

19/07/2019 -  Armine Avetysian Yerevan

Age discrimination in Armenia's labour market is a serious problem, as witnessed by Karine, Karen and Anna. However, a bill that would change the situation is being discussed in the National Assembly

What future for Koper's port

18/07/2019 -  Charles Nonne Ljubljana

Slovenia's only port, the Port of Koper (Luka Koper) has record sales every year and traffic continues to grow. Envied by the great powers and by the landlocked countries of Central Europe; continuously challenged by its main rival, Trieste

Salina's dream

01/07/2019

"I want to become a veterinarian!" Salina has clear ideas, she knows what her dream is: to achieve it, she is not afraid to challenge the stereotypes that still mark the Albanian society and can count on a school that, starting from the concreteness of earth, aims straight to the future

The return

18/06/2019

Gjimi left his mountains as a boy, along with his parents. But both in Tirana and away from Albania he has only found hard work and exploitation. And he decided, with courage, to return to his homeland

Organic farming in Albania, a (still) unfullfilled potential

03/06/2019 -  Francesco Martino

Albania has the potential to successfully develop organic farming, but the sector needs structural and sustainable interventions. We talked about it with Professor Enver Isufi, director of the Institute for Organic Agriculture in Durrës

Croatia, surviving tourism

29/05/2019 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

Always regarded as an important economic resource, today mass tourism risks creating serious imbalances in Croatia. To address them, someone started thinking to "Proceed with care"

Croatia, towards the first ethical bank

15/05/2019 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

Emigration, economy, and the future of the country on the eve of the European elections. We talked about these topics with Goran Jeras, creator of the first Croatian Ethical Finance Cooperative

Free trade as a scapesheep

28/03/2019 -  Valentina Vivona

Romania has emerged as one of the targets of dairy farmers' protests in Sardinia. But the figures show that Romanian exports are not to blame for the sheep milk crisis

Between two families: stories of migrant domestic workers in Greece

18/03/2019 -  Elvira Krithari Athens

Anna, Maria, and many others. In Greece, thousands of migrant women work as domestic helpers and carers. A difficult life, suspended between legality and informal sector, country of origin and destination, pride and regret

Kosovo, strikes and demands for better salaries

05/03/2019 -  Majlinda Aliu Pristina

Kosovo has been shaken by chain strikes to demand better wages after prime minister Haradinaj doubled his own salary at the end of 2017. The recent approval of a new law on wages does not seem to have cooled tensions

Kosovo: economic growth does not (yet) create job opportunities

19/02/2019 -  Majlinda Aliu Pristina

Strong economic growth that does not affect the high unemployment rate, an economic model that must change to meet the challenges of globalisation. Kosovo's economy as seen by Marco Mantovanelli, country manager for the World Bank