To eventually access the European Union, the Western Balkans have to align their legislation with EU law. This includes the Green Deal, which commits countries to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, there’s still quite a long way to go for the Western Balkans in their progress towards the green transition
For the 2014-2020 programming period, the European Union allocated around 5.9 billion Euros under its cohesion policy to implement renewable energy projects. An overview of the data
Large carnivores are returning to populate more and more natural areas of the Old Continent: a success for the conservation of ecosystems, but also a cause of conflicts with the population. Coexistence is built by harmonising laws, good practices, and scientific knowledge. The Interreg LECA project moves in this direction
Last year Croatia’s coastal region was hit by an intense wave of forest fires, one of the worst in recent years. But the country has been gearing up to cope – partly thanks to EU funding.
Croatia's strategic goal is to clear the country of landmines by 2026, as foreseen in the National Demining Programme. A third of the remaining contaminated territory will be reclaimed thanks to European cohesion funds
In the Balkans, a region where energy is produced from fossil fuels or – when from renewable sources – from hydroelectric energy, energy communities are gaining ground: groups of citizens and small businesses that focus on self-production and self-consumption of renewable energy
Through entrepreneurial initiative, Ana and Jasmina have managed to bring back to life a story – that of river navigation – which involves different territories. The last episode of our report dedicated to the Kupa
In San Martino in Valle, on the island of Cres, the distillation of medicinal herbs boasts a centuries-old tradition. Today, it is kept alive by Irena and her husband Guerino
The warm season will be an opportunity to test the new infrastructures and strategies of an EU-funded project in the municipalities of Gorizia, Nova Gorica, and Šempeter-Vrtojba, a border area that conceives itself as a single, homogeneous territory along the river Soča
Few cities can boast of being crossed by four rivers. Karlovac is one of them. Kupa, Dobra, Korana, and Mrežnica. A river city that saw its golden age towards the end of the eighteenth century. Our reportage continues along the Kupa River
Energy communities are projects in which citizens associate both as producers and consumers of clean energy at a local level. There are already many of them, including in South-Eastern Europe. They could be supported by EU cohesion policy, but that is not the case yet
Lake Prespa, divided between North Macedonia, Albania, and Greece, is the natural habitat of thousands of species, some of which are unique. Due to the gradual loss of water, it risks losing its biodiversity. Despite the growing efforts to save it, the situation appears extremely complicated
Little or nothing is known about the impact and responsibility of 20 tonnes of ammonia leaking from a tank on a freight train in southeast Serbia, an accident that also claimed two lives. In Serbia, it remains hard for citizens to obtain information about these environmental disasters
Civil society organizations in North Macedonia have been fighting against the opening of new copper and gold mines for years. Citizens have collected documentation and evidence that mining will seriously damage the environment
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, the Plitvice Lakes Park located in Croatia on the border with Bosnia Herzegovina, with its 300 sq km of surface area, is an exceptional European natural area. The biodiversity of its habitats and its overall ecosystem need constant protection interventions. A reportage
The global energy crisis has exposed all the difficulties of North Macedonia, with its limited and obsolete production system. Renewing it and bringing it up to date is one of the main challenges for the future of the country
We dedicate the second chapter of our report on the rivers of the Balkans to the Kupa. The journey will lead us to talk about natural parks and migrations, borders and declining industry, barbed wire and sustainable tourism
On Eurobarometer we find all the data on the opinions of European citizens on climate change. In the Balkans, as in the rest of Europe, few think that citizens themselves can be the key to virtuous dynamics
RuralAlbania, a project to support small agricultural producers in northern Albania, started in September. It follows up on strong preexisting relationships, and one of the first initiatives was a study visit
Eko Straza is one of the civic initiatives that with activism and protests across the country has contributed most to bringing environmental issues to the centre of public and political debate in Serbia. We interviewed Stanislav Vuckovic, an activist of the group
Croatia is preparing to become a regional gas supply centre thanks to the regasification plant inaugurated on the island of Krk in 2021. The Plenkovic government rejoices over Zagreb's renewed strategic-energy role, but environmentalists disagree entirely
The Adriaticaves project, part of the Interreg Adrion cooperation programme, aims to promote sustainable management of the immense speleological heritage scattered on both shores of the Adriatic, with particular attention to tourism with low environmental impact and disadvantaged territories
In the last seven-year period of European cohesion funds, many billions of Euros have already been allocated to environmental protection. 9 went to the EU countries of South East Europe
After Belgrade, Novi Sad. The new urban plan threatens the banks of the Danube and a natural area that "lets the river breathe", essential in case of flooding. The city administration continues at full speed along the concrete road
On a remote island of the Aegean, thanks to a public-private collaboration and European funds, an innovative sustainable mobility system is being developed
Two-thirds of pledges to go greener on plastic fail or are dropped, a DW investigation has found. Here's how European food and drink companies break their own commitments, and how legislation might hold them accountable
Cohesion funds can generate a new momentum for the development of mountain areas in Slovenia. Two out of five policy objectives in force until 2027 provide an important financial stimulus to improve public services and life quality of local communities, while preserving nature
Durmitor National Park is located in the northwestern part of Montenegro, bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina. Opened in 1952, it includes the massif of the same name. In 1977 the area and the long gorge of the Tara river, which winds through the park, were designated as a UNESCO biological reserve, while in 1980 the park was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
Through transnational political activism, social actors contribute to deepening democratic processes on a European level, also in the environmental sector. An interview with Aron Buzogány, professor for political science at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna
