Changing laws in a country is often relatively easy; changing the culture in regard to the application of those laws is never easy. To date, EULEX has done nothing to attempt to address this fundamental problem and now it is too late according to the author, a US judge who spent the last year in the mission
The decision to hand over the judicial system to domestic authorities, cutting Eulex’s mandate before its objectives were achieved, will not help Kosovo in the long term. Analysis of the recent EC report
Media concentration and lack of ownership transparency are a major obstacle to media pluralism and freedom in Bulgaria. According to media law expert Nelly Ognyanova, neither of these obstacles can be removed without political will. Interview
After the enlargement stop set by President Juncker, some fear the risk of a Turkish scenario for the Western Balkans, i.e. negotiations that never end. Renzo Daviddi, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thinks different. Interview
The European Parliament is running the hearings of the members of the new Juncker Commission. Johannes Hahn will be responsible for enlargement and neighbourhood policies. An analysis
Serbia adopted new rules that require the State to leave media ownership. Media associations have welcomed the new legislation, introduced as a result of pressure from Brussels
"What is most interesting about the report unveiled on Tuesday by the special investigative task force (SITF) is not what it says about the KLA, but what it implies about the post-conflict and state-building international interventions in Kosovo". A comment by Andrea Lorenzo Capussela
Keeping a toothless Eulex in Kosovo for two more years is not only a waste of money. It is also providing legitimacy to the decisions of vulnerable judges
The Serbian government is facing increasingly frequent accusations of web censorship. The interventions by the OSCE and the European Commission, the reactions of prime minister Vučić
The EU elections confirmed traditional electoral trends in Cyprus, with a record level of abstention and two seats each for the two main Greek-Cypriots parties. Controversies mounted about thousands of Turkish-Cypriots citizens not allowed to vote
Alexis Tsipras' radical left (SYRIZA)is the winner of the European elections in Greece. Yet, despite the defeat, conservative prime minister Samaras rejected the request for early elections and is preparing for a government reshuffle
The environmentalist party ORaH, born just six months ago, managed to rank third in the European elections in Croatia with 9.4%. The celebrations at the headquarters and the preparations for the upcoming 2015 political elections
The European debate on the authorization for cultivating Pioneer 1507 corn has raised fears in the youngest country of the Union, where all regions have declared themselves "GMO free"
Dutch MEP Marije Cornelissen (Greens/EFA) – a member of the Parliamentary Group for the rights of homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons—describes the current state of the fight against homophobia and for LGBT rights in the Balkans
All the citizens of Cyprus, whether in the north or the south, could theoretically vote in the European elections. But this will not happen. The Greek Cypriots are showing scarce interest, while the Turkish-Cypriots are restricted by voting regulations
In Georgia the majority of the population is in favor of closer ties with the European Union. However this will depend on progress made in terms of human rights protection and it is in these issues that stumbling blocks might frustrate Georgian ambitions
Croatia's new Criminal Code establishes the offence of "humiliation", a barrier to freedom of expression that has already claimed its first victim among journalists – Slavica Lukić, of newspaper Jutarnji list
In Greece, European and local elections will be held together. Many voters are undecided and, according to polls, the new political formation To Potami (The River) is on the rise
The marginalization of vulnerable categories of citizens, namely minors, in Romania, must stop, says Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Nils Muižnieks
The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) will be presenting itself for the European elections with a pro-European program and a Euro-skeptic alliance, hoping to win 5 of the 11 seats allotted for Zagreb
Germany is reviewing its regulations in order to discourage false asylum seekers from the Balkans, mainly of Roma origin, knocking at its door. But not all Roma asylum requests are fake
In May 2014, 507 million Europeans will be called to the polls. Yet, understanding the role and mechanisms of the European institutions is hardly easy: a handbook
The upcoming European elections (May 25, 2014) in Bulgaria will take place in the wake of a period of significant social and political tension. For this reason, many observers believe that they will offer a meaningful referendum on the current, and controversial, center-left government
“To the barricades!”: protests in the Armenian capital against the visit of the Russian President as Armenians are divided over joining the Customs Union with Moscow