Between 2000 and 2009 Romania experienced one of Europe's highest growth rates. Yet even before the economic crisis hit Bucharest hard, it became clear that the wealth of the economic boom was built with dramatic social costs, paid mostly by children, unemployed, pensioners, and Roma
In Azerbaijan, intellectual elites began a long struggle for independence and democracy in the 1970s. This story chronicles Azerbaijan's journey after 1989 through a difficult transition, war, and instability
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Western Balkans and the Caucasus are left with many a lost chance. The analysis of Tihomir Loza, deputy director of "Transitions on line", since 1999 among the major online news media devoted to the former Eastern Bloc
The Romanian generation born in 1989, what they do not know about their past, and what they want from the future. A reportage from Bucharest on the memory of Ceasescu in nowadays' Romania, where the events of 1989 continue to divide society and generations
The reactions in Armenia to the signing of the protocols with Turkey. The political scenario, the public debate. A survivor of the 1915 genocide speaks out
A clear strategy is now needed: effective political dialogue and a strong EUSR. A comment on the Butmir negotiations on the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In Georgia, opposition activists are victims of aggression and suffer violent attacks, even at the hands of the police. The government minimises these accusations and speaks of a Georgia which is headed straight on the path toward democracy
Street violence, cancellation of the gay pride, attacks on foreigners. But it was only with the death of a French football fan beaten by Serbian hooligans that Belgrade felt under siege and tried to react. Brice Taton, the young French football fan who was brutally beaten by Serb hooligans before the match between Partisan and Toulouse, died of injuries on September 30th
Radu Carp is a Public Law and Political Science professor, vice-dean of the University of Bucharest's Political Science Department, a respected lecturer, and the author of several important studies. Osservatorio spoke with him about Romania's relations with the European Commission
The difficult balances of the EULEX mission, the proposals for territorial exchange between Serbia and Kosovo, and the visa liberalisation issue. Our correspondent talked to Italian ambassador in Kosovo Michael L. Giffoni
Twenty years after the fall of the Wall, the controversial lustration process - the epuration of those who cooperated with the police of Communist regimes - is still in deep waters. And many wonder whether rummaging archives still makes sense. A contribution from our dossier ''The long-lasting '89''
It was a lot more than a missed opportunity. The cancellation of the gay pride parade in Belgrade exposed the weakness of the state in the face of extremist groups and their threats of beatings and violence. A commentary by our correspondent
Alena Arshinova is the leader of "Proriv"("Breakthrough"), a youth organization founded in 2005 in Transnistria, a de facto independent territory that, in Soviet times, belonged to the Moldovan SSR. We met her at the organization's headquarters in downtown Tiraspol. An interview
Music in all three republics continues to be dominated by those singers and musicians who are subordinate to nationalist or predominant political interests. But rock and rap bands are starting to speak out, especially in Azerbaijan
An urban-renewal plan for Istanbul has been destroying entire neighbourhoods and expelling residents to the city's periphery. The Roma population has been expelled from their ancient neighbourhood, Sulukule, where a third bridge will be built on the Bosphorus
The Kosovo government is having their first major disagreement with EULEX over the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo intention, announced in August, to sign a protocol with Serbian police as part of regional cooperation to fight organized crime
On 9 April 1989, Soviet troops dispersed demonstrations in Tbilisi, killing 20 people. That event changed the political debate in Georgia and deeply influenced further developments in the two decades that followed, a period of great expectations and missed chances. An interview with Marina Muskhelishvili
Domestic violence is a taboo topic in Azerbaijan. Every attempt to discuss issues that touch the private, family realm is perceived as a threat to the country's national identity
Berisha's proposal to legalise same-sex marriages caught everyone by surprise. Yet, the main motivation for the Albanian prime minister and other politicians in the region to engage with radical reforms in the field of civil rights may just be...getting Brussels to notice
Twelve months after the conflict in South Ossetia, tension in the border area is running high again. In reality, Tbilisi does not expect renewal of the hostilities, but there is concern about domestic politics. An article by our correspondent
Membership in the World Bank costs Kosovo greatly because it must pay its portion of the old Yugoslav debt. As outlined by the Ahtisaari plan, membership comes despite Kosovo not receiving any assets deriving from the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Belgrade's continuing politics to pay Kosovo's foreign debt, as part of Serbia's general debt, is breaking down
The European Commission proposed visa liberalization for Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro, which would bring an end to a costly and sometimes humiliating ritual for people who need to travel abroad. Kosovo, Bosnia and Albania, though, were excluded from the recommendation
The Republic of Moldova on 29 July will hold new parliamentary elections. Despite the opposition leaders' demand not to hold elections in the summer but to postpone them until the autumn, the communist authorities decided to organise the elections as soon as possible
Boyko Borisov, leader of the rightwing and winner of the recent national elections will be the next Bulgarian prime minister. But where does he come from and who is Borisov, known by everybody as "Brother Boyko"? The story of his rise to political power
An interview with Senad Pećanin, director of the news weekly Dani, about the ongoing clash between High Representative Inzko and the institutions of Republika Srpska, the position of the international community, and the future of the country
In spite of the fact that there's a large Azeri minority in Iran - up to one fourth of the population - state-run media, as well as public officials in Azerbaijan, largely ignored the protests taking place across the border
Municipal elections took place in Yerevan on 31 May, "a local election driven by a national agenda". Amidst claims of widespread fraud and intimidation, opposition leader and former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan called for protests
Osservatorio met Cristian Tudor Popescu, a well-known Romanian journalist and political analyst, to talk about the media, freedom of expression and the forthcoming presidential elections
The recently elected parliament failed twice to elect a president. The situation throws the Republic of Moldova into new parliamentary elections, as the parliament is constitutionally obliged to dissolve after the second failure to elect a president
Macedonia is almost the last country in Eastern Europe, together with Albania, to pass legislation on lustration. Under the law's provisions, practically every public officeholder will have to swear they had not worked for the secret services
