Britainโ€™s Karen Pierce swaps DC embassy for the Balkans

Former British ambassador in Washington will help lead a summit this fall tackling illegal migration.

Orbรกn infuriates Warsaw by granting political asylum to former Polish minister

Poland’s foreign ministry calls the Hungarian government’s decision a “hostile” step and an “insult” to Polish authorities.

EU leaders to pledge closer ties with Western Balkans counterparts

“It’s clear that CFSP alignment is becoming more important,” a senior EU official said.
The post EU leaders to pledge closer ties with Western Balkans counterparts appeared first on Euractiv.

Balkan journalists battle deluge of SLAPP lawsuits

SLAPPs — or strategic lawsuits against public participation — are being increasingly used by the rich and powerful to bully and silence journalists, activists and NGOs.
The post Balkan journalists battle deluge of SLAPP lawsuits appeared first on Eur…

European countries give farmers more freedom to shoot wolves

The decision by Bern Convention members is a major win for the EU and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Ukraine war briefing: Russian missile strike kills at least four in central town

Rescue operation under way, Zelenskyy says, after more than a dozen also wounded in Dnipropetrovsk region. What we know on day 1,012See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageA Russian missile strike on a town in Ukraineโ€™s central Dnipropetrovsk region on …

UK to sign new agreements on people smuggling with Western Balkan countries

The UK government says that almost 100,000 migrants from third countries transited through the Western Balkans last year, making it “a key route used by those who end up in the EU or UK illegally”.

Sergey Lavrov to visit Malta next month, Russian media reports

Russia’s foreign minister is expected to travel to Malta for an OSCE meeting in December.

Von der Leyen tours Western Balkans in latest EU enlargement drive

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen kicked off a four-day trip to the Western Balkans, where she will meet with the leaders of Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro to discuss their progress tow…

How one engineer beat the ban on home computers in socialist Yugoslavia

In Lewis Packwoodโ€™s book Curious Video Game Machines, Voja Antoniฤ‡ explains how he built a console and published instructions for anyone to make their ownVery few Yugoslavians had access to computers in the early 1980s: they were mostly the preserve of…

Albania-EU membership talks to kick off with corruption, checks and balances

Join host Giada Santana and senior editor Alice Taylor in unpacking the start of Albania’s EU membership negotiations.

Pyrrhic victory for the Greek government: the CJEU rules on Turkey as a โ€œsafe third countryโ€

Professor Steve Peers, Royal Holloway University of London

Photo credit: Mstyslav Chernov, via Wikimedia
Commons

Hamster idiom credit: Adam Sharp

(Thanks to Zoe Gardner for discussion of the case;
the following analysis is my own)

 

Introduc…

Italy says enough EU countries ready to back call for early emissions review

In todayโ€™s edition of the Capitals, find out more about the coalition of Prime Minister Robert Fico facing internal, parties in the Bulgarian parliament expressing satisfaction with Brussels’ decision to block North Macedonia’s EU accession, and so muc…

North Macedonia hits out at Brussels, says EU accession like ‘Waiting for Godot’

Both North Macedonia’s president and prime minister slammed stumbling blocks put in place by Brussels over a dispute with Bulgaria over Balkan history, language and culture.

The Brief โ€“ How did North Macedonia end up in the deep freeze?

The EU made the difficult decision on Wednesday (25 September) evening, to de-couple North Macedonia from Albania on their EU path and to start accession negotiations with Tirana, leaving Skopje behind.

Albaniaโ€™s EU path decoupled from North Macedonia while Skopje remains in limbo

Albania’s EU accession path will be decoupled from North Macedonia’s, with the first clusters of negotiation set to be formally opened on 15 October, according to a unanimous decision of Ambassadors of European Union member states on Wednesday (25 Sept…

Balkan plot to dig up Yugoslav leader Titoโ€™s remains hits a wallย 

Belgrade mayor wants Titoโ€™s remains moved back to his native Croatia, triggering a debate hotter than a Balkan summer.

Bulgariaโ€™s Borissov calls for North Macedoniaโ€™s deputy PM to resign

Boyko Borissov, leader of Bulgaria’s largest party, GERB, called for the resignation of Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nikoloski over his comments about Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Bulgaria, further adding fuel to the ongoing โ€˜missi…

Meet the commissioners: Class of 2024

Everything you need to know about Ursula von der Leyen’s team for her second term.

Brain drain in Western Balkans spikes amid absence of opportunities

Youth brain drain is becoming a worrisome problem for the Western Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia.

European commissioner nomineeย pickย signals Greeceโ€™s rightward turn

PM’s choice of Apostolos Tzitzikostas could raise the temperature of simmering resentments between Greece and North Macedonia.

Mark Rutteโ€™s first NATO task: Find a right-hand woman

Two senior former officials from North Macedonia and Bulgaria are among those competing to become the incoming NATO chief’s deputy.

Europeโ€™s southerners want Brussels to save them from climate change

Ursula von der Leyen faces pressure from the south over climate adaptation plans.

Macedonian ministry employee arrested for mass-producing fake โ‚ฌ2 coins

The arrest comes as Kosovo faces an epidemic of counterfeit euro coins.

North Macedonia is getting ahead on the path to energy transition out of coal

The country signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which will provide it with 26.4 million euros that should support the energy transition according to the Green Agenda.

Kosovoโ€™s president involved in Macedonian airport scuffle, sparking diplomatic row

The incident was โ€œunprecedented,โ€ Vjosa Osmani’s spokesperson said.

Kosovoโ€™s president involved in Macedonian airport scuffle, sparking diplomatic row

The incident was โ€œunprecedented,โ€ Vjosa Osmani’s spokesperson said.

China pressures lawmakers from Slovakia, other countries to skip Taiwan summit

China contacted lawmakers in a bid to pressure them to not attend a democracy summit on the island of Taiwan.

Weather tracker: Heavy seasonal rain causes widespread flooding in China

Six people dead, thousands evacuated and transport disrupted after at least 20 floods in major rivers China has been experiencing heavy and widespread rainfall since the start of the rainy season, which runs from May to September. It has resulted in at…

EU wields stick and carrot to drive South-Eastern Europe energy integration

Formerly sedate attempts at electricity market integration in South-Eastern Europe have been given a new dynamism amid a concrete EU perspective โ€“ and a looming punitive CO2 duty.

Poland aims to revise EU green policies during Council presidency

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Bulgaria warning North Macedonia that it is straying further from its EU path, the Polish government saying it aims to revise EU green policies during its upcoming EU Council presidency, and so mu…

Bitter Balkan feuds spill into Euros once again

An Albanian player leads fans in chants against North Macedonia. Rival supporters unite to chant “Kill the Serbs”. A journalist from Kosovo receives death threats for an eagle gesture.

Balkan tensions burst onto the pitch at Euro 2024

‘Kill the Serb!’ ‘F**k Macedonia!’ Violent chants and regional rivalries tarnish Europe’s summer football tournament.

North Macedonia parliament approves a new nationalist-dominated government

North Macedonia’s lawmakers on Sunday (23 June) approved a new nationalist-dominated government of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, whose party won general elections in May banking on voters’ anger at the slow pace of European Union integration.

Greek PM warns North Macedonia on EU bid

Greece warned on Friday (17 May) that North Macedonia’s reopening of a long-running name dispute could hurt its EU bid, hours after the incoming prime minister in Skopje rejected criticism from Athens.

Will North Macedonia jeopardise its EU accession process?

North Macedonia’s newly elected president, hailing from the nationalist VMRO party, which won the parliamentary election this month, refused to use the country’s official name at her inauguration, setting it on a collision course with its neighbours an…

Anti-LGBTQ violence hits โ€˜new highโ€™: EU report

Violence and harassment against LGBTQ people in Europe have reached a “new high” in the past few years, according to a survey published Tuesday (14 May) by the European Union’s rights agency.

North Macedonia president stokes controversy at inauguration

North Macedonia’s first woman president was inaugurated on Sunday (12 May), with the new nationalist leader angering Greece after a speech that did not acknowledge her country’s new name.

North Macedonia set for rocky ties with EU as nationalists win presidential, parliamentary election

North Macedonia appeared to be on a collision course with its EU neighbours Greece and Bulgaria, as the nationalist opposition swept parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday (8 May).

North Macedonia elections set to ramp up tensions with EU neighbours

North Macedonia appears set to be on a collision course with its EU neighbours Greece and Bulgaria with double-header elections Wednesday (8 May) poised to return the country’s nationalist opposition to power.

North Macedonia nationalist rides high in first round of presidential election

North Macedonia’s nationalist candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova claimed victory in the first round of presidential elections on Wednesday (24 April) — the first in a series of votes that could decide whether the Balkan country will join the EU.

EU eyes offshoring asylum-seekers, but avoids UK-style Rwanda plan

The European Union is open to the idea of sending asylum-seekers to outside countries, even if it is not willing to go quite as far as following Britain and its plans to fly irregular migrants to Rwanda.

Fearing arrest, Brazilโ€™s Bolsonaro stayed two days in Hungarian embassyย 

Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro stayed for two nights at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia last month, just days after federal police confiscated his passport and arrested two former aides on suspicion of plotting a coup, Bolsonaro’s…

Videos show migrants stripped of clothing in freezing temperatures at Serbian border

Exclusive: footage of semi-naked men is evidence of increasing abuse during illegal pushbacks on Europeโ€™s borders, say rights groupsVideos appearing to show groups of men stripped of their clothing in near-freezing temperatures and being forced back fr…

Gradual integration best path to EU membership, two ministers say

Gradual integration of EU candidate countries into the bloc’s structures is “not an alternative to membership” but the best way to keep enlargement on track and achieve faster results, Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and his North Mac…

Russia controversy overshadows OSCE security summit

The world’s largest regional security group opened its Skopje summit Thursday (30 November) with Russia and Ukraine’s allies in open conflict, rattling the organisation created to overcome tensions during the Cold War.

Russia accuses Bulgaria of malice and stupidity over diplomatic overflight ban

Russia accused Bulgaria of malice and stupidity on Thursday (30 November) for refusing to allow Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s plane to fly through its airspace to attend a meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia.

Germany proposes giving EU candidate countries observer status at summits

Roadmap for expansion suggests integrating countries such as Ukraine into sections of EU before negotiations are completeGermany has proposed a detailed and innovative roadmap to expand the EU that would give candidate countries such as Ukraine early b…

Berlin sends new agriculture envoy to help Western Balkans with EU accession

As part of its efforts to secure EU accession for the Western Balkans, the German government is sending for the first time an agricultural attachรฉ to the region to help it implement the often highly technical EU legislation in the field.

Europeโ€™s air pollution crisis: inside the 29 September Guardian Weekly

Continental choke point. Plus: inside the mind of Elon Musk Get the magazine delivered to your home addressThe Guardian launched its new Europe website last week with an exclusive investigation into the dangerous levels of air pollution being measured …

Locals fear disaster as North Macedoniaโ€™s Lake Prespa recedes

The lake of Prespa, two thirds of which belong to North Macedonia and the rest to Greece and Albania, has lost 7% of its surface area and half of its volume between 1984 and 2020, NASA has said.