Balkans

If the polls are to believed, 2026 could finally see the end of the 16 years of dominance of Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party, and pave the way for a relatively unknown and definitely inexperienced new government. Yet defeating Orban at the ballot box might not be enough: retaining …

The Hungarian PM’s cautious response to a new law targeting Slovakia’s ethnic-Hungarian minority is creating credibility issues for his Fidesz party on both sides of the border and perhaps opening up an opportunity for Hungary’s extreme-right to benefit. “We do not accept collective guilt, either in our own country or …

As new early elections approach, scheduled for December 28th, the debate in Kosovo regarding voting rights for the influential and large diaspora is reopening: some are proposing the introduction of reserved seats, along the lines of Croatia Kosovo’s diaspora abroad is, according to the World Bank 2024 country report, among …

The Hungarian PM’s cautious response to a new law targeting Slovakia’s ethnic-Hungarian minority is creating credibility issues for his Fidesz party on both sides of the border and perhaps opening up an opportunity for Hungary’s extreme-right to benefit. “We do not accept collective guilt, either in our own country or …

As soon as the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina handed down a first-instance verdict on Republika Srpska president, Milorad Dodik, sentencing him to a year in prison with a six-year ban on holding the presidential office, for not complying with the decisions of the High Representative, Dodik and his allies …

On December 12, 2025, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned after protesters took to the streets in cities across the country and filled the centre of the capital Sofia in the night of December 11. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people turned out in Sofia’s central Triangle of Power and …

Huge crowds took to the streets of the capital Sofia and other major cities on Monday night to protest against the governing coalition of centre-right populists GERB, the pro-Russia Bulgarian Socialist Party and nationalist party There’s Such a People, backed by tycoon Delyan Peevski’s New Beginning. The protests were some …

What, in an ideal world, might the chief international envoys in Bosnia and Herzegovina say to make this week’s 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords really a day to remember? Imagine the scene: It is November 21, 30 years to the day since the Dayton Peace Accords were initialled …

Since Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, and them Israel responded by waging war in Gaza, the number of terror attacks in the West has increased, according to the Global Terrorism Index compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace. Meanwhile, videos of atrocities …

Rio Tinto told BIRN it had invited “various bidders” to take part in a tender to create a brand campaign in response to what it called a “disinformation campaign against the project in Serbia”. It confirmed hiring ESBR Consulting. Asked about Eisin’s connection to Vucic, the company said only that …