Balkans

The European Union’s treats Western Balkans states as a wicked stepmother. While this has not significantly changed even after the Russian invasion on Ukraine, it did triggered a fundamental debate on whether the EU wants at all to admit the remaining six Western Balkan countries (Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, …

The Western Balkan six – five of the former Yugoslavia’s successor states plus Albania – remain outside the EU as war wounds fester and reform efforts stumble. Brussels should find means short of promising accession to help guide these countries back onto the right track. What’s new? Twenty-plus years after the …

The EU will finalise the issue of visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens in the coming months, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen said during a press conference in Pristina on Monday, sentiments echoed by Slovenia. Tuppurainen said that Finland supports the Euro-Atlantic process of Kosovo and the Western Balkan …

On day three of protests, Skopje finds itself torn between parties and citizens who oppose the French proposal regarding unlocking Bulgaria’s veto, and pressure from Albania and domestic ethnic Albanian parties to accept it. Following a proposal from the French that some areas of dispute, centred on culture, language, and …

Following disagreements over stances on Russia, Slovakia intends to ‘mute’ foreign policy cooperation between the Visegrád countries as Bratislava takes over the rotating presidency of the embattled regional bloc. Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland form the Visegrád group, a regional grouping that uniformly fought against the refugee relocation system during …

Egypt, Greece and Cyprus have promoted their military relations in the face of security threats and to defend their interests in the Eastern Mediterranean that is rich in oil and gas reserves. The defense ministers of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece held a meeting in Cairo on June 20 during which …

Earlier this month, Journalists Without Borders’ annual World Press Freedom Index placed Greece last among European Union countries for press freedom, citing a number of challenges faced by journalists in the country. The index suggests that Greece is a country in which democratic norms are in serious crisis. Journalists covering …

While Bosnian Serb separatism has been put on hold for now, there are other actors destabilising the country who should be added to the UK’s sanctions regime. On 11 April 2022, the UK imposed sanctions on Bosnian Serb politicians Milorad Dodik and Željka Cvijanović. The two separatist leaders were the …

I recently had a fascinating chat with my colleague, Darjan Milutinovic. We discussed a country fighting for its freedom at a time when its independence was denied by a far more powerful neighbor. This adversary launched a full-scale invasion with a much larger army and occupied a quarter of the …

As France made last-ditch efforts to unclog North Macedonia’s stalled EU accession process, currently blocked by Bulgaria, ahead of this week’s EU summit, North Macedonian experts expressed strong doubts about the French proposal. At a debate held in Skopje on Monday, experts said that if media leaks about the unpublished …