In 2018, Albanian prosecutors dropped a money laundering probe into Ylli Didani. Less than two years later, he was arrested in the US on charges of trafficking significant amounts of cocaine to Europe and laundering the proceeds. At first glance, Michigan resident Ylli Didani was a successful businessman with stakes …
Read More »As Ukraine Conflict Intensifies, Serb Volunteers Prepare for Battle
Serbs who fought for Moscow-backed militias in the conflict in eastern Ukraine say they are ready to take up arms again as a massive Russian military build-up on the border raises fears of more violence. As the simmering conflict in Ukraine heats up again, there have been indications that volunteer …
Read More »A Czech Explosion, Russian Agents, A Bulgarian Arms Dealer: The Recipe For A Major Spy Scandal In Central Europe – Analysis
The explosion was massive, blowing out windows of houses kilometers away, leaving a smoldering crater in the eastern Czech forest, not far from the border with Slovakia. The blast, on October 16, 2014, destroyed a cache of ammunition and related weaponry. The bodies of two men who worked at the …
Read More »Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Emirates hold strategic meeting
Top foreign affairs officials of Israel, Greece, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates meet in Cyprus. Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi met April 16 in Paphos, Cyprus with Cypriot, Greek and Emirati officials in the first such meeting of its kind. Ashkenazi met in person with Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos …
Read More »Greek FM visits Egypt in lead-up to Saudi Arabia visit
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias arrived in Egypt on Sunday during a tour leading up to a visit to Saudi Arabia. It comes within the framework of a diplomatic move by Athens against the backdrop of the situation in Libya and tension with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean. Dendias tweeted …
Read More »Western Balkans: Storm Over Unofficial Document Mulling Border Changes, EU’s Michel Silent
A phantom document proposing controversial border changes across the Western Balkans caused a political storm in the region and in Brussels this week. While most EU officials had little knowledge of the elusive document, the office of European Council President Charles Michel could not deny receiving it. EURACTIV took a …
Read More »Bruised Borissov May Yet Prevail over Bulgaria’s Divided Opposition
With no clear route to a parliamentary majority following an election in Bulgaria, outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borissov may yet defy the odds. Post-election Bulgaria is fast starting to resemble an endless riddle of political ‘what-ifs’. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s path to a third term is strewn with obstacles after …
Read More »China Will Loom Large in Balkans Once Pandemic is Over
Despite the West’s growing suspicions about China, its role in the Western Balkans is likely to become even more central in the post-COVID-19 era. The global public has never talked as much about China as it has during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 struck China first, causing mayhem in Hubei Province. …
Read More »HUNGARY COULD TURN INTO CHINA’S TROJAN HORSE IN EUROPE
Revelations the Hungarian government is considering taking a huge, opaque and disadvantageous Chinese loan to pay for the construction of Fudan University’s new Budapest campus shows the depths that Orban’s Fidesz is willing to kowtow to Beijing. When Hungary’s top diplomat openly criticised the EU for sanctioning some of the …
Read More »CENTRAL EUROPE’S RETURNEES – A MIX OF THE RELIEVED AND THE RELUCTANT
With many citing reasons other than politics for their return home and some intending either to return to the UK or try their chances elsewhere in the EU, any boost to the region may not be lasting Eva Pavelkova moved to the UK in 2006, shortly after graduating as a …
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