Dozens of refugees and migrants trying to cross Albania have been reduced to begging for food on the streets of Tirana, victims of gang violence and under-funding at a state-run reception centre.

If the EU suddenly seems more interested than it was in integrating the Western Balkans, it is partly because the expansion into the region by large regional powers such as China has got Brussels worried.

After weeks of infighting and controversial efforts to organise a postal ballot during the pandemic, Poland’s ruling coalition has agreed not to hold the vote this Sunday.