updated Thu. February 15, 2024
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The Hindu
April 29, 2018
“With the deluge of proposed hydropower dams and diversions in the Balkan peninsula we are looking at what could be irreversible environmental destruction, but there is very little awareness of this issue in Europe or globally,” said Ryan Gellert, general manager, EMEA, of outdoor clothing companyÃâà...
New York Times
April 29, 2018
Mr. Vucic — an ultranationalist during the Balkan wars of the 1990s who turned into a pro-European reformer as he gained more political power — aims to ... Mohammed bin Zayed, the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, has identified Serbia as the main destination in the western Balkans for hisÃâà...
Irish Times
April 29, 2018
They arrive from Montenegro having travelled through Turkey, Greece and Albania, and also enter from Serbia, where several thousand people have been stuck since Balkan states officially closed their borders to migrants in March 2016, after a million people crossed the region en route to the heart of theÃâà...
Focus News
April 29, 2018
Skopje. Some in the Balkans still think we should be fighting each other, whereas all our people are gone to seek better life, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in Skopje, Tanjug reported. This must be stopped, Vucic said, adding that Serbia and he personally would fight to try to find a solution to allÃâà...
Deutsche Welle
April 27, 2018
The vast majority of people in the Balkans, like Natasa, are dependent on the public health care system. With an average monthly net income of €400 ($485), and an unemployment rate of over 20 percent, most people in Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia simply can't afford the luxury of private treatment.
CBC.ca
April 27, 2018
It's been a long journey, but a former Bosnian refugee has finally opened his restaurant in St. John's — the first of its kind in the province. Eldin Husic and his wife Adnela own and operate the Balkan Kitchen on Cookstown Road, which offers traditional dishes from the 13 countries on the Balkan PeninsulaÃâà...
Novinite.com
April 25, 2018
''The European perspective of our region has no alternative, and the Southeast European Cooperation Process remains the leading political format for an open and fair discussion on the important issues for us''. This was said by the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov in his speech at the Summit of theÃâà...
Xinhua
April 25, 2018
BELGRADE, April 24 (Xinhua) -- European integration of Serbia and the region is among top priorities of Belgium, visiting Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Tuesday during his meeting with Serbian leaders. The prime minister arrived in Serbia on Monday evening and separately met SerbianÃâà...
Powell River Peak
April 25, 2018
TIRANA, Albania — Top European Union official Donald Tusk said Tuesday the road to EU membership for Albania and Macedonia will be tough. The comments from the European Council president came as he started a weeklong tour of the Western Balkans countries, urging more work in the rule of lawÃâà...
Channel NewsAsia
April 25, 2018
THE HAGUE: Convicted criminal Radovan Karadzic on Tuesday (Apr 24) accused Bosnian Muslims of "declaring war" on Serbs, insisting at his appeal before a UN tribunal that he had worked for peace in the Balkans. The prosecution's case against him was "upside down, the wrong way up," KaradzicÃâà...
Tampabay.com
April 25, 2018
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A senior European Union official said Tuesday that the road to membership in the bloc for Albania and Macedonia would be tough but "worth the effort." European Council President Donald Tusk's comments came as he started a weeklong tour of Western Balkans countries, urgingÃâà...
Pittsburg Morning Sun
April 18, 2018
PITTSBURG — A local handbell choir was recently honored with a national award for its work at the Bicknell Center. The Bells of the Balkans group will receive a $400 prize from the National Federation of Music Clubs for a video the group submitted two weeks ago. “I don't think we had any expectation ofÃâà...
EU News
April 18, 2018
The EU is the world's biggest trade power, and the first partner of the Western Balkans. The EU is the first investor in the Western Balkans' future, regarding transport, energy, digital, mobility, innovation and education. Video details. Duration: 00:00:43; Shoot date: 17/04/2018; Reference: 118561. Type: Edited packageÃâà...
Delano.lu
April 18, 2018
And Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warned that failure to encompass the western Balkans countries, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, could have tragic consequences. “I do not want to see war returning to the Balkans and so we need to open up to them,” he told theÃâà...
The Calvert Journal
April 18, 2018
With almost four hours of dark listening, Balkan Experimental Survey encompasses the best of post-industrial sound from across south-eastern Europe. The album includes 32 tracks from artists spanning Greece, Romania, Turkey, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Slovenia and Macedonia. Each introduces theirÃâà...
ABC News
April 17, 2018
The Balkans spiraled into conflict in the 1990s as former Yugoslavia broke apart, but ethnic and nationalist tensions continue to simmer more than 20 years on ... Macedonia's hopes have been on hold because of a dispute with Greece over the tiny Balkan country's name, although recent talks between bothÃâà...
Minneapolis Star Tribune
April 17, 2018
EU and Balkans leaders will meet in Bulgaria on May 17, but no country in the region will be invited to join, even though some are involved in ... Macedonia's hopes have been on hold because of a dispute with Greece over the tiny Balkan country's name, although recent talks between both sides to end theÃâà...
Balkan Insight
April 14, 2018
The strikes on Saturday morning on suspected Syrian chemical weapons facilities by the US, Britain and France attracted support from political leaders in Kosovo, Albania and staunch NATO member Romania. But in Serbia, the US-led attacks caused some to recall the NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia inÃâà...
War on the Rocks
April 13, 2018
Most of the Kremlin's influence operations in the Western Balkans feed off local corruption, one of the primary conduits through which Russia maintains relationships with friendly elites. Through bribery and shady business deals, Moscow can buy the political acquiescence of Balkan politicians and pursueÃâà...
Emerging Europe
April 12, 2018
Growth in the Western Balkans – Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – declined in 2017, despite the creation of 190,000 new jobs in the first nine months of that year. According to the latest World Bank Regular Economic Report (RER) for the Western Balkans, Vulnerabilities SlowÃâà...
CBC.ca
April 12, 2018
Freshly-made burek pastries in North York are a crunchy, salty, creamy journey to the Balkans ... Coming from the area of southeastern Europe cradled by the Balkan Mountains, from places like Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, people make the trekÃâà...
EURACTIV
April 11, 2018
Serbia's president called on western Balkan countries to settle their differences and create a common market to attract badly needed foreign investment. Armed conflict in the Balkans ended more than 18 years ago, but five of the states that emerged after the former Yugoslavia broke up – Bosnia,Ãâà...
New York Times
April 4, 2018
Minefields dot Bosnia's Trebevic mountainsides. Large areas of Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina remain plagued by mines and other live bombs two decades after the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Mr. Rorandelli, a Rome-based photographer who specializes in global social and environmental issuesÃâà...
European Council on Foreign Relations
April 4, 2018
Rather, Russian leaders see the Balkans as critical piece in a new, broader 'Great Game'. In this game, Moscow, Brussels, Washington, and other national actors will seek to gain advantage and apply leverage in the region in the pursuit of wider goals that have little to do with Balkan politics. In the words ofÃâà...
EUobserver
April 4, 2018
Several EU member states are considering whether to attend the Western Balkan summit in May in Bulgaria at the highest level, as they object to the presence of Kosovo, one of the potential candidate countries for European accession. Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy has already signalled at the EUÃâà...
Balkan Insight
April 3, 2018
Once again, the states in the Balkan region have ended up in a self-created trap. Outwardly strong supporters of the EU and of its common foreign and security policy, ... Subscribe to Balkan Insight Premium to read the full article. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber.
EURACTIV
April 3, 2018
The EU is still failing to address the issue of state capture in the Balkans and, by choosing stability over democracy in the region, has been undermining its own credibility and values. But now it must take strong actions in view of the 2025 admission perspective, writes Shpend Ahmeti. Shpend Ahmeti is theÃâà...
Sputnik International
April 3, 2018
Spain, Romania and Cyprus have signaled their unwillingness to take part in the main discussion of the upcoming EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia due to Kosovo's participation. According to Serbian analysts, the firm stance of Madrid and some other European capitals shows that Belgrade must standÃâà...
Balkan Insight
April 2, 2018
Montenegro top security officials admit the situation in the country is worrying, after new bomb blasts and assassinations, having claimed the opposite for years. Dusica Tomovic. BIRN. Podgorica. A car bomb killed one in the capital Podgorica on March 28. Photo: BIRN. A car bomb exploded late on SundayÃâà...
Kathimerini
April 2, 2018
In the capitals of the Western Balkan countries, as well as in the corridors of the European Union, Greece led the way in advocating enlargement. Nowhere was this clearer than at the successful Thessaloniki European Council, in 2003, which laid down an agenda for the countries of the Western Balkans toÃâà...
ANSAmed
March 22, 2018
(ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, MARCH 21 - Several Balkan regions remained on flood alert on Wednesday as river levels remained high due to recent heavy rainfall and snowmelt. The situation was most critical in the Bosnia's Republika Srpska, where media reported that the river Sava continued to rise.
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
March 22, 2018
Nearly two dozen members of the pro-Kremlin motorcycle group Night Wolves have visited Banja Luka, the administrative center of Bosnia's predominantly Serb entity, Republika Srpska, as part of what they are calling a "Russian Balkans" tour. Because of bad weather conditions, instead of riding in onÃâà...
Eurasia Daily
March 21, 2018
Like in Serbia, Russia's influence is quite big in Bulgaria. The other Balkan states are less dependent on Moscow. As discontent with activity of European officials grows in Sofia, many experts say EU tries to freeze the situation in Bulgaria to keep its assets there and not to lose control over Sofia to Moscow.
Balkan Insight
March 21, 2018
Promised Chinese investments flowing into the region threatens to overshadow the EU's own investments in the Balkans, which have proved slow and burdened by complex procedures. “China will vigorously foster an external environment of opening-up for common development,” Chinese President XiÃâà...
Balkan Insight
March 20, 2018
Pro-Russian politicians from the Balkans have congratulated Vladimir Putin after he won more than 74 per cent of the vote in Sunday's presidential elections – while leaders of some other Balkan countries more closely aligned with NATO remained silent. The fiercely pro-Russian President of Bosnia'sÃâà...
The Conversation UK
March 20, 2018
Here's a paradox from Brexit Britain. This summer, at a summit meeting in London organised by the UK's Foreign Office, a hard Brexiteer – the foreign secretary Boris Johnson – will be the designated advocate of EU membership for the Western Balkan states. A country preparing to leave the EU will preachÃâà...
bne IntelliNews
March 16, 2018
In fact, Scaparrotti spoke briefly about Serbia in the context of Russian influence in the Balkans. “There is obviously a historical connection and affiliation but there is also because of that a better opportunity for Russian influence and [the Russians] take advantage of that in terms of disinformation, influenceÃâà...
The Guardian
March 16, 2018
“It's a place where everyone can come and they are welcome …believe me, there are not very many places like this in the Balkans.” The contemporary music scene in Bosnia is dominated by turbo-folk, a blend of regional folk music and electronic pop that originated in Serbia in the 1990s. It often featuresÃâà...
OpenCanada
March 16, 2018
It was not that long ago, well into the late 2000s in fact, that the complex network of internationally brokered peace agreements that pacified the Western Balkans in the wake of the 1991-2001 Yugoslav wars were held up as hallmarks of post-Cold War diplomacy. Bosnia and Herzegovina's Dayton peaceÃâà...
The Independent
March 16, 2018
Balkan countries fare badly in this year's UN World Happiness Report, prompting a rather memorable headline in the regional press: “Balkans Not Very Joyful, says the UN”. The two worst Balkan offenders were Bosnia and Herzegovina in 93rd position, ranking well below Libya and dictatorships such asÃâà...
U.S. News & World Report
March 15, 2018
A senior U.S. official has offered U.S. help to solve problems in the troubled Balkan region where Russia also has sought to increase its influence. ... BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A senior U.S. official said Wednesday that the United States wants to help solve problems in Western Balkans, a troubledÃâà...
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
March 14, 2018
A senior U.S. official has warned of what he called Moscow's "increasingly destructive role" in the Balkans, saying that Russia is undermining democracy in ... In February, the European Union unveiled its new strategy to integrate the six Balkan countries that remain outside the European Union -- Albania,Ãâà...
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
March 14, 2018
Around two dozen members of the biker group, which is under U.S. sanctions for its role in a Russia-backed separatist war in Ukraine, will tour the Balkan countries to “research on the cultural influence of the Russian Empire in the Balkans,” the group said in an Internet post. The announced tour wasÃâà...
Balkan Insight
March 12, 2018
It is true that, once they are in power, Balkan political elites tend to remain there indefinitely. But this political phenomenon was not invented in the Balkans. It is not our original “trade-mark”. Just to recall, the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, served as the 23rd Prime Minister ofÃâà...
Focus News
March 12, 2018
A senior US official on Monday accused Russia of spreading disinformation and undermining democracy in the Balkans, warning that Moscow was playing an ... Moscow does not officially oppose Balkan countries' bidding to join the European Union but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recentlyÃâà...
USNI News
March 11, 2018
Russia's most recent and public intervention in the region came two years ago as Montenegro, a Balkan nation on the Adriatic Sea, was moving toward NATO membership. Moscow, following its seizure of Crimea in 2014, the backing of separatists in Ukraine and deteriorating relations with the EuropeanÃâà...
Aljazeera.com
March 10, 2018
The Balkan states were hit particularly badly by snow only a week before the thaw. In fact, throughout the last month, it has either snowed - or more recently, rained - virtually every day in Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Bulgaria and neighbouring countries. Now the sun has returned, with early spring warmth,Ãâà...
Eurasia Daily
March 6, 2018
The possible exchange of territories in Kosovo between Serbs and Albanians could push other countries in the region towards the same actions. Therefore, this option for resolving the Kosovo issue concerns not only Belgrade and Pristina. This was announced on March 3 by the commander of KFORÃâà...
The Jamestown Foundation
March 6, 2018
In almost all of his stops in the Balkans, Lavrov also invariably cited the shared historical-cultural-religious background of Russians and the Serbs and other Balkan peoples (Mid.ru, February 19, 22). To be sure, there is considerable affinity in these spheres among many (not all) Balkan states and Russia.
Foreign Policy Research Institute
March 6, 2018
At one level, the narrative illustrates how the Western Balkans is today's ground zero in Russia's effort to halt the westward drift of nations where its geopolitical interests and cultural ties run deep. Russian efforts to subvert Balkan governments are well established. So, too, Russia actively foments ethnicÃâà...
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