balkaninsight

Week in Review: Polls and Storms A crucial election in Serbia, escalating protests in Albania, bilateral disputes in the region and the costs of political deadlock in Kosovo. As BIRN's selection of Premium stories shows, the next days, weeks and months could be pivotal for many countries across the region.

'Collective Fear': Pressure on Serbians with Disabilities to Vote for Ruling Party People with disabilities and those who provide assistance tell BIRN of pressure - direct and indirect - to vote for Serbia's ruling party amid fears they could lose a financial lifeline.

ARTE Europe Weekly: Should the EU Sanction Israel Over Violence in the West Bank? Occupation, displacement and war crimes: according to the UN, radical Israelis in the West Bank are violating international law.

One Dead, Crew Members Missing After Ship Sinks off Romania A commercial vessel has sunk in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania, after reportedly being hit by a drone.

Proposed Law to Curb Powers of Hague-Based Court Returned to Kosovo Assembly Following the war crimes convictions of former KLA leaders in The Hague, Kosovo's assembly passed a bill attempting to curb the court's powers. The bill now returns to the assembly for reconsideration.

Alleged Police Violence Against Minors Alarms Albania More than 200 minors have been arrested or charged amid protests in Albania, while the Ombudsperson and rights organisations report allegations of police violence and breaches of safeguards designed to protect children.

Serbia Braces for Most Uncertain Elections in 14 Years The ruling Serbian Progressive Party faces its strongest challenge since it came to power and the student movement seeks to turn nearly two years of anti-government protests into electoral victory.

Bulgaria's Presidential Frontrunner Holds Lead Despite Drone Controversy Acting President Iliana Iotova and Prime Minister Rumen Radev look primed to solidify the ruling party Progressive Bulgaria's grip on power amid declining public trust, security criticisms and low voter turnout.

War Crimes in Prison Camps Still Haunt Montenegro-Croatia Relations Poor judicial cooperation between Montenegro and Croatia leave crimes at two wartime Yugoslav detention centres unresolved – and could threaten Montenegro's EU accession progress.

Democracy Digest: Czech Culture Ministry Cuts Funding for Velvet Revolution Anniversary Elsewhere, former chief of Hungary's central bank detained on suspicion of economic fraud; Polish abortion reform clears first hurdle but faces presidential veto; and Slovak president blocks far-right nominee for environment minister.

Merz Sees Montenegro in EU by 2028 as Berlin Process Summit Opens At the opening of the Berlin Process summit in Montenegro on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Montenegro could join the EU by 2028, and he urged regional cooperation.

Match-Fixing Probe Rocks Greek Basketball Federation Greek police arrested six individuals connected to allegations of fixing basketball matches. The arrested include the president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation, referees and others.

Dzimi's Diggers: Big Contract Follows Show of Loyalty to Serbia's Ruling Party After deploying his heavy machinery to protect Serbia's presidency building from anti-government protesters, Mile Samardzija secured a 1.1 million-euro contract with a company part-owned by the state.

Berlin Process Needs to Level the Playing Field in Bilateral Disputes A decade of declarations and commitments on good neighbourly relations have not prevented bilateral issues from impeding EU enlargement in the Balkans. A new solution must be found.

Vucic's Electoral Base Erodes as Younger Voters Seek Change in Serbia Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party is facing anti-establishment sentiments and demographic pressure on its ageing nationalist base in this weekend's elections – similar to the dynamics that ousted Viktor Orban's government in Hungary.

Acquittal Fuels Doubts over Transfer of Bosnian War Crimes Cases to Serbia While a court in Bosnia and Herzegovina has sentenced 13 people to a combined total of more than 180 years in prison for the killing of Bosniak civilians in two villages during the 1992-95 war, the acquittal of two others by a court in Belgrade has raised further doubts about the merit of transferring war crimes cases from Sarajevo to Belgrade.

Held Together with Wire: Inside Romania's Neglected Arms Industry Romania's state arms industry is supposed to help defend NATO's eastern flank. Instead, politically connected and corrupt managers, wasted funds, and poor security have left several of its factories barely functioning.

Multiple Arrests Across Serbia Ahead of Crucial Elections Four days before parliamentary elections, Serbian police arrested at least seven individuals suspected of planning violent actions on election day and plotting to 'overthrow the state'.

Albania's Students Demand the Fall of Rama and an End to Corruption A wave of student protests have swept Albania over the last week and escalated into clashes with police. BIRN spoke with some of the protesters to hear what brought them into the streets.

Leader of Kosovo Opposition Party PDK Steps Down Bedri Hamza, the leader of PDK, Kosovo's largest opposition party, announced his resignation on Wednesday, opening the way for the party to select a new leader.

Kosovo Court Sentences Serb for War Crimes Kosovo Serb Milorad Djokovic was sentenced by a Pristina court to 10 years in prison for war crimes related killings and beatings of civilians during a Serbian military assault on a village in 1999.

Serbians Abroad Organize to Vote Amid Obstacles Ahead of Serbia's high-stakes snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, citizens abroad are organising shared transport and accommodation to reach polling stations, sometimes thousands of kilometres away.

NATO's 'False Solidarity': Fico Says Neutrality Would Suit Slovakia Better The prime minister says he doesn't believe in Nato solidarity, even as Slovakia relies on its partners for military protection and continues its alliance commitments. So why is he using such damaging rhetoric?

Russian Despatch: Kremlin Clings to Balkan Buddies Dodik and Vucic Russia remains ready to aid its Balkan allies in their electoral endeavours and sabotage EU and NATO membership prospects, as Vladimir Putin's recent efforts to boost Milorad Dodik and Aleksandar Vucic's campaigns showed.

Trump Associates Attended Rally for Bosnian Serb Nationalist Party BIRN has confirmed that at least three associates of US President Donald Trump attended a campaign rally for Milorad Dodik's Serb nationalist SNSD party, raising questions of possible violations of electoral law.

Journalists Targeted in Row over Croatian Football Fans' Nazi Slogans The far-right Homeland Movement party accused media of conducting a "witch-hunt" against a Hajduk Split football fan group that targeted journalists who reported on its members' pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic chants.

Romanian Parliament Backs New Government After Months of Crisis Romanian lawmakers have voted in favour of a new government led by the politically independent Luca Niculescu, ending five months of political crisis.

Montenegro Adopts Constitutional Changes on Integrity Checks for Ministers With the adoption of constitutional changes to enhance integrity checks on high-level government officials, Montenegro comes a step closer to fulfilling EU accession requirements.

Albanian PM Rama Steps Up Rhetoric Against Student Protesters Edi Rama described some of the student protesters involved in unrest in Tirana as extremists who have been manipulated by foreign powers, causing critics to warn that such harsh rhetoric may further inflame tensions.

How Serbia's Ruling Party Turned State Institutions into 'Vote Machines' Over 150 testimonies reveal how public sector employees are pressured to deliver votes and attend political rallies while some job posts are given to loyalists who staff party call centres on the clock.