Environment

Romania, if delays slow down the photovoltaic sector

05/03/2024 -  Laura Popa

Romania produces more and more photovoltaic energy also thanks to the rapid increase in prosumers - consumers who resell excess energy from their panels to the grid. A virtuous process, but limited by long delays in payments and an unclear legal framework

KLIK, the Croatian energy cooperative

27/02/2024 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

A women's cooperative that serves as an information point for energy and climate issues: in 2023, KLIK received the European Commission's European Sustainable Energy award for developing an energy community in Croatia "that brings clean energy to citizens"

Montenegro rethinks airports in a European perspective

19/02/2024 -  Paola Rosà

Thanks to the cohesion funds of the European SOLAR project, carried out in collaboration by Montenegro, Italy and Albania, measures to contain greenhouse gases and improve energy efficiency are being studied, with a view to the EU accession process

Balkans: save the vultures

09/02/2024 -  Marco Ranocchiari

Considered sacred by the Egyptians, despised in modern times, today vultures are present in all Balkan countries as a fundamental element of ecosystems. However, their future is put at risk by poisoning, transforming them into collateral victims of conflicts between man and nature

Fires in Greece: if migrants become scapegoats

11/01/2024 -  Mary Drosopoulos Alexandroupolis

The Greek region of Evros, devastated by fires last summer, is also the external border of the EU: there is a strong temptation to blame the fires on the migrants who cross it. Experts, however, point out the responsibilities of the Greek institutions

BiH: civic mobilisation against mineral exploration

22/01/2024 -  Darko Kurić Sarajevo

The exploitation of natural resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina causes indignation among citizens and numerous environmental protection associations. Geological research, the opening of new and the reactivation of old mines threaten basic human rights and the environment

Azerbaijan, tackling the problem of landmines and unexploded ordnance

27/12/2023 -  Onnik James Krikorian

The regions around Nagorno Karabakh are contaminated with thousands of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). An urgent matter, but demining takes a long time

Romania, all crazy about photovoltaics

07/11/2023 -  Mihaela Iordache

In Romania, also thanks to dedicated European funds, the number of photovoltaic panels installed is growing rapidly. So quickly, that some programmes have been suspended, as the increase in energy production strains the distribution network, which is still obsolete

Preventing and managing extreme wildfires in Greece via the FIRE-RES project

30/10/2023 -  Mary Drosopoulos

The region of Kassandra, Halkidiki, is one of the fire-prone areas in Greece. In the aftermath of the extreme weather phenomena that hit the country in the last months, a holistic approach involving prevention and civic education is now seen as necessary

Krk at full solar

23/10/2023 -  Nicole CorritoreDavide Sighele

Decarbonise, decentralise, democratise. These are the three Ds of a possible energy revolution that some citizens are carrying out on the Croatian island of Krk through the installation of many photovoltaic systems and the establishment of an energy community. An interview

Ukraine’s green transition to freedom

17/10/2023 -  Marilen Martin

The green transition is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Ukraine, however, not only has to decarbonize, but must do so amidst a war. Despite it, the country is already rebuilding and discussions about greening the economy are vivid

North Macedonia: limited resources for managing natural park fires

11/10/2023 -  Marco Ranocchiari

North Macedonia’s protected areas are of great ecological importance, but are increasingly exposed to the risk – among others – of fire. While political fragmentation and a shortage of personnel and resources pose considerable challenges, there has been significant progress. A report from the Šar Mountains National Park

More than just money? EU investments for green Western Balkans

16/08/2023 -  Marilen Martin

EU investments aim to support the green transition of the Western Balkan countries, but criticism about the project types and the process remains

Ukraine's wildfires surge amidst war

07/08/2023 -  Marilen Martin

Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine led to a surge in forest and rural fires across the country. Combating them is all the more difficult amidst the war that binds all resources and unexploded mines that contaminate the territory

In Croatia, firefighters brace for climate change

27/07/2023 -  Chiara Marchesini Zagreb

Among the effects of climate change are so-called extreme wildfires. In Croatia, large fires in open spaces present a particular problem. We met with the Croatian Association of Firefighters to find out how they are facing up to new challenges

A long way to go: the Western Balkans and the green transition

15/06/2023 -  Marilen Martin

To eventually access the European Union, the Western Balkans have to align their legislation with EU law. This includes the Green Deal, which commits countries to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, there’s still quite a long way to go for the Western Balkans in their progress towards the green transition

Energy transition: EU funds for renewables increase

04/09/2023 -  Ornaldo Gjergji

For the 2014-2020 programming period, the European Union allocated around 5.9 billion Euros under its cohesion policy to implement renewable energy projects. An overview of the data

LECA, coexisting with large carnivores in the Carpathians and Europe

24/08/2023 -  Marco Ranocchiari

Large carnivores are returning to populate more and more natural areas of the Old Continent: a success for the conservation of ecosystems, but also a cause of conflicts with the population. Coexistence is built by harmonising laws, good practices, and scientific knowledge. The Interreg LECA project moves in this direction

Croatia shows how to deal with the worst wildfires

05/07/2023 -  Chiara Marchesini Zagreb

Last year Croatia’s coastal region was hit by an intense wave of forest fires, one of the worst in recent years. But the country has been gearing up to cope – partly thanks to EU funding.

Croatia, Fearless project: demining completed

19/07/2023 -  Nicole Corritore

Croatia's strategic goal is to clear the country of landmines by 2026, as foreseen in the National Demining Programme. A third of the remaining contaminated territory will be reclaimed thanks to European cohesion funds

Balkans: the alternative to coal includes energy communities

17/07/2023 -  Ornaldo Gjergji

In the Balkans, a region where energy is produced from fossil fuels or – when from renewable sources – from hydroelectric energy, energy communities are gaining ground: groups of citizens and small businesses that focus on self-production and self-consumption of renewable energy

The Žitna lađa, traditions along the Kupa

31/08/2023 -  Giovanni Vale

Through entrepreneurial initiative, Ana and Jasmina have managed to bring back to life a story – that of river navigation – which involves different territories. The last episode of our report dedicated to the Kupa

Cres: Irena, Guerino, and San Martino medicinal herbs

28/06/2023 -  Davide Sighele

In San Martino in Valle, on the island of Cres, the distillation of medicinal herbs boasts a centuries-old tradition. Today, it is kept alive by Irena and her husband Guerino

Cycling between environment and memory: the new Isonzo-Soča cross-border park

31/05/2023 -  Paola Rosà

The warm season will be an opportunity to test the new infrastructures and strategies of an EU-funded project in the municipalities of Gorizia, Nova Gorica, and Šempeter-Vrtojba, a border area that conceives itself as a single, homogeneous territory along the river Soča

Rivers of the Balkans: the Kupa of Karlovac

23/05/2023 -  Giovanni Vale

Few cities can boast of being crossed by four rivers. Karlovac is one of them. Kupa, Dobra, Korana, and Mrežnica. A river city that saw its golden age towards the end of the eighteenth century. Our reportage continues along the Kupa River

Europe and energy communities

13/04/2023 -  Ornaldo Gjergji

Energy communities are projects in which citizens associate both as producers and consumers of clean energy at a local level. There are already many of them, including in South-Eastern Europe. They could be supported by EU cohesion policy, but that is not the case yet

Save Lake Prespa, a natural treasure among three Balkan states

27/02/2023 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev Tetovo

Lake Prespa, divided between North Macedonia, Albania, and Greece, is the natural habitat of thousands of species, some of which are unique. Due to the gradual loss of water, it risks losing its biodiversity. Despite the growing efforts to save it, the situation appears extremely complicated

Serbia: toxic substances and dangerous railways

26/01/2023 -  Antonela Riha Belgrade

Little or nothing is known about the impact and responsibility of 20 tonnes of ammonia leaking from a tank on a freight train in southeast Serbia, an accident that also claimed two lives. In Serbia, it remains hard for citizens to obtain information about these environmental disasters

North Macedonia, citizens oppose the opening of mines

27/12/2022 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev Tetovo

Civil society organizations in North Macedonia have been fighting against the opening of new copper and gold mines for years. Citizens have collected documentation and evidence that mining will seriously damage the environment

Rivers of the Balkans: the Kupa and barbed wire

21/12/2022 -  Giovanni Vale

Second episode of our reportage along the Kupa. The shock of the border in 1991, the shock of barbed wire in 2015. Yet, some are not giving up