All the news

Greece: the crisis will do us good

04/01/2010 -  Gilda Lyghounis

In an exclusive interview with Osservatorio, Serafeim Fyntanidi, director of Eleftherotypia, one of Athens's most influential dailies, talks in-depth about the economic and social crisis besieging Greece. He says he is convinced that the country will emerge from the crisis stronger.

Macedonia: He who sings means no evil

30/12/2009 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

Recently, a group of young protesters from Skopje seems to have chosen music as the credo of their civic and political activism. They protest by singing. They call themselves Raspeani Skopjani [Singing Skopjans], and their popularity has been growing

Serbia: visa free

29/12/2009 -  Danijela Nenadić Belgrade

From December 19, citizens of Serbia can go to Szeged, Thessaloniki, or Trieste for coffee...without a visa. There is happiness, but not for everyone. The most disappointed are adolescents and those who were born and grew up under the sanctions. A commentary

Slovenia: 1989 or 1992?

28/12/2009 -  Stefano Lusa Koper

In Slovenia, the period from the second half of the ‘80s until the country's independence in 1992 saw the beginning of the Yugoslav crisis, the emergence of nationalism, and Ljubljana’s final separation from Belgrade. A contribution to the dossier "The long lasting ’89"

EU enlargement: the race of the snail

24/12/2009 -  Alvise Armellini Brussels

After the Lisbon Treaty, the EU enlargement process continues - slowly and quietly. The voice of public opinions, the moods of the 27, and the countries' perspectives in the analysis of our correspondent

Serbia: bread instead of reforms?

22/12/2009 -  Cecilia Ferrara Belgrade

A cynic and a pessimist according to many, he disagrees with most of the economic policies implemented by the Serbian government and does not think that postponing reforms to avoid social unrest is a good idea. An interview with economist Miroslav Prokopijević

After the Quake

21/12/2009 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

Gyumri, the city symbol of the quake that 21 years ago struck Armenia. The stories of the homeless, the domiks, the migrants, waiting for the opening of the borders with Turkey. Reportage

IDPs in Azerbaijan

17/12/2009 -  Gunel GuliyevaJvan Yazdani Baku

The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh caused the displacement of over 600,000 ethnic Azeris. Some achieved good living standards. But many live in collective accommodations or in dwellings officially owned by other private persons

Kosovo's stolen properties

15/12/2009 -  Veton Kasapolli Pristina

In Kosovo many buildings, mostly belonging to Serbian citizens, are occupied or sold illegally in the owners' absence. Swindlers often use false documents and conniving officials, unveiling the weakness of the rule of law. The case of Peja/Pec

The return of non-aligned Serbia

14/12/2009 -  Marco Abram

If Serbian diplomats get what they want, Belgrade will be the place where the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement is celebrated in 2011. Yet, many commentators are now questioning the advantages of such a movement in a world which has changed so radically in the last half-century

Kosovo elections: conflicting realities South and North of the Ibar

11/12/2009 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

The mid-November local elections in Kosovo stressed once more the two different realities of the Serbs living north and south of the Ibar river. For those living south, some kind of participation was considered as a vital necessity to retain local power. North of Mitrovica, the boycott was almost complete

The partial fall of the Schengen wall

10/12/2009 -  Mustafa Canka Podgorica

On 30 November, the Council of Interior Ministers of the EU approved the request to cancel visa requirements for citizens from Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Citizens from these countries will be able to travel freely to EU countries starting from 19 December. The reactions from Podgorica, Montenegro.

Armenia: Pashinyan plans to run for parliament

04/12/2009 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

Nikol Pashinyan, a 34-year-old opposition newspaper editor currently on trial for allegedly provoking mass riots and defying representatives of state authority, will contest the vote slated for 10 January 2010

Macedonia name issue: The Bucharest Summit Syndrome Redux

03/12/2009 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

According to the European Commission, Macedonia is ready for the accession negotiations, but needs to solve the dispute with Greece first. Despite some positive signals between Skopje and Athens, like the meeting between Gruevski and Papandreou, the country expects a further disappointment

The discomfiting sound of The Hourglass

02/12/2009 -  Cecilia Ferrara Belgrade

"The Hourglass" ("Pešcanik") is one of Serbia's more talked about radio shows. War crimes, privatization, politics, and justice are among the topics covered each week by journalists Svetlana Lukić and Svetlana Vuković. Our interview

Lexical cleansing: Slavic toponyms in Albania (or out of?)

01/12/2009 -  Marjola Rukaj

At first people in Albania thought it was a joke, but politicians in that country have proposed the creation of a government commission to "Albanize" all place names of Slavic origin...and there are many of those. A commentary

A web of Peace

27/11/2009 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

Social media and conflict resolution in the South Caucasus. The opportunities offered to Armenian and Azeri peace activists, the debate in the region

Kosovo elections: Thaci's gambit

27/11/2009 -  Veton Kasapolli Pristina

Days after the 15 November elections in Kosovo, unorthodox agreements have caused a rift between the coalition partners in the Pristina parliament. Prime Minister Thaci's PDK threatened to break up with President Sejdiu's LDK, but its attempt to dictate the political agenda to its junior partner clearly failed

Andy Garcia plays Saakashvili

26/11/2009 -  Tengiz Ablotia Tbilisi

Film director Renny Harlin started filming his new movie on last August's conflict, in Georgia. Besides the army and aviation, Andy Garcia and Val Kilmer will also take part in the filming

Italian syndrome

24/11/2009 -  Laura Delsere Rome

There are roughly 90,000 Moldovans living in Italy - with numbers growing fast, as shown by a recent report by Caritas-Migrantes. Among the many difficulties of living abroad, one problem is spreading very quickly: the Italian syndrome, a depressive form that affects illegal immigrants and their children