25-year-old Marjana Koçeku is the only independent MP sitting in the Albanian parliament. On 14 June she left Edi Rama’s Socialist Party in opposition to the government’s development projects. Our interview

20/07/2026, Giovanni Vale 

Following its victory in the snap elections on 7 June, Vetëvendosje opened negotiations to resolve Kosovo’s long-running political crisis, finding a potential ally in the LDK. However, the LDK itself has called into question the leadership of its president, Lumir Abdixhiku, and the negotiations have stalled

17/07/2026, Mehmet Krasniqi  Pristina

The case of the comedian Deniz Göktaş, who is in prison for his jokes about corruption in the Turkish political system, is just the latest in a long series of instances in which challenging those in power – particularly through irony – is punished in order to silence critics and preserve the stability of the existing order

16/07/2026, Burcu Karakaş  Istanbul

Bosnia and Herzegovina has not completed any of the 113 reform steps it committed to implementing in exchange for Growth Plan funds. With almost a billion earmarks and deadlines approaching, the gap between what was promised and what has been delivered is stark – and growing.

15/07/2026, Sanja Vasić 

14/07/2026, Dimitri Bettoni, Andrea Lazzaroni 

Ten years after the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, we have gathered four firsthand accounts from the country. A 26-year-old woman in today’s Turkey: “There is a strong tradition of disobedience, we must regain our independence”

14/07/2026, Andrea Lazzaroni