In 2009, the economic crisis was aggravated by the difficult political situation in the country. The ruling Alliance for European Integration had to present an austere budget, characterised by tax raises and cuts in subsidies
A journey to Kragujevac, the home town of Zastava - the “Made in Yugoslavia” car. The expectations of citizens and workers in the “Yugoslav Turin” in the wake of the recent agreement between Belgrade and the Fiat Group to establish the new Fiat Automobili Serbia in that city
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
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
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.
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
Between 2000 and 2009 Romania experienced one of Europe's highest growth rates. Yet even before the economic crisis hit Bucharest hard, it became clear that the wealth of the economic boom was built with dramatic social costs, paid mostly by children, unemployed, pensioners, and Roma
A further take on corporations, responsibility, and the market in Romania. The strong focus on environment, funding mechanisms, and fashion in an interview with Dragos Bucurenci, founder of a specialised NGO
Membership in the World Bank costs Kosovo greatly because it must pay its portion of the old Yugoslav debt. As outlined by the Ahtisaari plan, membership comes despite Kosovo not receiving any assets deriving from the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Belgrade's continuing politics to pay Kosovo's foreign debt, as part of Serbia's general debt, is breaking down
Sensitivity on corporate social responsibility is embryonic in Romania as well as elsewhere. Trade unions are absent, institutions are fragile, and NGOs draw on the business sector for their fund-raising activity
Belgrade is a city almost half of which built in an "informal way," that is to say, illegally. At the heart of this phenomenon that never seems to slow, despite efforts on the part of the authorities to thwart it, lie real estate speculation and a systemic incapacity to respond to the need for basic housing
Macedonia ranks third, after the United States and France, in Google searches for the term "invest in". Of course, the real level of foreign investment is most important, but this search statistic is a relevant statistic of the country's visibility as a possible destination for foreign investments
The Central Bank of Kosovo warns that the remittances are falling as the diaspora starts to feel the effects of the global economic crisis. Kosovo's diaspora has a long tradition of sending money home because of strong family ties, a practice developed because of Kosovo's difficult political and social environment during the last decades
''The decline in economic growth will be more effective in raising poverty rates than the 6 years of growth just passed was in reducing them''. An interview with Paul Stubbs, author of an independet study for the European Commission on social inclusion in the Western Balkans
After years of economic growth that surprised many, the global financial crisis finally hit Armenia early last week forcing the Central Bank to devalue the local currency, the dram
Just before the start of the electoral campaign, Macedonian prime minister Gruevski announced a massive plan to invest in infrastructures. Little resources, though, seems to have been allocated to revive the "European Corridor 8", meant to link the Adriatic to the Black Sea
Pristina's population has increased from around 100,000 in 1981, to an estimated 500,000 today. The city's turbulent growth has been marked by a frenetic building activity without any planning. This model of development is now being questioned
The war in Georgia and the recent gas crisis with Ukraine have revived Europe's willingness to develop the Nabucco pipeline, an alternative transit route for gas imports from the Caspian Sea basin that would bypass Russia
The global economic crisis is at Croatia's doorstep. The budget deficit is on the rise, industrial production is in decline and external debt stands at 36 billion Euro. For now, public debate is monopolized by the world handball championship but economists foresee a rude awakening
Oil and Politics in Azerbaijani history. The ambiguous effects of oil-related income in the modernization of the country and in the strengthening of an autocracy close to the West but hostile to freedom of expression
Demining in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) thirteen years after the end of the war. Over 200.000 mines still on the ground. The issue of the Prom-1. Our investigation of the contracts and sub-contracts; the work by piece in the minefields
Financial markets in the Balkans are cracking under the pressure from the global financial crisis. Tuesday (October 7) was a bad day for the Macedonian stock market. Its index, the MBI 10, plunged by almost 8%. The crisis seems to be only now arriving in the region
A warm wind blows on Hrazdan stadium in Yerevan. While the two teams on the field play a qualifications match for the World Cup, the presidents of Turkey and Armenia shake each other's hand.
Rising prices and galloping inflation. The expensive life is squeezing Croats as in a clamp. Over a third of an average family's monthly income goes for food. Discontent is growing and might explode in the streets this autumn
Kosovo suffers from a chronic lack of energy. To overcome the power shortage, the government gambled on the "Kosovo C" project, a coal-based power station expected to start production in 2015. What is most needed now, though, are a wide public debate and a clear development strategy in the energy sector
With an official inflation rate of 4.4 percent (highest in the European Union), a real rate estimated at 6 percent, and food prices rising at 7 percent annually, Greece risks becoming the most expensive country in the EU. Most Greek families suffer from the crisis
Even when the status issue will be solved, economic development and foreign capital investment in Kosovo will not be automatic, but they will come only thanks to an effective policy, which up to now is still absent. An interview with Safet Gerxhaliu, of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce.
Alshar, an ancient mine located in the southern Balkans, in Macedonia, is said to contain minerals to be found nowhere else on the planet. The rarest of them all - the lorandite, is thought to have the potential to let us understand the work of the sun. Science-fiction or reality?
Identifying the very low level of foreign direct investment as one of the serious causes of the slow growth of the local economy, the Macedonian government launched an aggressive campaign aimed at attracting foreign businesses to "Discover the New Business Heaven in Europe": Macedonia
''Do not change people to make changes'' said recently the EU to Macedonia. Along with support and encouragement for the new government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, the political leadership of the country has started to receive its first warnings and disapprovals from Europe
