A review of some conflictual issues dividing Member States dealing with the refugee crisis. Interview with Irene Wieczorek, researcher at the Institute for European Studies
The EU Award for Investigative Journalism has been granted so far in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia, acknowledging investigations on corruption and social exclusion
The migration deal between EU and Turkey is illegal and must be changed, says CoE Commissioner for Human Rights. There are other ways to address the migrants crisis, complying with the member States obligations to protect those who flee wars and persecution
With its ruling on the "AUK deal", EULEX saved Kosovo’s budget from losing €18 million. Unfortunately, in these years, such effective action was often missing. The two faces of the EU mission. A comment
In October 2014, the EU launched its Macro-Regional Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian area, EUSAIR. One year later, OBC and CeSPI analysed its first steps, challenges and opportunities, in the frame of the project “The Adriatic-Ionian macro-region: a hurdle process. The start of the Adriatic-Ionian Regional Strategy in the perspective of Italian foreign policy and the European integration of the Western Balkans”, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).
Dramatic days in the history of the Union have disturbing similarities with the early '90s, when everything changed very quickly and Yugoslavia collapsed
Greece has the opportunity to attract Russian tourists seeking an alternative to the Turkish and Egyptian beaches. The Hellenic bureaucracy, though, appears incapable of accepting the challenge
Bosnia Herzegovina and the challenges ahead, twenty years after the signing of the the Dayton Peace Agreement. Interview with the Italian Ambassador in Sarajevo, Ruggero Corrias
Chronicle of a journey along the border between Hungary and Serbia in late June and early July, a week from the building of a new wall in Europe. Second Episode
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe sent a letter to the president of Ossigeno per l'Informazione on the occasion of today's conference “Protect who reports inconvenient truths”, taking place in Rome
By July 1st, the 74 Serbian media still owned by the state or local governments will have to be privatised, but some say the deadline could slip to October
EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn told a BIRN conference that media freedom in the Balkans has become a major concern that must be addressed urgently
Serbia's Prime Minister paid a historic visit to Albania last week. Major disagreements remain, especially over Kosovo, but great cordiality was expressed. In the background, the need for collaboration on major infrastructure projects for the region
Bulgaria is among the few European countries that have announced the achievement of the objectives of the "Europe 2020" strategy on renewable energy. At the same time, the sector is said to be in crisis and unsustainable. Our report
After years of extreme hostility, PDK and LDK strike a power sharing deal creating a government which will have to tackle the huge unemployment problem, and make progress on the normalisation of relations with Belgrade
The Maria Bamieh revelations on corruption inside the European rule of law mission in Kosovo, although not promptly investigated, appear to lack any real basis. Clearing the mission on a circumscribed scandal, however, will likely reduce the urgency for a much needed audition of its record overall
The recent allegations on EULEX seem too selective to be of much assistance for an analysis of the European mission’s performance. The whole mission, starting from its judicial functions, should be thoroughly scrutinized
Changing laws in a country is often relatively easy; changing the culture in regard to the application of those laws is never easy. To date, EULEX has done nothing to attempt to address this fundamental problem and now it is too late according to the author, a US judge who spent the last year in the mission
The decision to hand over the judicial system to domestic authorities, cutting Eulex’s mandate before its objectives were achieved, will not help Kosovo in the long term. Analysis of the recent EC report
Media concentration and lack of ownership transparency are a major obstacle to media pluralism and freedom in Bulgaria. According to media law expert Nelly Ognyanova, neither of these obstacles can be removed without political will. Interview
After the enlargement stop set by President Juncker, some fear the risk of a Turkish scenario for the Western Balkans, i.e. negotiations that never end. Renzo Daviddi, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thinks different. Interview
The European Parliament is running the hearings of the members of the new Juncker Commission. Johannes Hahn will be responsible for enlargement and neighbourhood policies. An analysis
Serbia adopted new rules that require the State to leave media ownership. Media associations have welcomed the new legislation, introduced as a result of pressure from Brussels
"What is most interesting about the report unveiled on Tuesday by the special investigative task force (SITF) is not what it says about the KLA, but what it implies about the post-conflict and state-building international interventions in Kosovo". A comment by Andrea Lorenzo Capussela
Keeping a toothless Eulex in Kosovo for two more years is not only a waste of money. It is also providing legitimacy to the decisions of vulnerable judges
