The Balkans
Eco rally takes place in Belgrade
Several thousand citizens took part in a rally on Saturday in the Serbian capital dubbed The Eco Uprising, organised by Defend the Rivers of Stara (Old) Planina group, named after the Balkan Mountain that runs partly through south-east Serbia. The...
Local Slovenian politician’s house attacked with petrol bomb
A fire broke out on Friday evening in the house of Vesna Fabjan, a local councillor for the opposition party Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), in Črnomelj, after an unknown perpetrator threw a petrol bomb through the window. No one was...
Attacked Afghan migrants placed in centre for asylum seekers in Zagreb
Four members of a group of Afghan migrants discovered by the Croatian border police in the Glina area have been found to be victims of aggravated robbery and have all been placed in the Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers in...
Romanian government sets new COVID-19 vaccination target
The Romanian government brought forward its vaccination target by almost two months, with Prime Minister Florin Cîțu promising that many restrictions could be lifted if 10 million people get their jabs by 1 August. ”My target and my government’s target...
Bulgarian PM: price of Pfizer vaccine jumps from €12 to €19,50
“Pfizer cost €12, then €15.50. The Commission now signs contracts for €19,50”, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov revealed on Sunday. The European Commission is in talks with Pfizer for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in 2022 and 2023. Borissov said the...
Serbian minister blasts US human rights report
Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin on Thursday hit back at a damning human rights report by the US State Department. “The US government can criticise, but it needs to know that its criticism is only as good as its ability...
Croatia’s recovery plan envisages projects worth €6.5 billion
Croatia’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, a summary of which was presented at a government meeting on Thursday, envisages projects worth HRK 49.08 billion (€6.5 billion) to cover six key areas. Presenting the document to his cabinet, Prime Minister Andrej...
Blinken: No Dayton II, but limited changes to BiH constitution
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has urged in a letter, for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) three presidency members to engage in the implementation of “limited constitutional change that is necessary to reform the electoral system consistent with the requirements...
Russia defends corruption in Bulgaria from US criticism
The Russian embassy in Sofia defended the Bulgarian government over criticism from US over corruption and lack of media freedom, as if the EU and NATO country was Russia’s backyard. The US State Department sharply criticized Bulgaria in its annual...
US goal is to see Serbia-Kosovo agreement centred on mutual recognition
US State Secretary Antony Blinken wrote in a letter to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that Washington is “committed to our longstanding partnership”. “We share the vision of a stable, prosperous, and democratic Serbia on the path to EU membership. The...
Montenegrin economy to rebound in 2021, fully recover by 2023
“Due to a low base and assuming that tourism recovers to 55% of 2019 levels, Montenegro’s economy is expected to rebound in 2021 with an estimated GDP growth of 7.1%”, the World Bank (WB) has forecast. It is one percentage...
China donates machinery to BiH army, EU sends hospital equipment
The Chinese national defence ministry has donated 15 engineering machines and vehicles, including six brand new military unloading trucks, two tank hauliers with semi-trailers, two trucks with a loading crane, three backhoe loaders and one bulldozer, and a compact loader...
No joke: COVID-vaccinated urged to eat tomatoes
People who have received their COVID-19 vaccine should eat tomatoes and drink more tomato juice as it is a natural remedy against blood clotting, the director of the Bulgarian National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Professor Todor Kantardzhiev, said...
UNDP: Serbia’s commerce loses $6 billion due to climate change
Serbian commerce has suffered $6 billion worth in losses due to extreme weather since 2000, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representative in Serbia, Francine Pickup. Unless steps and activities are implemented towards preventing weather extremes, it could...
STA supervisory board urges government to release overdue funding
The supervisory board of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) has called on the government to immediately settle all of its outstanding liabilities to the news agency and comply with its legal obligations to finance STA as a public service. There...
Croatia works on ‘clear criteria’ for entry
Croatia is preparing clear criteria for entering the country during the pandemic, in accordance with European Commission recommendations for cross-border travel, Tourism and Sports Minister Nikolina Brnjac has said. Brjnac explained on Wednesday (31 March) that entry requirements will probably...
Romania vaccinated two million people by end of March
More than 2 million people had received at least a first shot of coronavirus vaccine in Romania by the end of March, Prime Minister Florin Citu has said. More than half of them have already received both doses, meaning that...
Serbian health workers may soon have to get vaccinated
The director of the Clinic for Infectious and Tropical Diseases in Belgrade, Goran Stevanović, announced on Tuesday that a demand would be issued for the introduction of mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers in Serbia. If the vaccination were made mandatory...
PM Jansa’s coalition MPs fail to oust parliament speaker
MPs of the ruling coalition of the SDS, NSi and SMC parties failed to dismiss parliament speaker Igor Zorčič, himself an SMC member, as their proposal to oust him only received 45 votes, falling short of the 46-majority needed to...
Bulgaria removes restrictions amid pandemic third wave peak
The Bulgarian government has announced the relaxation of coronavirus measures as the country is currently undergoing the third pandemic wave, recording close to 10,000 patients in hospitals and 760 in intensive care units. Bulgaria, which has a population of 6.9...
Drug wholesaler suspends deliveries to Croatian hospitals
The Medika drug wholesaler suspended as of Tuesday supplying all hospitals with medicines and medical supplies due to outstanding debt by the government of 2.1 billion kuna (€280 million), the president of Medika’s management board, Jasminko Herceg, has announced. “During...
Montenegrin government takes stance on Srebrenica genocide following US calls
Montenegro’s government on Monday issued a statement after the US Embassy to Podgorica had called on the government to take a clear stance on 1995’s Srebrenica genocide following Justice Minister Vladimir Leposavić’s comments, saying he would only accept that genocide had...
Athens to welcome Serb tourists no matter what vaccine they take
All COVID-19 vaccines, as well as PCR and antibody tests, will be accepted from people travelling from Serbia to Greece, Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said on Monday in Belgrade. “A large number of Serbs have taken the shots that...