Enlargement
Burned by Bulgaria veto, North Macedonia to ‘act more carefully’ on EU integration narrative, justice minister says
Partially attributing his party’s crushing defeat in the recent municipal elections to the stalling EU accession negotiations, North Macedonia’s justice minister Bojan Marichikj told EURACTIV the government in Skopje would be more careful in the future. The stand-off between Bulgaria...
Serbian activists rally against laws on expropriation and referendum
About 2,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade on Wednesday (24 November) over the planned adoption of laws on expropriation and a referendum they say is designed by the government to help investors speed up their mining projects in Serbia.
EU enlargement chief in Bosnia in effort to keep crisis from boiling over
European Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi travels to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday and Thursday (24-25 November) in an effort to defuse the ongoing political crisis in the country that is once again cracking along ethnic lines after a bloody 1992-95 war.
Sanctions are now necessary to avert crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The European Union's failure to take a stronger stance against Bosnian Serb nationalist Milorad Dodik risks deepening the political crisis engulfing Bosnia and Herzegovina, write Tineke Strik and Dietmar Köster.
The Brief, powered by ENTSO-E — Bulgarian elections, Macedonia veto
In Skopje, there is hope that the elections in neighbouring Bulgaria will unlock the country’s veto on the start of North Macedonia's EU accession negotiations before the end of the year. This Brief is an educated guess at whether such a scenario - which would be greatly beneficial to the volatile Western Balkans - could materialise.
MEPs denounce ‘slave’ labour conditions in Serbia
A group of MEPs have infuriated the authorities in Belgrade after they called on them to end “modern slavery” in Serbia, the alleged victims being Vietnamese workers employed by a Chinese company in the EU candidate country.
Down in a hole: Bosnia miners fear green revolution
For years, life in Bosnia's Breza revolved around its coal mine, but the global shift from fossil fuels to renewables threatens the industry that was once the pride of communist Yugoslavia.
Our enduring resolve in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Twenty-six years after the Dayton Peace Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is facing its most serious challenge since the end of the war, writes Derek Chollet.
Commission compromising Rule of Law standards in the interest of Orban-Vucic axis
The last European Commission report on Serbia is a blatant example how the rule of law standards can be compromised under a Commissioner representing Viktor Orbán’s ideology, writes Viola von Cramon-Taubadel.
North Macedonia’s PM to delay resignation
North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who announced his resignation over poor results in a local vote last month, will stay on in the job until the political situation stabilises, media reported on Wednesday (10 November).
A Bulgarian perspective on Serbian politics
The US messages sent to Bulgaria in April and Serbia in November are equally straightforward, the only difference being that in Bulgaria, they already produced a big effect and a change of power took place, writes Antoinette Nikolova.
Serbia’s police detain activist throwing eggs at war criminal mural
The Serbian police late on Tuesday (9 November) briefly detained a local opposition activist after she threw eggs at a downtown Belgrade wall painting of Ratko Mladić, a convicted war criminal and the wartime commander of Bosnian Serbs.
Enlargement 2021: Captured states, captured Commission
With regard to EU enlargement, the citizens of the Western Balkans, but also many EU citizens, expect EU institutions and the member states to abandon hypocrisy, writes Aleksandra Tomanić.
UN renews mandate of EU military mission in Bosnia
The UN Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday (3 November) to renew for one year the mandate of the European military mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite Russian opposition to the existence of an international high representative to the Balkan country.
Montenegro minister: I agree we still need Western monitoring, guidance
In an interview with EURACTIV, Montenegro's Interior Minister Sergej Sekulović discussed Western partners' concerns about how reliable the new Montenegrin government is, the 2016 alleged coup attempt, the difficult relations with Serbia, and the latest European Commission report on the country's accession process.
EU top military official voices support for Bosnia’s joint armed forces
The EU top military official voiced support for the unified Bosnian armed forces on 28 October, after Serb leader Milorad Dodik had threatened to pull the Serb component out of the forces and form an exclusively Serb army within Bosnia.
Critics object to self-congratulatory reading of Serbia’s ‘progress report’
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said that the recent Commission report on her country was “the best report of European Commission in the last few years". However, a more in-depth view actually shows that the report is very critical.
In Bosnia, the migration crisis is far from over
EURACTIV travelled to the Una Sana canton in northwestern Bosnia in mid-October for four days to interview institutional and non-governmental actors to present a clearer picture of the migration situation on the EU’s external border. These interviews and first-hand testimonies...
US envoy to press for long-delayed reforms in Bosnia
Washington has sent a special envoy to Bosnia and Herzegovina to help with a long-delayed electoral and constitutional reform in the Balkan country, against the backdrop of heightened tensions among its Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.
Serbia uses football to score geopolitical goals in former Yugoslavia
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has been using a range of different yet seemingly innocent means to achieve his political goals, both literally and figuratively, Serbian journalist Darko Čačić reports for EURACTIV Bulgaria.
EU, US warn about ‘divisive rhetoric’ in Bosnia, urge dialogue
The United States and the European Union voiced support on Wednesday (20 October) for Western Balkan countries' efforts to join the EU but expressed concern about "increasingly divisive rhetoric" in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
EU candidate Serbia misaligned with EU foreign policy, Commission says
In its annual report monitoring Serbia's progress toward EU accession, the European Commission highlighted Belgrade's significant misalignment with EU foreign and security policy.
America’s new instrument in the Balkans
The ‘European way’ in the Balkans has led to an excessive waste of time in achieving the strategic goals of bringing the region into the Western structures, and consequently, the new US administration will now try to make up for it, writes Orhan Dragaš.