Short News
EU representative’s visit to Pristina draws a blank
Nothing new came out of the meeting between EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak and Prime Minister Albin Kurti where the two discussed the EU-facilitated dialogue and a recent energy agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. Lajcak’s visit to Pristina comes a...
Albania seventh globally for cannabis cultivation and distribution
Albania is the seventh leading cultivator of cannabis in the world, according to the World Drug Report 2022 from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The report looks at the state of drug cultivation in countries worldwide and...
EU official urges Serbia to join bloc stance on Russia
The European Union wants Western Balkan countries to join its unified stance on Russian aggression, including with regard to sanctions, said Emanuele Giauffret, the EU Delegation chief to Serbia, on Tuesday, adding that the war in Ukraine had made the...
Bulgaria increases pensions amid political crisis
Parliament adopted a proposal of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s ousted government to increase pensions by 10% as Bulgaria heads for its fourth snap election in less than two years. The proposal to increase pensions for about a third of the...
Council of Europe calls on Bosnia to step up justice access for trafficking victims
Bosnia-Herzegovina should improve the implementation of the anti-human trafficking framework, particularly concerning victims’ access to justice and effective remedies, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Human Beings (GRETA) said in its third-evaluation report published Tuesday, where...
Corruption reigns supreme in Western Balkan EU hopefuls
Countries in the EU waiting room such as Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have mainly failed to register any real progress in reducing corruption and improving democracy over the last four years, fundamental pre-requisites for EU accession. The plight...
Commission backs Italian LGBTQI bill proposal sunk by parliament
The European Commission has given its support to Alessandro Zan’s anti-homophobia bill that was sunk by the Italian parliament in October, EU Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli announced on Twitter after she met with the lawmaker in Brussels on Tuesday. The...
UK will not join Macron’s ‘political community’
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Tuesday ruled out the prospect of the UK being part of a ‘European political community’ proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron after it was suggested that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was interested in joining. Speaking...
Austria to ease labour market access for third-country nationals
Faced with stark shortages of skilled workers, Austria will ease access to the labour market for third-country nationals through revamping the so-called “red-white-red-card” residence scheme. Vienna has historically been more opposed to migration than some of its EU counterparts, partly...
Croatian Commissioner admits inflation ‘likely’ means less COVID recovery projects
While the size of EU COVID recovery support will probably stay the same despite inflation, rising prices are likely to lead to fewer projects than initially planned, Croatian Commissioner Dubravka Šuica said. Croatian Commissioner Dubravka Šuica said Croatia had received...
Finland to broaden abortion rights in wake of Roe v Wade
An initiative pushing for loosening abortion requirements in Finland gathers steam as the Nordic country gains cross-party support to change its abortion law from the early 1970s. Parliament’s decision comes in response to a recent citizen’s initiative dubbed “The OwnWill2020”...
Court condemns French state for poor COVID management
The Paris administrative court condemned the government on Tuesday for not having prepared sufficient stocks of facemasks and for the contradictory statements it issued about the virus at the start of the pandemic. The Paris court handed down its decision on Tuesday...
France to elect first female president of legislature’s lower-house
Yaël Braun-Pivet is expected to be the first woman to head France’s National Assembly in a vote scheduled for Tuesday. Braun-Pivet was chosen by the coalition supporting French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne following a primary election....
Austrian presidential candidate pool offers establishment alternatives
Of the parliamentary parties, only formerly right-wing FPÖ has announced its intention to field a candidate against incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen in the upcoming October presidential, leaving the pool open to a host of alternative candidates. One of them...
Kaczyński’s transgender comments prompt outrage
LGBT rights groups and the opposition have slammed the leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party Jarosław Kaczyński for his statements about transgender people at a party rally. During the weekend’s public meetings in Grudziądz and Włocławek in...
Slovakia to revise national recovery plan due to changed conditions
Slovakia will revise its national recovery and resilience plan, Lívia Vašákiová, director of the recovery plan department, announced after she said earlier that new conditions made it impossible to implement the plan as initially intended. The statement came after Vašáková admitted to...
Romania delays 5G auction due to lack of legislation
Romania cannot launch procedures to auction off the 5G frequencies until the Communications Code gets the green light, Digital Minister Sebastian Burduja has said. The auction for the 5G spectrum represents one of the targets that needs to be completed...
Slovenia gears up for presidential race
Slovenia is already gearing up for the presidential elections set for autumn as three candidates, including one of the ruling Freedom Movement, have already announced their plans to run. The presidential elections in Slovenia are scheduled for October, and candidates...
EU funds help reopening of Serbia-Bosnia border crossing
The Kotroman crossing on the border between Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina re-opened on Sunday following the completion of renovations worth over €4.6 million, of which close to half came from EU pre-accession funds. The project, part of broader Serbia-EU cooperation in...
Former Montenegrin ministers set up new movement, run for election
The former ministers of finance and economic development, Milojko Spajić and Jakov Milatović, have launched a new movement called Europe Now and are planning to participate in the local elections in Montenegrin capital Podgorica and another 13 municipalities in October....
Albania gears up for monkeypox testing as fears over COVID surge emerge
Albania has received its first tests for monkeypox despite not confirming any cases to date, meanwhile, fears are increasing over new waves of COVID-19 come the autumn. As of 24 June, there were over 2,000 confirmed cases of the virus...
European NATO allies harden China stance but cracks remain
European NATO members will commit to a tougher stance towards China, but scepticism over the Anglo-Saxon push to put Beijing in the alliance’s crosshairs remains. NATO members last year took a more moderate approach, toning down the need to focus too...
Most Bulgarians do not want new general elections
Bulgaria should not hold its fourth general election in 18 months, and a new government should instead be formed from within the current parliament, say nearly 58% of Bulgarians, a survey conducted from 23-25 June by the Gallup International Balkan...