Balkan Insight

As abortion access remains restricted in Poland, activists have turned to a technology that Poles already use for almost everything else – just steps away from parliament.

The introduction of ballot scanners and fingerprint checks to curb election fraud are a rare innovation in an electoral process that’s been dominated by same-old politicians and promises.

Studies show that an increasing number of young people are being diagnosed with certain types of cancer in European countries.

Elsewhere, Russia retaliates by expelling Hungarian diplomats; Poland changes rules of engagement for shooting down airborne threats; Slovak PM Fico juggles jobs and coalition; and Czech coalition survives no-confidence vote.

Hundreds of websites and social media accounts have been blocked in Turkey as a crackdown on LGBTQ+ groups spreads to independent media – and even to posts about a stock market scandal.

Security expert Arjan Dyrmishi tells BIRN the “whole system of governance” has been brought into question by the arrest of the head of Albania’s State Intelligence Service.

Crowdfunding, donations and the volunteer spirit are driving Serbia’s cycling students towards the election finish line on October 25 - while Aleksandar Vucic is promoting a ‘man of the people’ image as he tours the country by car.

Large crowds attend rally in Pristina against Hague court verdict convicting four former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders of war crimes, with protest speaker attacking 'double standards when it comes to justice'.

Wartime vice-president of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, the only woman ever convicted of war crimes by the Hague Tribunal, dies in Belgrade – to the end maintaining she had 'done nothing wrong'.

A free press in Slovenia is at risk from the return to office of the populist Janez Jansa and media ownership changes that are shaking up the sector.

If voters backing various Russian-friendly candidates in the first round switch to ruling party-backed Iliana Iotova in the run-off vote, her path to winning the presidency looks more likely, experts predict.

As caesarean births outnumber vaginal births, we want to hear about your experiences with childbirth options in Greece.

Bosnia’s laws on women’s representation on election lists look progressive; in reality, parties subvert them by burying women at the bottom of lists, so they don’t get elected.

Siegfried Muresan's failure to secure parliamentary backing in a vote extends Romania’s political deadlock into a fifth month.

Under pressure from protesters, Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic vowed last year to root out corruption.

Three suspects plead not guilty to violating Kosovo's constitutional order by setting up barricades in the Serb-majority north during protests in 2022.

Kosovo's prime minister presses opposition to agree on a new head of state before October 6 deadline triggers fresh parliamentary polls.

Enes Baralic, co-inventor of the ‘Sarafix’, an innovative tool used to save countless limbs from amputation during the Bosnian war, has died aged 84.

Prosecutors seek to freeze all assets of former minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya and her husband, as probe widens into into alleged wrongdoing in capital markets.

BIRN pieces together how smugglers use their intimate knowledge of mountain roads and monitoring of police movements to move illicit cigarettes from Montenegro into Bosnia and beyond.

The anti-government protests that rocked Albania this summer will not jeopardise its EU membership prospects – but will feed into a broader assessment of Tirana’s respect for democracy and that rule of law.

A new investigation borrows the methods of forensic architecture to argue that deaths in the Polish-Belarusian borderlands since 2021 cannot be blamed on the cold alone.

Clint Williamson recalls investigating the four guerrilla commanders recently convicted of war crimes, questions Kosovo’s failure to temper public expectations of an acquittal, and ponders the future of international justice at a time of “dysfunctionality”

Authorities have approved three new permits for tourist complexes in a protected area in Zvernec – where a project backed by Jared Kushner triggered the ‘Flamingo Revolution’ protests.

Ruling party mayor Aleksandar Sapic denies assaulting opposition councillor and breaking her nose and jaw in a street altercation - saying he only defended himself against the woman's husband.

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas’ resignation from the Republican People’s Party has worsened the embattled opposition’s plight ahead of the next elections – potentially benefitting Turkey’s authoritarian president.

Led by the country’s wealthiest man, Czechoslovak Group regularly makes the headlines for bumper profits, hushed-up disputes and aggressive business practices.

With midterms approaching and polls looking bad, the US administration seems to be mulling Balkan-style election giveaways – while also giving democratic backsliders and war crimes deniers a free pass.

Although almost half of all women are believed to experience some form of sexual dysfunction in the course of their lives, Montenegro's public healthcare system offers almost no relief.

MPs unite across party lines to back statement expressing unhappiness over Hague verdict convicting four former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders and urging state institutions to take action.

After Serbia's president pardons 12 activists accused of plotting to subvert the state, one of them tells BIRN it only proves the whole case was 'fabricated from the beginning' for political purposes.

Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region.

Victoria Belous tells BIRN that a combination of EU funds and bold reforms will turn her post-Soviet republic into a modern European state – even if rising prices test people’s pain threshold.

Predictable criticisms of the Hague verdict convicting four Kosovo Liberation Army leaders of war crimes ignore the question at the trial’s heart – who the victims were, and what compensation they deserve.

Bosnia’s once mighty SDA party has failed to reform internally, meaning any potential return to power will not reflect widespread enthusiasm for its policies but rather deep voter disappointment with the governing ‘Trojka’.

Court bans Republika Srpska from paying international lobbying firms to promote the entity’s independence from the Bosnian state.

Tech concerns mount over elections in Serbia, spy chief’s arrest tests Albania’s NATO ties, protests over court verdicts continue in Kosovo and North Macedonia mulls impact of dangerous virus, our selection of Balkan Insight’s Premium stories this week sh…

Seen as energy guzzlers and environmental polluters, datacentres are facing growing opposition across Europe.

Much-anticipated election debate sees rare direct televised face-off between senior ruling party official and candidate from opposition Student List.

Elsewhere, Polish foreign minister confronts Russian counterpart at UN as tensions with Kremlin rise; Hungary allowed to re-enter EU’s Erasmus+ program; Slovakia succeeds in getting Russian billionaires removed from EU sanctions list.

Climate change, job losses and emigration threaten the future of the centuries-old Arbereshe community on the Italian island of Sicily.

Inviting Western Balkan countries into Europe’s borderless travel area would ease their frontier disputes and revive EU credibility at the same time.

A medical professor from northern Serbia, Ilija Srdanovic suddenly finds himself at the head of a movement to end 14 years of rule by the Serbian Progressive Party and President Aleksandar Vucic.

Defence Ministry terminates contracts of two soldiers who honoured the legacy of convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal.

Politicians and relatives paid tribute to Kosovo police officer killed in September 2023 Banjska attack by an armed Serb gang, while the majority of the suspects remain at liberty, most likely in Serbia.

The opposition Democratic Party of Socialists has now vowed to disrupt parliament’s work until there is a vote on removing speaker Andrija Mandic for sending condolences after the death of Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic.

Seizures in Albania of cannabis from Canada suggest the Balkan country – long seen as a source – is also becoming a destination point in a globalised market.

Viktor Orban positioned Hungary as a bulwark of ‘Christian Identity’ in Europe.

A month away from elections, Serbian authorities show no sign of investigating credible allegations that student protesters, politicians and activists have been targeted with spyware.

Vlora Hyseni’s arrest has renewed scrutiny of her 2023 appointment to lead Albania’s State Intelligence Service and dealt a major blow to the NATO member’s reputation.