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All Countries
A diplomatic spat between Serbia and Montenegro over the latter’s independence anniversary celebrations underscores the lingering tensions between the two and the work-in-progress that is Montenegrin statehood.
May 21, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Six weeks after his Tisza movement upended Hungarian politics, Peter Magyar arrived in Poland on his first official foreign trip – a visit carefully designed to signal both democratic realignment…
May 20, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Most European leaders stayed well away from Putin’s May jamboree – and the meagre presence of a few Bosnian Serb political leaders only underscored Moscow’s isolation.
May 20, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Rene Karabash tells BIRN how the ancient Albanian custom of women becoming ‘sworn virgins’ became the subject of her acclaimed novel – which put Bulgarian literature in the spotlight as…
May 20, 2026
· 1 min read
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Activists and migrants say a new programme to regulate the status of migrant workers in Romania is being used to deport those unaware they have already been issued with return…
May 20, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Orban turned Hungary’s public service media into a propaganda machine after taking office in 2010. Now out of power, questions are being raised about what to do with the state…
May 19, 2026
· 1 min read
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Authorities are using the 2022 law to silence critical voices – while a newly adopted social media law poses further threats to free speech.
May 19, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
In popular destinations such as Croatia, Spain and Greece, the everyday lives of ordinary people are being turned upside down by overtourism. Could tourist taxes, restrictions on short-term rentals or…
May 19, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Playing tour guide over the weekend to various buildings renovated using billions in taxpayer money, Magyar said his government will keep the building previously used as the Prime Minister’s Office…
May 18, 2026
· 1 min read
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As Christian Schmidt readies to quit as High Representative, Europe and its allies must resolutely push for a powerful successor – and forget ‘compromising’ with a United States that has…
May 18, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Lejla Dauti and Leonarda Demolli migrated to the UK from Kosovo as children where their experience of gender freedom led them to found a podcast sharing the voices of Albanian…
May 18, 2026
· 1 min read
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Discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is on the rise across Europe, despite stronger equal rights laws.
May 15, 2026
· 1 min read
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While the prize of EU membership is coming within grasping distance for Montenegro, our selection of Balkan Insight Premium stories this week highlights the uncertainties facing other countries in the…
May 15, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Extensive injuries sustained in a police crackdown on anti-government protesters in the western Serbian town of Valjevo in August last year show the use of force was often ‘punitive’ rather…
May 15, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Albanian law students from North Macedonia say they should be allowed to take the bar exam in their mother tongue. The dispute speaks to a broader problem of unfulfilled language…
May 15, 2026
· 1 min read
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The crisis in Romania is not the government’s fall – but the creation of a dangerous governance vacuum that no mainstream parties seem willing to fill.
May 15, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Elsewhere, Magyar sworn in as new Hungarian PM and holds first cabinet meeting; Trump ally tipped as new US ambassador to Slovakia; Czech president and PM still at odds over…
May 15, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Montenegro has a different relationship to its socialist past than some other ex-Yugoslav republics, but that doesn’t mean its anti-fascist monuments aren’t neglected or that revisionism is not a threat.
May 14, 2026
· 1 min read
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The opposition sees the desertion of some of its mayors and councillors to join Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP as part of a government strategy aimed at weakening local resistance…
May 14, 2026
· 1 min read
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Poland's largest crypto exchange has a missing founder, suspected ties to Russian organised crime and a CEO who made large payments to right-wing politicians – all while the president blocked…
May 13, 2026
· 1 min read
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The EU feels a spring in its step as it readies to accept its first new member since 2013 – a decision of enormous symbolic weight, which will also set…
May 13, 2026
· 1 min read
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Abandoned by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Kosovo's ex-President Vjosa Osmani has returned to the opposition party she left six years ago. But will the rapprochement help or hinder the LDK…
May 13, 2026
· 1 min read
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Christian Schmidt’s departure as Bosnia and Herzegovina’s international peace overseer risks adding to the country’s instability – and fuelling calls for the High Representative office’s abolition.
May 12, 2026
· 1 min read
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Families who stored their children’s stem cells are struggling to trace the companies entrusted with their samples.
May 12, 2026
· 1 min read
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In northern Kosovo, an English-language public college has become a shared space for Albanians, Serbs and other students, challenging those who claim integration is not possible.
May 12, 2026
· 1 min read
All Countries
Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region.
May 11, 2026
· 1 min read
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As the verdict in the case against Hashim Thaci and his co-defendants at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers approaches, a difficult question comes into focus: what is achieved when justice is…
May 11, 2026
· 1 min read
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A new BIRN survey shows the impact of menopause on women’s professional, social and sex lives in Greece, as many suffer in silence and experts call for greater support from…
May 11, 2026
· 1 min read
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In Romania, the Social Democrats joined forces with the far right to bring down the pro-EU government. Elsewhere, some mainstream parties are considering deals, or already cooperating with, parties they…
May 8, 2026
· 1 min read
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Eleven players withdrew from the Olympic gold-winning men’s national team while the head coach resigned after criticism from the new Federation chief sparked anger.
May 8, 2026
· 1 min read
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New government headed by ex-President Rumen Radev officially assumed office on Friday, with its anti-corruption mandate already facing scrutiny.
May 8, 2026
· 1 min read
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Elsewhere, Poland’s institutional crisis continues to disrupt workings of state; Congress of Sudeten Germans set to take place in Czechia prompts protests; and Slovak judges issue warning over political attacks…
May 8, 2026
· 1 min read
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Controversy surrounding the appointment of new members to North Macedonia’s Anti-Discrimination Commission has raised fears that this key human rights body will once more be steered away from protecting the…
May 8, 2026
· 1 min read
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The fall from power of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party threatens its satellite in Serbia, which was not only loyal to Viktor Orban, but also to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
May 8, 2026
· 1 min read
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Land in Bosnia is being bought up by firms founded with Gulf capital, cleared of trees and sold to Gulf buyers, often Kuwaitis, for new homes that, by law, can’t…
May 8, 2026
· 1 min read
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Central Election Commission schedules elections at several levels for October 4, while preparing to introduce new biometric voter identification and ballot-scanning technology.
May 7, 2026
· 1 min read
