Week in Review: Between Optimism and Gridlock
Our selection of Premium stories this week brings a note of optimism that some long-standing problems and deadlocks could be resolved in the near future, tempered with an inevitable dose…
ARTE Europe Weekly: Is Water Being Sacrificed For Profit?
The EU‘s new Water Resilience Strategy is raising concerns among environmentalists about the future protection of a precious resource. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
Democracy Digest: Babis Appointed Czech PM But Fate of Motorists’ Turek Unclear
Elsewhere, legislative chaos as Slovak government rams through laws and president wields veto; yet another scandal in Hungary exposes government’s hollow ‘child-friendly’ narrative; and Poland invited to become first in…
‘The Deepest Wound’: Playing Politics with the Missing from the Kosovo War
Arbenita Muhaxheri has spent most of her life wondering what happened to her mother after she was stopped at a Serbian checkpoint in 1999 during the Kosovo war. A deal…
New Chief Chosen for Albania’s Anti-Corruption Prosecution
Albania‘s High Prosecution Council chooses Klodian Braho as new head of the Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organised Crime - a body with the tough task of tackling high-level graft.…
Kosovo’s Political Crisis Fuels Calls For New Funding Model for Public Broadcaster
Without a functioning parliament to approve funding, some 700 employees of Kosovo’s public broadcaster were twice left without pay this year, underscoring the need for a new funding model not…
‘The Biggest Fight is With the State,’ Says Albanian Eco-Warrior
Environmentalist Ardian Koci was awarded the 2025 EuroNatur Award for his campaigning conservation work in Albania – but he had already left the country after being fired by the Environment…
North Macedonia ‘Not Doing Enough’ to Protect Women Victims of Violence
Predictable dangers are often ignored and systemic gaps in services leave victims of gender-based violence without the protection they need, campaigner Ana Avramovska-Nushkova tells BIRN. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
Albanian Judges Accuse PM of Pressuring Court Over Suspended Minister
Judges Association claims that Edi Rama’s attacks on court decision to suspend Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku over legal allegations are designed to undermine faith in the Albanian judiciary. KAYNAK:…
‘I Had to Contribute’: Croatian Doctor Swapped Hospital Ward for Peace Work
BIRN’s series about women’s wartime activism tells the story of Katarina Kruhonja, who quit working as a doctor to become a full-time activist and advocate for reconciliation in conflict-ravaged eastern…