Environmental Crime in North Macedonia and Serbia Too Often Unpunished
A lack of training, capacity and legislative reform are conspiring to let perpetrators of environmental crime in Serbia and North Macedonia off the hook. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
North Macedonia in 2026: Govt’s Unchallenged Power Will Test its Maturity
The VMRO DPMNE-led government will dominate internal politics, with no elections scheduled this year – but progress abroad, with the stalled EU integration process, is far from certain. KAYNAK: Balkan…
Week in Review: Hopes, Dreams and Reality Checks in 2026
As the new year gets off to a cold start in the region, our selection of Balkan Insight Premium stories takes a look at the high expectations and sobering realities…
North Macedonia Village Carnival Mixes Ancient Tradition With Modern Satire
Part pagan ritual and part political satire, one of the most famous village festivals in the Balkans, the Vevcani carnival, goes ahead in North Macedonia on Tuesday and Wednesday. KAYNAK:…
Why Is Hungary Granting Political Asylum to Former Polish Ministers?
The Hungarian government is likely trying to curry favour with Poland’s PiS party by granting asylum to former government figures facing trial at home. But a change of government in…
North Macedonia Budget Cuts ‘Put Rare Disease Patients at Risk’
Looming cuts to a vital healthcare programme threaten the lives of some of the country’s most vulnerable people, Vesna Aleksovska, head of the Association of Citizens with Rare Diseases, tells…
Ethnic Albanian Journalist Recalls Threats, Harassment as Yugoslavia Unravelled
As an ethnic Albanian journalist in the 1980s and 1990s, Dijana Toska faced threats, censorship and harassment from authorities in Pristina and her Macedonian hometown Skopje - before, during and…
North Macedonia Plans Tough New Law to Curb Smoking
New draft law aims to drastically tighten restrictions on smoking, and on advertising nicotine products, amid stubbornly high consumption rates. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
Monday Briefing from the Balkans: January 12, 2026
Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
BIRN Reality Check: What’s the Truth About North Macedonia’s Latest Migrant Controversy?
In 2017 the opposition VMRO DPMNE party accused the then ruling Social Democrats of secret plans to take in Middle Eastern migrants. These turned out to be unfounded. Now the…