Balkans

From elections and party politics to local government, media and construction, Prime Minister Edi Rama’s hold on power now faces a new test. In June of this year, a book setting out an ambitious vision for Albania’s physical transformation was published: The Albanian Files. Featuring a foreword by Prime Minister …

Key Takeaways: The 7 August 2026 Mecca Pact (Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan) treats an attack on one as an attack on all and adds exercises, intel, tech, and defence industry—building on the 2025 Saudi–Pakistan deal. The author calls it an emerging mix of Saudi money/energy, Turkish arms and NATO know-how, …

Prosecutors are investigating the agency that developed Albania’s AI-minister ‘Diella’ in a case that involves alleged rigged tenders, a kidnapping, and tens of millions in seized assets. The affair deepens doubts about how artificial intelligence will be used to address the country’s widespread graft problem. Last September, Albania made headlines …

Key TakeawaysBosnia and Herzegovina’s 4 October 2026 general elections will take place amid deep political fragmentation, the near-total recycling of long-dominant elites, risks of vote-buying, and an under-mobilised but potentially decisive diaspora, testing whether the vote can produce accountable government capable of advancing European reforms.Key flashpoints include efforts to frame …

Donald Trump’s second term has coincided with a significant increase in lobbying efforts by Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity, resulting, it seems, in the lifting of US sanctions on Milorad Dodik and his family and allies. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska entity has spent almost as much on lobbying in the …

Interview with Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) The Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC) and France have signed the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The agreement, which provides a legal framework for the deployment of French troops on the island and …

As the demonstrations in favor of the Pishë Poro-Narta protected area go on, local communities in other parts of Albania are also in turmoil. The symbol of this new wave of protests is the barbed-wire fencing surrounding the areas where new projects are planned. The fence represents power and exclusion; …

Two institutions, one pattern The IMC is the body responsible for regulating the broadcast media sector in Kosovo. It operates under the direct authority of the Parliament, which votes on its annual budget and appoints its seven-member board. RTK, the public broadcaster, has an eleven-member board approved by the Assembly, …

The fence appeared in April. Topped with razor wire, it closed off Pishe Poro, a beach on Albania’s Adriatic coast that is part of the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape, an important stopover for migrating birds. At the site, covering more than 1.3 million square metres, a company called Zvernec South Adriatic …

After the unexpected resignation of the international administrator in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt and the intensification of contacts between Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and the Kremlin and at the same time the entourage of US President Donald Trump, the situation in Bosnia from the postwar begins to resemble …