As the political situation in #Serbia remains explosive, the publication of a controversial private conversation highlights an attempt to muzzle the few media outlets in the country that continue to take a critical line towards the government. www.balcanicaucaso.org/aree/Serbia/...

#BosniaHerzegovina was admitted to the UN while inheriting the formal state framework of the former Yugoslavia. #Palestine has been recognized by more than 130 countries. Today’s recognitions serve less as legal formalities & more as geopolitical signals. en.yenisafak.com/news/recogni...

#Slovenia prohibited #Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from entering the country, deepening its diplomatic rift with Israel and reinforcing its support for Palestinian statehood. www.intellinews.com/slovenia-ban...

#Albania is a country where the rule of law is weak. Checks and balances are largely non-existent, and this deficit becomes even more acute when dealing with something as novel and poorly understood by the public, as AI. europeanwesternbalkans.com/2025/09/25/a...

Of the two EU states with access to the Black Sea, #Romania spends more on defense than #Bulgaria and has demonstrated its ability to provide security for the region during the war in #Ukraine. cepa.org/article/an-e...

Join The Situation Room’s inaugural debate: #Kosovo, #Serbia, and the West. Evidence, clarity, and persuasion collide where audience votes decide #Europe’s most urgent questions. www.thesr.uk/p/the-balkan...

How do countries in the #WesternBalkans view their bilateral relations with the #USA in 2025? To discuss this question, TEPSA and IRMO will host an online public debate on Wednesday, 15 October from 10:00 to 11:30. Details: tepsa.eu/events/onlin...

The Network of Academic Solidarity and Engagement (MASA) in #Serbia called on all members of the academic community to “publicly demonstrate their disagreement with President Aleksandar Vučić’s regime and persevere in their support for students.” n1info.rs/english/news...

Amid anti-government protests in #Serbia, nine individuals detailed brutal treatment at the hands of a special police unit in a garage beneath the government building in Belgrade, treatment that international rights watchdogs say may amount to torture. balkaninsight.com/2025/09/23/i...

An infographic created by Think for Europe provides an overview of #Serbia’s Reform Agenda implementation up to June 2025, highlighting progress made, pending measures, and key challenges across priority areas. reform-monitor.org/reform-agend...

#Serbia’s Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić announced that the first generation to serve compulsory military service can be expected early next year, adding that the Serbian Armed Forces have prepared more than 120 facilities for that purpose. www.serbianmonitor.com/en/gasic-the...

“For the past 12 years in #Serbia, we have lived under an autocracy, openly supported by the EU through its backing of Aleksandar Vučić.”. But for almost a year now, “students have risen up against everything that is wrong in our country.” newunionpost.eu/2025/09/18/s...

Months after it was supposed to be ready, the government of #Montenegro says it’s still reviewing a draft law tightening gun ownership rules, after calls for reform sparked by two mass shootings. balkaninsight.com/2025/09/19/m...

"There are some realities of Serbian achievement which, regardless of what now happens in #Serbia, are worth considering. We will not get far without protesting, and we will not get far protesting without young people." snyder.substack.com/p/youth-prot...

#Moldova has completed the screening process for EU accession negotiations, marking a significant step on its European path. This achievement underscores Chișinău's dedication to aligning with EU standards. enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/moldova...

A new @ceps.eu policy brief points out key weaknesses of the current #EUenlargement policy & encourages a simplified approach to enlargement, as recently demanded in a joint letter by #Austria, #Germany, #Italy & #Slovenia. Their main criticism👇🏻 www.ceps.eu/ceps-publica...

A recently published paper summarizes the current protests in #Serbia, examining their causes, demands & expectations. It analyzes the evolving perceptions & popularity of the protests in contrast to the Serbian government & President Aleksandar Vučić. politicalcapital.hu/hireink.php?...

A stormy session of #Albania’s parliament descended into chaos on when opposition lawmakers disrupted Prime Minister Edi Rama’s presentation of what he said is the world’s first artificial-intelligence government minister. www.intellinews.com/albanian-pm-...

As surveillance technology develops at pace, privacy rights experts say legal safeguards in #Montenegro are still being applied only selectively. Oversight remains weak, threatening public trust in the institutions tasked with protecting the country and its people. balkaninsight.com/2025/09/17/m...

Bitter protests in #Serbia have dragged on for months — with protesters demanding early elections while alleging President Aleksandar Vučić undermines democracy and allows corruption to flourish. But what they want to come next is far from clear. bloom.bg/4pGChoK

The Higher Prosecution Office in #NoviSad filed an amended indictment charging #Serbia’s former Minister of Construction, Transport & Infrastructure Goran Vesić & 12 others, after the first version was rejected by & returned for further investigation. balkaninsight.com/2025/09/16/s...

The Enlargement Candidate Members’ Initiative is the first project aimed at involving representatives of civil society organisations from candidate countries in the decision-making process of an EU institution. newunionpost.eu/2025/09/12/e...

Between 2019 and 2024, #Serbia saw significant setbacks in electoral integrity, parliamentary effectiveness, and freedoms of assembly and movement. n1info.rs/english/news...

'The Russians are targeting the diaspora,' said #Moldova's President Maia Sandu, arguing that Russia is targeting voters living abroad ahead of the country's parliamentary elections this month. www.ft.com/content/877e...

#Albania opened cluster 4: “Green agenda and sustainable connectivity”. It is the fifth out of the total of six Clusters Albania has opened in the past 11 months. europeanwesternbalkans.com/2025/09/16/a...

#Romania's Defence Ministry said it detected the Russian drone when two F-16 jets were monitoring they country's border with #Ukraine, after "Russian air attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure on the Danube". www.bbc.com/news/article...

After two contributors to #Albania’s public broadcaster criticised delays in payments and a lack of information, Eni Vasili, the new head of RTSH since April 9, admitted that there is a “catastrophic situation of debts and obligations”. balkaninsight.com/2025/09/11/a...

#Romania’s leadership has emphasized that domestic production of gunpowder is a top priority, as the country currently imports it from #Serbia, where much of the supply originates in #Russia. euromaidanpress.com/2025/09/11/r...

The elimination of currency conversion costs between the lev and the euro, along with simplified reporting and easier service for foreign clients, is expected to make business operations in #Bulgaria more transparent and manageable. www.novinite.com/view_news.ph...

#Slovenia's state holding company SDH has established Dovos, a new state-owned company for defence, security and resilience, which will invest in local defence firms to strengthen the country’s defence and security capabilities. seenews.com/news/sloveni...

Serbian citizens believe that #China & #Russia show more understanding for #Serbia’s national interests when it comes to #Kosovo, the situation of Serbs in #BosniaHerzegovina & relations with #Montenegro, than the EU does. www.serbianmonitor.com/en/whom-do-s...

If a referendum on EU membership were held, there would be a majority support in four out of five surveyed countries in the #WesternBalkans. Only in #Serbia, an equal percentage of people said they would vote for and against EU membership – 39%. www.iri.org/resources/we...

"President Vučić’s cardinal problem is that he can neither solve #Serbia’s underlying problems nor offer genuine political concessions. His political future and personal security are intricately and directly linked to the future of the system he created." dgap.org/en/research/...

The US suspended a process to forge closer ties with #Kosovo, citing action by Prime Minister Albin Kurti that has “increased tensions and instability.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The scoreboard for the EU Growth Plan for the #WesternBalkans is giving a reality check for its progress so far. As it was stressed many times, the plan looks truly good on paper, yet its implementation & reality on the ground feels a little different. enlargement.ec.europa.eu/funding-tech...

#Slovenia joined #Austria, #Germany, #Poland, and #Lithuania in barring entry to Milorad Dodik, former president of #Bosnia’s Republika Srpska. www.reuters.com/world/europe...

This week, several organizations in #Montenegro held a gathering in Cetinje to mark the 5 September 2021 protest, when Joanikije, an ultra-nationalist cleric, was enthroned as the metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church. www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/crna-gora-...

#Albania has become the first country in the world to have an AI minister — not a minister for AI, but a virtual minister made of pixels and code and powered by artificial intelligence. www.politico.eu/article/alba...

"We call on the EU to condition #Serbia’s accession negotiations on tangible progress in safeguarding and upholding fundamental rights and values—most notably the rule of law, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and the autonomy of universities." democracyscholarsforserbia.com

The goals of dialogue in #Serbia are political stabilisation – reducing tensions between the government & the opposition – and institutional reform, aimed at strengthening the rule of law, transparency, and the fight against organised crime & corruption. www.ifimes.org/en/researche...

An upcoming event will bring together institutional & civil society actors from the #WesternBalkans to assess how democratic safeguards are applied in practice, identify co-ordination gaps and explore how legal frameworks & reforms can be strengthened. www.osce.org/odihr/electi...

#Serbia and #Türkiye remain the countries in the region most exposed to Beijing’s policies, according to the #China Index 2024. balkaninsight.com/2025/09/10/c...

The President of the Commission linked #EUenlargement to the freedom to “choose our destiny.” Bringing “future members” closer to the EU means “investing, supporting reforms, integrating into the Single Market” and delivering on the merits-based process. newunionpost.eu/2025/09/10/s...

About half of young people plan to leave #Serbia, while 43% don't rule out that possibility. The main reasons for leaving are a more dignified life & a higher standard of living. The main reason young people cite for staying is the desire to change the country. koms.rs/2025/09/alte...

#EUelargement is no longer a question of political benevolence, but of strategic necessity. The #WesternBalkans are already acting like allies, now #Europe must act accordingly. www.eliamep.gr/en/media/eur...

The non-legislative proposal for "policy reviews & reforms" aimed at preparing the EU for the integration of new members is expected on 29 October, alongside the presentation of the 2025 Enlargement Package. newunionpost.eu/2025/09/04/e...

"Though united by aspirations for self-determination, #Kosovo and #Palestine ended up in opposite geopolitical camps and embraced different normative frameworks, which has eroded solidarity and even fueled antagonism between the two." iwpr.net/global-voice...

#Bulgaria's PM Rosen Zhelyazkov & European Council President Antonio Costa underlined that the #NorthMacedonia must fully implement the agreements established in the European Consensus (2022) in order to advance towards EU membership. www.novinite.com/articles/234...

#Hungary and #Serbia expose a structural contradiction at the heart of EU enlargement: the Union demands democratic standards from candidates but lacks the tools to enforce them once membership is granted. theloop.ecpr.eu/why-hungary-...

#Greece’s parliament approved a bill toughening the measures for rejected asylum seekers. The new law lays down prison sentences of 2 to 5 years and a minimum fine of 5,000 euros for illegal migrants. balkaninsight.com/2025/09/03/g...