Balkans

As the fever dream of this summer’s scorching heat slowly subsides, nightmares from Europe’s past are lingering in waking life in the form of warships, bombs, and catapult stones. Still, a shared understanding of history remains elusive. And while some of the walls that separated us have crumbled, new divides are forming in front of our very eyes.

Can prime minister Robert Golob escape the incumbent curse, or will Slovenia swing further to the right?

Across the region, protest movements are evolving into promising political realities. Could they contribute to the renewal Europe’s Greens are seeking?

Besides geopolitics, economy, and history, there is another important and yet often disregarded factor behind this delay.

In recent years, the citizens of Serbia and Albania have offered inspiring examples of mobilisation against extractivism and ecosystem degradation. Can their success be replicated across the Balkans and beyond?

Bringing young people together is only half the battle; overcoming binary and prejudiced thinking also requires openness and positive feelings towards other groups.

Stability in the Balkans depends on the success of North Macedonian statehood. This in turn can only be guaranteed by European integration.

As the struggle against the pandemic continues, geopolitical tensions are contributing to fraying public confidence in vaccines across Europe.

In a region that is no stranger to instability, neither the EU’s existing Eastern Partnership programme nor its ambiguous accession process will cut it.

Prospects of EU membership are on hold in North Macedonia, despite it going as far as to change its name to resolve a dispute with Greece.