Compiled by Eva Jovanova and Hristo Voynov
1. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s visit of Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, scheduled for September, is causing a dispute in the already divided country. Both Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, the Serb-dominated entity, and Bosnian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Igor Crnadak, claim to have invited Lavrov, who is visiting Banja Luka, the capital of Republika Srpska. Russia is a big supporter of the Serb-dominated entity, and both Dodik and Crnadak are ethnic Serbs, whose row is fragmenting the divided opposition even further.
2. The US sanctioned Russia yet again, as sanctions continue to define the working relationship between the two countries. These new sanctions, proposed as the “Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2018” are more widespread than many of the other recent sanctions, and their announcement leads to the ruble dropping to a two year low. Moscow continues to stand defiant against the sanctions and accusations against it, claiming that they are done because of Russophobia and that Russia will not meet the given requirements for sanctions to be dropped.
3. Macedonia’s government is accused of infringing media freedoms. While preparing for the referendum on September 30, the government coalition is attacked by media watchdogs for reintroducing state-funded advertising for the referendum campaign. The Council of Europe and the European Federation of Journalists were the first to issue warnings that the three provisions on the Electoral code passed on July 25, might endanger balanced informing on the name agreement. Media freedom is a very sensitive topic in Macedonia, as, during the eleven-year-rule of VMRO-DPMNE, the main opposition party, the country slipped into media darkness.
4. Czechia’s newly formed government coalition faces its first internal dispute over state-funding of NGOs. The government coalition’s majority partner, ANO, wants to cut state funding for such organizations by just over 20%, which would drastically limit the ability of Czechia’s many civil organizations to function. The minority party, the Social Democrats, is vehemently against this idea as they see NGOs as a source of good for the civil society. It appears that a compromise will be made and NGOs with a perceived political agenda will be the ones that take the greatest loss.
5. Montenegro’s Prime Minister Dusko Markovic was hosted by his German counterpart Angela Merkel in Berlin this Friday. This is his first official visit to Germany since he was appointed in 2016. The agenda of their meeting was related to Montenegro’s potential EU membership, with topics ranging from trade and migration to corruption and Trump’s bullying of Montenegro. What is more interesting about the visit is the fact that Markovic, as well as his predecessor Luksic, have both been invited by the German chancellor at least once during their terms, however, Merkel has never visited Montenegro, nor has she hosted Montenegro’s three-decade-long head of state Milo Djukanovic in Berlin.
6. Tensions between Ukraine and Hungary over the Hungarian minority in the Ukrainian territory of Transcarpathian continue to build. Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister threatened to prevent the entry of a Hungarian government official tasked with working with the Hungarians in Ukraine. While the Hungarian government claims to be interested in improving the lives of the Hungarian diaspora, Ukraine is afraid of another ethnic proxy war, similar to the one in Donbas or the annexation of Crimea. While the two have been quietly sparing over this issue for a while, Ukraine needs Hungary as a friend and not an enemy in order to smooth its way into closer ties with the rest of the EU.
7. Romania’s police brutality has deeply upset the EU, last week’s protests and clashes leaving hundreds injured show. During last Friday’s protests in Bucharest, the police had used tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons in response to the violent behavior of some individuals in the crowds. The EU and Romania’s President Ioannis Klaus describe the police brutality as “disproportional and unacceptable”. The European Commission warns of breaches in the rule of law during last weeks protests when 450 people were hospitalized.
8. Viktor Orban, the Hungarian President, is trying to ban Gender Studies as a possible field of study in the country. This new legislation will affect very few students, as the number of gender studies programs in Hungary is already very low. One such school will be the Central European University, the controversial George Soros funded university. Orban’s reasoning is that there is no demand for gender studies students, while his allies see gender studies as a liberal Trojan horse that will tear apart the conservative ideas of Hungary. Those against the proposed bill see it as an unconstitutional way of regulating ideas taught in universities, as well as an important scholarly field that is important for the sake of knowledge.
9. Romania and Bulgaria can celebrate Donald Trump’s defense budget signed on Tuesday. The US Army announced to invest $27 million in modernizing two military bases in the two countries next year. According to the budget, the US troops will “continue rotational deployments to Romania and Bulgaria while taking full advantage of the training opportunities available at military locations such as Camp Mihail Kogalniceanu in Romania and Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria”. Other countries the US Army will cooperate in 2019 are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia.
10. Poland held a major military parade to celebrate Armed Forces Day and its victory against the Bolsheviks during the 1920 Battle of Warsaw on August 15. This year also includes the centennial of Polish independence, which gives the parade extra significance. The parade was a major show of strength for the Polish Army, as it included over 100 airplanes, 200 vehicles, and many soldiers, along with over a hundred thousand spectators.
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