Compiled by Eva Jovanova and Hristo Voynov
1. “Kosovo fulfills the criteria for visa liberalization” stated the European Commission this Wednesday. During a joint press conference with Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci, the Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos called the European Council and Parliament to adopt this proposal. Visa liberalization for Kosovo was first proposed in 2016, when two criteria were established – resolving a border dispute with Montenegro and tackling organized crime and corruption. And, on Wednesday Avramopoulos praised Kosovo especially on tackling organized crime and corruption.
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a summit in Helsinki to discuss a variety of issues, including high tensions between the two over alleged election meddling by the Russian state. Putin claims that this scandal is manufactured by the US opposition, which Trump agrees on. The problem with this theory is that the US Justice Department indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers over specific acts of hacking and one Russian in the US for attempting to illegally influence the Republican party which complicates efforts to present the issue as one based on pure opposition. One major outcome of the election to address these issues is a deal (whose details remain unclear) in which both countries allow for the other to question its citizens regarding controversial cases. Russia wishes to talk to certain individuals related to the Magnitsky sanctions which hurt many high profile Russian citizens and froze their Western-located assets.
3. Macedonia’s main political party leaders met this Thursday to discuss the referendum on the name deal that is scheduled for this fall. Their meeting, however, was fruitless. The main opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE has already tried blocking the referendum by interfering with the appointment of members of the State Electoral Commission – an attempt that the government coalition blocked by changing the electoral law in Parliament. Russia keeps on denying that it is involved in fueling the opposition’s anti-European campaign, while the European Commission’s screening process has begun.
4. Recent change to Poland’s judiciary that set an age limit to members of the Supreme Court is proving to be just as controversial as expected. Małgorzata Gersdorf was set to be the President of the Supreme Court until 2020, but because she is over 65, she is now retired according to the new law. She returned to the court after vacation for the first since the law took into effect on the 18th, and so now the legal disputes are under way. Exactly what will happen is unsure, as MPs are working towards a solution, but it could take weeks or months before a solution is finally decided on. Until then, the EU is also working on its own response, as it has triggered article 7 against Poland to pressure it to stop the reforms which it believes are done to solidify the ruling party’s hold of the country.
5. The Croatian football team might have made the whole Balkans chant for them during the World Cup finals, but the team’s homecoming was definitely not something everyone in the Balkans was proud of. Marko Penkovic – Thompson, a Croat nationalist singer. The right-wing nationalist accompanied the team during their bus ride from the Zagreb airport to the city main square and sang a song there. “Thompson” has performed songs abounding with Ustasa-slogans, and has even sung a song called “Kill a Serb” on one of his concerts.
6. The European Union is trying to stop Hungary’s ‘Stop Soros’ laws as it believes it infringes on certain democratic values by criminalizing the right of free assembly and organization. This feeds into the party line of Hungary’s ruling FIDESZ who claim that the EU is supporting George Soros over the democratic will of the Hungarian people. This adds to the tension between Hungary and the EU over the refugee crisis. Hungary also announced it plans to quit the United Nations Global Compact on Migration as part of its efforts to keep migrants out of Hungary.
7. Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina both are not in an optimal position due to international actors. Trump ridiculed Montenegro in his speech in front of the NATO, in which the US President mocked both Montenegro’s size and NATO’s obligation to defend its members if they were attacked. Bosnia and Herzegovina, after being financially turned down by the European Commission in its plan to build a third migrant center, now cannot internally agree if the center should be built and where the asylum seekers should receive shelter.
8. Czechian Prime Minister Andrej Babis refuses to apologize for claiming that TOP 09 leader Miroslav Kalousek is a drunk and a thief during last week’s vote of confidence for Babis’ ANO coalition. Kalousek might take the issue to court over slander, but claims that he would prefer not to. The two have often attacked one another, and so this incident is one of many. Opinion polls see ANO’s leadership rising in the face of a troubled start following months of negotiations before ANO was finally able to secure a coalition.
9. Serbia and Kosovo ended another fruitless meeting on normalizing their relations. This Wednesday, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic met with his Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci in Brussels to resume the so-called “Belgrade-Prishtina dialogue” aiming at clearing (mostly) Serbia’s path towards the EU. Both leaders left the meeting dissatisfied. The elephant in the room remains Kosovo’s official recognition by Serbia, which Vucic refuses to put on the table.
10. It was revealed that Mykhaylo Yezhel, Ukraine’s former Defense Minister turned ambassador to Belarus from the pre-Maidan Yanukovich government has political asylum in Belarus. He is wanted in Ukraine for misuse of state funds and is being tried in absentia. While a guilty verdict is almost certain, so is the fact that Yezhel has no reason to return to Ukraine. Belarus’ close ties to Russia has kept it consistently acting in Russia’s interests.
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