Compiled by Eva Jovanova and Hristo Voynov
1.The “Western Balkan” tour for European Commission’s President Jean Claude Juncker started last week and finished today. President Juncker was accompanied by the Vice-President of the Commission Federica Mogherini and the Enlargement and Neighborhood relations Commissioner Johannes Hahn. The trip started Macedonia on the morning of February 25, and after traveling to Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo (respectively), Juncker’s trip ended in Bulgaria. After meeting with all heads of states, Juncker finished his journey with the promise that any country, once it fulfills the necessary criteria, could enter the EU by 2025, and not just the frontrunners. The possibility that no country joins the Union by 2025 is also open, as Juncker stressed progress on substance is crucial for EU accession.
2. FIDESZ, the ruling party of Hungary expected to easily win the upcoming elections suffered a shocking loss in the mayoral elections of Hódmezővásárhely, a position it controlled for two decades. The new mayor, Péter Márki-Zay, was an independent whom all major opposition parties backed in an effort to unite against the growing authoritarianism of FIDESZ. While it is a positive sign for the opposition, this tactic is not likely to work again; uniting the many different opposition parties is a difficult task, doing so on a country-wide scale could prove impossible. However, that does not mean that FIDESZ is taking this defeat lying down, as it is already working on reinforcing its lead while it can.
3. Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in an interview with Reuters yesterday gave the first clear indications on how the name dispute with Greece might evolve. First, he noted that there are currently only four options on the table, all of which proposed by the UN envoy mediator Matthew Nimetz. Second, Zaev elaborated on the interview he had previously had with Spiegel, that the country’s constitution would not be changed. At the same time as Zaev was having the interview with Reuters, 10.000 people rallied in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, against a name change.
4. The Russian Olympics ban has officially been undone. It was originally put in place over allegations that there was a government led doping effort, which Russia claims were part of a worldwide attempt to discredit Russia. However, after 168 Russian athletes competed in the 2018 winter Olympics and only two athletes were caught doping, the ban was reversed. This is a huge decision for Moscow, as its international sporting abilities have long been a major source of national pride.
5. Kosovo-Serbia (or Belgrade-Pristina) dialogue resumed at the beginning of this week in Brussels. After the EU had insisted for a long time, the delegations led by Marko Djuric and Avni Arifi met this Monday and Tuesday. Belgrade had previously announced that it will seek further information on the murder of the Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic which occurred this January. The other topics included energy, freedom of movement, and the status of the Serbs in the ethnically predominantly Serbian northern part of Kosovo. The European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic stated that the meetings were held in a “constructive spirit”
6. Major protests again hit Kiev almost two weeks after Mikheil Saakashvili, the leader of the New Forces Movement party which is responsible for the protests, was deported from the country. The protesters demanded an audience with the Parliament Speaker and attempted to storm the Rada, or Ukrainian parliament, after this was denied. While this protest was minor in terms of its immediate results, it did present a grim reality to President Petro Poroshenko; he cannot just deport his political problems away. If anything, Saakashvili now has the freedom to call for more protests without any fear, as he is in away from the reach of Ukrainian security services.
7. Bosnia and Herzegovina entity of Republika Srpska makes a further step toward disintegrating further from the federation. For four school subjects, the Bosnian Serb elementary school pupils will be thought the same curriculum as in Serbia. The “national set” of subjects which covers language, geography, history and knowledge of nature and society is thought differently, according to the ethnicity of the pupils. This move sparked sharp criticism by non-Serb Bosnian politicians, as the pupils will now learn more about a different country’s history and geography, than about the country they are living in.
8. Police in Czechia arrested and later released Saleh Muslim, leader of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) which governs the Kurdish territory of Northern Syria. This was done at the request of Turkish requests to Interpol for his arrest and extradition who see the PYD as an extension of the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group in Turkey. The exact motivation behind this decision is uncertain, though it might be due to either disagreement in the belief that Muslim was involved with terrorism or the idea that extradition might lead to his torture. In response, Turkey released harsh statements that Czechia supports terrorism, which Czechia denies. This is likely to put a long-term strain on Turkey’s relationship with Czechia, as this would have been a major victory in its ongoing efforts to stomp out Kurdish nationalism, both in its South Eastern region and in Syria.
9. This week freezing temperatures and a snowstorm hit the Balkans, surprising the authorities in most countries. The most innovative of all parties in power showed to be the Serbian Progressive Party, which mobilized its activists in light of the capital municipal election this Sunday. According to most polls, President Aleksandar Vucic’s party has the highest chance in winning the election.
10. Slovakian journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend were killed, sending shockwaves across the country. Kuciak was said to be working on a report regarding corruption within the highest levels of the government including Robert Fico, the Slovak PM, and the notorious Italian mafia, the ‘Ndrangheta. Fico stated that “If it is proven that the death of the investigative reporter was connected with his journalistic work it would be an unprecedented attack on freedom of speech and democracy in Slovakia”. Murders of journalists are uncommon in Central Europe and this is an example of the rising dangers around investigative journalism, especially against people in power.
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