Compiled by Hristo Voynov and Eva Jovanova
1. Russia finally refutes the accusations that it tried to hack into the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the Netherlands. Dutch intelligence claimed that a team of GRU (Russian Military Intelligence) officers tried to hack into the OPCW’s wifi network from the outside, where they were stopped, detained, and summarily deported. This was revealed in the media earlier in the month, and now Russia is saying that this team was there testing the vulnerabilities of the Russian diplomatic mission. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also claimed that there were no security measures done to hide their travels and that it was one giant misunderstanding. They also summoned the Dutch ambassador to Moscow to discuss the alleged global disinformation campaign against Russia and stated that the deportations were provocative because they didn’t follow diplomatic norms. Considering how badly the Russian defense of the Skripal poisoning allegations went, this is not likely to convince many of Russia’s innocence.
2. Bulgarian broadcast journalist Viktorija Marinova was raped and murdered last Sunday. This is the third murder of a journalist coming from an EU member state. She was reporting on an investigation into corruption involving European Union funds. One suspect was detained earlier this week and then extradited to Germany to be further investigated. The causes of the rape and murder remain unclear, but there is a rising suspicion that it is a politically motivated act.
3. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the unofficial head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, has agreed to recognize the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This marks a major cultural shift for Ukraine, away from Russia and towards its own independent identity. It also presents major problems for the Russian Orthodox Church. It has denounced the move and may refuse to recognize it, but this is unlikely. The more realistic issue that will come about is how to separate worshippers and property, as both are likely to claim ownership of much of what they currently share.
4. Bosnia and Herzegovina had a busy Sunday. Even though there are still no official results by the central election committee from this Sunday’s election, the results are quite clear already. The Serb nationalist leader of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, won the presidential seat for Republika Srpska for the tripartite rotating presidency. The Bosniak Sefik Dzaferovic and the Croat Zeljko Komsic will join him. These results make it very unlikely for Bosnia and Herzegovina to overcome its political crisis. The election turnout was less than 54%.
5. Moldova had a busy week in regards to its foreign relations. A planned vote on introducing “European Integration” into its constitution was postponed after the two competing camps within the government held heated debates on the issue. While a large part of the parliament supports this, many do not. President Igor Dodon, known for his ani-EU and pro-Russian tendencies, threatened not to sign anything related to this (among other issues) unless it was supported by a referendum. A European Parliament report on the process of integration also criticized it for being ‘in a state of capture’ by oligarchs and suggested cutting off EU funding to the country. It also received its first US military attaché to the US, which will help coordinate strategic issues between the two.
6. Macedonian ex-authoritarian PM Nikola Gruevski was sentenced this week to two years of prison. The former prime minister was sentenced for influencing other officials in the purchase of a luxury vehicle costing about €600.000. Gruevski served as a prime minister for ten years, and in 2016 he was forced to step down over a wire-tapping scandal in which senior members of his government and security services were tapping the phone- calls of judges, journalists, other members of his administration, and members of the other parties. A large amount of the compromising material in these calls is still under investigation by the Special Prosecutor.
7. Hungary’s spat with Ukraine over minority rights continues, as Hungarian officials are in an uproar over what they call a ‘death list’ of ethnic Hungarians in the Ukrainian government. The Ukrainian Ambassador was summoned to Budapest to discuss the perceived ethnic tension in the country, which has up until now been mostly limited to language rights. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister’s defense over this is that all Ukrainian citizens, regardless of ethnicity, need to speak Ukrainian to advance in their society. Hungary is now even turning to the Council of Europe to try to punish Ukraine for actions against its ethnic minorities. Hungarian President Viktor Orban also met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Erdogan, which both sides seemed happy about, but the Hungarian opposition did not.
8. Kosovo nationals that were supporters of ISIS and planned bombings in the Balkans and abroad were indicted earlier this week. The six Kosovars had planned to bomb Orthodox churches and clubs in Serb-majority areas, an Israeli football team, and other targets in Belgium and France. They were also on their mission to recruit suicide bombers in Kosovo. Their bombardment plots started to unfold this week.
9. Czechia held a local election which provided expectable but still surprising results. The major race was in Prague’s municipal assembly in which the country’s leading party came 5th, while the Civic Democrats were first and the Pirates party second. As the first ranked party only received 17.87% of the vote, there is now a need for a coalition, which is likely to be the Pirates and the 3rd and 4th place parties (Praha Sobě and a coalition led by TOP 09, respectively). Brno, Czechia’s second largest city, was won by the leading ANO party, but all of the other parties united to form a loser’s majority, stealing the ANO victory. These elections may mark the end of ANO’s leadership era in government, but they still have time to bounce back before the next elections.
10. Croatian vineyard owner in Bosnia and Herzegovina sells bottles of wine labeled with a picture of the Croatian Ustasa leader Ante Pavelic. The wine is branded as “Poglavnik” – the nickname of the WWII Croatian fascist, which is a Croatian version of Mussolini’s nickname “Duce” or Hitler’s “Führer.” The wine producer’s business is legal, which makes the situation even more grotesque. This is not the first time that Croatians flirt with their Ustasa past and revisionist movements are common. Several times, the Croatian version of the death camp Jasenovac in Croatia were edited and whitewashed.
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