Balkan Legal News - 13 September 2024
- Sep 12, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 10, 2024
The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 5 September 2024 to 12 September 2024.
Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.
Turkey – 12 September 2024
Minister confirms long-denied claims that data on millions of citizens was stolen from the e-government system during the COVID-19 pandemic; see here.
Serbia – 11 September 2024
During Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Belgrade, his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, said that a free trade deal will be agreed ‘as soon as possible’; see here.
Kosovo – 11 September 2024
Forty-five suspects, including powerful Kosovo Serb businessman Milan Radoicic, were charged by prosecutors in Pristina over last September’s armed attack on Kosovo police officers in the northern village of Banjska; see here.
Albania – 11 September 2024
Court documents detail claims of how an alleged drug boss living in Dubai laundered money in his native Albania, helping to fuel a rapid rise in real estate prices; see here.
Balkans – 11 September 2024
Comment - The EU must soon open its doors to new members – its survival depends on it; see here.
Romania – 11 September 2024
As part of its EU commitment to promote decarbonisation and the development of low-carbon energy sources with a focus on renewable energy, Romania passed a legislative package containing a two-way Contracts for Difference (CfD) support mechanism, leading to the announcement of the first auction for solar and onshore wind technologies; see here.
Balkans – 10 September 2024
Italy’s foreign minister has voiced strong support for Western Balkan countries’ European Union accession bids, saying that otherwise, the region could swing towards Russia or China; see here.
Kosovo – 10 September 2024
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down a landmark judgment about the judicial review of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. The case concerned allegations that EULEX had failed to investigate crimes in breach of human rights law; see here.
Kosovo – 10 September 2024
Appeals judges at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers war crimes court reduced the sentence for wartime guerrilla commander Salih Mustafa, who was convicted of arbitrary detention, torture and murder, from 22 to 15 years; see here.
Bosnia – 10 September 2024
The Drina River on the Bosnian-Serbian border is a bottleneck on the busy Balkan route. Some locals help migrants where they can; others see them as an opportunity to earn money. The authorities are overstretched; see here.
Kosovo – 9 September 2024
As Kosovo drifts into another diplomatic row with its Western allies over an import ban on some Serbian goods, President Vjosa Osmani has told BIRN that a compromise solution is still possible “because common ground can be found”; see here.
Romania – 9 September 2024
Romania has confirmed drone fragments on several occasions since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022; see here.
Serbia – 7 September 2024
The Belgrade Pride march - the biggest in Serbia so far, according to the organisers - passed off peacefully, with participants urging the authorities to introduce legislation on same-sex marriage and gender identity; see here.
Bosnia – 6 September 2024
Comment - As Croatia and Serbia compete to beef up their respective armed forces, Bosnia’s security looks increasingly vulnerable – and needs addressing; see here.
Bulgaria – 6 September 2024
Documents obtained by BIRN show that EU Frontex officers deployed to Bulgaria’s border with Turkey are being intimidated into silence in the face of pushbacks and brutality against migrants and refugees, prompting warnings that the agency’s credibility is on the line; see here.
North Macedonia – 5 September 2024
Turkey's foreign minister, on a visit to North Macedonia, said he expects the country's new government to “give stronger support” to the fight against supporters of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of terrorism; see here.
