Balkan Legal News - 9 February 2024

The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 2 February 2024 to 9 February 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.

Kosovo - 9 February 2024

The Prime Minister of Kosovo and Serbia’s President joined Security Council members in a heated discussion centred on new rules, which came into force on 1 February. The Central Bank of Kosovo regulation made the Euro, not the Serbian dinar, the only currency allowed for cash transactions; see here. 

North Macedonia - 8 February 2024

The sports betting sector warns of job losses after parliament in Skopje adopts a new law banning gambling establishments from within half a-kilometre radius of schools; see here.

Albania - 7 February 2024

Thousands of migrants rescued in international waters by Italy can be sent to Albania, Albania’s Constitutional Court announced Wednesday. Albania’s parliament will vote Thursday on an agreement reached in November between Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni; see here.

Poland/Czechia - 7 February 2024

The immediate fate of the Istanbul Convention in Poland and Czechia masks a more complicated picture recently about women’s rights in the two countries; see here.

Croatia - 7 February 2024

Parliament has confirmed the appointment of Ivan Turudic as Croatia's Attorney General, despite opposition claims that his election will 'put the last nail in the coffin' of the justice system; see here.

Serbia - 6 February 2024

After state security officers accused of killing Serbian opposition journalist Slavko Curuvija were controversially acquitted, the country’s top prosecutor could claim the law was violated – but that won’t secure convictions, his family’s lawyer said; see here.

Kosovo - 6 February 2024

The US has accused authorities in Kosovo of “unnecessarily raising ethnic tensions” after the government imposed a ban on Serbia’s currency and instructed its Serb minority to adopt the euro; see here.

Bosnia - 6 February 2024

The trial of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik on charges of defying the rulings of an international peace envoy opened on February 5 in Bosnia-Herzegovina after several postponements; see here.

Albania - 5 February 2024

As the Socialist-controlled parliament drags its feet over the case of Socialist MP and former minister Olta Xhacka's mandate, the Constitutional Court's chief judge has reminded it that court rulings are final – and must be implemented; see here.

Serbia - 4 February 2024

The arrest of pro-west politician Nikola Sandulović, who dared to apologise over Kosovo crimes, exposes tensions still festering in the Balkans; see here.