Balkans

Germany steps up in the Western Balkans. Will the EU follow its lead?

On Thursday, the prime ministers of the six Western Balkan countries convened in Berlin to sign three important agreements—on mutual recognition of ID cards, university diplomas, and professional qualifications—as part of a revitalized “Berlin Process.” The signing is a meaningful step in rebuilding momentum for regional economic cooperation and integration, and it is a signal that European Union (EU) countries are once again focusing on the Balkans in the shadow of Russia’s ruinous invasion of Ukraine. That attention is paying dividends. And it couldn’t come at a more important time.

Balkan States Beef up Borders against Migrant ‘Security Threat’

Rights groups deplore “hysterical and inappropriate language” framing crisis as an issue of security, rather than human rights.

Governments in the Balkans are beefing up borders and readying soldiers in the event of a new influx of migrants and refugees, with Serbia reportedly ready to seal its southern frontier with North Macedonia after Turkey abandoned a 2016 migration pact with the European Union.

Religious Radicalisation in the Albanian Diaspora

Abstract

Since the emergence of the Islamic State (The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ISIS) in early 2014, different countries have followed different paths in dealing with the problem of their citizens who have joined ISIS and have then tried to return to their home countries.

Open Wounds: The Families Left Behind by Albanians Killed in Syria

For the families of Albanian men who died fighting for Islamic State, the pain and uncertainty drag on.
Salushe Seferi’s ordeal began in 2013, when her daughter, Ruzhdie Balliu, left Albania for Syria. It ended, of sorts, eight years later in July 2021, when Ruzhdie was repatriated to a shelter in Durres, on the coast. Seferi, however, still suffers the scars of a war that was not hers. And she’s not alone.

Radicalized on the Net? Albanian Plumber Charged With ‘Jihadist Propaganda’

Did social networks change a young plumber from normal Muslim believer to radical Islamist – or are Albania’s authorities over-reacting to a non-existent threat?

At sunset on August 2, Bledar Zeneli and his father were attending the Aksham Namaz, one of five daily prayers of Muslim believers, when police came knocking at the door of their home in a newly developed area on the outskirts of Durres, Albania second largest town and main seaport.

Analysis: Balkan States Find Prosecuting Terrorism a Challenge

Evidence in terrorism cases is proving difficult to find, while experts warn that the reintegration and rehabilitation of foreign fighters is an even greater challenge.

Since the mid-1990s, more than 200 people have been sentenced to more than 1,100 years in prison in six Western Balkans countries for terrorist acts, or for leaving to fight in a foreign war, according to BIRN analysis.

Balcanii de Vest – teatrul competiției geopolitice între Rusia, China, Turcia și… Uniunea Europeană (I)

Războiul din Ucraina ar trebui să ne aducă aminte că primul conflict fratricid pe continentul nostru, după ultima mare conflagrație, a fost în Balcani, o regiune care a intrat în istoria modernă cu numele de ,,butoiul cu pulbere al Europei’’. Bagajul său istoric încă atârnă greu și astăzi iar recursul la valorile păcii și stabilității început acum mai bine de un sfert de secol este departe de a se fi încheiat.

Balcanii de Vest – teatrul competiției geopolitice între Rusia, China, Turcia și… Uniunea Europeană (II)

Arhitectura intereselor Chinei în regiune – cauze și efecte. Pătrunderea Chinei în Balcanii de Vest este unul dintre primele 2-3 fenomene care compun matricea geopolitică europenă din ultimii 10-15 ani, ca de altfel și extinderea prezenței economice a Beijingului în vestul continentului nostru.