Balkans

Bosnia’s ten-party state-level coalition government lost two member parties on Thursday, only 20 days after it was formed in mid-December. 

The Party for BiH and People’s European Alliance, NES, both from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the larger of Bosnia’s two entities, quit the coalition demanding retraction of a new law on state property adopted by the assembly of Republika Srpska, the country’s other entity, on December 28. 

The latest developments at the north of Kosovo are reminiscent of the events from the nineties of the past century and threaten to escalate into conflict.

Over the past several years there was a noticeable absence of EU- mediated dialogue between official Belgrade and Pristina. The responsibility does not rest just with the participants in the dialogue but also with the EU and the entire international community, which has proven to be inert and ineffective in Kosovo and the Western Balkans. The billions of euros/dollars of EU and US taxpayers’ money that were spent have yielded modest results. 

The Balkans is not immune to jihadist propaganda and terrorism financing and recruiting. Terrorism might affect the tricky regional security situation exacerbated by internal conflicts, economic crises and the current geopolitical changes due to the Ukraine conflict and the West – Russia confrontation.

This week, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) marked the 27th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), which ended the three-and-a-half-year (1992-1995). Since then, BiH, a war-ravaged country, has struggled with overcoming the past and moving forward toward genuine cooperation and reconciliation, which requires recognizing the past, finding common ground, making a commitment to BiH’s future, and building a sense of unity and national pride.

Switzerland has been hosting discreet meetings between officials of Kosovo and Serbia in an effort to defuse tensions in the Balkan region.

A stand-off has developed in northern Kosovo with its Serbian neighbours as an incident over car number plates has escalated.

Kārtējo reizi saasinoties spriedzei etnisko serbu apdzīvotajos Kosovas ziemeļos, Kosovas vadība oficiāli paziņoja par pieteikuma dalībai Eiropas Savienībā (ES) nosūtīšanu uz Briseli. Paralēli Eiropas Parlaments (EP) un ES šobrīd prezidējošā valsts Čehija vienojās par atbalstu bezvīzu režīma ar Kosovu ieviešanai, kas gan iespējams tikai ar visu ES dalībvalstu piekrišanu.

The European Union (EU) – Western Balkans Countries summit[2] was organized on 6 December in Tirana. It was an opportunity to discuss joint resolution of the issues that emerged as a consequence of the Russian invasion on Ukraine, intensification of the political dialogue and the enlargement policy, as well as strengthening of the security and building resilience to foreign interference, resolution of challenges posed by migration, fight against terrorism and organized crime. The summit was organized two months after the informal summit of member countries of the European Political Community in Prague, at which all European countries except for Russia and Belarus participated.