Balkans
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Croatia
A small “yes” to EU
23 January 20122PresseuropNovi List, Slobodna Dalmacija, Jutarnji List -
20 January 201215Tportal Zagreb
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Eurozone crisis
Will the EU end up like Yugoslavia?
5 January 201267Politika Belgrade -
European Union
An enlargement of illusions
13 October 20113Dagens Nyheter Stockholm -
Former Yugoslavia
Balkan delusions of grandeur
3 October 20115Jutarnji List Zagreb -
Balkans
Ikea, a Bulgarian idea of luxury
23 September 20111Standart Sofia -
Germany-Serbia
Plain speaking in Belgrade
22 August 2011PresseuropDer Tagesspiegel -
Bosnia and Herzegovina
What role for the European 'Tsar'?
10 August 20112Mladá Fronta DNES Prague -
Netherlands
Dutch state liable for Srebrenica deaths
6 July 20112PresseuropTrouw -
Croatia
Barroso opens door to EU
8 June 20113PresseuropJutarnji List -
Serbia-Netherlands
Mladić transferred to The Hague
1 June 20111PresseuropNezavisne Novine -
Former Yugoslavia
Mladić arrest won't wash away the shame
27 May 20111 -
27 May 2011Nacional Zagreb
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Editorial
Balkan blues
27 May 20111Presseurop -
Litterature
Paolo Rumiz, soul without frontiers
22 April 20111Le Figaro Paris -
20 April 20113Novi List Rijeka
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Croatia
National hero sentenced
15 April 20111PresseuropVečernji list -
Neighbourhood Policy
Dark clouds over Mare Nostrum
22 March 2011La Repubblica Rome -
Interview
Saviano: Mafia has conquered Balkans
11 March 20112Foreign Policy România Bucarest -
8 March 2011PresseuropRzeczpospolita
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25 January 2011The Guardian London
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EU accession
The Balkan family photo is blurred
21 January 20112Politika Belgrade -
Serbia
Dark side of the Yugosphere
13 October 2010Il Sole-24 Ore Milan -
Balkans
Neither here nor there
30 September 2010Adevărul Bucharest -
9 September 2010PresseuropPolitika
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Central Europe
Greater Hungary, an imminent danger
24 May 20109Lidové noviny Prague -
Central Europe
We don't want to play the class clown
24 May 2010Magyar Nemzet Budapest -
Culture
The fickle heart of Europe
13 May 20101Hospodářské noviny Prague -
4 May 20101Kapital Sofia
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12 April 20104Presseurop
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19 February 20101Trouw Amsterdam
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BALKANS
Kosovo, the problem neighbour
17 February 20101The Guardian London -
8 February 20103Globus-Skopje Skopje
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22 December 2009PresseuropPolitika
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10 December 2009Presseurop
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Balkans
Hail Albania!
25 November 20091The Guardian London -
Enlargement
Bosnia on the brink
18 November 20093Die Tageszeitung Berlin -
After "89
Wall comes down in Big Apple
11 November 2009PresseuropCotidianul -
30 October 2009
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22 October 20091Wprost Warsaw
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Foreign policy
The peacekeeper's lament
21 October 2009Dziennik Gazeta Prawna Warsaw -
Debate
Europe, the future frontiers
14 October 20092Le Monde Paris -
EU enlargement
Auditors find "black hole" of the Balkans
14 October 2009PresseuropTrouw -
13 October 20091Novi List Rijeka
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7 October 2009PresseuropDer Standard
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European Commission
The three next big things
22 September 2009El País Madrid -
War crimes
New age guru Karadzic “defended the bees”
27 July 2009PresseuropThe New York Times -
Balkans
Frustrated expectations
15 July 2009The Guardian London -
COMMEMORATION
Srebrenica, in the headlines once a year
13 July 2009Trouw Amsterdam -
Cooperation
Balkans to Europe
26 June 2009PresseuropDe Volkskrant
On 22 January, Croats voted in favour of ratifying the Treaty of Accession to the EU, prompting a sigh of relief in Brussels. The record voter abstention rate, however, must give cause for concern, notes the Croatian press. 
On January 22, Croatia must ratify by referendum the Treaty of Accession to the EU. But the campaign, coming just as the country is about to enter a Europe in crisis, has been marked by second thoughts and a new nationalist rhetoric. 
Seen from Belgrade, Zagreb or Sarajevo, the economic and institutional crisis that has struck the European Union has a certain air of déjà-vu. Serbian daily Politika remarks on the similarities with the years preceding the break-up of the federation founded by Tito. 
In opening up the prospect of accession to several candidate countries, the European Commissioner for Enlargement means to put on a show of optimism. But it only reinforces the impression that Europe doesn’t know where it’s going, writes the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. 
In a phenomenon that has emerged in cities as diverse as Skopje, Niš and Split, the states of the former Yugoslavia are been swept by a craze for megalomaniac monuments. Croatian writer Jurica Pavicic examines the vogue for these nationalist monstrosities, and concludes their goal is to rewrite history. 
The long awaited opening of the Swedish brand’s first shop in Sofia has been spoiled by controversy over prices — an opportunity for Bulgarian journalist Martin Karbovski to poke fun at his compatriots’ taste for novelty at all costs... 
Sixteen years after a bloody civil war, Bosnia and Herzegovina remains a fragmented, divided and dependent country. The Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, headed by the EU Special Representative, plays a vital role in the administration of the state. Is that good or bad? asks the foreign editor of MF Dnes. 
While the European press has universally welcomed the arrest of Ratko Mladić, reactions vary according to how the different countries were caught up in the war in Bosnia. 
In arresting one of the generals responsible for the Srebrenica massacre, Serbian authorities have demonstrated their desire to close a dark chapter in their history. But several questions remain about Ratko Mladic’s flight from justice. 
Traveller, writer and journalist. Italian, Balkan and a little bit Slavic too. Paolo Rumiz is all these things at the same time, this man who has passed through the upheavals of Europe and got it all down in books of highly personal tales. 
The conviction of former General Gotovina for war crimes on April 15 has been received very badly by a people who consider him a hero of the wars in former Yugoslavia. But this verdict is also a chance to think about what happened, a Croatian columnist writes. 
Initially ignored by Europe, the Mediterranean region was subsequently the focus of several integration projects, all of which failed to produce results. The current crisis, now striking its southern shores, is a testament to the need for a new approach. 
The Italian Mafia has succeeded in colonising the Balkans and Eastern Europe, announces Roberto Saviano, the author of the novel Gomorrah. In Romania, it manages prostitution networks, which are also linked to drug trafficking and money laundering. 
As the Council of Europe prepares to demand an investigation into the shady underworld dealings of Kosovo PM Hashim Thaçi, secret Nato documents leaked to British daily The Guardian provide more shocking revelations about a prized Western ally. 
The population census demanded by Brussels has become a political challenge in most of the countries of the western Balkans. Twenty years after the start of the wars in former Yugoslavia, the venture brings ethnic and social tensions back into the spotlight. 
With Serbia’s candidacy for EU accession up for review at the end of the month, the tension fomented by Serb ultranationalists is mounting dangerously: witness Serb hooligans’ recent attacks on the Gay Pride parade in Belgrade and at the Italy-Serbia match in Genoa. 
A nest of vipers, a powderkeg of ancient hatreds or the cradle of Western civilisation — Europe doesn't know how to view its troublesome southeastern corner. One thing is sure though, it keeps getting its stance wrong. 
The new government in Budapest wants to issue passports to all the ethnic Hungarians living in neighbouring countries. Slovakia, which is one of the main countries concerned, is none too pleased. The measure may prompt an increase in nationalist antipathy that could destabilise the EU. 
The Hungarian and Slovak governments are overplaying the nationalist card, which is not only dangerous for their own people, but absurdly self-defeating, as it merely confirms Western prejudices about Central Europe, bemoans a Hungarian journalist.
How should we define Mitteleuropa? For Czech academic Jiri Travnicek, the region of Central Europe is characterised by an ever changing relationship with history, geography and culture. A Hospodářské noviny interview. 
After nearly two decades of absurd and counter-productive quarreling, it's high time that Greece and its former Yugoslavian neighbour find a solution to the Macedonian name issue, argues Bulgarian weekly Kapital. 
Several countries are on tenterhooks about the latest developments in the Greek economy, either because their economies are closely bound up with Athens’ or because they fear the Greek crisis will delay their accession to the eurozone.
Violations of freedom of religion, equality before the law, human rights: a great many Turks bypass their own legal system to put their case directly to the European Court of Human Rights. A phenomenon that vexes jurists no end, but is gradually changing the Turkish mindset. 
Two years after Kosovo's declaration of independence, the Union is still unable to come up with a coherent policy for the western Balkans. This threatens not only to scupper Serbia’s accession to the EU, but also to destabilise the region itself. 
Five centuries of Turkish domination left their mark on culture, cuisine, language and even gestures in Balkan countries. It is an influence that is still apparent in attitudes that have affected the pace of integration in the European Union for a number of Balkan states. 
After years of gridlock, the EU 27 have now decided to get the Serbian accession talks going again. Whilst delighted by the EU’s green light for Serbia’s free trade agreement, the Serb press says Belgrade still has a long way to go before it can hope for accession. 
On 16 November the EU Council formally approved Albania’s application for accession to the Union. Guardian columnist Peter Preston argues in favour of an emerging country whose enthusiasm for the European project is a welcome antidote to eurosceptic cynicism. 
For Bosnia, the road to Brussels is paved with constitutional reform. But in the current talks between European, American and Bosnian leaders, Brussels has shown a dearth of discernment that could endanger the democratic process, worries Tageszeitung. 
Separated by wars which marked the 1990s, some citizens of the former Yugoslavia are attempting to rebuild the cultural ties, which were a feature of the Titoist state. Today, with encouragement from Europe, political leaders are also beginning to recognize this trend. 
Diplomats, soldiers, policemen: from the Balkans to Afghanistan, the EU is deploying more or less ambitious peacekeeping missions. But in a report two experts assert that lack of organisation or commitment from member states means that the results often fall short of expectation, reports Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. 
As the political situation on its periphery evolves, the EU needs to clearly define its borders, argues geopolitician Michel Foucher in Le Monde, especially in regard to Turkish accession, on which the Commission is publishing its annual report today. 
Europe and America are trying to obtain an agreement between Bosnian leaders on the reform of the constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina. However, the Croatian daily Novi List reports that the EU appears to be unable to exert much pressure in the negotiations, which may prove crucial to the future of the country. 
The re-election of José Manuel Barroso represents an opportunity to “complete” Europe over the next five years and make it a real global player. According to political analyst José Ignacio Torreblanca, the president's focus should be on three major issues: internal cohesion, enlargement and the European Neighbour Policy. 
Croatia's prime minister resigned July 1 because his country's future accession to the EU had been called into question. In Macedonia too, the EU aspirant government is fragile. As the European dream recedes, the more Western Balkan states are destabilised, writes British researcher Ian Bancroft in the Guardian. 
Fourteen years after the massacre of more than 8,000 of its inhabitants, the Bosnian city, overshadowed by economic problems, is still struggling to get back on its feet. In a bid to dynamize the economy and build for the future, a multi-ethnic association financed by the Netherlands is training the town's young people, reports Trouw.