Presseurop |

Eurovision | Rambo Amadeus, the cliché slayer (Tportal , Zagreb)

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:44:54 +0100

The joyfully subversive turbo-funk singer will represent Montenegro at this year’s Eurovision with “Euro neuro” — a humorous and highly accurate enumeration of clichés about the Balkans and their relationship with the EU. (Article)

Central Europe | Democracy in decline

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:06:44 +0100

“A setback for democracy in Eastern Europe,” leads Die Presse, using terms like “dramatic” and “explosive” to describe the results of the latest Transformation Index from the Bertelsmann Foundation, which tracks the evolution of democracy and the market economy in 128 countries.

“Most countries in central, eastern and south-eastern Europe have seen qualitative losses in their democracies, their market economies and their political management in recent years,” says the foundation, which is very close to business circles. It attributes the change to political polarisation and some leaders’ hunger for power. Among the European states highlighted are Hungary (top of the rankings), Slovakia, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro, while Poland and, to a lesser extent, Serbia get better marks.

(News in brief)

European Union | An enlargement of illusions (Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm)

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:50:45 +0100

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. (Article)

EU accession | The Balkan family photo is blurred (Politika, Belgrade)

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:57:20 +0100

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. (Article)

Balkans | The big cleanup begins (Monitor, Podgorica)

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 00:48:09 +0100

Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro: in the space of a fortnight, the leaders or ex-leaders of all three countries have been arrested or accused of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, reports a Montenegro weekly, the EU is paving the way for the accession of all three Balkan countries. (Article)

Institutions | EU grows weary of enlargement (Presseurop, )

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:35:39 +0100

For the European press, the publication of the annual “progress report” on prospective candidates for EU accession, has failed to dispel the general apathy that surrounds the question of enlargement. (Article)

Balkans | Montenegro - come if you're rich (The New York Times, New York)

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:43:09 +0100

Eager to join the European Union, Montenegro is cleaning up its image of corruption and pulling out all the stops to attract foreign capital. (Article)

History | Can't take the Ottoman out of the Balkans (Globus-Skopje, Skopje)

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:38:22 +0100

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. (Article)

Hachfeld, Neues Deutschland (Berlin) | No way through | Cartoon (, )

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:23:17 +0100

(Cartoon) (Cartoon)

Balkans | Hail Albania! (The Guardian, London)

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:35:00 +0100

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. (Article)

Balkans | Back to the future with Yugo-nostalgia (Wprost, Warsaw)

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:16:26 +0100

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. (Article)

EU enlargement | Auditors find "black hole" of the Balkans

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:19:52 +0100

Commenting on a report presented to the European Commission on 13 October, Trouw notes that the European Court of Auditors claims that a large number of cooperation projects funded by the European Union in the western Balkans "have had no long-term impact." In the columns of the daily, Dutch auditor Maarten Engwirda theorises that the inefficiency of projects designed to develop the justice systems of countries that are candidates for future membership of the EU (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro) is "mainly due to a lack of commitment" on the part of the national governments concerned. As proof, the report cites the example of computers purchased with Commission funds for the Albanian police force, "which remained in their packaging for eight months before being delivered to their final users." According to Engwirda, the Court of Auditors – hot on the heels of such shock revelations - will shortly be bringing all its scrutinising skills to bear on the use of funds in Turkey. Apparently, the document has posed significant difficulties for the writing team, which has "struggled to find appropriate terms" for findings that are deemed to be "extremely sensitive." Surely they will find a way.

(News in brief)

Bosnia-Herzegovina | Have passport, can't travel (BH Dani, Sarajevo)

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:42:03 +0100

From 1st January, 2010, Muslim Bosnians and Kosovans will be the only citizens of the former Yugoslavia required to obtain visas to enter the European Union. Sarejevo daily, BH Dani, explains how impartial principles will result in discriminatory practice. (Article)

EU enlargement | Never mind the Balkans, here's Iceland (El País, Madrid)

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:31:16 +0100

The enthusiasm with which member states have welcomed Reykjavik's request for accession to the EU is in marked contrast to the prudence — and in some cases hostility — which has greeted similar requests from the countries of ex-Yugoslavia and Turkey. But the EU cannot afford to give the impression that certain candidates enjoy special privileges. (Article)