The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 2 May 2024 to 9 May 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 – 8 May 2024
Kosovo officials claimed that the governmental websites had come under attack from Russian hackers because of the country’s support for Ukraine’s self-defence; see here.
North Macedonia – 8 May 2024
Voting has started in North Macedonia for the parliamentary election and the second round of the presidential election, which will determine who runs the country for the next four years; see here.
Serbia – 8 May 2024
China and Serbia have announced they are implementing a new free trade agreement at the beginning of July, deepening the economic and political ties between Belgrade and its biggest foreign investor; see here.
Moldova – 8 May 2024
A court in Moldova acquitted Vlad Filat, the former Prime Minister, on Tuesday, in a criminal case in which he was accused of money laundering; see here.
Bosnia – 8 May 2024
A facility was opened at the Srebrenica Memorial Centre to store the remains, personal belongings and clothes of victims of the Srebrenica genocide who haven’t been identified – intended as a place of dignified remembrance; see here.
Kosovo – 7 May 2024
The Austrian government wants to enable the transfer of convicted criminals from non-EU countries to serve their sentences in Kosovo; see here.
Poland – 7 May 2024
Special services in Poland have discovered and removed bugging devices in a room where cabinet ministers were due to meet; see here.
Balkans – 6 May 2024
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia citizens will enjoy privileged access to the labour market of Germany from June 1, 2024, under the Western Balkans Regulation; see here.
Poland – 6 May 2024
The European Commission on Monday started a process to bring a years-long dispute with Poland over the rule of law in the country to a formal end; see here.
Moldova – 3 May 2024
Following the example of their Supreme Court colleagues, 17 of 39 judges of the Court of Appeal in Chisinau quit rather than come under the scrutiny of a vetting process; see here.
Romania – 2 May 2024
Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RNGC), controlled by Toronto-listed Gabriel Resources, asked Romania to prolong its license for the Rosia Montana gold mining project by five years and urged the country to issue a license for a similar project (Bucium) required in 2007; see here.
Bosnia – 2 May 2024
A draft resolution to establish an international day to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide has been sent to the UN General Assembly for a vote, Bosnia-Herzegovina's permanent representative to the UN said; see here.