The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 20 June to 27 June 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.
Montenegro - 27 June 2024
Former prosecutor Milivoje Katnic – who is already in custody on charges of being a member of an organised criminal group – is being investigated over war crimes committed during the siege of Dubrovnik; see here.
Romania - 27 June 2024
Welcome to the Romanian student city trampled under the march of tech-driven gentrification in Cluj-Napoca, Romania’s second city. The block is surrounded by new construction, fuelled by an IT outsourcing boom that has propelled Cluj to the top of the World Bank rankings for Europe’s fastest-growing city economies; see here
Serbia - 27 June 2024
Five people have been remanded in custody over the death of a 74-year-old prisoner serving 30-day a sentence in a Belgrade jail who was repeatedly sexually and physically abused by his cellmates; see here.
Kosovo/Serbia - 27 June 2024
Top-level negotiations in Brussels failed to take place after Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti refused to join the meeting because Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic did not agree with his preconditions, an EU official said; see here.
North Macedonia - 27 June 2024
Negative online discourses targeting politicians, minorities, women and the LGBTQ community cast a shadow over North Macedonia’s recent general and presidential election campaigns, new BIRN research finds; see here.
Kosovo - 27 June 2024
Spain’s parliament on Thursday rejected the initiative of some parties from the Catalan region for recognition of the Balkan nation of Kosovo. The initiative was rejected overwhelmingly by a vote of 293-25, with 27 abstentions; see here.
Kosovo - 26 June 2024
The Assembly of Kosovo will examine the draft laws on Public Officials, the Independent Media Commission, and the Prosecutorial Council. The EU has criticised these drafts stating that they did not include recommendations aimed at bringing them in line with European standards; see here.
Kosovo - 26 June 2024
The Constitutional Court in Kosovo on Wednesday declared "invalid" the law on the Bureau for the Verification and Confiscation of Unjustifiable Assets, while finding no violation in the law on the minimum wage in Kosovo, prompting different reactions in the country; see here.
Bosnia - 26 June 2024
A new report highlights how legal changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina have restricted the ability of social media groups to act as tools to mobilise grassroots campaigns; see here.
Kosovo - 25 June 2024
The 2023 annual report of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) is now available; see here.
Kosovo - 25 June 2024
A former Kosovo Liberation Army fighter told the war crimes trial of Hashim Thaci and three co-defendants that the chief of the KLA General Staff approved appointments of brigade commanders – testimony that favours the prosecution's case; see here.
Kosovo - 25 June 2024
Kosovo’s lack of specific internet regulations has resulted in a legal vacuum which makes it difficult for authorities to effectively protect users from online abuses, a BIRN report published on Tuesday highlighted; see here.
Bulgaria - 24 June 2024
Notorious drug lord and former wrestler known as Bulgaria’s “cocaine king” surrenders after years on the run; see here.
Bosnia - 23 June 2024
Comment - An internationally imposed memory law in Bosnia cannot create reconciliation in a deeply divided society. On the contrary, imposed legislation has triggered an internal memory war that required the intervention of the state-level Constitutional Court. Despite such developments, the genocide denial ban represents a much-needed law; see here.
Slovakia - 21 June 2024
Media advocacy groups warn the legislation is part of the ‘Orbanisation’ of the media in Slovakia, though point out it could still fall foul of the EU’s new Media Freedom Act; see here.