The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 23 May 2024 to 30 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.
North Macedonia - 30 May 2024
In the fight against corruption, effective collaboration among civil society organisations, government institutions, and funders is critical. The proposals in the document seek to inspire stakeholders to undertake effective anti-corruption measures by fostering tighter collaboration; see here.
Serbia - 30 May 2024
Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) will have a significant impact on the digital environment, both with the EU and beyond. While the impacts are clearer for EU member states, concerns among civil society organizations (CSOs) about the law's extraterritorial effects are well-founded; see here.
Albania - 30 May 2024
Media rights groups have called on Albania's police to explain the arrest of a journalist and two police officers for producing 'false information' for the purpose of denigrating state officials; see here.
Bosnia - 29 May 2024
The Bosnian Serb assembly has abruptly pulled the controversial ‘foreign agents’ bill from the agenda, citing the need for 'further harmonisation' with European standards; see here.
Balkans - 28 May 2024
NATO has upped its "vigilance" amid an increase in "Russian intelligence activity" across its member countries, the military alliance's secretary-general acknowledged on Tuesday; see here.
Kosovo - 28 May 2024
More than 1,700 gender-based cybercrimes have been reported in Kosovo in the last few years – but the country lacks the will, the legislation or the resources to tackle the problem; see here.
Bosnia - 28 May 2024
Italian officials have inaugurated a pivotal office in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, that will act as a central hub, facilitate the coordination, monitoring, and implementation of strategies to combat human trafficking; see here.
Poland - 27 May 2024
The liberal-democratic government of Donald Tusk is continuing the hardline approach of its predecessor over migration on the border with Belarus, with an announcement expected on Monday about billions more to be spent on border security; see here.
Croatia - 24 May 2024
Croatia faces a 196 million-euro lawsuit over a seized superyacht that Ukraine is trying to auction off to fund its war effort, claiming it belongs to exiled pro-Kremlin oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk; see here.
Serbia/Bosnia - 24 May 2024
The media's response in Serbia and Bosnia to Thursday's UN vote on the Srebrenica resolution reflected deep splits in both countries on responsibility for the 1995 genocide in eastern Bosnia; see here.