North Macedonians are heading to the polls for the first round of presidential elections on Wednesday, followed by a second round on May 8. Pendarovski, the current president of North Macedonia, whose candidacy for a second term is supported by the pro-EU ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), and Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, candidate of the … Read more
Croatia’s constitutional court ruled Friday that its populist President Zoran Milanović cannot become prime minister, Reuters reported, after national elections handed him a potentially influential role in forming the Balkan country’s next government. The April 17 election in the EU’s most recent joiner left no party able to form a government on its own, meaning … Read more
“He’s being treated like a God-given candidate, instead of everyone destroying him,” Plenković said, claiming he was being targeted by a “clique of left-wing media” trying to bring down his ruling party. Croatia’s parliamentary elections, which have been preceded by a savage campaign, will be held Wednesday. Voters will be choosing between Plenković’s ruling conservative … Read more
Leading the country’s ideological assault is the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (commonly referred to as MCC), an Orbán-backed think tank. The government-affiliated organization opened a branch in Brussels in 2022, offering an unapologetically conservative take on EU affairs as it seeks to disrupt the Brussels think tank circuit. The Brussels branch, with a staff of about … Read more
The court also said that if Milanović becomes “a candidate for [prime minister] of the Republic of Croatia or another public or professional duty,” it would be “incompatible with his constitutional position and powers, and the principle of separation of powers.” The center-right politician reacted to the court’s decision by posting an unusually short and … Read more
The minister stressed, however, that “we do not want or ask for a shortcut to become a member.” Konaković said that the enlargement decision takes place in a “geopolitical” context — a reference to Moscow’s war in Ukraine as well as Russian and Chinese influence in the Western Balkans — and that “other politicians in … Read more
Cases of intimidation and harassment of civil activists and journalists were recorded. The observation mission also expressed “limited trust in the information from the national public broadcasters,” all of which are pro-government. While the report acknowledged Serbia had adopted some of its previous suggestions on election-related legislation in 2022, other recommendations had “not been sufficiently … Read more
Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine two years ago was the precursor to the Hamas militant group’s attack on Israel last October, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in an interview published on Saturday. “If Russia had not invaded Ukraine, in all likelihood Hamas would not have launched such an attack against Israel,” Meloni told Italy’s … Read more
‘Kosovo Myth’ Though the prospects of his latest foray into Kosovo’s energy sector aren’t clear, there is no question that the country’s power infrastructure is in sore need of modernization. For reasons never fully explained, Kosovo decided in 2012 to sell its power transmission infrastructure to a Turkish consortium for €26 million. In return for … Read more
Ukrainian authorities uncovered a corrupt arms procurement deal worth nearly €36.4 million, the Ukrainian security service announced late Saturday. Former and current “high-ranking officials” in Kyiv’s defense ministry were involved in the plot, dating to 2022, to steal funds meant for procuring 100,000 mortar rounds, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement. The … Read more
