Southeast Europe

The protesters have been actively demonstrating following the tragic collapse of a concrete canopy in the northern city of Novi Sad’s central train station on Nov. 1, which resulted in 15 fatalities.

The tragedy has been attributed to corruption and substandard construction practices by the populist Serbian leadership, leading to a widespread public outcry and demands for accountability.

Hristijan Mickoski, Prime Minister of North Macedonia, commented on the challenges of EU accession, stating that the process has been "Balkanized" rather than "Europeanized." He emphasized the need to resolve internal issues while cooperating with European partners, highlighting that the current bilateral disputes between member states undermine the accession process. He criticized the trend of using bilateral disagreements as obstacles, pointing to examples such as Croatia and Slovenia, and the longstanding disputes between Greece and North Macedonia. Mickoski argued that this approach has transformed the EU accession process into a regional issue rather than a unifying European effort.

Milanovic won 49.1 percent of the first round vote and Primorac, backed by the ruling conservative HDZ party, took 19.35 percent, according to results released by the state electoral commission from nearly all of the polling stations.

But he used the office to attack political opponents and EU officials, often with offensive and populist rhetoric.

Milanovic, who condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine, has nonetheless criticised the West's military aid to Kyiv.

via https://libranet.de/profile/petrescatraian

Tens of thousands of people gathered in central Belgrade on Sunday to protest against President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), whom they blame for a railway station roof collapse last month that killed 15 people. The concrete awning of the recently renovated roof of Novi Sad station caved in on Nov. 1, killing 14 and injuring three. One of the injured died later. Opposition leaders and the public have taken to the streets repeatedly, blaming the accident on shoddy construction resulting from government corruption and nepotism.

Students at state universities in Belgrade, Kragujevac and Nis have been protesting for weeks to demand the release of all documents relevant to the renovation of the station, as well as criminal prosecution of officials responsible for the disaster. Every day they block traffic in front of their faculties for 15 minutes to commemorate the 15 victims.

An important year, where nature, history and economics drove politics and society changes.

Albania bans TikTok for an year after it has been linked to a murder

"The problem today is not our children, the problem today is us, the problem today is our society, the problem today is TikTok and all the others that are taking our children hostage," Rama said.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/albania-bans-tiktok-year-after-killing-teenager-2024-12-21/
@balkanika

Belgrade will make public transport free starting from January 1, 2025, a move that will make the Serbian capital the largest European city with this initiative.

Beyond politicised questions whether Pomak is a language or a dialect, in either case it is worthwhile to study how an under-resourced language like this could be modelled and preserved. Basing these on standardised Bulgarian carries risks of biasing the local redaction towards the central language.

North Macedonia's Sekerinska beats Bulgaria's Gabriel to become 2nd in NATO

According to anonymous officials, candidates included Bulgarian Mariya Gabriel, Croatian Kolinda Grabar-Kititarovic, and Montenegrin Olivera Injac.

This appears to suggest that Borissov's GERB did not back Gabriel's candidacy. An update consistent with the developments after the party tanked Gabriel's attempts to negotiate a large coalition for a national government early this year.

https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-sekerinska-rutte-geoana-ruge/33207929.html

@balkanika

Some varieties to know if you happen to pass (or live) nearby.

А България изпусна възможността да обезпечи своите миньори.

The village managed to get through the Bosnian War of the ‘90s relatively unscathed, so it functions almost like a time capsule—albeit one without essential amenities like a market, school, doctor, or shop. Each winter, heavy snowfall forces Lukomir’s inhabitants to abandon their mountain homes, a pattern of seasonal migration that began more than 600 years ago when semi-nomadic tribes of shepherds and their families would move to the village with their large flocks of sheep in search of water and warmth.

But over the last decade, the villagers have discovered tourism—or tourism has, at least, found them. And so when they return every summer to carry out medieval traditions and Muslim religious celebrations, they now also welcome hikers from around the world with beer and a special, flaky pastry called burek pie.

Burek, the national dish of Bosnia, is a snail-shaped filo pastry filled with everything from spinach and cheese to beef mince or potatoes. Burek pie, however, is slightly different. It’s traditionally filled with spinach or cheese and is cooked under a sač, which is something like a metal or ceramic lid.

Animation director Teodor Ushev:

I come to watch a performance, and the police in a legal state are obliged to ensure access to the performance for every citizen.

There has to be a [police] cordon. This cannot happen in a normal European country. I may be of their opinion.

I may not like the show, I want to see what it is. I didn’t say anything and some lumpen here stop me and beat me and hit me.

In the film, Thessaloniki itself becomes the protagonist - the city with its people, old stones, houses and streets. Is it easier to suffer from amnesia than to remember the past?

Tourism-dependent Greece currently is experiencing one of the highest growth rates in Europe, with the government forecasting 2.2% growth for 2024 and the IMF forecasting 2.3%. This is well above the weak overall 0.8% IMF growth forecast for the euro zone, where industrial economies including Germany and Italy are struggling.

Greece’s finance ministry has committed to early repayment of some $8 billion in bilateral debt in 2026, 2027 and 2028, estimating that this would push down the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio – Europe’s highest – from 162% this year to 149% in 2025 and 133.4% by 2028.

If it stays on that path, Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio in 2028 would be lower than Italy’s, which Rome has forecast at 135.8% this year, rising to 137.5% in 2027.

Преди години Румъния беше отделена, да не бъде завличана надолу от българските упражнения в харакири. Днес Албания е отделена от Северна Македония по абсолютно същите причини. Остава въпросът: коя тъмна сила кара държави като България и Северна Македония да се самобичуват по този начин. Въпросът е риторичен, а отговорът както обикновено е „проследете откъде идват парите“