Never let a good crisis go to waste (or why Bulgaria is speeding its way to the euro)
On April 10, the euro group agreed on a 500 billion euros rescue package that made the Bulgarian government regret that it had decided to delay its plans to join the euro area.Bulgaria’s relationship with the euro started long before the country became a member of the European Union. In 1996 the policies of the…
Why ‘autonomy’ is Romania’s dirtiest word
Whereas the UK’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, has been able to use his own illness and the birth of his sixth or seventh child (nobody appears to know the exact number) as distractions from his government’s appalling handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, Romania – lacking a critically-ill president or prime minister with a pregnant young…
Another day in Hungary, another bout of secrecy and a renewed attack on minority rights
Details of a Chinese-backed railway link between Budapest and Belgrade, one of the biggest international infrastructure projects in the emerging Europe region for many years, have been classified by Hungary’s parliament.Hungary and China signed a 20-year loan deal for the project worth 1.9 billion US dollars late last month, at a 2.5 per cent interest…
Positive noises from Belgrade and Prishtina may not result in new talks just yet
Serbia and Kosovo appear to be edging slowly towards a resumption of talks that it is hoped will normalise the relationship between Belgrade and Prishtina.Both the Serb president, Aleksandar Vučić, and his Kosovar counterpart Hashim Thaçi suggested this weekend that a deal could be reached by the end of this year.The renewed optimism comes after…
You wouldn’t give away your ethnic identity. So why should Macedonians?
No politician, diplomat, bureaucrat or journalist I’ve ever asked this question has answered it. Yet they’re quick to tell me to give away my ethnic identity. They try to convince me that the forced renaming of Macedonia, the redefining of what it has ever meant to be Macedonian, and the literal rewriting of Macedonian history…
North Macedonia finally sets date for long-postponed parliamentary election
Political parties in North Macedonia have agreed to hold a parliamentary election on July 15, despite the country having yet to fully overcome the coronavirus epidemic.The election, originally scheduled to take place on April 12, is seen as a crucial step for the country’s European Union membership bid, and will be seen as a test…
Narrow victory for Social Democrats in North Macedonia means country may have a long wait for a new government
Voters in North Macedonia appear to have handed Zoran Zaev, the country’s former prime minister who negotiated a deal with Greece that ended a three decades-long dispute over the use of the term Macedonia, a new mandate to move the country further towards the European Union.In a tight election held on July 15, Mr Zaev’s…
Zoran Zaev is back in charge of North Macedonia
North Macedonia’s parliament has approved a new government led by the country’s former prime minister, Zoran Zaev, ending weeks of political uncertainty that followed an inconclusive general election in July.Mr Zaev, who resigned last year in order to bring about the early election, returns to office at the head of a coalition government that includes…
Romania has EU’s largest ‘VAT Gap’
European Union countries lost an estimated 140 billion euros in Value-Added Tax (VAT) revenues in 2018, according to a new report released by the European Commission on September 10.Though still extremely high, the overall VAT Gap – or the difference between expected revenues in EU member states and the revenues actually collected – has improved…
Bulgaria could be an attractive destination for refugees from the Middle East. Xenophobia means it isn’t
A fire two weeks ago at the Greek Moria refugee camp left more than 13,000 people homeless and without access to basic necessities. Bulgaria is one of few EU countries that have so far agreed to host a small number of asylum seekers affected by the fire.During a phone conversation last week, the Greek Alternate…