What a Biden administration means for Eastern Europe
The world can look forward to four years of measured, hands-on diplomacy.I encountered Senator Joe Biden for the first time at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in the Russell Building in 2007. Ever since, I thought of Biden as the classical foreign policy Democrat – resounding, multi-region, global American presence and engagement, combined with…
Bulgaria’s North Macedonia U-turn
Back in 2018, many saw Bulgaria’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union as a means of providing impetus to the European integration of the Western Balkans. The recent reignition of a decades-old dispute with North Macedonia over language and identity however, and the decision in November to block the start that country’s EU…
Is it fish, or visas for Eastern Europeans that are holding up Brexit talks?
Something smells fishy in Brussels, and it’s not just the cod, mackerel and herring that are ostensibly holding up Brexit trade talks. Could the real blockage be a UK wish to impose visa restrictions on some EU citizens?With just over a week left until the end of the Brexit transition period the European Union and…
For Kosovo, Israeli recognition trumps EU concerns over Jerusalem embassy
Kosovo and Israel sign mutual recognition deal, but the Balkan state’s pledge to open an embassy in Jerusalem risks irking the European Union.At first glance, Kosovo and Israel have little in common, not least as Kosovo, Europe’s youngest country, is populated predominantly by Muslims.However, since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008 the state has sought…
Explainer: The EU’s Kosovo awkward squad
Israel’s decision to establish diplomatic relations with Kosovo has once again put the spotlight on the five EU countries which refuse to recognise the former province of Serbia as an independent state. We explain the reasons behind their refusal.The Austrian MEP Lukas Mandl responded this week to the news that Israel would recognise Kosovo as…
Refugee and migrant children face increased risks in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Save the Children is the latest human rights group to join calls for concerted action to assist refugees and migrants in the Western Balkans.Refugees and migrants trapped along the Western Balkans migration route, including some 500 unaccompanied children and 400 children with family who are currently in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are facing increased risks from…
Kosovo becomes first European country to open Jerusalem embassy
Turkey has led international condemnation of Kosovo’s decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem. For the Balkan state, however, Israeli recognition of its independence is more important than appeasing its erstwhile allies.Kosovo has officially opened an embassy in the city of Jerusalem, the first European and Muslim-majority country to do so.The event was marked with…
Corruption and Covid-19 dominate Bulgaria’s election campaign
Support for Bulgaria’s ruling party has been hit by months of anti-government protests, but it is likely to win a parliamentary election on April 4. Forming a functional coalition could be tough, however.The often massive anti-corruption and anti-government protests that have defined Bulgaria throughout the past nine months have so far failed to produce a…
Is the EU asking too much of Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The complicated, unique and – some would say – dysfunctional – structure of the Bosnia and Herzegovina state makes fulfilling the EU’s pre-accession requirements impossible. Is the EU asking for too much? Most of the countries of the Western Balkan are inching, slowly, toward EU membership.For both Serbia and Montenegro accession talks are well underway,…
The wider implications of Joe Biden’s recognition of the Armenian genocide
Joe Biden’s recent decision to recognise the Armenian genocide has been welcomed by Armenian communities around the world. But what does it imply for the future of US relations with the Caucasus region?US President Joe Biden broke from convention on April 24 to become the first sitting United States president to recognise the genocide of…