Hardline EU governments in late push to legitimise surveillance of journalists
European governments are still lobbying to legalise state spying on journalists, under a new law designed — on paper — to protect them, Investigate Europe, Disclose and Follow the Money can reveal.Documents obtained from a European Council meeting in November show that France, Italy and Greece are among seven governments insisting on broader wording in…
Hungary’s relaunch of ‘Golden Visa’ programme is anti-establishment posturing gone too far
Fidesz continues to pursue a foreign policy agenda borne out of spite and hubris as opposed to one that is rooted in pragmatism or driven by national interest.Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán personally signed off on a bill to relaunch his country’s scandal-ridden ‘Golden Visa’ programme, a scheme granting renewable 10-year residence permits…
Independent Greek inquiry launched into Pylos shipwreck
A Greek administrative watchdog has launched an investigation in the Pylos shipwreck that likely killed hundreds of people off the Greek coast in mid-June.The probe, announced Thursday (9 November), comes after the Hellenic coast guard refused to launch an internal investigation five months after a tragedy, which saw the vast majority on the boat, possibly…
Kurti and Vučić: The odd couple who made oddity a science
The EU’s decade-long strategy of making Serbia and Kosovo’s European integration conditional upon mutual recognition has failed.Since Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia 15 years ago, the two countries have remained at odds with one another. In spite of the continuing efforts by the EU to mitigate the conflict between them, little if any progress…
Greek island pioneering ‘territorial diplomacy’ on energy
A small Greek island of less than 800 inhabitants in the Aegean Sea has managed to become the first energy self-sufficient Greek island using renewable energy sources, and a paradigm for migrant integration — while in the rest of the country, islands depend on burning heavy oil, and the coast guard lets refugees drown at…
Looming EU-Egypt deal prompts fears for future Gaza refugees
As the cycle of violence in Gaza reaches its 17th day, with a death toll of over 5,000 Palestinian and 1,400 Israeli lives, the European Union appears to be accelerating its efforts to finalise a deal with Egypt.European concerns on the migratory implications of the Israeli-Hamas war seem to have started when Greek migration minister…
Kurti-EU tensions are most damaging to Kosovo’s national interests
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti is still wallowing in his obsession with Serbia and seems to never understand that Kosovo’s independence, security, and well-being do not depend on what Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić says or does but only on the commitments of the EU and the US to safeguard Kosovo’s security and independence.It is baffling…
It’s time for all EU members to recognise Kosovo
More than 15 years after its declaration of independence, five EU countries stubbornly refuse to recognise Kosovo. This harms both the EU’s foreign policy in the Balkans and Kosovo’s prospects for statehood.Kosovo was the last country to emerge out of the embers of Yugoslavia. An overwhelming majority of the country’s Assembly (109 out of 120…
North Macedonia, Albania, and the long march to the EU
The withdrawal of an ethnic Albanian party from the government of North Macedonia might finally allow the country to recognise a Bulgarian minority in its constitution, allowing Skopje to move past its dispute with Sofia and clearing the path for both it and Albania to begin the long march towards EU membership. North Macedonia’s road to…
Stay away: UK’s demonisation of Albanians continues
Albania and the United Kingdom are NATO allies, but relations have grown tense over the last year as the number of Albanians seeking asylum in Britain surged. While Albania works to increase its image on social media to boost tourism, later in June the United Kingdom Home Office will launch an ad campaign on social media…