Transport
Kazakhstan accelerating efforts to expand the strategic Middle Corridor
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which is frequently referred to as the Middle Corridor, is a multilateral institutional development project linking the containerized rail...
United Nations
UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals
The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off in New York as planned on September 18, with global attention focused on the so-called...
Zero Tolerance
Zelensky Athens visit eclipses Mitsotakis’ informal Western Balkans Summit
Receiving a full house of Western Balkan leaders, as well as several EU luminaries, in Athens on an evening when much of northern Greece...
EU Institutions
Latest gambit in North Macedonia seeks to break impasse with Bulgaria
At the end of July, the largest ethnic Albanian political party in North Macedonia, the Democratic Union for Integration, presented an innovative proposal to...
Greece
Back to Business: Greek conservatives rout socialist opposition parties in second round elections
Delivering an undeniable demonstration of Greece’s current focus on stability and the need to generate continued economic growth, the June 25 election produced the...
Greece
Boomerang! Greek socialists’ election jiggering backfires
Even though the Greek left-socialist party Syriza massively reconfigured the electoral system in 2016 to favor their long-term return plans before being ousted by...
Zero Tolerance
Silicon Valley Bank financial contagion contained – for now
The world’s top policymakers and international financial leaders acted effectively in the days following the collapse of California’s Silicon Valley Bank. They appear to have dealt positively with the risk of wider global financial contagion.
Invasion of Ukraine
Sanctions, sanctions everywhere
On February 24, 2023, the US Government alongside G-7 leaders announced via a White House statement a new set of trade and economic measures...
Greece
Eclipsed by Ukraine concerns, Blinken visits Turkey and Greece
After attending the Munich Security Conference on February on 17-19, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed for a brief regional mission to Turkey...
The Philippines
US & Philippines agree to ramp up defense cooperation
The US and Philippines announced on February 2 a substantial expansion of their existing military cooperation arrangements, increasing the number of facilities that American...
Bulgaria
Bulgaria again heads towards elections
Bulgaria is now moving towards its fifth parliamentary election in two years as a result of the failure of the latest group of elected...
Croatia
Croatia advances to the EU mainstream
Croatia took a decisive step January 1 towards the mainstream of the European project by adopting the Euro as its currency while at the...
Albania
EU Tirana Summit: Enlargement must go on
The summit's generic one size fits all “membership perspective” statement was seen as good news by most after the topic of EU Enlargement had become a highly controversial subject.
Analysis
Miami morphs into a global business hub, can it last?
Due to Florida’s less stringent COVID restrictions, a political strategy driven by the state’s Republican governor, Florida became a vastly more attractive location for individuals able to work remotely.
Zero Tolerance
Washington sanctions BiH officials undermining Dayton Agreement
On October 3, the US Department of State announced the designation of two individuals and one commercial entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for...
Zero Tolerance
Biden’s choice takes the reins at the American Embassy in Athens
US President Joe Biden’s nominee as next Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis arrived in Athens May 7, a day after his career diplomat predecessor...
Zero Tolerance
Moscow drains dwindling reserves to avert default
With most of its foreign currency reserves held abroad frozen by Western sanctions and inaccessible, Moscow was forced to tap its precious domestically held...
Albania
After Macron victory, Enlargement diplomacy back on the radar
With the war in Ukraine and the noise surrounding the French presidential elections, the subject of EU Enlargement into the Western Balkans had almost...
Economy & Business
Sanctions expand as Russia approaches major default
No American President ever travels to Europe without a bag full of so-called “deliverables” and US President Joe Biden duly arrived in Brussels last...
Economy & Business
Pressed by sanctions, Russia narrowly escapes default
While the global sanctions campaign against Russia is not yet a month old, investors and sanctioneers held their breath this week as Russia struggled...
Economy & Business
Russia sanctions – Now comes the hard part
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine moves into the third week, a broad network of financial, travel and trade sanctions has been established in fairly...
Invasion of Ukraine
As the global sanctions net tightens, weak spots emerge
After the second phase of heavy western economic sanctions on Russia was announced in the final days of February, new coordination mechanisms are being...
Invasion of Ukraine
EU Russia sanctions close in on finance, trade, aviation, media
Russia’s military advance across Ukraine has galvanized global public opinion to the point that timid EU governments and the Brussels bureaucracy have been forced...
Invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine – First wave of sanctions fails to deter Moscow
Over the past few days, practically everyone in the public media has become a Ukraine sanctions expert, regardless of actual experience in this field. ...
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Will the EU order sanctions on the Republika Srpksa?
In the latest phase of Bosnia’s seemingly never-ending battle over competencies, members of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka voted on...
Bulgaria
Sofia and Skopje begin joint effort to resolve conflict
Hoping to generate enough material to prevent Sofia’s cadre of Balkan reporters from decamping to nearby ski resorts, the governments of North Macedonia and...
Bulgaria
Petkov’s underwhelming Skopje visit opens a door
Bulgaria’s new Prime Minister Kiril Petkov visited Skopje January 18, after completing a bit more than a month in his new job. The only...
Greece
Biden’s Greece nominee survives Senate hearing
George Tsunis, President Joe Biden’s nominee as next ambassador to Greece, survived his January 12 hearing with the Democratic-majority Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC),...
Greece
Biden’s Greece nominee survives Senate hearing
George Tsunis, President Joe Biden’s nominee as next ambassador to Greece, survived his January 12 hearing with the Democratic-majority Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC),...
Albania
Mitsotakis lightning Bulgaria visit has regional focus
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Sofia December 20, opening contacts with the new Bulgarian government through meetings with newly elected Bulgarian PM Kiril...
Archive
Bulgaria’s new government maintains Enlargement veto
While Bulgaria’s November 14 elections managed to break the political logjam that had paralyzed the country for most of 2021, which required three consecutive...
Archive
Tales of mystery and imagination in Skopje – Part 2
North Macedonia’s conservative opposition failed in its November 11 bid to topple Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s government. This happened only because ruling coalition lawmakers...
Zero Tolerance
Basil Coronakis challenged the EU bureaucrats fearlessly
It is rather common these days to label people as “great thinkers” or even “pioneers,” in fact these terms have almost become clichés. My...
Archive
Third Bulgarian election in 2021 appears to break the logjam
In Bulgaria’s November 14 elections, the tough anti-corruption oriented “We Continue the Change” party (PP), won 25.7% of the vote, based on a nearly-complete...
Archive
Tales of mystery and imagination in Skopje
The November 11 no-confidence vote in Zoran Zaev's government was stopped after an extremely difficult day for lack of a quorum. Extraordinary events during...
Albania
Fluid dynamics: Turmoil in Skopje after Zaev ally defects
Late on November 5, the political situation in North Macedonia took a new twist as the main opposition party claimed it had pulled together...
Archive
Following election flop, Zaev announces resignation plans
North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced his planned resignation on November 1 after his social-democratic party massively lost the second round of municipal...
Archive
Uzbekistan re-elects President Mirziyoyev to second term
Uzbekistan held presidential elections on October 24, in a peaceful and secure atmosphere, with incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev handily taking first place with 80.1%...
Albania
Greece again agrees to expand US defense cooperation
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias traveled to Washington October 13-14 to participate in a scheduled session of the US-Greece Strategic Dialogue, where he met...
Afghanistan
Athens rocked by Biden’s nomination of political operative
After an extended period of uncertainty over who would be tapped, on October 8 US President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate influential...
Albania
Enlargement: EU’s turgid Brdo Declaration seen as a “fail”
The two EU candidate countries hoping for a major jump-start to their long-delayed EU accession procedures suffered a major setback on October 6 at...
Albania
Kosovo-Serbia tensions fading after deal reached
The slow-motion crisis between Kosovo and Serbia over automobile license plates that began with little notice on September 20 escalated into a tense show...
Afghanistan
President Biden’s short UN General Assembly visit raises questions
President Joe Biden’s first address to the 76th UN General Assembly (UNGA) on September 21 provided the world with an almost infinite supply of...
Archive
Greek Foreign Minister Dendias chasing shadows in Skopje?
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias traveled to North Macedonia August 31, for a hastily scheduled official visit to the country while his own capital...
Afghanistan
US Balkan allies to host Afghan refugee processing operations
Even before the Taliban had completed its occupation of Kabul, American allies Albania and Kosovo told Washington that they would serve as transit countries...
Albania
Bulgaria begins slide toward new elections
The Bulgarian political world was shocked into action on August 10 when the party that won the country’s July 11 elections, There is Such...
Albania
Balkan rumblings: Setbacks on enlargement and new Prespes violations
Against the backdrop of another EU presidency (Portugal) failing to move ahead this month on the Enlargement issue as well as a generally slow...
Albania
Washington gets tough on “destabilizers” in the Western Balkans
On June 8, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) intended to update US sanctions policy regarding Balkan corruption and political destabilization activities,...
Albania
Washington zeroes in on corrupt Bulgarian officials
On June 2, the US Department of State announced the designation of four former Bulgarian public officials as well as one current official for involvement...
Albania
Is EU Enlargement on hold yet again?
As Portugal’s EU presidency is reaching its final month, additional pressure is expected on Bulgaria to press it to resolve its ongoing dispute with...
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