In December 2023, a Serbian power utility company came under a cyber attack. The attack was a “crypto-type” attack, which resulted in information encryption. As of this writing, EPS is actively recovering from the attack. These events are similar to events in the region in the past months, highlighting the
At the start of November, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill that revokes Russia’s ratification of a nuclear test ban. The nuclear test ban, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1996 (C.T.B.T.), is meant to stop the testing of nuclear weapons around the world. Given the ongoing war
The international isolation North Korea and Russia face is one of many things that bring both countries together. Both countries face international sanctions, difficult economic situations, and a common goal of gaining an advantage over their Western rivals. One of the most recent developments between North Korea and Russia includes
On September 24th, an armed group of about 30 Kosovo Serbs stormed the Kosovar village of Banjska, resulting in four casualties: three attackers and one police officer. Tensions remain high in the region after this event, which comes after similar flare-ups in the past years. What makes this situation different
On July 26th, Moldova announced that it would be expelling Russian staff located in Chisinau from the country. The relations between both countries have been tense, but the war in Ukraine and Russia’s attempts to maintain its sphere of influence over countries who once belonged to the former Soviet Republic
On June 26th, 2023 Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced a plan to place 4,000 German soldiers in Lithuania. They will be stationed permanently after a year of deliberations between Germany and Lithuania. The move comes as the war in Ukraine continues as well as before a key NATO summit
On November 23rd, Kosovo and Serbia negotiated a deal regarding license plate designations and usage. This has been an issue between both sides for over a year, causing conflict flare-ups in the form of protests and road blockages. Though a round of talks earlier in the week yielded no results,
One of the main roles of independent media is to provide perspectives on current events, political topics, and/or journalism reports in a more nuanced format, with less inherent biases compared to other available media outlets. In recent years, the changing social, political, and economic landscapes have increased the level of
The war in Ukraine has affected the flow of gas along the Nord Stream pipeline, and these effects are already reverberating across Europe. It has prompted countries such as Germany to call for less gas usage as it explores alternatives to Russian gas. As the cooler months approach, Europe continues
At the end of May, the Turkish parliament introduced the Press Law, prepared by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which is meant to counter misinformation in the Turkish media and journalism sphere. Critics contend that the law is very broad in nature
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the security configuration in Europe has drastically changed. It has prompted applications to join the European Union (EU) from several countries in the region along with applications for NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Sweden and Finland, traditionally neutral countries, have submitted
In recent years, media freedom has become a point of concern for several countries in Central Europe. This has to do with trends in these regions where governments, increasingly populist in nature, seek more oversight over the media landscape and the journalists that operate within it. Such oversight includes more
Since the 1990s, Southeastern European countries have made significant progress in ensuring stability and transparency from the unrest after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Not all progress has been even, and in some countries, progress is reversing course. The general theme based on news and reports in recent years is that
Data leaks and cyberattacks are becoming increasingly frequent in southeastern Europe. One of the more recent examples is a data leak from Albania, which compromised the personal data of several thousands of Albanian citizens. This is also not the first data leak in the country; a similar incident took place
Since the six-week-long war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2020, the Russian-brokered ceasefire of November 2020 continues to hold, barring the occasional exchange of fire. However, much of the uneasy peace is contingent on cooperation from both sides and Russian mediation to prevent the deterioration of
A dispute over national license plate recognition between Serbia and Kosovo has escalated into a troubling situation involving border protests and military presence. Kosovo-Serbia tensions are not unprecedented. Both nations diverge in their views on Kosovo’s status as a country. This disagreement fulminated in the Kosovo War of the late
Several states from the European Union, including neighboring Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania, have accused Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko of illegally sending migrants into the E.U. The group claims that Lukashenko is acting in retaliation to the bloc’s sanctions over the disputed Belarusian presidential election of 2020, making migrants his political
On July 23rd, Bosnian High Representative Valentin Inzko imposed a constitutional amendment banning any denial of genocide in the country based on events of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. The amendment not only intends to counter the glorification of war criminals and questioning of wartime facts by any individual of any
Bosnia-Herzegovina already had political, social, and economic issues before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, however, there are new issues with the national vaccination efforts, which include lacking an adequate vaccine supply, difficulty tracking who is vaccinated, and a fight against vaccine misinformation. These issues not only affect local progress but also
Kosovo elected reformist lawyer Vjosa Osmani as its new president in early April. President Osmani will serve alongside Prime Minister Albin Kurti as part of the ruling Vetëvendosje party, a reformist social-democratic organization. However, Kosovo is currently facing several challenges, ranging from a public health crisis to unresolved disputes with
