Front page: the Balkans barricade themselves against the coronavirus epidemic

Text by: Simon Rico | Mail from the Balkans

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After the explosion of coronavirus cases in Italy at the end of February, the Balkan countries see Covid-19 arriving on their respective territories. All are affected, with the exception of Montenegro and Kosovo, which have no confirmed cases. Are health authorities ready to deal with the epidemic? What measures are they taking? Find the latest info on our news feed.
• Coronavirus in the Balkans: the borders between Albania and Kosovo are closed
• Croatia: a tourist season under the threat of the coronavirus
• Coronavirus: Italian quarantine weighs on the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Coronavirus: Slovenia in turn won over by panic

Patrols of armed civilians in northern Greece, xenophobic demonstrations in Serbia, Croatian nationalists on fire, and Milorad Dodik who calls for the " defense of Christian Europe " ... The crisis provoked by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raises a wave of anti-migrant reactions in the Balkans, lands of transit to Western Europe. Overview with our correspondents.
• Refugees: hatred arises along the Balkan route
• Balkan refugees: because of Covid-19, MSF requests the evacuation of camps on the Greek islands
• Slovenia: migrant women, victims of “femonationalism”?

They cost even less than local labor, which is already cheap. In Serbia, the construction sector now brings in foreign workers. This winter, Indians denounced their unworthy working conditions and their unpaid wages. Chronicle of modern globalized slavery.
• Serbia: maximum exploitation for Indian construction workers
• Serbia: the irresistible rush of doctors to Germany

In a Kosovo where economic takeoff is still long overdue, emigration has long been a valve, and the movement of exodus is accelerating from year to year. Especially for young people, who cannot find a job and dream of a better life, in Germany or elsewhere. Report in pictures.
• Exodus to Kosovo: preparing to leave, step by step [portfolio]

Presidents Hashim Thaçi and Aleksandar Vučić were received at the White House in early March in an attempt to reach a " rapid agreement " between Kosovo and Serbia. Washington is therefore in the process of raking the pawn in Brussels, and Prime Minister Albin Kurti appears excluded from the game in Pristina.
• Kosovo-Serbia: diplomatic ping-pong between Brussels and Washington
• [File] Between Kosovo and Serbia, what bases for a "dialogue"?

Already seven dead in two months ... The year 2020 is already particularly bloody in Montenegro, where gang warfare has been raging for several years for the control of drug trafficking. The concern begins to seize the inhabitants.
• Montenegro: scores of accounts are increasing, concern is mounting

Do they benefit from corrupt support within the Bosnian administration? In recent years, investors from the Persian Gulf or Turkey have been able to build luxurious residences on the outskirts of Sarajevo, bypassing all applicable laws and without ever being really worried. Investigation.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: these luxury residences that grow illegally

The Albanian parliament adopted on 5 March a new law extending the powers of the police, which can for example now confiscate the property of suspects and prevent them from moving without prior judicial decision. Civil society cries out in scandal and denounces an unconstitutional measure.
• Albania: the new law which endangers the independence of the judiciary

Involved in the mass crimes of the Third Reich, Hans Frank, Bernhardt Rust, Ewald Robert Valentin von Massow and Edouard Kohlrausch were prominent Nazi dignitaries. For decades, they have held the title of doctor honoris causa from the University of Sofia. Explanations.
• Bulgaria: four former Nazi dignitaries finally deprived of their honorary doctorates

In Romania, more than 200,000 people still live without electricity. Faced with inaction from the authorities, Iulian Angheluta decided to roll up his sleeves to come to the aid of isolated communities: with his association Free Miorița, he crisscrossed the country to install solar panels.
• Romania: the challenge of villages without electricity

Faced with the reality of climate change, citizen mobilizations are more and more numerous in Croatia. It may also be thanks to Zelena akcija, an environmental organization created just 30 years ago. The opportunity to return to the struggles and victories of these activists. Interview with Marija Mileta.
• Croatia: Zelena akcija, 30 years of environmental struggles to change society
• [Feature] In the Balkans, the environment, a forgotten problem

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