In the spotlight: in Turkey, the election year begins under the sign of the veil

A view of a shopping street in Ankara, Turkey, January 3, 2023. (Illustrative image) AP - Burhan Ozbilici

Text by: Courrier des Balkans Follow |

Simon Rico Follow

2 mins

A press review in partnership with the

. 

Publicity

Read more

2023 is a crucial election year in Turkey, which celebrates the centenary of the birth of the Republic.

While the country, plagued by record inflation, is experiencing a catastrophic economic situation, power and opposition agree to put “identity” issues such as the veil back at the center of the debate.

A strategy that could well benefit the very conservative Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Turkey has also just 

 gas agreement with Bulgaria, which could also benefit the rest of the Balkans.

Since last spring, Gazprom, which covered three-quarters of the country's consumption, has suspended deliveries to Sofia.

Croatia: with the euro, prices soar

On January 1, the euro became the official currency in Croatia.

Since then, 

 against the countless increases in daily products.

In the face of popular outrage, the government promised an urgent response.

In Serbia, the government continues to praise its economic policy and in particular the low debt.

However, the public debt is already far too heavy for a country that borrows at very high rates on the world markets.

Not to mention the credits granted in complete opacity by China or the United Arab Emirates. 

.

In Kosovo, the lifting of the barricades did not change anything

The lifting of the barricades in the north of Kosovo has not solved the crisis which has lasted for months between Belgrade and Pristina.

Faced with this strategy of the worst, the population is trapped.

The 

 of a civil society activist based in Mitrovica, the city symbol of the divisions between Serbs and Albanians.

Charged with rape and human trafficking and placed in pre-trial detention, 

, who were also arrested.

A case that reminds us that Romania is known to be a breeding ground for sex slaves.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chechens' new gateway to Europe?

More and more Chechens are trying to reach the European Union 

.

As citizens of the Russian Federation, they can travel there without a visa.

These men are fleeing forced mobilization for war in Ukraine.

An ornithologist who pushes back the government of Albania, a Turkish baker who defies Sultan Erdoğan, a transgender activist from Kosovo, a prisoner of conscience in Tiraspol, a courageous journalist in Serbia, a woman who is prevented from having an abortion in Croatia, others fighting for health in North Macedonia and Romania... Discover our 

.

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Newspaper

• Turkey

• Croatia

• Kosovo

• Bosnia and Herzegovina