Highlights: No solution seems in sight to the crisis shaking Kosovo, where very high tensions still prevail in the Serbian areas. In Montenegro, it is the "Do Kwon affair" that defies the headlines. Are the Balkans still a crossroads for human trafficking? In 2022, Albanians flocked to the UK, attracted by videos on TikTok or Instagram where compatriots spread their wealth. In his film The Laureates, Dušan Gajić questions what remains of the hopes of the "1989 generation". Did the Serbs dream in vain?

Balkan Press Review

In the News: No crisis in sight in Kosovo

A press review presented in partnership with Le Courrier des Balkans.

A police vehicle set on fire in northern Kosovo, May 26, 2023. AP

Text by: Jean-Arnault Dérens Follow | Balkan Mail Follow

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No solution seems in sight to the crisis shaking Kosovo, where very high tensions still prevail in the Serbian areas and where "dialogue" with Belgrade is at a standstill. On Thursday 6 July, Albin Kurti refused to receive the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, who began a two-day Balkan tour in Pristina, after having created a surprise by announcing the end of the Open Balkan regional cooperation initiative, preferring the European framework of discussion of the "Berlin Process".

While Kosovo is facing European sanctions, what is the strategy of Prime Minister Kurti, whose actions are perceived as so many provocations towards the Serbian community? Denouncing the "partiality" of Brussels, some wish Pristina a mediation from Washington.

However, some critical voices are being heard on the Kosovar side, such as that of columnist Arben Idrizi, who recalls that the Kosovo government calls the Serbs in the north "terrorists", just as the Belgrade regime once described the Albanians as "terrorists". For him, creating the Association of Serbian Municipalities would be the way to make the Serbs accept the State of Kosovo, in short, it would be an opportunity for the country.

Nothing is better in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The International High Representative annulled the "anti-Dayton laws" adopted earlier by Republika Srpska. In response, Milorad Dodik revived the hypothesis of a referendum on secession, "in case of pressure". While political quarrels paralyze the town hall of Banja Luka, the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik relaunches the secessionist mechanism with an increasingly threatening discourse.

Are the Balkans still a crossroads for human trafficking? In 2022, Albanians flocked to the UK, attracted by videos on TikTok or Instagram where compatriots spread their wealth. However, the reality is much more sordid. On the other hand, the British authorities are content to deport without attacking criminal networks. Inquiry.

In Montenegro, it is the "Do Kwon affair" that defies the headlines. Indeed, is Montenegro's new rising political figure linked to the "king" of cryptocurrencies, South Korean Hyeong Do Kwon, or is it a fabricated affair by his rivals? But is the official biography of Milojko Spajić credible? As the mystery thickens, the formation of a new government recedes.

Meanwhile, cocaine, cannabis, cigarettes and synthetic drugs are increasingly transiting the Balkan route. Under the control of international criminal networks, these illicit goods escape the radar, with the complicity of certain local authorities.

A Serbian journalist and documentary filmmaker wonders about his country's dashed hopes. In 1989, the Berlin Wall had just fallen, Europe and the world seemed within reach, but Yugoslavia was disintegrating, and European integration now seemed more distant than ever. In his film The Laureates, Dušan Gajić questions what remains of the hopes of the "1989 generation". Did the Serbs dream in vain?

In the News: No crisis in sight in Kosovo

In the News: No crisis in sight in Kosovo

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