Inlay

The flamingo has become an unlikely mascot of intensifying protests in Albania against a proposed resort backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, which would encroach on the birds’ breeding ground.

An excellent, solutions-oriented piece from Diar Bala and Philippe Lefevre for the New Diplomacy Project on how NATO membership for Bosnia can be achieved, despite obvious political obstacles. But these are surmountable with will and vision. www.newdiplomacy.uk/articles/its...

The fact that the impasse over selection process for Bosnia’s next High Rep has registered for Bloomberg affirms public speculation that the divergence in views between the U.S. and key European capitals re: BiH, and regional policy, is significant. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

There appears to be an inverse relationship between how wide the conceptual net is being cast for prospective future EU members - Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Canada - and the reality of an entirely moribund enlargement process.

I am honored to have been invited to provide testimony to the Foreign Affairs Committee of Canada's House of Commons re: to the security situation in the Western Balkans. Those interested can view the entirety of the proceedings by following the link below. www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentView...

Guardian investigation shows how US presidency blurs line between policy and enrichment of American ruling family and those around it On a graffitied Sarajevo backstreet, a path leads past an overgrown patch of garden to a white door. Beyond is the registered office of a company that is on the brink of winning contracts worth more than $1bn. AAFS Infrastructure and Energy is close to securing a concession to build and operate a pipeline across the Balkans to allow fossil gas shipped from the US to replace supplies that come from Russia. “This could be the most important infrastructure project ever in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” says one of the country’s top officials, who, like others, asks to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive negotiations. Continue reading...

💥"There is a lot of work ahead of the Magyar government, especially when it comes to investigating the illegal surveillance of journalists or the corruption related to buying up and killing media outlets, or turning them into propaganda – using taxpayer money all along the way."

Investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi from the online outlet VSquare made waves when he broke a story on Hungary’s coordination with Russia during the European Union summits shortly before the parli...

Lengthy, detailed reporting from The Insider re: Bosnian Serb secessionist Dodik’s sharp uptick in contacts with Russia - twice visiting Moscow in May - and the increasingly incomprehensible US decision to lift sanctions vs. him and his regime. theins.press/en/politics/...

For @odgovor.bsky.social I argue genuine 'Atlanticist' leaders in Sarajevo must, finally, draft comprehensive legislation to regulate the country's vast state properties, the key requirement to formally wind-down the OHR but also clinch NATO membership for Bosnia. odgovor.ba/article/17389/

Contacts between Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and the Kremlin have intensified of late, raising concerns about the potential for trouble in the region. At…