With early parliamentary elections likely this autumn, Serbian authorities are proposing legislation to regulate campaigning by public officials - but critics warn the potential changes are more cosmetic than substantial.

In projecting total control, Aleksandar Vucic is telling those who might vote against his ruling party: ‘Don’t bother.’

Big changes are afoot amid the heat of the summer holiday season. Our selection of Balkan Insight’s Premium stories takes a deep dive into the motives and agendas driving these changes.

Elsewhere, fugitive Polish ex-deputy minister traced to Transnistria; Fico and his economy minister row over how much Slovakia should pay for CEZ’s stake in JESS; and Czech ministers begin talks over 2027 budget allocations.

As the EU awaits final approval for plans to set up ‘return hubs’ in third countries for migrants awaiting deportation, it’s predicted that Balkan countries could end up hosting such holding centres despite concerns about human rights violations.

Amnesty International said in a new report that the Italian-Albanian deal for the offshore detention of asylum seekers and migrants is “jeopardising people’s safety, liberty and human rights”.

‘Fahrudin’, an animated documentary about a boy who survived a mass execution during the Srebrenica genocide in 1995, produced by BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Srebrenica Memorial Centre, was premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

With rivers running dry and some towns and villages villages dealing with days or weeks of water shortages, some Bosnians are taking their frustration to the streets to protest about the overstretched water utility system.

An end to the decades-long conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish militants of the PKK could transform Turkey’s geopolitical and economic relationships with its neighbours and Euro-Atlantic allies.

A new director has taken charge of some of the few independently-oriented media outlets in Serbia, including N1 TV, raising fears in a politically-charged environment that critical voices might be sidelined ahead of upcoming elections.

Albania’s government plans to cut the number of municipalities from 61 to 46, but critics fear it will only further isolate rural communities from public services and undermine environmental protections.

A new clinical guideline approving gender-affirming hormone therapy in Albania sparked an online backlash about subsidies for transgender people – although official documents show that no reimbursement for medication will be provided.

The landmark law has raised hopes of ending decades of conflict with the Kurdish militants, even if distrust of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fuelling concern over what process may ultimately deliver.

Court orders 30 days of detention for Fehim Sali, who has reportedly admitted working for Serbia’s intelligence agency, the BIA, which allegedly paid him to identify other potential recruits.

Opposition LDK party says it is withdrawing its demand to name the next head of state out of concern that Kosovo's current crisis "does not seem to have an end – and is getting worse".

Nearly a year after Prime Minister Edi Rama introduced an AI chatbot as a ‘virtual minister’ in his cabinet to tackle corruption, has the technology been a success?

Journalist Vasko Popetrevski says the Ohrid Agreement stopped the bloodshed in 2001 – but the deep divisions in society that produced the conflict have not been completely reconciled.

Authorities detain leader and members of one of Turkey’s largest religious groups, known as the Suleymancilar, as part of a probe into alleged organised crime and money-laundering.

Romania’s pro-European parties are failing to compromise over reforms needed to secure EU funds, while political instability and economic struggles are strengthening the challenge from the far right.

Ruling VMRO DPMNE gets lion's share of state funding for country's parties, while main opposition Social Democrats see funding fall, under system that rewards election performance.

Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region.

Ukraine is about to try Davor Savicic in absentia - the first Bosnian national to be charged with war crimes allegedly committed while fighting with Russian forces in 2022. In an interview with BIRN, one of his accusers recalls his captivity in a rat-infested pit, blindfolded and bound, fearing for his life.

Serbia has been battling wildfires for nearly a month without requesting EU assistance. Instead, it has turned to Russia for a firefighting aircraft, citing its greater water-carrying capacity.

The troublesome issue of who owns Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state and defence assets must be settled – or the country’s politicians could be forced into a solution that might benefit US commerce but harm the state.

The remains of 23 individuals have been found at three sites near northern Kosovo’s Zubin Potok in excavations that authorities believe are connected to victims who were forcibly disappeared during the 1998-99 war.

President Nicusor Dan blamed Russia for the explosive-laden maritime drone in the Black Sea - another indication of the security risks that Romania faces as the war in neighbouring Ukraine continues.

As Russia tolerates Aleksandar Vucic’s embrace of the Ukrainian president and the idea of Serbian-Ukrainian arms cooperation, Moscow’s policy efforts in the Balkans seem to have stalled, like its war in Ukraine.

A former Conservative MP sparked controversy in the UK with a proposal to bring Brexit-scarred Britain closer to Europe in a new European Confederation that would also include the Western Balkans. Despite some flaws, its timing could be right.

The hit to cargo transport from a dramatic drop in Danube water levels will be felt across the Serbian economy for months to come, experts warn.

As the country's political crisis continues, the three largest opposition parties in Kosovo skipped a meeting with the acting president, claiming she no longer holds the post legitimately.

After a 'paedophile hunt' by teenagers in Plovdiv resulted in a livestreamed murder, police are trying to crack down on a neo-Nazi subculture influenced by Russia's far-right skinhead movement.

Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region.

Serbia has unveiled legal amendments to ‘protect’ schools from ‘misuse’, but critics say they are all about exerting control over an education system that has played a prominent role in anti-government protests.

The Balkans is never short of surprises and logjams, as our selection of Premium stories this week highlights.

Elsewhere, Slovak Interior Ministry forced into embarrassing U-turn over speed cameras with suspected Russian links; Poland beefs up defence of critical infrastructure against Russian threats; and future of Orban’s summer camp in doubt.

Qali Nur and Dzenita Camo discuss their new documentary, which focuses on the conversations that surviving wartime staff of Sarajevo's famous Holiday Inn never had with their children about the siege years.

People gathered at vantage points all across the Balkans to enjoy the unique experience of watching the solar eclipse on Thursday evening.

Kosovo’s MPs have failed for weeks to elect new leadership, creating a fresh institutional logjam that could trigger a fourth election in less than two years.

Kosovo police inspectorate are investigating allegations that officers beat up a Serb man and tied him to a tree while searching his home for weapons.

Britain’s policies on the Balkans aren’t going to change under its new prime minister – and what most intrigues the UK media about the region this summer is the newly-revealed secrets of the Danube mud.

A two-year hiatus in state funding for translations is making it harder for Macedonian writers to reach foreign readers.

Rights campaigner Abdulrahman al-Khalidi, who fled Saudi Arabia, has been held for four years and ten months in Bulgaria after the authorities claimed he was a national security threat.

Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci says he expects to be acquitted of all charges in the war crimes case against him and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders when the verdict is announced on September 16.

BIRN dissects the accusations against 12 individuals standing trial for allegedly siphoning millions of euros in public money supposed to be spent on solving Tirana’s long-standing garbage problem.

In their latest public row, opposition leader Milan Knezevic called for Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic to resign after presenting documents he claimed show that Spajic joined Serbia’s military reserve.

The protesters marching daily through the streets of Tirana know what they’re against. If they’re seeking genuine democratic change, it’s time for them to determine what they’re for.

While Pride’s reception in Belgrade has improved since the first event there 25 years ago, efforts to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ issues elsewhere in Serbia have been marred by threats, abuse and police inaction.

The independent inspectorate has launched an investigation into allegations that a Kosovo Serb man was beaten by police officers during a raid on his home in the northern village of Dren, in the Zubin Potok municipality.

Despite a ban on Russian media outlets in Greece in line with EU sanctions, pro-Kremlin content often finds its way into the country’s news as fringe claims are ‘laundered’ into mainstream outlets.

While the PM cites the need to streamline the public administration, experts and unions speak of the ‘destruction of human rights know-how’ and the influence of an ultra-conservative group that advocates corporal punishment.

The main Bosnian Croat political party has signed a contract with an American lobbying firm as it pushes for a political power boost for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina - and seeks to make its voice heard on the US-backed Southern Interconnection gas pipeline project.

Refugees, migrants and activists say police meted out indiscriminate violence against detainees at a detention camp in Bulgaria on July 26 after two escaped. Bulgarian authorities are yet to offer an explanation.

Papers highlight Albania’s transformation since 1990s – with population growth limited to a few urban centres and most municipalities having shrinking, elderly communities.

Firefighters worked through the night as the blaze took hold in the hills around the Dalmatian seaside resort of Omis, destroying houses and cars.

New legislation allowing paid leave for menstrual pain sufferers is welcome – but if women can’t access gynaecologists to get a diagnosis, the actual difference may be modest.

North Macedonia’s prosecution indicted former First Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi and seven other people for alleged abuse of office over the purchase of video lottery terminals, which cost the State Lottery 8.2 million euros.

Record low water levels in the River Danube force temporary shutdown of Romania’s last operating nuclear reactor, obliging the country to import more electricity.

The government is preparing to bring back online sports betting, seven years after a widespread gambling clampdown. But mental health experts warn that Albania is ill-equipped to deal with a rise in gambling addiction.

Andras Baka will be sworn in August 19 and will remain in office until Hungary’s new constitution is adopted – a process that could take up to five years.

Researchers for the Heritage Foundation, an influential Trump-linked US conservative organisation, have been advocating for a third, Croat-led entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina – and discussing the controversial idea with European parliamentarians.