... Council of Montenegro, under the auspices of the Government of Montenegro, took place in Budva, Montenegro, on May 5-7, 2016. The Forum is one of the major international platforms for discussing the most important dilemmas in the field of security in the Balkans and South East Europe (SEE), as well as in Europe as a whole.
This year, the main focus of the discussions was on the issues of combating terrorism, political radicalism, and of managing migration flows in and around Europe. Particular attention ...
... century to denote smuggling routes that run through the peninsula (cigarettes, weapons, drugs and human organs) and may bear relation to certain political leaders, legitimized by Western Europe. However, it should be noted that since ancient times the Balkans have efficiently performed a transit and cushioning function between the East and the West. In the 5th century BC the Persians moved to Greece along the same routes as the refugees do now to get into Europe. Alexander the Great led his army into ...
... Redefine Itself?
” in view of exacerbation of problems related with Middle East refugees, Ukraine crisis, Islamic radicalism, efficiency of European institutions, the role of the OSCE in conflict settlement including maintenance of peace in the Balkans. The event gathered over 600 participants, among them a Russian delegation invited by the organizers to continue the last year tradition.
At the session “The Russian Dilemma: What Kind of International Order Russia is Seeking?” moderated ...
The border dispute arbitration between Croatia and Slovenia over the Piran Bay was unexpectedly thrown into doubt following revelations that the Slovenian representative broke the impartiality rule. On 22 July, Croatian daily Vecernji List circulated the transcript of tapped phone conversations between Jernej Secolec, the Tribunal’s Slovenian judge, and Simona Drenik, a Ljubljana official, that took place in November 2014 and January 2015. The communication consisted of information sharing...
From July 30 to August 6, 2015, Belgrade is hosting international summer school “
Geopolitics in the Emerging Multipolar Era
”, held by the Serbian Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) with participation of over 30 young foreign relations scholars, tutors and diplomats lectured by representatives of global and regional international organizations, public figures and leading specialists on foreign affairs.
August 2 was the Russia Day intended to cover...
The US visit by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic must be considered primarily in the context of the
Individual Partnership Action Plan
between the Republic of Serbia and NATO), signed in January 2015. This comprehensive document established a framework for the parties’ collaboration and step-by-step alignment in all areas: military technical cooperation; regional cooperation; economic, legal and law enforcement reform; ethnic issues and EU integration. The visit aims, therefore, to...
The May 8–9 holiday is a far too complicated affair, and somewhat inconvenient to be a widespread celebration across the Balkans
The attitude to Victory Day in the Balkans can at best be described as positive to neutral. This date certainly exists in the public and media space. Remembrance events are held, and speeches are made.
Local news feeds
feature reports of the ...
NATO will consider the possibility of further expansion in the Balkans
The issue of NATO expansion has once again been put on the agenda. There has been talk recently about possible membership for three states located on the Balkan Peninsula. In addition, it just came out that Russian President Vladimir Putin will ...
... New Opportunities
Having faced a certain de-intensification of relations with the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe in the 1990s, Russia in the 2000s began to restore its presence through economic tools, such as investment. The Western Balkans (former Yugoslavia) happened to be one region where this was particularly intense. This region was selected for a number of reasons, namely weak local economies resulting from the events of the 1990s (war and the transition from socialism to a ...
On September 23-25, Vienna hosted panel discussion "Periphery at Risk" held by Bruno Kreisky Forum, Bulgarian Center for Liberal Strategies, European Council on Foreign Affairs and Austrian Ministry of National Defense.
The participants included analysts and politicians from the Balkan and EU countries, Turkey and Russia represented by RIAC Program Coordinator Daria Khaspekova, who have discussed ways for development of Balkan states in the modern world.
In 2004, when the European Union...
