EU sanctions will not change Belarusian leader Lukashenko’s determination to cling to power, but they send an important signal. To avoid isolating ordinary citizens, the EU must combine sanctions with enhanced support for Belarusian civil society.
share
Print
PODGORICA Ecological concerns are piling up on a billion-dollar stretch of new highway through a picturesque river canyon at the confluence of competing influences in the Balkans.
The delayed, 42-kilometer section of Montenegro s Bar-to-Boljare motorway is already under intense scrutiny over the cash-strapped Adriatic coast nation s decision seven years ago to hire a Chinese builder and take on nearly $1 billion in debt to construct it.
This week, under public pressure, the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) requested permission to repair a damaged 500-meter section of riverbank on the UNESCO-protected Tara River traversed by the highway.
The Chinese company s proposal on May 10 reportedly included stabilizing the left bank of the waterway under the alpine Matesevo bridge, near a hub for mountain tourism in the area called Kolasin.
January 21, 2021
Ian BondDirector of Foreign Policy at the Centre for European Reform
After more than twenty years, the EU has not found a successful strategy to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin does not respect weakness. Yet the EU treats each outrageous act as a one-off, worthy of mild sanctions but with early redemption possible, rather than as a pattern of behavior deserving a stronger reaction on each occasion.
In the case of the attack on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in August 2020, the poison was administered in Russia, not on Western streets. But the EU should not behave as though that undermines the case for a firm reaction. The use of chemical weapons is an abhorrent crime, wherever it takes place. After the 2018 Novichok poison attack on former spy Sergei Skripal in the UK, most EU countries expelled a few Russian spies not enough to deter Putin, apparently.
Le Courrier des Balkans
Ok
Ok Accès pays
Zoom webinar BiEPAG / SEESOX | Le
Speaker(s) :
Donika Emini (Civikos Platform ; Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group)
Borisa Falatar (Nasa Stranka)
Chair :
Convenor :
Abstract : In South East Europe, elections are often dismissed as mere window-dressing to democracy, churning the same elites over and over. However, recent votes have challenged that notion. Is a change on the horizon ? Who are the actors participating in it ? And how is the public responding to old and new challenges ? The panel discussion will address these and other lessons learned and prospects for the region. The event will also provide insights from a new policy study on public attitudes towards elections in the six countries of the Western Balkans, published by the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group and drawing from a large-scale survey promoted by the European Fund for the Balkans.