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BALKANS - WORLD

News

BALKANS - WORLD

National Cyber Security Index graphic in blue and white lettering on a black background.

Geopolitics - Defence Western Balkans Southeast Europe

NCSI: High Scores Mask Cyber Crisis Management Gaps in Southeast Europe

BY IBNA Editorial Team
12 August 2026

Bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica under a blue sky

Western Balkans Policy

Ibar River: Aleksandar Vučić Again Turns Water

Aleksandar Vučić’s successive statements on potentially altering the river’s course, KFOR’s adjustment of its presence in Mitrovica and

General view of the Turkish Grand National Assembly during a parliamentary session in Ankara

Southeast Europe Policy

Turkey: 467 Votes Reshape the Kurdish Political

The framework law places the PKK’s disarmament on a legal footing, broadens the political consensus beyond the governing alliance and exposes fresh divisions within the opposition.

Exterior of an EMKO industrial facility in Bulgaria

Geopolitics - Defence Southeast Europe

EMKO Blast at High-Risk Munitions Plant: Cause

No casualties at the Belitsa ammunition facility – No evidence of external interference as investigators seek the source of the fire

Western Balkan trucks at a Schengen border displaying a protest banner against the 90-in-180-day rule

Western Balkans Southeast Europe Policy

Western Balkans: Schengen Counts Days, Truckers Demand Hours

The 11 August meeting in Skopje highlights the conflict between Schengen’s 90/180-day rule and the needs of international road transport. The EES

Geopolitics - Defence Western Balkans Southeast Europe

NCSI: High Scores Mask Cyber Crisis Management Gaps in Southeast Europe

BY IBNA Editorial Team
12 August 2026

Southeast Europe Policy

Turkey: 467 Votes Reshape the Kurdish Political

The framework law places the PKK’s disarmament on a legal footing, broadens the political consensus beyond the governing alliance and exposes fresh divisions within the opposition.

Geopolitics - Defence Southeast Europe

EMKO Blast at High-Risk Munitions Plant: Cause

No casualties at the Belitsa ammunition facility – No evidence of external interference as investigators seek the source of the fire

Western Balkans Southeast Europe Policy

Western Balkans: Schengen Counts Days, Truckers Demand Hours

The 11 August meeting in Skopje highlights the conflict between Schengen’s 90/180-day rule and the needs of international road transport. The EES

Colourful coralligenous habitat with sponges and marine organisms on the Aegean seabed

Southeast Europe Policy

Aegean Biodiversity Caught Between Protection and Geopolitics

The discovery of an extensive coral forest highlights the need for Greek-Turkish cooperation, while Greece’s marine parks and new tourism spatial framework revive sovereignty disputes

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attends the signing of the agreement making Meridiam the majority shareholder of the Great Sea Interconnector project in Athens.

Eastern Mediterranean Geo-economy - Energy Southeast Europe

Great Sea Interconnector Changes Course as Geopolitics and Financing Reshape the Project

BY Spiros Sideris
5 August 2026

Nikos Christodoulides and Tufan Erhürman during a meeting as part of the UN-led Cyprus peace process.

Eastern Mediterranean Southeast Europe Policy

Cyprus: How Both Communities Are Shaping

The next step in the Cyprus issue no longer depends on setting a date for a new informal 5+1 meeting, but on whether the political conditions

Illustration of the planned floating production unit (FPU) for Cyprus' Aphrodite offshore natural gas field.

Eastern Mediterranean Geo-economy - Energy Southeast Europe

Shell Has Left. The Real Question Is Why Cyprus'

The Aphrodite gas field was discovered in 2011. Fifteen years later, it has yet to produce a single cubic metre of natural gas. If the current timetable

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres chairs a meeting on the Cyprus issue with representatives at UN Cyprus in Nicosia.

Eastern Mediterranean Southeast Europe Policy

Guterres: New Cyprus 5+1 Conference Will Be

The decision by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to convene a new expanded 5+1 conference on Cyprus, without setting a

UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin meets Cypriot leaders during preparations for Antonio Guterres' Cyprus peace mission.

Eastern Mediterranean Southeast Europe Policy

Is This Antonio Guterres’ Last Major Push to Revive

The visit of Antonio Guterres to Cyprus carries particular significance not simply because a United Nations Secretary-General is returning to

Geopolitics - Defence Western Balkans Southeast Europe

NCSI: High Scores Mask Cyber Crisis Management Gaps in Southeast Europe

BY IBNA Editorial Team
12 August 2026

Western Balkans Policy

Ibar River: Aleksandar Vučić Again Turns Water

Aleksandar Vučić’s successive statements on potentially altering the river’s course, KFOR’s adjustment of its presence in Mitrovica and

Western Balkans Southeast Europe Policy

Western Balkans: Schengen Counts Days, Truckers Demand Hours

The 11 August meeting in Skopje highlights the conflict between Schengen’s 90/180-day rule and the needs of international road transport. The EES

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Aleksandar Vučić walking together during the Ukrainian President’s visit to Serbia

Western Balkans Policy

Kyiv Holds Firm on Kosovo as the Pristina Crisis

Zelenskyy’s visit to Belgrade drew a response from Tirana, while the prolonged institutional deadlock is limiting Kosovo’s ability to defend its positions internationally.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić during their official meeting in Belgrade, with the flags of Ukraine, Serbia and the European Union displayed behind them

Western Balkans Southeast Europe Policy

Zelensky in Belgrade: Why Serbia Supports Ukraine

The first official visit of Volodymyr Zelensky to Serbia did not mark a shift in Belgrade's foreign policy. It did, however, give the Serbian leadership