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

Following the arrest of a key ally, Prime Minister Edi Rama has launched a campaign targeting the judiciary in a bid to turn the tables ahead of May’s elections, experts say. Original post Here

Donald Trump’s sympathy for Hashim Thaci – and his propensity to take bold action – could end the ordeal of Kosovo’s former president before the Hague court, over which the US has significant leverage. Original post Here

A recent scandal involving 10 tons of pesticide-laden mandarins distributed across Albania has once again exposed the country’s weak enforcement of food safety regulations and broader rule-of-law challenges. As Albania progresses in its European Union accession negotiations, the case underscores persistent governance issues that threaten the country’s path to EU …

A new book, The Lisbon Treaty and Transatlantic Dialogue: Significance and Inefficiencies, recently published by the EU Publications Office, provides a unique insight into the complex diplomatic dynamics between the European Union and the United States over the past three decades. Written by Dr. Álvaro Renedo, a Spanish diplomat, researcher …

In a rare and tightly scheduled diplomatic visit, the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, arrived in Tirana on Friday for a two-hour stay, marking the first-ever visit by a UAE leader to Albania. The trip, which included high-level meetings and the signing of …

For years, prosecutors in Serbia have been sitting on evidence of graft in the Belgrade real estate sector. Only when the country’s embattled president announced a crackdown on corruption was the man at the top finally arrested. Original post Here

ECHR Rules in Favor of Thoma Gëllçi Tirana Times,  Februar 25.The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg ruled today in favor of Thoma Gëllçi, confirming that his arrest was unlawful. This decision represents a significant legal and moral victory for the former director of Albania’s national broadcaster, RTSH, …

Tirana’s mayor Erion Veliaj, who is in custody facing corruption charges, has been mounting daily verbal assaults on his case prosecutor and the judge via his social media accounts. Original post Here

In Albania’s Elbasan, prosecutors say the town’s only fruit and vegetable market is the base of a powerful organised crime gang. That hasn’t stopped the local council from giving its owner permission to expand. Original post Here