Blog
News

Balkan Crime Groups Tightening Grip on South American Drug Trade: Report

Organised crime groups from the Western Balkans are emerging as key players in smuggling cocaine from Latin America, according to a new report. Original post Here

Read More
News

In a depopulating Albania, why is the PM campaigning on a promise to make it easier for young people to leave?

If Rama wants to be the prime minister who ushers Albania into the European Union, he must first be the leader who makes Albania worth staying in. By ANDI BALLA In his recent campaigning for the upcoming May parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Edi Rama has come up with an interesting …

Read More
News

‘Make Albania Great’: Opposition Chief Plots Return with Trump-Style Campaign

Opposition leader Sali Berisha hopes that borrowing MAGA-style rhetoric will being him victory in May’s elections – but many experts doubt that will work. Original post Here

Read More
News

Monday Briefing from the Balkans: March 31, 2025

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

Read More
News

Money Laundering Causes Poverty, Income Disparity in Balkans, Says BIRN Film

A new BIRN documentary shows how money laundering has been increasing poverty, prices and income inequality in Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro. Original post Here

Read More
News

Diaspora Vote Might Shake Up Albanian Politics, But Big Parties Likely to Prevail

For the first time, Albanians abroad will be able to vote by post in the country’s May parliamentary election; some hope the change will help end the domination of the two big parties, but experts are not so sure. Original post Here

Read More
News

Jailed Albanian Mayor Hires US Law Firm That Worked for Trump

While behind bars and under investigation for graft and money laundering, Tirana mayor Erion Veliaj and his businessman brother have engaged hard-hitting New York law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres to assist his case. Original post Here

Read More
News

Albanian Rights Organisations Take TikTok Ban to Court

BIRN Albania, along with a civil rights group and a journalists’ association, have urged the country’s top court to declare a controversial law banning TikTok in Albania for a year unconstitutional. Original post Here

Read More
News

Italy to Albania, and Back: A Migrant’s Journey Through Italy’s Asylum Experiment

Italy’s right-wing government called it a magic wand for the migrants arriving on its shores, but a deal with Albania to outsource and accelerate asylum processing has run afoul of Italian courts. Critics say it flies in the face of international humanitarian law. Original post Here

Read More
News

Albanian Orthodox Church Gets First Ethnic Albanian Leader in Generations

The new Primate will need to be savvy, navigating between conflicting pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian currents in the small but opinionated Albanian Orthodox Church. Original post Here

Read More
News
Rama Forces UK’s Farage Onto Backfoot Over Albanian Criminals

British far-right leader fails to land a punch with Albania’s prime minister in fiery row on social media over the number of Albanians held in UK jails. Original post Here

News
NATO’s Defence Spending Plan Poses Challenge for Balkan States

The Western military alliance’s new national spending benchmark on defence and security may cause problems for smaller and poorer NATO member states in the Balkans who cannot afford 5 per cent of GDP. Original post Here

News
Rule of Law or Rule by Law? Albania’s EU Path Faces a Crisis of Credibility

Jerina Zaloshnja As Albania accelerates the formal process of European Union accession—opening negotiation chapters at a pace that seems to outstrip democratic reforms—it faces an urgent and unavoidable truth: a country cannot genuinely integrate into the EU without first building a functioning rule-of-law society. No volume of technical chapters opened …

News
Balkan Countries ‘Failing to Enforce Freedom of Information Laws’: Report

Freedom of Information laws in the six Western Balkan countries may look robust, but public institutions all too often find ways to obstruct transparency, a new BIRN report has found. Original post Here

News
Monday Briefing from the Balkans: June 30, 2025

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

News
Leaving Albania, the Country’s Youth Seek a More Stable Future

An inability to plan for the future is driving many young, educated Albanians to leave their homeland; experts say the government will have to address the trend sooner or later. Original post Here

News
Week in Review: Boom and Bust

From politics to the media business, high expectations often go hand-in-hand with disappointments big and small, as our selection of Balkan Insight Premium stories this week shows. Original post Here

News
Battling Graft Charges, Tirana Mayor Stages Online Charm Offensive

When Tirana mayor and Socialist Party rising star Erion Veliaj was arrested on corruption charges, he lashed out against the judiciary. Now he’s running a social media PR campaign to charm the public. Can it work? Original post Here

News
BIRN Reality Check: Albanian Prosecutors Still Can’t Identify ‘Hazardous Waste’ Cargo

In October 2024, a shipment of containers with suspected hazardous waste was returned to Albania. But prosecutors haven’t yet managed to analyse their contents because they say they’re unable to find the necessary laboratory services. Original post Here

News
Expensive Lesson: Italy Weighs Costs of Offshore Migrant Centres in Albania

Already repurposed due to legal challenges, Italy’s asylum centres in Albania cost more than originally planned and much more than similar facilities in Italy itself, offering a potential lesson for other European governments tempted to take the same route. Original post Here

News

Rama Forces UK’s Farage Onto Backfoot Over Albanian Criminals

British far-right leader fails to land a punch with Albania’s prime minister in fiery row on social media over the number of Albanians held in UK jails. Original post Here

News

NATO’s Defence Spending Plan Poses Challenge for Balkan States

The Western military alliance’s new national spending benchmark on defence and security may cause problems for smaller and poorer NATO member states in the Balkans who cannot afford 5 per cent of GDP. Original post Here

News

Rule of Law or Rule by Law? Albania’s EU Path Faces a Crisis of Credibility

Jerina Zaloshnja As Albania accelerates the formal process of European Union accession—opening negotiation chapters at a pace that seems to outstrip democratic reforms—it faces an urgent and unavoidable truth: a country cannot genuinely integrate into the EU without first building a functioning rule-of-law society. No volume of technical chapters opened …

News

Balkan Countries ‘Failing to Enforce Freedom of Information Laws’: Report

Freedom of Information laws in the six Western Balkan countries may look robust, but public institutions all too often find ways to obstruct transparency, a new BIRN report has found. Original post Here

News

Monday Briefing from the Balkans: June 30, 2025

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

News

Leaving Albania, the Country’s Youth Seek a More Stable Future

An inability to plan for the future is driving many young, educated Albanians to leave their homeland; experts say the government will have to address the trend sooner or later. Original post Here

News

Week in Review: Boom and Bust

From politics to the media business, high expectations often go hand-in-hand with disappointments big and small, as our selection of Balkan Insight Premium stories this week shows. Original post Here

News

Battling Graft Charges, Tirana Mayor Stages Online Charm Offensive

When Tirana mayor and Socialist Party rising star Erion Veliaj was arrested on corruption charges, he lashed out against the judiciary. Now he’s running a social media PR campaign to charm the public. Can it work? Original post Here

News

BIRN Reality Check: Albanian Prosecutors Still Can’t Identify ‘Hazardous Waste’ Cargo

In October 2024, a shipment of containers with suspected hazardous waste was returned to Albania. But prosecutors haven’t yet managed to analyse their contents because they say they’re unable to find the necessary laboratory services. Original post Here

News

Expensive Lesson: Italy Weighs Costs of Offshore Migrant Centres in Albania

Already repurposed due to legal challenges, Italy’s asylum centres in Albania cost more than originally planned and much more than similar facilities in Italy itself, offering a potential lesson for other European governments tempted to take the same route. Original post Here