Twenty-six years ago, the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the war and laid the foundation of the constitutional and institutional architecture of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina consisting of two entities, the Federation of BiH and the Republika Srpska. Today, the country not only still faces enormous challenges but is also going through one of the biggest political crises. Corruption is widespread, ethnonationalism is rising and influences the educational and political system on a large scale, infrastructure is lacking, economy is weak, the health-care system is insufficient, and pollution is extremely high.

Stephanie Fenkart and Hannes Swoboda talk about the commemoration of Srebrenica and why it is of great importance to establish facts and not forget about the victims.

30 years after the breakup of Yugoslavia, the ghosts of the past continue to haunt the region. Old-fashioned backwards-oriented politics and nationalism are still present and even on the rise. The past is still instrumentalized for political purposes. The lack of economic, educational, or social perspectives for the youth drives many young people to leave their countries towards the West searching for a better life and more opportunities. In terms of dealing with the past, considerable efforts were made to initiate and support reconciliation, yet the results are rather limited and the question of effectiveness of tools and means applied remains.

Today the Berlin Process convenes under the auspices of Angela Merkel. Here you can watch the statement of the IIP President, Hannes Swoboda, on the freedom of movement for all Western Balkan citizens travelling within the region and throughout the Schengen area, and on the Berlin Process! Also, you can find the “Request to the EU Member States and Western Balkans leaders: Enable the freedom of movement for all the Western Balkan citizens” attached to this post!

In July 2021, Slovenia will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU for the second time. The European Union will still have to cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which surely was the biggest challenge for its predecessors, Portugal, and Germany, with which Slovenia forms a trio to ensure a more consistent collaboration on the priorities which will be EU Green Deal, Rule of Law and Security of the EU. However, in June 2021 we are also commemorating the Break-Up of Yugoslavia. The Western Balkan countries still face many challenges related to its past. Reconciliation did not sufficiently happen; borders are still disputed, and nationalism is on the rise. While the commission declared a geopolitical orientation of the EU in the years to come, we can witness a “geopoliticalization” in the region with old and new actors entering the scene, mainly Russia, China, the Arab Emirates, who are challenging the European value-based approach towards the region.

Once again, on the 25th of April this year the Albanians elect 140 members of a new parliament and a new government. The deep polarization in the last elections (2017) led to the opposition members to leave the parliament in February 2019 due to claims of voter fraud and government corruption. This strengthened even more the existing polarization between position end opposition. The, on purpose created, tense pre-election atmosphere did not help but increased incidents and heated debates. The leader of the ruling Socialist Party and Prime Minister Edi Rama argues that he needs a third term to “finish what he started” while the leader of the Democratic Party (Opposition), Lulzim Basha, wants to change Albania. In the slow election count the current Prime Minister takes a lead, yet it is still a tight race to secure a majority in parliament.

Today marks 18 years since the first democratic Prime Minister of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic, was assassinated. Zoran Djindjic embodied and fought for democratic and european values. To commemorate and remember the work and life of Serbian late Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, who was assassinated on the 12th of March in 2003, the IIP did an interview with an independent Political Analyst from Serbia, Vuk Velebit, who is also part of our Western Balkans Initiativ!

Once again, the Kosovars will face snap elections on the 14th of February this year. In 2020 the Kosovars saw a new government by Albin Kurti - famously named the “Coalition of Hope” – which collapsed within 51 days of its establishment. This led to the polemical creation of a new government by Avdullah Hoti which collapsed after six months, which triggered the urge for the upcoming elections.

Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW) President Hannes Swoboda told N1 on Friday that Belgrade and Pristina can’t reach an agreement on Kosovo on their own and should have the European Union as a partner.

Not enough energy is being invested into overcoming political stalemates in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, due to the way the country is set up, political leaders often only aim to appeal to members of their ethnic group, Austrian politician and former member of the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda, told N1.