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The leading Balkan news channel in English on Telegram.
🇷🇺 - Telegram owner Durov claims that, in 2018, he was subjected to an assassination attempt by poisoning.
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🇷🇴 🇰🇷 Romanian Parliament receives from the MoD the request to buy 216 K2 Panther tanks for the military. They will be produced in Romania.
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Vucic said he believes Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats are real, calling those who consider the Russian leader to be bluffing “abnormal.”
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—🇦🇱/🇦🇿 WATCH: Albanian Prime Minister told French President Macron, “You should congratulate Ilham Aliyev and me. Trump has ended the conflict between us.”
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🇨🇿 Eurocrats fear that after Babiš's victory, the Czech Republic could become a "black spot" for the EU alongside Hungary and Slovakia, reports Politico.
Babiš previously promised to abandon the ammunition supply program to Ukraine, challenge NATO's plans to increase military spending, and confront the European Commission over the "Green Deal."
At the moment, Babiš has stated his intention to form a single-party minority government with the support of the conservative SPD and the "Motorists for Themselves" political party.
@CIG_telegram
—🇷🇸/🏴☠️ NEW: Perica Sovilj, one of the last Chetnik veterans in the United States and the youngest fighter in Momčilo Đujić’s Anti-Nazi Division, has died aged 96.
➡️ He passed away on September 27, 2025.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
🇭🇺 🇪🇺 🇭🇷 Brussels and Zagreb want to push Hungary into a vulnerable position by forcing it to give up Russian oil from the "Druzhba" pipeline and switch to purchasing oil from the Croatian JANAF pipeline, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.
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I need be very forward on this time line of events. The European Union metaphorically approached Bosnia and Serbia with membership in 2003 in Greece where the EU itself wanted to expand. Neither country applied for membership prior to 2005.
"Kosovo unifying with Albania will be met with an angry letter"
The facts on the ground is that Kosovo is in a hot seat. It isn't recognized universally and has been scolded by the US already publicly by high ranking US officials. It has no political power to pull off "Greater Albania"
To just shoo away concerns of violence in a region that has shed blood for a very long time is naive, arrogant and short sighted.
"15, million new people - great!"
Quite a lot of people.
The countries which represent the European Union have plummeting birth rates. If you don't need people - why are you importing Syrians, Afghans and Africans?
Which one is it? Too many or not enough?
"There's then also the issue of the EU itself being unable to agree on any course of action internally"
Yes. It's why I posted the quote.
"the EU in general is suffering"
Yes. It is.
I am loving every minute of it! Kek!
Also real quick before I forget re: money isn't everything
If a nation, any nation - is to succeed. It requires an identity. How can you buy an identity? Isn't that what we're witnessing with Western Europe? Isn't that what we're witnessing in the United States?
We saw what socialist authoritarian suppression can do to nationalism by simply denying their existence -- we're about to see what capitalistic authoritarian integration can do.
We're lucky that the European Union (for now) is simply an economic bloc.
Thanks again for the reply reader, excuse me for any mistakes -- tired thumbs!
Go visit Bosnia - you'll be surprised to find out you won't get blown up by a mine, we all have running water and electricity!
—Our friend has answered to The Bosnian Kingdom (Part 3):
I remember that until a few years ago Serbia was expecting to join by 2030. Now, between Corona and the Ukraine situation (not to mention Serbia's own political issues), even that is not going to happen. If Serbia has no chance of joining by 2030, Moldova and Ukraine have about as much chance at membership as Andorra does of ever landing a man on the Moon. Finally, Antonio Costa can try to bypass the EU Treaties all he wants; it doesn't matter. VDL is not President-for-Life, she was only reappointed (despite the Pfizer scandal) because they couldn't agree on anyone to replace her with (reminder that it took them two year just to replace the Secretary-General of NATO, Stoltenberg, with Rutte) and the next EU Commissioner-President will not be an unmanageable clown like this one was. I have no doubt the Nationals have had more than enough of her endless tantrums and they'd much prefer the Commission go back to being a malleable group of idiots sitting around twiddling their thumbs all day, like was the case with Barroso and Juncker.Читать полностью…
Addendum: Politico talks of "Kiev's judicial reforms"; literally weeks ago it tried to shut down the anti-corruption agencies for looking into the Ukrainian Oligarchs close to Zelensky. I mean, come on. The Politico article takes the position that "everyone else is just blocking someone else" which is something I already addressed; no. It is convenient for the other 26 to hide behind Orban's veto on Ukraine to not alienate VDL, but as I said, regardless of your belief that "there is more to life than money", money is how politicians get re-elected. Babis didn't get elected to send Czech money to support Ukraine's dying war effort, Babis was elected to make sure Czech money stays in Czechia and that EU money doesn't get diverted away from Czechia towards Moldova. So yes, there is more to life than money, but in politics, it really is all about money at the end of the day. Few people vote for big ideals like "defending Ukraine" or "promoting Democracy" or any of that slogan bullshit; most people vote for the National Interest, and the National Interest involves money being spent on the National, not on the Foreign. Single-issue voters win elections and most single-issue voters care about their pensions, their healthcare, their taxes, etc.
Especially now that the EU in general is suffering economically, there is no interest in expansion and there won't be for a long time. Until Russian gas starts flowing back into Germany, Germany won't be able to rebuild its collapsing industrial sector, which means the "economic engine" of the EU will not be running properly for many years to come. And that's without adding in all the secondary issues. American gas cannot make up for this loss, it is too expensive and now that the Germans have shut down their nuclear sector, they have no other option but to go back to NordStream, no matter what they claim right now. Europe needs Russia, no matter what the hysterical Liberal idiots in Brussels want to pretend. There is no room for expansion and wasteful spending on economic black holes in this period - and there likely won't be for at least another decade, if not longer.
Like I said, VDL is not President-for-Life. And the EU needs to restart its economy in order to keep the Nationalists in check. Or else. No amount of fearmongering about "the Russians are coming" to justify additional spending on "the military" (infrastructure), like they're doing in Germany will keep the anti-Liberals in check forever. The economy must recover, or else. Adding Ukraine to the mix will not help that situation. Especially not in this day and age of automation.
—Our friend has answered to The Bosnian Kingdom (Part 1):
Moldova has an official population of 2.4 million people, unofficially definitely less than 2 million people, all of whom can take Romanian Citizenship and join the EU directly if they wanted to. The fact that they don't want to indicates they either can't work in the EU, or they want relations with Russia, instead. Regardless, there's no reason to add the backwater post-Soviet underdeveloped shithole land of Moldova itself, when the people can just take Romanian citizenship directly. The place is literally an economic black hole on the same scale as Northern Ireland. They also have the same declining demographics issues of every other European country so their labour, whatever is still left of it domestically, might be cheap but it's definitely not "young". And with their underdeveloped infrastructure, nobody will want to invest in a manufacturing plant out there, anyway. Even the investments made in Romania are turning to shit right now as Romania's mishandled economy is going into recession. Who's going to invest into Moldova, which is literally Mini-Romania but with more corruption and less political freedoms, after Romania's economic crisis?Читать полностью…
The Baltics were admitted during the EU's peak, before 2008 and after they joined NATO. One major reason they got in was because America wanted them in, no doubt to cement them against Russia. Same reason why they joined NATO; to serve as a beachhead for a potential attack on Russia by the Baltic Sea. Poland was added because it bounced back after doing the Balcerowitz Plan (Neoliberalism worked for once) in the 1990s (and that only worked out because of its position in Eastern Europe, its size (demographically), the fact that all it had to do was *modernise* its industry, not actively build it up from scratch or rebuild it after a conflict and timing). A lot of lobbying probably went into that membership too, since a lot of French industry uprooted itself and moved to Poland after they joined the EU. But of course, also American lobbying. Again, NATO expansion followed by EU expansion - but also before 2008. Only one country has joined since 2008, that was Croatia in 2013. Right now Moldova does not even quality for NATO membership because of the Transnistria situation, let alone EU membership and with its political repressions it wouldn't qualify in this decade, regardless.
But returning to historical expansions: the EU was expanding rapidly in the 2000s to offset rising Euroscepticism in "Old Europe" and to cement "Liberal Democracy" gains in "Eastern" Europe after the Warsaw Pact's collapse. It has since admitted, on numerous occasions, the expansion was too fast and it is now causing innumerable problems, including the unresolved corruption issues in countries like Poland and Romania (Romania's corruption got so bad a few years ago the EU had to force them to create an anti-corruption agency, which then had to be dismantled because it actually did its job properly. After that, the Romanian political class literally tried to legalise corruption, twice, to stop the prosecutions that had been set in motion). Also, we don't have the money to pay for new members since 2010, especially now, especially big ones. If Poland wasn't already a member, it wouldn't be admitted now. Same reason Bosnia-Herzegovina won't be added, regardless of what the Polish Foreign Ministry claims. Even just a few years ago Macron objected to Western Balkan membership on the basis it would cost and they were not "far enough along" on the EU track. All an excuse to cover up the fact that nobody wants to pay to fund Bosnia-Herzegovina's post-war reconstruction, frankly.
#BREAKING | With initial vote counts from the ongoing Czech parliamentary elections, populist billionaire Andrej Babiš's ANO movement surges ahead at 36-41% after the first hour of tallying, dominating rural and industrial regions while trailing only in the capital Prague.
The self-described "Trumpist" leader, a vocal critic of Ukraine aid and EU policies, eyes a potential return to power amid voter frustration over inflation and energy costs.
The ruling SPOLU coalition lags at 16-19%, with far-right SPD at 8-11% and others fragmented below 13%. Final results expected later today; coalition talks loom as Babiš rules out pacts with current partners.
The Global Eye | Subscribe
All valid opinions and thank you, viewer, for the engagement to the discussion.
It's well documented Hungary stands in opposition to Ukrainian entry to the EU. Slovakia is another notable member who opposes Ukraine ascension.
The quote was meant to shed light that disagreements over EU entry are commonplace and the situation with Ukraine is nothing unique.
In regards to Moldova; they do have something to contribute to the European Union which is priceless to Moldova.
Cheap, young, labor.
This is one of the three big reasons why Estonia and Baltic countries were accepted. This is also why Poland was allowed into the European Union.
Do you really believe these countries qualified for EU membership at the time of discussions? Eastern Europe and the Baltic states in the 2000's were an absolute shit show of corruption, ineptitude, high unemployment and barely ahead of newly formed Balkan countries who just emerged from a war.
Brussels, in fact - LOVES to pay for cheap labor. The Polish Foreign Ministry 2 years ago highlighted this very exact plan as a way of entry for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"Send us your workers and we'll send ours to Western Europe; Brussels will pay us (Poland) and we will in turn hire your workers and give your government (BiH) funds"
This is how the European Union model works.
Kosovo lacks international recognition as noted by the user.
BiH does not recognize Kosovo. Spain does not recognize Kosovo. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo. Many countries do not recognize Kosovo.
If Kosovo attempts to join Albania to mirror the KLA's vision of a "Greater Albania" - Serbia gains casus belli for war against both Albania AND Kosovo.
As for the "Big Powers" comment. The only tool at their disposal is money.
Things have changed and they will keep changing. The more Brussels tries to strong arm the Balkans, the easier it is for politicians and the public to domestic policy and to the East.
There is more to life than money.
Here is the full Politico article: https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-viktor-orban-ukraine-eu-accession/
—🇲🇪 NEW: A €2000 prize is up for grabs in Montenegro’s annual laziness championship.
➡️ 20 participants compete by lying down for the longest time, only allowed to get up for 15 minutes every 8 hours. Last year's winner set a record with 50 days of uninterrupted rest.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
🇺🇸 The Trump administration should initiate discussions on transforming NATO into a closed alliance without the possibility of further expansion, states "Foreign Affairs".
As an alternative to military cooperation, a new system of transatlantic relations based on technological and economic cooperation is proposed, adds the American magazine.
🇺🇸🇨🇭 - Palantir to develop digital ID for Switzerland.
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🇺🇦 🇷🇺 🇳🇴 Former NATO chief Stoltenberg said that in talks with Zelensky, he attempted to persuade the Ukrainian leader to accept a “Finland-style” Winter war type peace deal, which Zelensky flatly rejected
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Gold reaches $3,900. Bittersweet to say the least.
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I will make a bet with anyone on the following.
Show me documented proof that the European Union has invested more into ex-Yugoslav countries than the populations that migrated from ex-Yugoslavia to EU countries to the EU from 1995-2025.
If you can prove that the EU has invested equal or more than what it has taken - I will donate $200 to any charity you so choose.
Drop your proof in the comments.
October 2024:
Slovakia's Interior Ministry has acknowledged that former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, now the leader of the main Czech opposition party ANO, was wrongly listed as an agent of the former Czechoslovak communist secret police (StB). The ministry now states that he did not knowingly collaborate with the StB. A settlement was reached between the ministry and Babiš in his lawsuit regarding his wrongful registration in the StB files, which was approved by the court. The case has been dragging on for over 12 years at different courts on various levels reaching different verdicts. In reaction, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Civic Democratic Party) labeled the announcement as a simple political deal rather than a decision of an independent court, pointing out that Babiš is close to the Slovak politicians who are now in power.
Admin note: someone should update his Wikipedia page
—🇷🇸❌🇭🇷 WATCH: Aleksandar Komarov, Russian wrestler representing Serbia, refused to wear a Croatian checkerboard scarf during the World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
🇺🇦 🇺🇸 Ukraine nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
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🇫🇷 - By summer 2026, France to adopt the EU law that ensures transparency of employees' salaries, so all colleagues will know one another's salaries.
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Hvala za poruku!
There are many points on which we can agree on. However, I use my phone so I'll try to keep it clear cut and straight to the point. For reference, I'm assuming the reader is pro-EU and somewhere in Europe.
Part 1: Moldova's "unofficial" population is around +3.5 million.
2-2.4 million in Moldova, 1-1.5 million already in Europe and another 500k in Russia, possibly more. They definitely work in the EU, now. Being part of the EU will make things such as remittances and travel more convenient and that is a benefit of being part of the European Union. The downside obviously is that this labor force isn't contributing to the direct success of Moldova.
"There's no reason to add the backwater post-soviet underdeveloped shithole land"
If this is true, let's exhibit previous relevant examples.
High unemployment rates in countries like Poland (18.2% in 2003), Bulgaria, and Romania prior to ascendency.
Widespread corruption in Romania and Bulgaria, flagged in EU reports (European Commission, 2006).
GDP per capita in Poland was about half the EU average; Romania and Bulgaria were the poorest in the EU (Eurostat, 2004).
Weak governance and institutional capacity in countries like Romania and Bulgaria (European Commission, 2006).
High poverty rates, with up to one-third of populations in countries like Bulgaria and Romania below the poverty line (World Bank, 2005).
Post-accession monitoring of Romania and Bulgaria to ensure judicial and anti-corruption reforms (European Commission, 2007).
Poor infrastructure requiring significant EU investment to meet standards (Cohesion Fund, 2004).
Significant labor migration to wealthier EU countries due to ongoing economic disparities (Eurostat, 2007).
"They also have the same declining demographic issues"
1. You ignore the already existing youth contributing in Europe and Russia from Moldova (and other non-EU countries)
2. Basic math here for illustration purposes only: Moldovan youth under 25 available to work: 585,000 (estimated 25% unemployment youth as of 2022)
If 10% of these young workers migrate to the EU (a realistic but optimistic migration rate), we get:
10% of 585,000 = 58,500 young workers.
Europe is expected to lose over 50 million working-age people by 2050
If Western Europe goes through a labor crunch - who stands to lose the most? Everyone? Or certain people? And, if certain people - who? Young people? Who are in demand? Or, old people who own businesses or are on a pension?
"We don't have the money for new members"
Budget (2021-2027): Around €79.5 billion for the entire 7-year period, averaging €11.35 billion per year.
Main recipients include the EU's Eastern neighbors (Ukraine, Moldova), Southern neighbors (North African countries, Middle East), and countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
It funds projects in infrastructure, energy, trade, and governance reforms, among others.
It seems the EU does in fact have money to spend.
"Nobody wants to pay to fund BiH post-war reconstruction"
The war ended in '95, albeit brutal; the country has been rebuilt to the tune of: €23 Billion. €14 of which came from the EU.
Part 2: Fun fact, Yugoslavia was one of the first countries to have its own domestically built computers with no foreign patents or technologies. IRIS PC 16. My family had the privilege to have a computer before this great and progressive cult known today as the European Union even knew how to wash their collective ass.
"Realistically if anything were to be added"
Europe already absorbed 1.5 million Bosnians for labor whether diaspora or temporary workers from 1995-2025. I'm just talking about Bosnia. That's close to 50% of the country. 50% of a countries output is being put elsewhere instead of in Bosnia.
Europe absorbed the best that former states of Yugoslavia had to offer.
How much is a life worth to you?
As to the rest of the content in that paragraph, my question would be:
Why are EU officials constantly in Sarajevo pushing their agendas of "reform"?
Seems you're glossing over the 2000's fairly quickly.
—Our friend has answered to The Bosnian Kingdom (Part 2):
I know the Admin is from Bosnia, but realistically if anything in the Western Balkans were to be added to the EU it would be Serbia (despite Croatian whining), because aside from its political issues, it at least has a semi-functional economy, unlike war-torn Bosnia that still hasn't properly rebuilt. At most maybe there would be a compromise to add them together, that might make it an easier sell, which would add more than 10 million people to the EU, but that would be a compromise deal and that would only increase costs, because that would mean development funds going to *two* new countries, rather than just one. And of course, if Serbia and Bosnia join, Montenegro will demand to join as well, which will mean three countries at the same time, rather than two - again, amplifying costs and taking even more money away from existing members to send them to the Balkans. Good luck selling that to Czech or Slovakian voters - especially under a government like Andrej Babis' in Prague. Besides, if you're adding three countries, why not add all five? What, you're going to leave out Albania and "North" Macedonia? Why? Is "North" Macedonia really worse off than Bosnia? Look at Albania, it's even working on developing its own tourism sector... Why can't they join as well? You know, aside from Bulgarian objections, that is. And then you're adding five underdeveloped countries, instead of 1, or 3. So that's, what, 15(?) million new people - great. And five new voting members to look after, financially, all of whom will need significant funds to modernise themselves. Yeah, that's not going to happen.Читать полностью…
Kosovo unifying with Albania will be met with an angry letter by Belgrade as long as the US sits in Camp Bondsteel threatening to do another bombing run over Belgrade if it tries anything. Not to mention the alliance between Croatia and Albania now. It's 99% a paper thing but if (when) Albania decides to move on unification, Croatia will support it just to spite Serbia, regardless of how paper-thin their new military treaty might be in reality. Not to mention Albania and Croatia are both NATO, so Serbia cannot touch Albania the moment it passes a unification law. Besides, public propaganda aside, Serbia's political class must recognise it cannot recover Pristina. At most, they can eventually trade North Kosovo for Presevo, as has been proposed multiple times. Nothing else. They might even trade a recognition deal with Tirana in exchange for a territorial exchange - though as has been the case historically, Brussels would probably freak out and start screaming hysterically about it.
Besides all of this, there's then also the issue of the EU itself being unable to agree on any course of action internally. Proposals for a "multi-speed" membership finally died out a few years ago, only for Orban to recently resurrect the idea with his own idiotic proposal. Meanwhile there are reports that even Germany under Merz is now clashing with VDL over the question of which competencies the EU should handle and what should be transferred back to the National Governments (keeping in mind that the EU has been unilaterally seizing new competencies for itself for over 15 years, now and has most recently anointed itself arbiter of truth with the Digital Censorship Act, a new field of law it is now trying to expand into Chat Control). There is no chance new members will be admitted in the midst of any kind of power struggle between the Nationals and Brussels, let alone if they finally (as unlikely as it is) start discussing a new Treaty, be it to transfer powers back to the National or to the EU.
—🇷🇴 WATCH: A viral post claims Romania’s president “has no idea what’s going on, nor what to do,” drawing parallels with US President Joe Biden.
🔗 Lord Bebo
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
Democrats in the United States who are negotiating with Republicans for a new budget to fund government are somehow trying to argue the following be included in the budget:
- $3 million for circumcisions and vasectomies in Zambia
- $833k for transgender people in Nepal
- $4.2 million for LGBTQ+ people in the Western Balkans and Uganda
- $3.6 million for pastry cooking classes and dance focus groups for male prostitutes in Haiti
- $500k for electric buses in Rwanda
- $6 million for media organizations for the Palestinians
- $300k for a pride parade in Lesotho
- $882k for social media and mentorship in Serbia
—We received a very interesting comment from a subscriber on the statement to Politico
The statement to Politico is accurate but only surface-tier. Nobody wants Turkey in the EU, that was a German thing 15-20 years ago, it died a long time ago, the final nail in that coffin was the military coup and then Erdogan’s repressions. They would never get 27 votes in favour, let alone 20. Greece and the Cyprus Question are just a convenient excuse to explain why membership isn’t advancing (aside from all the other numerous reasons why Turkey doesn’t even remotely qualify for membership).Читать полностью…
The same with Ukraine; Brussels (VDL) wants to act like it’s only Hungary opposing Ukraine, but secretly I doubt they could get a dozen votes in favour of membership. It’s just that since VDL wants it and she controls the money, everyone has to act so she doesn’t throw tantrums at them, making Orban’s objections a convenient scapegoat. In truth, Ukraine joining would cost the EU a fortune and take money away from almost every other country, so nobody wants that. But since VDL keeps braying in public, they have to play the part. Or else.
Bulgaria and “North” Macedonia, Croatia and Serbia, those can be squeezed if the Big Powers (France, Germany) want them to join. The problem is there’s no support for them in general, aside from the fact that they don’t qualify. Even Moldova, the only way they’re going to “join” is through reunification with Romania. Otherwise they’re never going to get 27 votes in favour. They have nothing to offer and nobody wants to pay for them. Kosovo, which the politico source didn’t even mention, is even worse. Not just because they have no economy, but because Spain doesn’t even recognise them (and I think Greece as well?). The easiest and likely the only way Kosovo will ever join the EU is if (when) it unifies with Albania, sidestepping the entire issue of recognition.
And even then there’s the question of whether the EU will even exist by the time Albania gets membership…
—🇽🇰/🇺🇸 NEW: Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani appeared on Fox & Friends, a top US cable news morning show, stressing that Kosovo is the most pro-American country in the world.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
🇷🇸 🇭🇺 The joint tactical exercise of the Serbian Army and the Hungarian Army "Neighbors 25" has begun.
At the "Pasuljanske Livade" training ground, the joint tactical exercise of the Serbian Army and the Hungarian Army "Neighbors 25" has started, lasting until October 7.
The goal is to improve cooperation and exchange experiences, and during several days, combat actions such as marching, attacking, territory control, terrain search, and medical evacuation will be practiced.
Trump: Israel must immediately stop bombing Gaza.
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