An equivalent of "God save the queen" would never be accepted in Erdogan's Turkey.

>The report took aim at Croatia regarding its judiciary, stating that “despite important steps taken, the length of judicial proceedings remains a serious issue.” Eurobarometer surveys conducted in 2025 show that the perception of judicial independence in Croatia is below 30 per cent, one of the worst results in the entire EU. Several member states have undertaken criminal law reforms to strengthen the fight against corruption, and Croatia is preparing draft legislation to support more efficient investigations and prosecutions of corruption offences and to strengthen the competences of its specialised prosecution service. The lack of comprehensive lobbying rules is mentioned as an area for improvement in the fight against corruption. While the implementation of Croatia’s new law on lobbying is on track, the public is not directly informed about meetings between lobbyists and officials. On the other hand, Croatia has made “significant steps” to improve the implementation of the People’s Ombudsperson’s recommendations and to enhance access to information. With regard to first-instance public procurement review bodies, the level of perceived independence is lowest in Croatia (alongside Bulgaria and Hungary). In Croatia, business stakeholders identified the efficiency and quality of the justice system, as well as the quality and frequent changes in legislation, as the main challenges for investment. > >Romania continues to pursue reforms, particularly in strengthening the judiciary and prosecution services, and has made investments in digital infrastructure and justice system resources, the 2025 report noted. However, key challenges remain. Constitutional Court rulings have had major implications, including the annulment of presidential elections and the closure of many corruption cases due to statute of limitations decisions. Media independence is under threat, with concerns about political financing of private media and lack of reform in public service media governance. Businesses and civil society face uncertainty due to inconsistent legislation and regulatory burdens. Public trust in judicial independence is still low, and issues persist around the autonomy of the prosecution and the transparency of judicial appointments. While Romania’s reform path is noteworthy, sustained political commitment and better implementation are essential to build public confidence and ensure long-term rule of law resilience, it said. > >Slovenia fully implemented recommendations made in last year’s report in several areas, the EU Commission noted. These included the recommendation to finalise the legislative process to amend the rules on parliamentary inquiries with adequate safeguards for independence of judges and state prosecutors; the recommendation to finalise the measures to increase the remuneration of judges and state prosecutors, taking into account European standards on resources and remuneration for the justice system; and the recommendation to complete the adoption of the new anti-corruption strategy and action plan and begin implementation. Significant progress was made on taking further measures to ensure that the reform of judicial appointments contains adequate safeguards for judicial independence.

Relocations come from Rostov region, Volgograd region and Crimea.

Article in Russian

>Turkey on Saturday arrested three more opposition mayors as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in what the main opposition CHP party called a "political operation". The arrests come after more than 120 city hall officials in the city of Izmir were arrested earlier this week and Istanbul's powerful opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was removed from his post in March.

>On the same day, it emerged that a draft resolution based on a report by MEP Thomas Weitz includes strong language concerning regional geopolitics. The document directly addresses what it calls the "Serbian World" project, describing it as a campaign not just for economic dominance but for reshaping state borders in the Balkans. According to the resolution, this project extends its influence over Republika Srpska, Montenegro, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. Point 80 of the report voices concern that representatives from the North Macedonian government are participating in initiatives aligned with this vision, which it argues threatens sovereignty and regional stability. > >Point 81 calls for the opening of Yugoslav-era secret police archives - specifically those of UDBA and KOS - stored in both North Macedonia and Serbia. The purpose, it says, is to help the region move beyond its totalitarian past and support stronger democratic institutions through transparency and accountability. > >The resolution further notes that North Macedonia continues to be a target of foreign influence campaigns aimed at stoking anti-European sentiment and dividing society. These efforts, the report warns, often come through Serbian-language media that disseminate pro-Kremlin narratives across the region. It also recalls that North Macedonia expelled 13 Russian diplomats between 2018 and 2023 for espionage-related activity, a sign that covert networks are still active in the country. > >China is also named in the draft report as a source of growing influence, reportedly using tactics such as media funding, strategic investments, and clauses in infrastructure loans that carry coercive conditions. The report warns that Chinese-funded content has appeared in Macedonian media without proper disclosure. It also points to 2023 analyses that revealed how Russian-linked entities have used Serbian media channels to distribute messages hostile to NATO and to claim the EU is forcing North Macedonia to compromise on its national identity. > >The draft resolution concludes with broader concerns over hybrid threats and foreign interference across all Western Balkan EU candidate states. It cites strategic corruption, murky financial transactions, and pressure from both Russia and China as persistent dangers. In this context, it flags Hungary and Serbia as playing a role in advancing Beijing and Moscow’s geopolitical agendas, pointing to specific cases like a Hungarian loan to North Macedonia that reportedly originates from Chinese funding sources.

>The mayor of Sithonia, Ioannis Mallinis, stated, “We acted quickly and avoided the worst.”

>Some 140 firefighters, 14 firefighting aircraft, five helicopters, and local volunteers are taking part in the effort.

The solution that worked for Europe is starting to work also in the Balkans. Further to the east, we get reminded what happens when nation states prevail.

>Mickoski noted that for the past two years, the European Parliament had not adopted a progress report on North Macedonia’s EU accession, “because the issue was not about the identity and language of North Macedonia, but about the North Macedonia language and identity, which is completely different from the current report, where North Macedonia identity and language appear three times.”

>From this departure point the documentary soon switches to the Akhalkalaki train station, built as part of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway line, the ‘New Silk Road’ meant to connect Europe and Asia. Its significance as the break-of-gauge spot, i.e. the place where railroad widths (in this case, EU and Soviet-inherited gauge sizes) between regions differ and thus need a logistical operation to dock them, cannot be understated. As one interviewee explains, the ability to serve this function means the ‘flourishing of the region. A fairytale could be built there!’ The reality, of course, is a lot more complicated. > >In an interview, Aslanishvili said that in her research, she quickly understood that ‘this railway was more than just a way of transporting goods and people. It acted as a means for geopolitical sabotage and for negotiating political relations between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and Turkey’. The BTK line was created to bypass the Gyumri station (one of the documentary highlights and the oldest railroad junction in Armenia), blocked by Turkey since the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The project consequently leaves Armenia out in the cold, depriving it from economic opportunities.

>The new ferry service will run regularly throughout the summer months, with three weekly departures connecting Burgas and Istanbul. The departures from Burgas are scheduled for 8:00 a.m., while the return trips from Istanbul will leave at 3:00 p.m.

>In the interview, he recalled sending young men to fight in Croatia in the war, and said he had “led his men in the cleansing campaign of Papuk, Western Slavonia, but never commanded the action”. > >In 2009, together with four other people, he was sentenced to a year in jail for the robbery of Novi Sad businessman Tomislav Djordjevic in 1992

>“Bokan does not meet the basic moral requirements to lead the Board of Directors of an institution of national importance. His public biography – as the founder of a paramilitary formation active in war conflicts, and a person who has been convicted of criminal offences on multiple occasions – is in sharp contradiction with the values our theatre represents,” a press release issued by the union said.

>Activist Ljupcho Georgievski demanded constitutional guarantees for the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia.

>He insists that Bulgarians in North Macedonia should be included in the country's constitution, promising that the Bulgarian community will continue to fight, even if this path takes them to the European Court of Human Rights.

> "Europe is ruled by human rights, but in the Republic of North Macedonia the rights of Bulgarians are negligible," Georgievski said. On June 12, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a document that it considers the verdict against Ljupcho Georgievski to be "completely unacceptable."

>“I am here and imprisoned because I won the election three times. I am here because I have been the guardian of Istanbul. I am here because, for the first time in history, 15.5 million people participated in a primary and I received their support; I earned the favour of our people. I am here because I am a presidential candidate”

>Regular ferry services will start from July, when the passenger catamarans will depart from Istanbul every Thursday and Sunday and from Burgas every Monday and Friday. > >The standard price of a one-way ferry ticket is EUR 60, and EUR 99 for a two-way ticket. For children from 6 to 12 years old, the ticket costs EUR 50 in one direction and EUR 80 for a round trip.

>In January-April 2025, the output of sugar in the Russian Federation fell by 32.3% in annual terms, sunflower oil - by 15.5%, flour - by 7.8%, Rosstat reported in the report "On the socio-economic situation" of the country. > >In April alone, according to Rosstat, Russian factories produced 35 thousand tonnes less sugar than a year earlier (-36.1%), 108 thousand tonnes less oil (-15.6%) and 72 thousand tonnes less wheat and wheat-rye flour (-9.1%).

>Since the beginning of the war, Russia has experienced food crises three times: in 2023, the price of eggs skyrocketed, and in 2024, the price of butter rose to a 17-year high. In 2025, the situation was repeated with potatoes: due to a poor harvest, by May the price increase for potatoes reached 173% year-on-year and broke records for 23 years of available statistics from Rosstat. Retail chains started buying from China and Mongolia, and the Kaliningrad Oblast authorities introduced a ban on potato exports outside the region.

Congratulations, our community is growing. Even though it might be small, when compared to other regional communities, it is a remarkable achievement for a diverse geographical area like ours.

>“Around the world, countries are now looking for cooperation with the reliable and predictable partners, which the EU is,” Kos said. “Such partnerships will make us collectively more secure and create business opportunities for everyone.” > >The Commission underlined Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan as partners it wants to forge closer ties with through the new strategy.