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.

Serbia sent record amounts of arms to Israel last year. But President Aleksandar Vucic said that since Israel attacked Iran, such exports have been stopped.

A court in North Macedonia issued life sentences to four defendants for the killing of a teenage girl and a retired barber who were kidnapped in an attempt to secure a ransom in 2023.

Our selection of Premium stories this week takes a look at the region’s slow-burning political crises, smuggling networks, digital surveillance and a whole lot more.

Forest fire on Chios island, Greece, 22 June 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE/KOSTAS KOURGIAS. Greek Holiday Islands Caught in Wildfires Eleni Stamatoukou Athens BIRN June 23, 202512:03 Eleni Stamatoukou ...

A partly ripped electoral poster of right-wing AUR party leader George Simion, covered with a sticker that reads 'Death to Fascism!'. Photo: EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT. Romania Moves to Confront ...

President Nicusor Dan on Friday designated Ilie Bolojan, leader of the National Liberal Party, PNL, as Romania’s next prime minister. The announcement ended nearly a month of negotiations ...

North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning and advised its citizens in Israel and Iran to follow national emergency portals there and follow the instructions of these countries ...

Polish President Andrzej Duda (L) and President-elect Karol Nawrocki (R) meet at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, 03 June 2025. EPA-EFE/Pawel Supernak Nawrocki’s Victory May Prove ...

Whatever information Thanasis Koukakis had been sharing with his readers, it was not quite enough. Someone wanted more. Twice in the space of two years, the financial journalist’s phone calls ...

As well as the large-scale installation of surveillance systems with facial recognition technology in urban areas, the authorities have sought to monitor opponents, activists and journalists, says ...

Nuclear vision: A key question will be whether the energy crisis will provide enough momentum to finally restart nuclear projects that have been stalled for decades. Czechia is due to select the ...