Albania
The country opened EU accession talks, the Government website was under cyberattack, and imports from Russia fell by 60% in the first six months. President of the European Commission von der Leyen stated, “What a historic moment. Today, Albania and North Macedonia are opening the accession negotiations to the European Union, and I am so glad to be here with you.” The Government noted that the attack was coordinated and outside Albania. In contrast, export to Russia doubled to 100,000 euros ($100,000).
Bosnia-Herzegovina
SNSD’s Dodik referred to Republika Srpska President candidacy, SDA’s Izetbegovic commented on potential Election Law amendments, and HDZ’s Covic stated that the third entity would not dissolve the country. Dodik said, “SNSD must get an absolute majority in order to be strong in making decisions in favor of Srpska.” Izetbegovic is against the introduction of the threshold of three percent, meaning that minority peoples in certain cantons would not have the House of Peoples representatives. Covic stated, “Internal borders do not divide, but unite Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
Croatia
Serbian President Vucic banned from visiting the Jasenovac World War II concentration camp, over 35,912 people immigrated to the country in 2021, and the Government is about to present energy reduction guidelines. Prime Minister Plenkovic said it was not the right time for Vucic’s private visit to the camp. According to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 40,424 people emigrated. Economy Minister Filipovic stated that the recommendations will not be “revolutionary because our people know what to do when they need to save energy.”
Kosovo
The EU envoy Lajcak remained optimistic about adopting Agreement on Missing People between official Pristina and Belgrade, Luxembourg about to invest 35 million euros in development from 2023-2025, and Prime Minister Kurti called citizens to replace Serb-related license plates. The two sides still cannot agree on the term “enforcedly missing persons.” The financial packet will support vocational education and training projects, health, sustainable and inclusive growth, and civil society. From August 1 to September 30, citizens can register their vehicles without customs duties, administrative fees, and costs for plates and vehicle registration certificates.
Montenegro
The Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church is still on hold, the consumer price index grew by 13.5% year-on-year in June, and the jobless rate fell to 19.9% in June. Prime Minister Abazovic and President Djukanovic concluded they needed to review the document again. The unemployment rate was 23.59% at the end of June 2021.
North Macedonia
Foreign Minister Osmani and his Bulgarian counterpart Genchovska signed a bilateral protocol to ease disputes, the Government implemented measures to deal with the economic crisis, and the Energy Community opened dispute settlement procedures against the country. Consequently, the country opened the accession negotiations to the European Union. The Government included a ban on the export of wheat, flour, wood, and pellets while also removing the tax for importing oil for household use until the end of the year. The Government missed the November 29, 2019, deadline for transposing the REMIT Regulation, which sets the rules for ensuring wholesale energy market integrity and transparency.
Serbia
President Vucic announced significant personnel changes in the future Government, Financial Minister Mali confirmed a purchase of 500 million cubic meters of gas, and the gas prices to rise by 10%. Vucic stated, “You don’t have to be in the Government for ten, 15, or 20 years just because you think you should be. I think that some new energy is also needed.” Hungary would store the gas, and Serbia will be entitled to use a daily amount of 3 million cubic meters on October, 6 million cubic meters between November and February, and 3 million cubic meters per day in March. Vucic reassured citizens that the prices would not go higher.