Albania
No significant progress against money laundering and financial crime in 2020, diaspora restricted from voting, and opposition unites for the April elections. US State Department’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report states that criminal gangs continue to launder illicit drug money due to a weak rule of law, corruption, and a high unemployment rate. The deadline to create a register of diaspora voters expired, likely disabling 1.2 million Albanians to cast their vote. The Democratic Party and the Socialist Movement for Integration signed a pre-election agreement ahead of the upcoming elections.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
The country received an invitation to join the Russia – Islamic World Group, a military deal signed with Turkey, and a new COVID-19 wave arrives. Russian ambassador Kalabukhov proposed to the House of Peoples Chairman Izetbegovic that the county joins a strategic group strengthening cooperation between Russia and countries where Muslims live. The government signed a financial cooperation deal with Turkey, advancing bilateral and regional defense and security collaboration. The number of patients in hospitals doubled, with many being from 16 to 45 years of age.
Croatia
The country received the “Free Country” status, Zagreb’s mayor died at 65, and the country may get Russian vaccines without EU approval. According to the Freedom in the World 2021 Report, the country scored 49/50 for civil liberties and 36/50 for political rights. After 21 years as the capital’s mayor, Milan Bandic dies from a heart attack. The country is interested in procuring the Sputnik V vaccines despite the European Medicines Agency’s pending approval.
Kosovo
EU envoy Lajcak called the country to resume talks with Serbia, Kurti on unification with Albania, and the Self-Determination Movement needs an ally to form a new government. During a three-day visit to Pristina, Lajcak urged likely new Prime Minister Kurti to prioritize the dialog with Serbia. Kurti said that the Serb List with ten MPs prevents the Constitution’s changes necessary to enable unification with Albania. Kurti’s Self-Determination Movement won 58 seats in the 120-seat Parliament, now looking for a non-Serb minority to set up his Cabinet.
Montenegro
EU envoy Lajcak optimistic about the country’s EU progress, top police officers dismissed, and civil society representatives urged the EU to assist the country in confronting COVID-19 pandemics effects. Lajcak said the country is the regional leader in EU integrations. The government dismissed senior police officer Zoran Lazovic and six other police officials for their alleged ties to organized crime groups. Members of the EU-Montenegro Joint Consultative Committee urged the EU to help the country deal with considerable problems in the tourism sector, the public debt, and private companies’ business.
North Macedonia
Census’s first phase began, Prime Minister Zaev said a definitive “no” to discussions on identity and language, and the former security chief sentenced for wiretapping. Emigrants, prisoners, and the homeless will be first counted with a warning from the authorities that those who respond to the opposition’s boycott will face prison terms or hefty fines. Zaev said the government would not negotiate on the Macedonian identity and language. Saso Mijalkov received a 12-year sentence for illegal wiretapping between 2008 and 2015 and destroyed equipment used over politicians, business people, and public figures.
Serbia
National Security Council’s session on illegal wiretapping, the country’s lithium export ban, and US Special Forces to train alongside elite Serbian counterterrorism units. Interior Minister Vulin said that President Vucic’s and his family members’ conversations were illegally recorded 1,572 times. Prime Minister Brnabic said the country works to ban lithium’s export from the Jadar deposit, becoming a European hub for batteries, electric cars, and other relevant products. A contingent of Green Berets based in Stuttgart, Germany, will be in the country for one month to strengthen ties with its Serbian counterpart.