When BIRN was founded two decades ago, media freedom in the Balkans faced serious challenges, but there was hope; now, the prospects are even bleaker.

As BIRN celebrates two decades of work, there never seems to be a dull moment in the region, as our selection of Premium stories this week shows.

Over 70 people were arrested after protesters clashed with police in the wake of a student-led demonstration for snap elections that brought tens of thousands onto the streets of Belgrade.

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.

Former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov is stepping away from his We Continue the Change party amid a brewing corruption scandal.

Bosnia's state court has confirmed the verdict sentencing Mirza Kapic to four-and-a-half years in prison for planning a terrorist attack on a mosque in the city of Zenica in 2023.

The reconstructed government may have a bigger majority in parliament but its component parts are at odds with one another on key policies, expert tells BIRN.

Freedom of Information laws in the six Western Balkan countries may look robust, but public institutions all too often find ways to obstruct transparency, a new BIRN report has found.

In October 2024, a shipment of containers with suspected hazardous waste was returned to Albania. But prosecutors haven't yet managed to analyse their contents because they say they're unable to ...

New government unveils first wave of tough austerity measures aimed at curbing the largest budget deficit in the European Union.

With major ethical, sustainability and health issues, questions have been raised about the hidden costs of cheap imported goods from China.

When Tirana mayor and Socialist Party rising star Erion Veliaj was arrested on corruption charges, he lashed out against the judiciary. Now he’s running a social media PR campaign to charm the ...