Public funds, private pockets
Albania is fighting corruption—or at least trying. Serbian students keep marching, and Romania’s president has resigned. But also: gun-loving former ministers and forbidden bakeries.
Hello everyone,
Welcome back to Balkan Brew, your go-to newsletter for the freshest news from the Balkans — handpicked just for you every Friday morning.
This week is a special one for Italians because, let’s be real, the whole country basically hits pause for a week-long musical circus: SANREMO.
We know, we know — you’re probably rolling your eyes and thinking, What does this have to do with the Balkans? Well, believe it or not, Sanremo used to be a pretty big deal in the region. To celebrate, we’ve put together a playlist featuring Yugoslav artists covering some of our favorite Sanremo classics.
On a more serious note: Rodolfo just got back from Belgrade, where he wrote two stories for the Italian newspaper Il Post — one about the role of plenums in the Serbian protests, and another on the occupied cinema Novi Bioskop Zvezda.
This week, we take a look at the champions of fighting corruption in Albania. Spoiler: they’re not exactly loved by the country’s politicians. Then, a few updates from Serbia, as students march toward Kragujevac, and from Romania’s presidential obstacle course. But also: elections in Kosovo and forbidden bakeries.
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Public funds, private pockets
Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Albania’s capital, Tirana, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. A fitting start to a week that also saw the release of Transparency International’s yearly Corruption Perception Index.
FAMILY BUSINESS. Veliaj, a member of the ruling Socialist Party, is accused of setting up a scheme with his wife to funnel public funds from the municipality of Tirana into their own pockets.
THANK YOU, NEXT. His arrest is just the latest in a looooong list of high-profile figures taken down by the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK). Since its creation in 2019, SPAK has also been behind the arrests of former Albanian presidents Sali Berisha and Ilir Meta.
NO ONE’S HAPPY. Prime Minister Edi Rama, leader of the Socialist Party, has slammed SPAK for allegedly violating human rights and freedoms. Meanwhile, opposition leader Sali Berisha has vowed to dismantle it if he wins the May 11 parliamentary elections.
BRINGING IT HOME. Despite the controversy, SPAK has helped Albania climb the rankings in the 2024 Corruption Perception Index, landing at 80th place out of 180 countries.
FREEZE EMOJI. Kosovo was the only other country in the region to see an improvement in the index. Check out the full ranking for all the details.
YOU’RE FIRED. In other Albanian news: nearly the entire staff set to work at the Italian-run migrant camp in Albania has been fired, and the newly built asylum processing centers might now be repurposed as repatriation facilities.
No sleep ‘till Kragujevac
HERE I AM… Three months in, and protests in Serbia are still going strong. Need a refresher on what’s happening? We put together a special issue on the topic back in January — check it out.
…ON THE ROAD AGAIN. This Saturday, students from across the country are heading to Kragujevac, a town in central Serbia, for a massive protest. Some are even making the journey on foot.
SAVING THE EU’S SOUL. The European Parliament debated the Serbian protests in its plenary session this week. Will it change anything? Probably not. But at least someone in the EU seems to care. Analyst Adi Ćerimagić shared some key takeaways on the platform that shall not be named.
BEEN GOOD? The Serbian government claims it has fully met students’ demands — at least, that’s what it told EU countries. Students, however, strongly disagree.
Meanwhile, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is busy on TikTok — blind taste-testing different colas, because why not?
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HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE. The protests are spreading to small towns that have never seen this kind of movement before. “We’ve never had anything like this,” a resident of tiny Gadžin Han (pop. 700) told Le Courrier des Balkans, commenting on the town’s first-ever protest.
RIGHT ON TIME. On February 12, Serbian police arrested Milorad Grčić, the former head of Serbia’s State Energy Company, along with 12 others, on corruption charges. Vučić promised to crack down on corruption in response to protesters' demands—but let’s be real, it’s probably not going to be enough.
So long, Mr. President
On Monday, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation — just a day before facing an impeachment vote, which was sparked by the cancellation of the country’s presidential elections in December.
NOT REALLY. At first, Iohannis planned to extend his mandate to stay in charge until new elections could be held (possibly in May). But then, far-right opposition parties kicked off the impeachment process, arguing his decision was illegal.
STILL SEARCHING #1. The Romanian presidential elections were canceled after the country’s security services claimed that Russia had interfered in the campaign — likely backing the nationalist, pro-Russian Călin Georgescu. However, Romanian authorities still haven’t provided any evidence of illegal campaign funding or other ways Russia allegedly meddled.
STILL SEARCHING #2. The golden Dacian artifacts that were stolen from a Dutch museum are still missing, and there’s been no update on their whereabouts. A Dutch businessman is offering a reward of €250,000 for any information.
IN OTHER NEWS.
Albin Kurti’s Vetëvendosje party won the elections in Kosovo, but forming a coalition could be tricky.
Croatians won’t back down—this Friday, the boycott hits bakeries across the country.
Four months after the floods in Central Bosnia that killed 27 people, the rail connection between Mostar and Sarajevo has finally reopened.
Montenegrins are now demanding the dismissal of the Interior Minister following the January 1 shooting in Cetinje.
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has temporarily suspended a law allowing institutions in the Serb-majority entity, Republika Srpska, to officially use Serbia’s flag and coat of arms. This is likely to remain yet another unsolved dispute between the entity and the country’s top court.
AND FINALLY.
Former Croatian Minister of Agriculture Josip Dabro just loves guns. After a video of him shooting while driving through an inhabited area led to his dismissal, another one has surfaced—this time, he’s bare-chested, in plastic flip-flops, firing a Kalashnikov in a field, living his best life. The automatic weapon is, of course, completely illegal in Croatia.
And that’s it for today. A huge thank you to everyone who subscribed to Balkan Brew in the past few weeks—it means a lot to us. Don’t forget to share the newsletter and reach out with any advice or suggestions!
See you next week—live to the fullest.
BB