Week in Review: Anniversaries, Challenges and Conflicts
‘Lads of London’
AI-generated illustration published by Edi Rama on his X account during his exchange of messages with Nigel Farage, picturing them during an imagined meeting on the beach in Albania. Photo: X/@ediramaal.
A politically quiet summer in Albania has been livened up by a spat between two ever-colourful characters – the country’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and Nigel Farage, leader of the UK’s populist right-wing Reform Party. It all began after Farage made the claim that 1 in 50 Albanians in the UK is in jail.
Never one to let a claim like that lie, Rama responded on the social media platform X, challenging Farage’s numbers. It seems that Rama may have forced Farage to budge, yet as Gjergj Erebara argues in his opinion piece, both men are missing the point.
Read more: Albania’s ‘Lads of London’ Create Bigger Problems for Their Home Country (July 2, 2025)
Still angry
Protesters confront riot police officers in Belgrade on Saturday night. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC.
Eight months on, the anger and protests triggered by the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy, which killed 16 people, is not subsiding. On June 28, a date filled with symbolism in Serbia, marking the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, another huge protest in Belgrade brought an estimated 140,000 people on to the streets.
Students and citizens demanded early elections. While the protest passed peacefully for the most part, the evening saw violent clashes between police and those still demonstrating. Amidst arrests, clashes spilled over into the following days.
Read more: Dozens Arrested Over Clashes After Mass Protest in Serbia (June 29, 2025)
Charm offensive
Tirana mayor Erion Veliaj during his arrest in February. Photo: LSA.
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj did not accept his arrest in February quietly. Facing corruption charges, he has been lashing out at prosecutors and judges since day one.
Law firms have been engaged to make the case that he is being held in detention unjustly. A social media PR campaign has been mobilised to charm the public. But can it work?
Read more: Battling Graft Charges, Tirana Mayor Stages Online Charm Offensive (June 27, 2025)
20 years of making a difference
Illustration: BIRN/Igor Vujcic.
Challenging target
Government leaders at the NATO summit in The Netherlands, June 2025. Photo: EPA/ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN.
Amid concern about the security of Europe and even bigger concerns about the future of NATO, a recent summit of the Atlantic alliance was intended to provide reassurance. The Hague Declaration issued afterwards bound members of the alliance to increase their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP.
Yet, for Balkan member states already struggling to meet even the previous target of 3 per cent of GDP, the new commitment represents a challenge. We look at how NATO members from the Balkans fared in meeting the previous deadline – and what challenges they face in fulfilling their new commitments.
Read more: NATO’s Defence Spending Plan Poses Challenge for Balkan States (July 1, 2025)
Thompson phenomenon
Thompson sings on stage during the anti-abortion ‘Walk for Life’ rally in Zagreb, May 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO BAT.
Croatians are bracing for this coming weekend, some with a great deal of enthusiasm, others much less so. On July 5, Zagreb Hippodrome will host a concert by controversial nationalist singer Marko “Thompson” Perkovic.
Over 280,000 tickets sold out in record time, making this the biggest concert in Croatia’s history. We take a look at the Thompson phenomenon.
Read more: Croatia Braces for Nationalist ‘Phenomenon’ Thompson’s Mega-Gig (July 2, 2025)