ROMANIA: Foreign Corporation Faces Public Scrutiny

Public pressure from Romanian citizens has forced one of the biggest European producers of wood products, Austrian Kronospan, to halt construction of new production lines and to improve environmental standards at its plants.

EUROPE: Help the Economy, Hurt the Environment

The European Economic Recovery Plan devised by the European Commission last year to help deal with the financial crisis is likely to fast-track environmentally damaging projects in the new member states.

EDUCATION: Illiteracy Rising in Parts of Europe

A global event to promote literacy has drawn attention to the fact that an increasing number of Romanian and Bulgarian children are not getting minimal education.

ROMANIA: Media Spotlight on Domestic Violence

Campaigners in Romania have very effectively used the media to break the public silence around the issue of domestic violence against women, and lobby for changes in laws.

ROMANIA: Pushed by Crisis Into Dubious Borrowing

The Romanian government is borrowing close to 20 billion euros from international financial institutions in order to stem the effects of the global financial crisis. But few in the country seem to know precisely how the money will be used and whether it will have a more positive than constricting effect.

MOLDOVA: New Look Communists Offer Stability

Moldavians are heading for general elections this Sunday. After a campaign marred with illegalities, the incumbent Communist Party is confident of winning most seats in the national parliament.

ENVIRONMENT: Bulgaria Going Down a Slippery Slope

The World Ski Cup for women last weekend was organised in Bulgaria at a ski resort whose development is partially illegal, and which is damaging a world heritage site.

BULGARIA: Protests Rise Above Parties, and Against Them

Protests have been taking place in Bulgarian capital Sofia almost every day since Jan. 14. Bringing together students and parents, farmers and environmentalists, the actions are directed against a political class which, in the words of the organisers, has "robbed" Bulgarians.

EUROPE: Funnily, Bulgaria Is Not a Turkish Toilet

A work of art exhibited this week in Brussels has turned out to be an unusual test for whether some Europeans are able to laugh at themselves. Just as the artist intended.

EASTERN EUROPE: Go with Putin, or Go Nuclear

The gas crisis has placed environmental concerns on the backburner, and raised demands for nuclear production at plants once considered unsafe.

EASTERN EUROPE: Good Old Ways Protecting the Economy

Fears about the impact of the global financial crisis in Eastern Europe may be overblown. While economic growth is likely to slow down in 2009, it is improbable that countries like Romania and Bulgaria will be hit as hard as Britain or the U.S.

ROMANIA: Grand Coalitions, Little Hope

The new year will bring 'grand coalitions' in government in both Romania and Bulgaria. In spite of politicians' claims that a new union between left and right in both countries aims "to safeguard the best interests of the people" in times of crisis, the new coalitions are more likely another sign that decision-makers pursue self-interest above all.

BULGARIA: Students Demand an Environment for Education

The killing of a student in front of a nightclub in Studentski Grad (Student City) in Sofia has brought to the fore the chaotic and insecure living conditions of tens of thousands of students housed in the quarters.

ROMANIA: Two Decades of Democracy Brings Disappointment

The chaotic political programmes of the parties and a new electoral system discouraged more Romanians than usually from casting a vote in Sunday's parliamentary elections. The main opposition force, the Social-Democrats, obtained the best result, but with none of the parties achieving a clear majority, the centre-right forces might still coalesce to form the new government.

BULGARIA: Losing Billions to Corruption

Far from succeeding in pressuring Bulgaria to solve its problems with high-level corruption and organised crime, the European Union is forced to watch its aid money drain away into the coffers of shady businessmen well connected with the Bulgarian political class.

ROMANIA: Election Fever Sparks Labour Unrest

Just weeks before general elections, Romanian legislators have approved drastic increases in teachers' wages, causing massive protests from state employees around the country looking for similar benefits.

BULGARIA: Small Farmers Strike for Survival

Thousands of Bulgarian milk and meat producers have been protesting for more than a week in various regions around the country, warning the government that life for small farmers has become impossible in Bulgaria.

EUROPE: Transition Brings AIDS

Poverty and social displacement, increased availability of drugs, and chaos in the healthcare systems that accompanied transition from state socialism to the market economy have contributed to the spread of HIV in Eastern Europe.

CORRUPTION: Romania and Bulgaria In the Dock

After putting up a reformist face in order to join the European Union (EU) in 2007, Romanian and Bulgarian politicians have quickly returned to fostering corruption. And there is little the EU can do about it.

ROMANIA: Looking to Rome to Escape the Roma

A decision by Italian authorities to fingerprint nomads - mostly Roma - is supported by many Romanians, in spite of statements from Romanian officials condemning the measure as discriminatory.

ENVIRONMENT-EUROPE: On Your Green Bike

A group of young people from several European countries are taking a cycling tour from Bulgaria to Turkey to show the world that travelling and a good life are possible without much energy consumption.