ROMANIA: Last Intact Forest Under Threat

Romanian environmentalists have launched a campaign to speed up creation of a national agency for protected areas (ANAP), which the government has been postponing since 2005. In the absence of a proper administrative body, valuable natural sites around the country, including the last remaining intact forest landscape in temperate Europe, are being damaged in the quest for development.

BULGARIA: Hate Wave Threatens New Gay Pride

The attack on Bulgarian gays at their first gay pride march is symptomatic of widespread opposition to the movement.

MOLDOVA: Trafficking Not As Bad As the U.S. Thinks

Moldova is considered the main European source for human trafficking. A June 2008 report of the U.S. State Department downgraded Moldova to the category of countries that "neither meet the minimum conditions to combat trafficking, nor make efforts to meet those minimum conditions." But reality on the ground may not be so gloomy.

BULGARIA: Netting of Big Fish Brings Hope

A conviction in a high profile corruption case may alleviate some of the toughness expected from a July report of the European Commission on the progress by Bulgaria in combating corruption and organised crime.

ROMANIA: State Grows Up in Looking After Children

Romania used to be infamous for its nightmarish orphanages. Since 2001, however, the national system of care for vulnerable children has been undergoing a successful reform process.

EUROPE: Home to Roma, And No Place for Them

A Roma ghetto in Ponticelli neighbourhood of Naples, Italy, was burnt down May 14 by locals angry over a reported attempt by a Roma young woman to kidnap a baby. The incident shows that, when it comes to living together with the 10 million Roma, Europeans today have no better answer than the "Gypsy hunts" of the Middle Ages.

EUROPE: Subsidies Fail the Poor Among the Rich

Romanian farmers have started receiving the first payments under the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). But the poorest farmers might have to wait years to see some benefits.

RIGHTS: CIA Flights Haunt Romania

Romania has still not convincingly answered repeated calls from the European Commission and others to clarify allegations that it hosted CIA detention centres and that rendition flights passed through its territory.

BULGARIA: Two Iraqis Did Make It

Bulgaria, sometimes considered a safe haven for Iraqi asylum seekers, has denied refugee status to all but two applicants from Iraq since December last year. Bulgaria's move contributes to blocking land access to Europe for Iraqis fleeing violence.

EASTERN EUROPE: Where Did All the Workers Go?

Worried about the possibility of a slow-down in economic growth because of labour shortages, Eastern European countries have started taking measures to bring their workers back home, and attract foreign labour. But such government interventions can only have a marginal effect.

BULGARIA: Criminal Networks Extend Into Government

Bulgarian minister of interior Roumen Petkov announced his resignation Sunday, in the midst of a row about connections between high-level Bulgarian officials - especially from the Ministry of Interior - and corrupt businessmen linked to organised crime.

POLITICS: Not Easy to Come in From the Cold War

NATO and Russia made little progress in settling their disputes during the alliance's summit in Bucharest this week. But the two sides insisted the Cold War is over and that they are open to compromise.

AFGHANISTAN: More, But of What

At the Bucharest summit, NATO adopted an undisclosed "comprehensive" security strategy in Afghanistan, which combines military with civilian efforts. The publicised discussions on Afghanistan, however, were focused on the numbers of troops.

POLITICS: Shaky NATO Announces Minimal Enlargement

Europe appears to have had its way over the U.S. at the opening of the NATO summit in Romanian capital Bucharest.

EUROPE: Kosovo Shadow Falls on Moldova

Moldova and its separatist region Transdniester, engaged for 16 years in a conflict over the latter's independence, each had reasons to believe the spring of 2008 would bring a settlement favourable to their side. But Moscow, crucial to any resolution, has already signalled it is not in a hurry to reach a resolution.

RIGHTS-ROMANIA: Lifers Make a Bid for Attention

"We just live for years in cages, just like in a zoo. But the toughest punishment of all is not the long sentences in our stables - it's that we're being ignored."

BULGARIA: A Way to Manufacture Ethnic Tension

Take a population frustrated by poverty and corruption. Add the anti-minority discourse of extreme-right parties. And spice it with anti-Islamic talk of the 'war on terror'. And in just a few years, you can have enough ethnic tensions.

BULGARIA: Steel Plant Privatisation Fails to Deliver

The steel plant at Kremikovtzi, the pride of Bulgaria in its socialist days, is nearing collapse after privatisation failed to deliver.

BULGARIA: Far Right Goes Out of Fashion

The national rally of extreme-right party Ataka, taking place Mar. 3 in Sofia, illustrated the dwindling support for this group among Bulgarians.

EUROPE: The Closer You Get to NATO, The Less You Like It

Croatia, Macedonia and Albania are hoping to become the newest members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in April this year. But the better chances a country has of entering NATO, the less enthusiastic its people seem to be about membership, and sending troops in dangerous missions abroad.

BULGARIA: Challenge to Pipeline Grows

The Bulgarian government is committed to building an oil pipeline through the seaside town of Burgas, but local people are starting to complain they were not consulted before a potentially harmful deal was made in their name.