EUROPE: Not the Language to Speak

A controversial new law on foreign languages in Slovakia branded discriminatory and totalitarian by critics is fuelling tensions and destroying trust between Slovaks and ethnic Hungarians, political analysts have warned.

BALKANS: Media Could Be in the Dock Over War Crimes

Journalists are in the dock now for their role in provoking the wars of the 1990s across former Yugoslavia that left more than 100,000 dead.

BOSNIA: Not at Peace With Itself

Apart from sporadic civil society initiatives, Bosnia has attempted little by way of inter-ethnic reconciliation.

ALBANIA: Short on Homework for Joining EU

Membership of the EU will be the principal target of the re-elected government in Albania.

EUROPE: Bringing Up a ‘Lost Generation’

A "lost generation" of children vulnerable to crime and exploitation is growing up in Eastern Europe as their parents migrate abroad for work and leave them behind, migration watchdogs warn.

TURKEY: Constitutional Crisis Escalating

Tension between the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and the high command of the Armed Forces (TSK) has escalated to new heights after a series of political coups and counter-coups.

HUNGARY: Slipping Further to the Right

The rise of the anti-gypsy Hungarian far right has revealed deep failures in the country's political system and its civil society.

EUROPE: Croatia on Uncertain Course for EU Membership

The Swedish government, which now holds the rotating presidency of the European Union for the second half of this year, says plans to bring Croatia into the EU have not been derailed despite recent political events in the country. Croatia is officially set to join the Union as its 28th member in 2011.

AUSTRIA: Racism on a Sharp Rise

Mainstream political parties in Austria must change their approach if a growing anti-immigrant sentiment stoked by far-right politicians is to be curbed, racism watchdogs and political analysts say.

BALKANS: Church Hands Out Shock Treatment

The torture of drug addicts who had turned to the Serbian Orthodox Church for help has sent shock waves across the country.

ALBANIA: Poll Brings Old Recipes, New Expectations

The Jun. 28 general election in Albania is being seen as a crucial test in the country's evolution towards a democratic future. The two main parties that have dominated the post-communist period both have ambitious agendas whose top priority is European integration.

EUROPE: Lithuania Throttles Gay Rights

Rights groups are calling on EU leaders to act after Lithuanian lawmakers approved controversial legislation that they say makes homosexuals "second class citizens" and breaches European conventions on human rights.

ROMANIA: Volunteers Promote Green Living

A network of volunteers from Romania has managed to plant more than 100,000 trees and collect 70 tonnes of trash in just one year, filling in gaps in the working of state institutions, and showing that there is potential for civic engagement among Romanian youth.

RIGHTS: Call to Drop Case Against Journalist

Press freedom groups are calling on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to drop its case against a French journalist accused of contempt over a book about the workings of the court.

BALKANS: Now Fighting to Invite Serbs

Two decades back many people in what was once Yugoslavia were fighting Serbs. Today some are fighting to invite them over.

ENVIRONMENT: The Greening of the French, Finally

Compost boxes on the balcony of small apartments. Queues at market stalls selling organic produce. Massive audiences for a film about the state of the earth. Unprecedented votes for environmental politicians in the European elections...

EUROPE: The East Casts a Shadow

A "failure" by Eastern European leaders to lift political campaigns above domestic disputes and change apathy towards European institutions was behind low turnout and far right party gains in European Parliament elections this weekend, political analysts say.

EUROPE: The Right Makes an Unsettling Advance

The political centre-right has vowed it will be "business as usual" following this weekend's elections to the European Parliament in which they retained majority, despite significant threats from the far right.

EUROPE: Big Plans, But Little Money to go Nuclear

Eastern Europe is promoting nuclear energy as the only way to tackle climate change and reduce dependence on Russian gas, in spite of costs of going nuclear that it cannot meet.

EUROPE: Lottery Time for Development Policy

While the European Parliament elections are raising many questions about the future direction of the EU, the practicalities of the precise make-up of the parliament mean that development policies look set to be put on hold until autumn.

BALKANS: Flirting With Marx, for Old Times’ Sake

Few visitors to Belgrade miss the pedestrian Knez Mihailova Street. Apart from its colourful stores and boutiques, it is known for its street vendors selling DVDs, CDs, T-shirts, international and Serbian magazines, and books.