RUSSIA: Plan Putina Faces Pitfalls

Now as Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin has started to pursue vigorously his own long-term strategic development plan that was used to garner votes during the last presidential elections.

SERBIA: Most Wanted Man Was Always There

Serbians are still in shock after revelations that Radovan Karadzic was living in Belgrade as a psychiatrist and bio-energy healer, holding seminars and lectures, and writing for the magazine Healthy Life under the name Dragan Dabic.

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.

SERBIA: Karadzic Arrest Opens Doors to EU

One of the most wanted men in the world, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, was arrested Monday night by Serbian security forces.

BALKANS: Serbia Turns to Ancient Rome

Serbia has discovered, and now wants tourists to, that 16 Roman emperors of 3rd and 4th century AD were born in what is now Serbia.

EUROPE: Mediterranean Union May Be Stillborn

The proposed Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) of 27 European Union countries and at least 13 countries from the Maghreb and Arab region may prove stillborn, analysts say.

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.

SERBIA: Socialists Switch to the Future

Two months after the May 11 elections dubbed as "crucial" for country's future, Serbia has now a pro-European coalition government made of former arch-enemies - the Democrats of President Boris Tadic and the Socialists of late leader Slobodan Milosevic - and parties of minority ethnic Hungarians from the north and Bosniaks living in south-western Serbia.

UKRAINE: ‘Free’ Media Turning Into PR Agencies

Freedom of media has improved in Ukraine but media owners are using favourable coverage as a source of income, while journalists continue to face serious threats.

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.

EUROPE: Czechs Could ‘Bury’ Lisbon Treaty

Czech President Vaclav Klaus and politicians from the senior ruling Civic Democrats (ODS) have been inspired by the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, which could now die in Czech hands.

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.

DEVELOPMENT: 'Aid From New EU Members Disregards Women'

Foreign aid budgets administered by the European Union's most recent entrants do not pay sufficient heed to the needs of women in poor countries, a series of new studies has found.

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.

BALKANS: ‘Peace Does Not Mean Reconciliation’

Peace has come to the Balkans after the bloody wars of disintegration of former Yugoslavia, and the region is economically booming, but there is little sign of reconciliation between the formerly warring nations, a conference at the International Press Institute concluded Tuesday.

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.

GREECE: And What an 18th Birthday Gift

Eighteen years after their birth in Greece, children of immigrants are suddenly made migrants, and asked to prove their right to live in a country where they were born and raised.

BALKANS: Now the Safest

After years of bloody chaos, instability and violence, the Balkans have turned into one of the safest areas in Europe, a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) report says.

EUROPE: Irish Say No to Military and Neo-Liberalism

The rejection of the European Union's latest treaty by Ireland's electorate has been interpreted as a vote against the bloc's increasing emphasis on bolstering its military capacities and its efforts to prioritise free market principles over social protection.

GREECE: Energy Deal Creates Nervousness

An agreement between Russia and Greece to cooperate in the construction of a part of the South Stream gas pipeline has been received with mixed feelings.