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In March 2021, Serbia made the unprecedented announcement to offer free Covid‐19 vaccination to citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and notably to Bosniaks, against whom three decades earlier Serbia had waged a bloody war. How was this policy appraised and, most importantly, did the policy appraisal impact reconciliation? We report here the results of a longitudinal investigation amid a representative sample of Bosniak youth (N = 450). Results suggest that a positive appraisal of this actual, state‐level policy, predicted improvement on a series of intergroup reconciliation indicators (e.g., trust in the out‐group, forgiveness for past violence, hope for future relationship), particularly so amid those who are strongly attached to their Bosniak in‐group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Introduction of vaccines against COVID-19 has not encountered expected acceptance. The uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in Western Balkans countries is lagging behind the European Union average. The aim of our study was to assess the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the population of unvaccinated adult citizens of five Western Balkans countries, and to explore factors that influence the vaccination intention. Methods Cross-sectional study was conducted in the period from July to October 2021. The questionnaire was shared through online social media. Intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 was measured by a single item assessing the likelihood of getting vaccinated on a 5-points Likert scale. Linear regressions were conducted with socio-demographic characteristics, presence of chronic diseases and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination as independent factors. Results The largest proportion of unvaccinated respondents willing to get vaccinated in the future was observed in Montenegro and Albania (40.4% in each country), while in the Serbian sample, the willingness to get vaccinated was the lowest (22.6%). Socio-demographic characteristics were not significantly associated with the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in most of the countries. In Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia the strongest determinant of COVID-19 vaccination intention was the higher sense of social responsibility. Conclusions Vaccination interventions and campaigns aiming to improve the COVID-19 vaccine uptake should be focussed on specific set of factors in each country, appealing to social responsibility as most prevalent determinant of vaccination intention in Western Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aimed to examine the healthcare preferences and perspectives of citizens in the Western Balkans (namely Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina), as well as their trust toward medical professionals of various genders and ages. Almost 4,000 citizens (N = 3,789) of six countries in the Western Balkans (Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina) were surveyed using a self-reported questionnaire in this inter-country cross-sectional study. Most of the participants state that their ethnicity (86%) or religion (89%) has no effect on receiving services in healthcare institutions when the doctor is from a different ethnicity or religion (p < 0.05). One-third of the study's participants stated that they don't necessarily prefer to be treated by medical doctors who approach all patients of different nationalities equally. Finally, this article demonstrates that the majority of Balkan citizens had no disparities when receiving medical care from a medical doctor of a different ethnicity or religion. About one-third of the research participants nurture tolerance and diversity as a behavior culture and do not want to be treated by a doctor who discriminates against patients of different nationalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the introduction and functioning of certain consociational elements in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Macedonia. These states share the common experience within the SFRY and they both emerged from its dissolution. The Dayton Peace Accords of 1995 and the Ohrid Agreement of 2001 terminated the conflict which had resulted from deep divisions within these societies. Bosnia and Herzegovina is composed of segments of Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, accompanied with Muslim (Islamic), Orthodox and Catholic religions. In Macedonia the Macedonian and Albanian segments are dominant, accompanied with Orthodox and Muslim religions as well as with different languages. While BiH is institutionalized with a high level of decentralization of two entities, the Federation and the Republic of Srpska, with federal elements, the solutions offered in Macedonia remained within the framework of a unitary state. The horizontal division of power is characterized by a kind of proportional representation and power-sharing. The Dayton and Ohrid Agreements left aside the guarantees for protection of smaller national communities. The choice of this model was rather under the external than under the internal influence. The solutions, initiated mostly from outside, led to termination of conflicts, however without producing functional states. The example of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia mostly confirms certain critiques addressed to the consociational model of democracy. Existence of actual economic problems, increase of unemployment and corruption cannot be directly put into connection with consociational arrangements. An impression is obtained that (constitutional) patriotism is rather reduced to one's own entity or ethnic group than related to the state as a whole. Prevention of conflicts has been obtained. Whether this is their freezing or regulation and to what extent the solutions are (self)sustainable, the time will show. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Balkans region is burdened by a number of troublesome issues inherited from long lasting historical disputes, from the consequences of the dissolution of former Yugoslavia or from the war period in the 1990s. While it remains hard to achieve a solution, these issues are persisting against the backdrop of dramatic changes of the international agenda. The Western Balkans is therefore slipping down the list of immediate priorities of the international community. issues are dealt on a low-key level; they are not being addressed from the perspective of firm interests and principles. If left unattended, the Western Balkans, with its "unfinished peace", might become a security problem again. While the economies in the region are struggling to survive the current economic crisis, the EU enlargement momentum is a key prerequisite to stability there. The remaining problems should be addressed urgently, as the very goals of EU and NATO integration cannot be left to the will or rather lack of will within the region to resolve its issues and problems. Finally, it is indispensable to enhance and consolidate regional cooperation. The South East Europe Cooperation Process (SEE@) is being uplifted to a level of full responsibility. With an enhanced role of the SEECP, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), as a leading platform and guiding operational forum in South East Europe, will certainly benefit from this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SHERPA tool was used to assess the major pollution sources and the geographical areas impacting on the PM 2.5 of the main cities in the Danube and Western Balkans regions. The activity sectors influencing most the PM 2.5 levels in the study area are energy production (22%), agriculture (19%), residential combustion (16%) and road transport (7%). The energy production in inefficient coal-fuelled power plants was identified as one of main source of PM 2.5 in the Western Balkans. As for the geographical origin of PM 2.5 , the transboundary pollution is confirmed as the main origin of PM 2.5 (44%) in the investigated cities, while the city own emissions and the national sources outside the concerned city impact on average 22% and 15%, respectively. An association was observed between the long-range transport and the impact of agriculture and energy production, while both local urban emissions and long-range transport were associated with the residential sector. A special attention is given in this study to biomass, a renewable source, which use is often promoted in the frame of climate and energy policies. Nevertheless, the combustion of biomass in inefficient small appliances has considerable particulate matter emissions and therefore this type of practice impacts negatively on air quality. Considering that biomass is traditionally used in South-East Europe as fuel for residential heating, the interpretation of the model results was supported with the estimation of biomass burning contributions to PM 2.5 obtained with receptor models and data on biomass fuel consumption from the literature. The analysis of the contributions from biomass burning derived from receptor models suggests that biomass burning is the dominant source within the residential heating sector in the studied area and that the emissions from this source are likely underestimated. This study concludes that more effort is needed to improve the estimations of biomass burning emissions and that policies to improve air quality in the cities should involve a geographic context wider than the city level., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The paper looks at the European Union's involvement in the Western Balkans and points out some of the imminent problems when dealing with a region with disputed territorial issues and trying to support reform processes in countries with divided societies. Although the Western Balkans and the South Caucasus can hardly be compared with each other, at least when it comes to the engagement of the EU, it can be assumed that similar strategies will be pursued and policy instruments deployed. Therefore, it is useful to identify some lessons taken from the Western Balkans that are applicable for the South Caucasus. The paper deals 1) with the controversies on Kosovo's independence and the problems of the EU to deal with its consequences, and 2) with the EU's efforts to support the constitutional and police reform processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to illustrate the challenges the EU faces when it has to deal with a "divided" country. In the second part, the paper looks at the EU's engagement in the South Caucasus, where the EU might play a similar role in the future as it does in the Balkans. The investigations demonstrate that European foreign policy has often lacked consistent strategies towards the Western Balkans, which prevented the EU from achieving "satisfactory" outcomes in its neighbourhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union faces unprecedented difficulties in its integration of the Western Balkans. In particular, this applies to the requirements for political change by countries in that region wishing to join. In confronting the Western Balkans, the EU's political conditionality has moved significantly beyond its demands made on the post- Communist entrants of 2004 and 2007. But serious questions are now being asked about the EU's capacity for promoting such political change in a region still facing fundamental problems and persistent historical legacies. Brussels is encountering real difficulties in dealing on the one hand with a fragile political will in these countries for instigating meaningful change while on the other being constrained by enlargement fatigue' among member states. Both uncertainties -- about the prospects for European modernization and about the commitment to further accession -- mean that the dynamic behind enlargement to the Western Balkans is not very comparable with the historic drive that impelled the enlargement of 2004 to East-Central Europe. At the same time, rather in conflict with this complicated process are strong and longer-term geopolitical arguments that stabilizing the Western Balkans dictates integrating this region into the European mainstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fertility decline in central and eastern Europe (CEE) since the fall of the communist regimes has been driven by both stopping and postponement of childbearing: two processes that have been related to crisis and economic development, respectively. In the Western Balkans these economic and political contexts followed each other in the form of a biphasic transition. I examine whether this sequence triggered fertility responses like those observed elsewhere. Relying on three independent data sources, I crossvalidate the levels of, and describe the trends in, union formation and fertility (by birth order) between 1980 and 2010. Results do not reveal widespread declines in fertility to lowest-low levels during the most acute period of crisis. The subsequent postponement of marriage and first birth was also limited, and the two-child family remains the norm. This relative resilience of childbearing patterns compared with other CEE countries is discussed with reference to the institutional context [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant increase in the number of arrivals of refugees and migrants in Europe along the Western Balkans route brought several Balkan countries into the spotlight of international refugee protection in 2015 and 2016. Out of hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants recorded entering the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia, only a handful remained to seek asylum from their authorities. Under the circumstances, the applicability of the 1951 Refugee Convention with respect to refugees refraining from seeking asylum was brought into question, as well as the extent of transit countries’ legal obligations under refugee law. Based on the Western Balkans experience, the present article seeks to re-examine the relationship between the concept of asylum and the regime of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the Convention's scope of application in “transit countries”, and minimal standards stemming from positive law regarding the treatment of refugees and migrants in a transit context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of UNISCI Discussion Papers is the property of Unidad de Investigaciones Sobre Seguridad y Cooperacion International (UNISCI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses main differences in the EU enlargement strategy/process between the one applied for the big-bang Eastern enlargement in 2004/2007 and the one being used for the EU accession of the Western Balkan countries. Within this framework, the article focuses on the key drivers that have contributed to the slowing down of the EU accession process for these countries over the last decade. Among others, these drivers include some traditional ones, such as lessons from the EU-10 enlargement and general “enlargement fatigue” in quite a number of EU member states, as well as a number of more recent ones, such as the consequences of the economic crisis, the migrant/ refugee crisis and the Brexit. The reduced appetite of the EU member states for Western Balkan enlargement has been reflected in the reshaped EU enlargement strategy that is now based on the so-called “fundamentals first” approach with the rule of law, early resolution of bilateral issues and strengthened economic governance as its key pillars. Besides, the enlargement process is run today much more on the intergovernmental basis than this was the case during the large Eastern enlargement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses total EU financial flows towards the Western Balkans between 1991 and 2010. It shows that, in the short term, the majority of support has been allocated to humanitarian assistance and socio-economic development. Although the EU has declared its interest in democracy promotion, democracy assistance ranks only third on the list of its financial expenditures in the Western Balkans. Therefore, although EU financial aid is consistent with official EU programmes, it is inadequate in the post-conflict context of the EU candidate and potential candidate countries that require support for democratisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 9 May, the EU's "Europe Day", newly re-elected President Macron gave a speech which suggested treaty change to establish a three-speed Europe, with a hard core of full members embracing new areas of European sovereignty, notably in defence, while a "political community" would accommodate an outer circle of former or future members of the EU, such as the UK and Ukraine respectively. As such, a preoccupied EU, a Brexit-obsessed UK, a politically inchoate Germany, an AUKUS-distracted France, and two EU member states, Poland and Hungary, straining the rule of law, were to face what was to become the most severe strategic and military crisis in Europe since the end of the Second World War. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz highlighted a further challenge with his call for EU institutional and voting reform, including the extension of qualified majority voting to EU foreign- and security-policy decisions prior to the EU being ready to admit any further member states. EU-United Kingdom relations, already strained by the process of Brexit, were again damaged by months of disputes between the EU and the UK-headquartered AstraZeneca over the slow pace of the company's delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to the EU. Europe: Drivers of Strategic Change 186 / 2021-22 Review 189 / Germany's New Government: How has the coalition responded to war in Europe and other challenges?. [Extracted from the article]

The article analyses the EU's impact on the rule of law in the Western Balkans and Turkey. It enquires into the reasons behind the patchy record of rule-of-law reforms in Turkey, Croatia and Albania by examining judicial reforms in response to the EU accession requirements. It argues that a credible EU accession perspective and an adequate degree of state capacity are necessary but not sufficient conditions for explaining the fluctuations in the rule-of-law standards in EU accession countries. The genuine, partial or non-alignment of the ruling elites' domestic incentives with the EU incentives is a key determinant of rule-of-law trends in the Western Balkans and Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The EU's realisation of the need to develop more cogent external relations, foreign and security policies towards the Western Balkans can be attributable to the failure of Europeans to end conflicts on their doorstep in Bosnia, Croatia, Albania and Kosovo throughout the 1990s. It is argued that the EU's network of external relations traditionally consists of three main elements: trade, foreign and security policy and development co-operation. Therefore, this paper will dwell upon the EU's international role through its external relations elements which are also considered to be the main tools of bringing stability and prosperity into the Western Balkans. Moreover, it will be argued that the EU has an extensive network of foreign relations, but no 'real' foreign policy. This article will specifically examine the experiences of the EU's CFSP by highlighting the success and failures of the ESDP in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the significant changes of ethnic territories on the Western Balkans in Europe that are related to former Yugoslavian wars between 1991 and 1995. It discusses some weak spots of the issue by considering an ethnic territory's core area, ethnically mixed territory and contact zones. The article provides an overview of the major territorial arrangements and their leading causes and changing identities as of 2012.

In last 15 years the EU almost doubled the number of its member states, and enlargement became almost continous phenomena in the EU. Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, supplemented by the Copenhagen criteria, provides the framework for enlargement. In this sense, the paper discusses the process of EU enlargement in the context of the new Lisbon solutions, conecting with the possibility of forthcoming EU enlargement in the Western Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the developments in the Western Balkans and suggests new politics for a new age. It urges that the politics of continuous confrontation and of suspecting others, should pave the way to politics that will care for freedom, security, and prosperity of man. It states that regional cooperation should be practised unconditionally at all times.

Western Balkan thesis remains particularly popular in the circles of international politics, according to which it is necessary to emphasize the traditional situation in the countries in Southeast Europe focusing on Balkan nucleus with its immediate neighborhood. Hence, the elaboration contained herein is moving along two axes: first, an attempt is made for rational analysis of the question "Whether the Western Balkan countries have already established a system that takes care of resolving open issues and problems without using force and based on model of regional security community?" The second line of analysis refers to the experiences of the Western Balkan countries for security cooperation among them in the wider context of security and political relations in the entire Western Balkans region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the intra-state wars and conflicts in the Balkans region, insecurities caused by weak states still constitute an important concern for stability of the region. Therefore, international community has engaged in some attempts for rebuilding of weak states through state-building efforts in order to prevent the spill-over effects of insecurities originated from them. Because, security issues such as arms, drugs and human trafficking, organized crime, corruption, immigration and refugee problems in the Western Balkans threaten the democracy, the rule of law, human rights, political stability and the economic progress within the region. Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia- Herzegovina and Kosovo as the weak states of the region suffer from deficits in legitimacy, capacity and provision of public goods. That's why, they are unable to implement effective development policies for its citizens' basic needs in terms human security. In this paper, it is aimed to analyse the relationship between state-building process and its security implications in the Western Balkans. Conceptually, state-building refers to the set of actions undertaken by international actors to strengthen the capacity, legitimacy and the institutions of the state where these have seriously been eroded or are missing. The state-building processes of the weak states in the region are closely related to the European integration process of the region. Although there are ongoing efforts in all these countries to reform institutional capacity of the state in accordance to European standards, it can be conluded that these reforms are, at best, only mildly effective. That's why, the paper argues that real success of the state-building efforts in the region depends on the embracement of these efforts by the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys of weed vegetation of the western Balkan peninsula (1939–2006) were used to study changes in species composition. A large data set of arable weed vegetation was compiled and analysed with direct and indirect ordination, regression and beta (β) diversity analysis. Five environmental variables (altitude, season, year, crop, phytogeographical region) were used to determine broad-scale changes in weed species composition. The most important parameter was phytogeography and the second was crop. Altitude and season were found to be less important, although significant, which contrasts with results from Central and Northern Europe. β-diversity was higher in cereals and in summer, while decline along the altitudinal gradient previously demonstrated in Central Europe, was not observed. In southern parts of the studied area, thermophilous species have shifted to higher altitudes. The results and ranking of importance of environmental and spatial variables are discussed in relation to similar studies in Northern and Central Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on political conditionality and its role in European Union's (EU) relations with the South Eastern European Countries. Evolution of the conditionality principleas a constitutive element; Comprehensive system of monitoring and scrutiny established by EU; Insufficiency of the initial strategy of EU in helping to achieve its primary objectives in the region.

Western Balkan, given its multiethnicity, represent a constant challenge for democratic change in society. Security of society represents one of the indicators and factors of democracy. Safe society is a democratic society. Any form of deviations from the democratic achievements of factors finds roots in the security of society. In the modern societies, security has a safety function of the preferred, and in particular in the society such as are specific for the Western Balkan. Society in the Western Balkans are a striking example of "risk society". Safety achievements of these communities, in the future will have a major impact on the development of democracy. Risk society is basically a challenge to the development of democracy in the societies of the Western Balkans. Managing the security risk in the years to come, there is a possibility of preventing many negative events. Creating prerequisites, event management that can be triggers of negative effects of social events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study aims to reconstruct climate changes that occurred at Lake Ohrid (south-western Balkan Peninsula), the oldest extant lake in Europe, between 160 and 70 ka (covering part of marine isotope stage 6, MIS 6; all of MIS 5; and the beginning of MIS 4). A multi-method approach, including the "Modern Analog Technique" and the "Weighted Averaging Partial Least-Squares Regression", is applied to the high-resolution pollen sequence of the DEEP site, collected from the central part of Lake Ohrid, to provide quantitative estimates of climate and bioclimate parameters. This allows us to document climatic change during the key periods of MIS 6 and MIS 5 in southern Europe, a region where accurate climate reconstructions are still lacking for this time interval. Our results for the penultimate glacial show cold and dry conditions, while the onset of the "last interglacial" is characterized by wet and warm conditions, with temperatures higher than today (by ca. 2 ∘ C). The Eemian also shows the well-known climatic tri-partition in the Balkans, with an initial pre-temperate phase of abrupt warming (128–121 ka), a central temperate phase with decreasing temperatures associated with wet conditions (121–118 ka), followed by a post-temperate phase of progressive change towards cold and dry conditions (118–112 ka). After the Eemian, an alternation of four warm/wet periods with cold/dry ones, likely related to the succession of Greenland stadials and cold events known from the North Atlantic, occurred. The observed pattern is also consistent with hydrological and isotopic data from the central Mediterranean. The Lake Ohrid climate reconstruction shows greater similarity with climate patterns inferred from northern European pollen records than with southern European ones, which is probably due to its intermediate position and the mountainous setting. However, this hypothesis needs further testing as very few climate reconstructions are available for southern Europe for this key time period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on developments of the telecommunications regulation framework in the Western Balkans. Over the last few years Western Balkan countries have started an efforts that involves a complete transition of their political social and economic structure. In the field of telecommunications, stimulating policies are being implemented in order to foster this sector's activities and create liberalized markets in the region, which will be aligned with the European ones. Nevertheless, this effort can not be successful without the establishment of an adequate regulatory environment. Toward this direction and under the framework of the European telecommunications directive, majority of the governments have proceeded to create independent regulatory authorities. The article presents an overview of the regulation and the institutional framework of telecommunication sector in the Western Balkans. The authorities working in this field are focusing their activities on exchange of experience between the related European Agencies and the regulatory authorities of countries in this region.

This comparative study examines the power relationship between journalists and political elites in South-Eastern Europe, emphasizing the clientelistic ties under which these interactions take place. It is based on 60 in-depth interviews with journalists from Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro. The results suggest that the journalist–politician relationship in these countries has gradually evolved into two-way communication marked by cooperation and conflict. On one hand, the clientelist ties at the inter-organizational level have subordinated journalists to the political elites in power who negotiate the news agenda with media owners. On the other hand, journalists often serve as tools to combat political and economic enemies, leading to the exposure of corruption and scandals. However, this is done selectively, based on the media owner’s agenda. Overall, the study implies the lack of a uniform relationship between journalists and political elites, challenging previous assumptions that media clientelism in Eastern Europe is a stable system that exerts predictable relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Društvena Istraživanja is the property of Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the impact of climate change in the Balkans on the different macro components of human and environmental security: the environmental dimension, the state's adaptation policies, and crisis management for the signified imperatives of mitigation describing impacts on different divisions offering normative resolutions. A comprehensive analysis of climate change in the Western Balkans has identified human health, security, and quality of life as highly vulnerable to natural disasters and weather changes. The agricultural sector, forestry, water management, free-flowing rivers, and Adriatic sea tourism are the ones that will suffer the most significant consequences. It is essential to follow the provisions of the Paris Agreement; climate-neutral green economies. It is required to build the necessary capacity, determining a general policy course for low-emission development resilient to climate change. As Western Balkans is the region facing a real threat posed by climate change, it is necessary to more actively promote the concepts of environmental protection, conservation of resources, and the use of renewable energy sources. At the institutional level, it is necessary to promote the concept of human security policies through laws and other acts or to incorporate it into existing ones; identify the most vulnerable sectors; make risk and vulnerability assessments, and action plans that will more actively oppose climate change. It is critical to integrate specific policies and projects into strategies, identify existing adaptation opportunities to mitigate climate change and ensure international support. Recent plans for exploiting all rivers are a critical factor of environmental and human insecurity, eradicating the European "blue heart," not correlated to the environment or hydro-energy but systemic corruption. Through joint action and approach, it is possible to limit the consequences and work on capacity building, creating a more resilient community capable of protecting its citizens by implementing human security conceptualization. Action plans are needed to build more modern defense systems to prevent further floods. Given the efficiency shown during the 2014 floods, B&H ethnopolitical authorities' actions, and the complex government, there is a high degree of ethnopolitical manipulation and inefficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Accurate estimates of species distributions are crucial for biogeography, spatial conservation, and for assessing the impacts of human activities on species. However, existing approaches to estimate species distributions have typically neglected the influence of land use intensity, potentially overlooking the negative impacts of high‐intensity land uses on biodiversity. Here, we build a dataset documenting the habitat suitability of European land systems for terrestrial vertebrate species, based on a novel land system map of Europe that factors in land use intensity. Our database offers refined and up‐to‐date information on terrestrial vertebrate distributions in Europe by explicitly considering land use intensity. Main Types of Variables Contained: We created a table defining the suitability of land use classes as habitats for each species. We then built Area of Habitat (AOH) maps for each species by filtering out unsuitable habitat from the latest available estimates of species ranges. AOH maps were then compared with occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Processed datasets and R scripts are publicly available online, facilitating the use of our approach to refine expert‐based distributions for other taxa, land system classifications and regions worldwide. Spatial Location and Grain: The AOH maps cover the spatial extent of the European Union (EU) with the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, and the Western Balkans. The AOH maps are at a 1 km2 resolution. Time Period and Grain: The dataset uses information published during the last 10 years. Major Taxa and Level of Measurement: Habitat suitability was documented for 1155 terrestrial vertebrate species known to occur in Europe: 279 mammals, 520 birds, 251 reptiles and 104 amphibians. Software Format: We provide the habitat suitability table in a comma‐separated values (csv) format. The AOH maps are available as raster files. R scripts are publicly accessible on GitHub. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Balkans hosts the richest subterranean aquatic gastropod fauna in the world. The main factors shaping intraspecies diversity are thought to be isolation and endemism. In the genus Belgrandiella, minute snails inhabiting subterranean waters and springs in Central Europe and Balkans, molecular studies have shown much fewer valid species than previously anticipated. The present study applies mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, histone 3, and RAPD analysis, to check the inter- and intraspecies genetic diversity in 36 Belgrandiella populations from caves, springs and interstitial aquifers. The level of gene flow is assessed to check if these snails form a widespread genetically uniform metapopulation or rather follow the highly endemic pattern. The studied populations have been assigned to six species. In the most widely distributed B. kusceri from 21 populations, 60 sequenced specimens represent 16 haplotypes. While the same haplotypes are present in distant populations, gene flow between the other populations is low. Nei distances for RAPD show no geographic pattern. The interspecies differences in COI evidently confirm the time of speciation in Pleistocene, before karstification, which rejects speciation within isolated caves. The pattern observed in Belgrandiella seems more similar to the one described in Montenegrospeum than in Kerkia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the trends that define key social welfare moments for the countries of the western Balkans. The mounting Eurozone crisis and the interde-pendence of economies are both important phenomena that condition the need for intervention in the labour sector of the peninsula. Indeed, the article observes that the effects of the crisis are clear and that these have had further impact on the western Balkans terrain, one that is consolidating and fragile in some respects, in ways that have produced a greater number of unemployed people. The article offers statistics for each of the western Balkans countries and analyses them against a background that requires reform. The overall purpose is directed towards an in-creased awareness of the state of social welfare in the western Balkans; of the interdependence that exists between the EU and aspiring members; and, perhaps most importantly, of the strategic demand for introducing vigorous economic re- forms that promote innovation and competition, boost production and strengthen democratic and accountable institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for Europe is increasing. The diplomatic initiative "16 + 1," comprising China and 16 Central, East and Southeast European economies (CESEE), expanded to a "17 + 1" format in April 2019, when Greece officially joined the cooperation forum. This expansion revived interest in Chinese activities aimed at better physical and digital connectivity in Europe and their effects. The article descriptively shows a geographical division of Chinese infrastructure development activities in Europe: the "17 + 1" region is targeted more intensively by Chinese construction projects. Moreover, roughly 90% of all construction contracts with the "17 + 1" region are attributable to connectivity sectors, while Chinese activities in other European regions are more diversified. In Europe, the Western Balkans are expected to economically benefit the most from the BRI, as they show particularly high deficiencies in infrastructure, and so far, have limited access to EU grants. Economic effects of infrastructure projects, however, trickle through European production and supply chains, affecting a larger number of countries than information on projects would suggest. EU initiatives presented since 2018 may help to increase complementarity between Chinese and European infrastructure development plans and reduce associated risks, such as unsustainable debt or new trade barriers arising from increased competition for Chinese investments. The BRI is about to change physical and digital connectivity within Europe, while the EU has yet to become an active player engaging in the initiative, in order to enable improved connectivity in Europe to drive economic convergence and not political divergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union is in danger of losing its vision with regard to the membership perspectives of the countries of the Western Balkans. The process is marked by 'enlargement fatigue' and a loss of political will. Tracing the state of play as regards the Western Balkans since the Thessaloniki Summit of 2003, the suggestion is that the momentum has been lost and that the combination of technical and political hurdles makes accession too long and too difficult to be a significant factor in promoting reforms from within and realigning political commitments. The gap is growing between EU member states (Slovenia, Greece), candidate countries (Croatia, Macedonia), potential candidate countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia), and Kosovo. The global economic and financial crisis has also brought the IMF back into the region and further contributed to a sense of abandonment by the EU. Ultimately a commitment to enlargement is framed within other commitments in terms of security, energy policy and reconstruction. Clear signals are needed to change this, including a Thessaloniki II summit under the Swedish Presidency to re-assert the commitment of the EU to the region. The EU has, on the one hand, to put its own house in order and, on the other, to offer a reasonable political perspective to the Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EU enlargement continues in the Western Balkans in the 2010s because the underlying dynamics remain largely unchanged: EU Member States still see enlargement as a matter of national interest, bringing long-term economic and geopolitical benefits. The risk of instability in the Western Balkans has made the dividends from the EU's 'democratizing effect' especially substantial. I argue that the enlargement process continues to have a 'democratizing effect,' as Western Balkans candidates and proto-candidates respond to the incentives of EU membership: political parties have changed their agendas to make them EU-compatible, and governments have implemented policy changes to move forward in the pre-accession process. Yet the EU is taking on candidates with difficult initial conditions. I explore the changes the EU has made in order to exercise its leverage more effectively in the Western Balkans and check whether these helped overcome the pre-accession process' earlier problems with expertise, consistency and legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the link between technological change and employer-provided training in the western Balkans. It is hypothesized that firms subject to technological change have an increased demand for skills and one mechanism to accommodate this demand is by providing additional training for their workforce. To test this proposition, data are extracted from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development-World Bank Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) from waves 2002 and 2005. Probit and tobit estimations are used to analyze the impact of technological change upon training incidence and intensity. The findings of this analysis suggest that firms that undergo technological change are indeed more likely to provide training and there is some evidence that the training is of greater intensity. This positive association between technological change and training suggests that one way to address underinvestment in training in the western Balkans is to enhance incentives for firms to undertake technological change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the initiative of the European Commission (EC) to work with countries of the western Balkans, in preparation for the European Union (EU) membership. Although skepticism about further enlargement of the EU still continue to emerge, the EC continues to judge the aspirants for membership. Leaders in Europe will then decide on whether to live up to their own rhetoric in favor of the expansion or conform to the expectations of their publics by its decision to oppose it.

Wildland fire effects are strongly associated with fire regime characteristics. Here, we developed the first European pyrogeography based on different fire regime components to better understand fire regimes across the continent. We identified four large-scale pyroregions: a non-fire-prone (NFP) pyroregion featuring nominal fire activity across central and northern Europe; a cool-season fire (CSF) pyroregion scattered throughout Europe; a fire-prone (FP) pyroregion extending mostly across southern Europe; and a highly fire-prone (HFP) pyroregion spanning across northern Portugal, Sicily, and western Balkans. Land cover analysis indicates that pyroregions were first shaped by vegetation and then by anthropogenic factors. On interannual timescales the spatial extent of pyroregions was found to vary, with NFP showing more stability. Interannual correlations between climate and burned area, fire frequency, and the length of fire period exhibited distinct patterns, strengthening in fire-prone pyroregions (FP and HFP) and weakening in NFP and CSF. Proportion of cool-season fires and large fires were related to fuel accumulation in fire-prone pyroregions. Overall, our findings indicate that such a pyrogeography should allow a more accurate estimate of the effects of climate on fire regimes while providing an appropriate framework to better understand fire in Europe. Pyrogeography provides a level of generalisation that aids in understanding fire regimes at large spatial scales. This study provides insights into current European pyroregions, which may serve as a basis for wildland fire risk management on a continental scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-cold war unipolar world turned to be multipolar, and as a result the West is increasingly struggling to find solutions for dealing with emerging threats and challenges. The European Union, still going through its own crisis, needs to establish and keep good transatlantic connections and to be able to remain or become one of the influencers in the international arena. Today's world is interdependent and not so much concentrated on security issues, threats and challenges like before, since problems of human survival and human security have arisen and are becoming increasingly serious. Theoretical approaches to international relations indicate the changes in the distribution of global power, setting up grounds for changing multipolarity and the questionable functionality of multilateralism. That could lead towards more serious confrontations among the big powers. In these constellations of the international relations, South Eastern Europe (SEE), a geopolitically very sensitive area for transatlantic partners, struggles with old and new challenges and threats, trying to find the best possible solutions to join the transatlantic family. This paper will present what are the steps in that direction, proving why stronger regional integration and cooperation is needed for better safety and security, and what is the contemporary role of NATO and the EU in SEE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to identify the policy orientations of Russia in the Balkans. The historical aspects of Russia's political and cultural ties with the Balkan region and Russia's policy towards the Balkans during the USSR period will feature. As the Balkans are an important factor in Russia's geopolitical game to retain influence in Europe, the author analyses Russia's contemporary policy in the Balkans, its interests and the measures taken to achieve its specific goals. It can be concluded that Russian involvement in some Balkan countries is exhausting the elements of a hybrid war. Two possible models of geopolitical behaviour in relation to Russia can be distinguished. The first is to continue trying to stay as far away from Russia, the second is to build effective mechanisms for socioeconomic cooperation. It can be implied that Russia will not hesitate to repeat the hybrid war scenario from Ukraine in order to maintain its political influence in the region. Only the EU returning to a consistent policy of enlargement involving the Balkan countries and the economic strengthening of the Member States from the Balkan region can weaken Russia's political influence in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), a vector of dengue, Zika and other diseases, was introduced in Europe in the 1970s, where it is still widening its range. Spurred by public health concerns, several studies have delivered predictions of the current and future distribution of the species for this region, often with differing results. We provide the first joint analysis of these predictions, to identify consensus hotspots of high and low suitability, as well as areas with high uncertainty. The analysis focused on current and future climate conditions and was carried out for the whole of Europe and for 65 major urban areas. High consensus on current suitability was found for the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy and the coastline between the western Balkans and Greece. Most models also agree on a substantial future expansion of suitable areas into northern and eastern Europe. About 83% of urban areas are expected to become suitable in the future, in contrast with ~ 49% nowadays. Our findings show that previous research is congruent in identifying wide suitable areas for Aedes albopictus across Europe and in the need to effectively account for climate change in managing and preventing its future spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Balkans are an important hotspot of caddisfly diversity in Europe, with several microscale endemics, many of which were discovered during the recent years. The genus Potamophylax Wallengren, 1891 likely originated and diversified in Europe, with the Balkan Peninsula being one of the most important diversity hotspots. In this paper, we describe the new species Potamophylax coronavirus sp. n. from Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park in the Republic of Kosovo. The new species belongs to the Potamophylax winneguthi species group and is morphologically most similar to Potamophylax juliani Kumanski, 1999, currently known only from Bulgaria and Potamophylax winneguthi Klapalek, 1902, known from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The male of the new species differs from its most similar congeners mainly in exhibiting: (1) elongated subrectangular superior appendages in lateral view; (2) hardly acuminate, almost rounded apex of intermediate appendages; (3) differently shaped, irregular and higher inferior appendages; (4) narrow spinate area, roughly rectangular in dorsal view, slightly wider at the base and (5) different paramere shape and/or spine pattern. The new species also differs by its considerably smaller size and association with open, high altitude eucrenal zones. The uncorrected interspecific pairwise distance between P. coronavirus and other species of the P. winneguthi species group is on par with those amongst other recognised species in the group, as well as with the yet ambiguously identified taxa from the Sharr, Rila and Bajgorë Mountains. The new species is most probably a microendemic of Bjeshkët e Nemuna, thus highlighting further this area as an important hotspot of caddisfly biodiversity in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses the dynamics of the European Union's policy of endorsing regional cooperation in Southeast Europe (SEE). It gives details of the EU approach's evolution in terms of focus and geographical scope. It offers the development of the EU strategies in SEE in three periods. It also analyses the reasons for the successes and failures of Brussels, Belgium in its attempt to promote regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and wider SEE.