Week in Review: Tests and Pressures

The Mladic test People attend the funeral for Ratko Mladic in Belgrade, Serbia, 07 September 2026. EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC Judgment day Supporters of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders hold a picture of Hashim Thaci and a banner saying “Not in My Name” at a rally in Pristina, February 2026. Photo: EPA/Georgi Licovski. Profits under pressure A beach in Antalya. Photo: Alihondavlat/Pixabay Turkey continues to attract millions of tourists, but falling occupancy rates, stubbornly high inflation and shrinking margins suggest that impressive visitor numbers are concealing growing problems for one of the country’s most important industries. Our economic focus story looks beyond the headline figures to examine why hotels and agencies are struggling to turn arrivals into profits – and why increasingly expensive holidays at home are pushing some Turkish tourists towards cheaper alternatives abroad. Read more: Falling Profits Cloud Horizons for Turkey’s Booming Tourist Industry (September 8, 2026) Following the money Police officers stand guard in front of the High Court in Podgorica, May 2019. Photo: EPA/BORIS PEJOVIC. Montenegro is racing to demonstrate progress against organised crime as it closes in on possible EU membership; a new law allowing criminal assets to be permanently confiscated before a final conviction gives its authorities a potentially powerful new weapon. But expanded powers bring concerns over property rights, judicial safeguards and selective enforcement. Meanwhile, experts warn that Montenegro’s perennial problem remains unchanged: adopting ambitious legislation is one thing, but having the institutions and political will to enforce it is another. Read more: Nearing EU Accession, Montenegro Targets Money Behind Organised Crime (September 7, 2026) State of independence Moldova’s Minister of Energy Dorin Junghietu. Photo: Moldovan Ministery of Energy Moldova has sharply reduced its dependence on Russian gas, replacing an energy model once dominated by Russia’s Gazprom and breakaway Transnistria with supplies from Romania and Europe, thanks to the new cross-border connections and renewable energy. Moldovan Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu tells BIRN in an interview why there will be no return to the era of “cheap Russian gas” – and how making Moldova’s energy independence irreversible will depend on balancing security and reforms against higher costs for consumers. Read more: No More Cheap Russian Gas: Minister Sketches Out Moldova’s Energy Future (September 10, 2026) 100 days of protest Demonstrators at the daily protest in Tirana, July 2026. Photo: EPA/MALTON DIBRA. Albania’s “Flamingo Revolution” has reached the 100-day mark without forcing Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign or accept any of the protesters’ demands. But analysts tell Balkan Insight that the movement’s real achievement may lie elsewhere: creating a new form of citizen-led opposition and challenging the sense that Albania’s political landscape is confined to the same old parties and leaders. Read more: ‘Transformative Protest’: 100 Days On, What Has Albania’s ‘Flamingo Revolution’ Achieved? (September 7, 2026) A way out of chaos? Kosovo parliament. Photo: BIRN Kosovo’s parliament is reconvening, but deep divisions between and within the main parties have left little certainty that lawmakers can agree on a new president and so finally end months of institutional deadlock. With the parliamentary arithmetic working against an easy compromise and another election looming if the impasse cannot be broken, our analysis examines whether Kosovo’s political rivals can find a way out of what one expert describes as “political, institutional and constitutional chaos”. Read more: Kosovo Parliament to Reconvene, ‘Chaos’ Looms over Election of President (September 8, 2026)