Five Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

5. To Some In Belgrade, Serbia Risks Loss Of 'Crown Jewel' In Kushner Deal

BELGRADE -- Serbs in Belgrade and close followers of their memorialization of the Balkan wars of the 1990s are responding coolly to word that Serbian officials are surprisingly advanced in talks for Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to redevelop one of the most recognizable symbols of Western military might targeting Serbs.

The abandoned headquarters of the Yugoslav General Staff in downtown Belgrade was struck by two overnight bombing raids in April and May 1999, midway through NATO’s 79-day bombardment to force an end to violence and charges of ethnic cleansing between mostly Serb troops and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, then an autonomous province of rump Yugoslavia.

Despite decades of sporadic debate about transforming the site, the old General Staff buildings have remained mostly unchanged as a crumbling reminder to many Serbs of perceived bias against their national cause at a dark historical juncture.

"Why should it be given away?” Belgrade retiree Zivko Nedeljkovic told RFE/RL’s Balkan Service this week, following news of the potential Kushner deal.

https://www.rferl.org/a/jared-kushner-serbia-nato-bombing-belgrade-hotel/32873406.html

4. Kurti Says Won't Change Suspension Of Serbian Dinar Use In Kosovo

PRISTINA -- Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti says he will not suspend a move by the central bank to ban the circulation of the Serbian dinar in parts of the country with Serbian majorities but will accept the forming of an Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities once Belgrade agrees to sign a basic agreement on bilateral relations.

The basic agreement for the normalization of relations with Serbia was reached in February 2023, and includes the formation of the association, which is expected to more adequately represent predominantly ethnic Serb areas in Kosovo.

Kosovo is not a member of the European Union or its common currency area, the eurozone, but it unilaterally adopted the euro in 2002 to help bring monetary stability and to simplify and reduce transaction costs inside and outside the country.

Serbia, which has never acknowledged its former province's 2008 declaration of independence, still pays many ethnic Serbs at institutions in Serb-dominated parts of Kosovo in dinars. Many also hold their pensions and get child allowances in dinars.

https://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-serbia-dinar-ban-kurti/32868947.html


3. Senior Labour figures seeking to water down plans to decriminalise abortion

Senior Labour figures want to water down proposed legislation to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales ahead of a historic Commons debate on the issue.

Later this spring, MPs are due to have a free vote on a proposal by the Labour MP Diana Johnson to abolish the criminal offence associated with a woman ending her own pregnancy.

The proposal from Johnson, who chairs the home affairs select committee, has support from MPs on both sides of the house and senior doctors’ groups. There has been a widespread expectation it will pass, in a major change to abortion law.

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Some senior Labour figures have privately expressed concern that Johnson’s proposal goes too far because of the provision of telemedicine in England and Wales, whereby a woman seeking an early-stage abortion can be prescribed tablets at home without seeing a doctor.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/23/senior-labour-figures-seeking-water-down-plans-decriminalise-abortion


2. Rising prices and social inequality could decide the European elections: Exclusive poll

The fight against rising prices and social inequalities are the most important issues for European voters ahead of the European Parliament elections in June, according to an exclusive poll by Ipsos for Euronews.

Beating out topics like climate change and immigration, economic issues represent four out of the top five topics that Europeans think should be the highest priorities for incoming decision-makers.

The first-of-its-kind survey, conducted in 18 countries representing 96% of the EU's population, found that rising prices remain the leading electoral issue for Europeans, followed closely by social concerns such as preserving healthcare and pension systems.

https://www.euronews.com/business/2024/03/23/rising-prices-and-social-inequality-could-decide-the-european-elections-exclusive-poll

1. Ex-Prime Minister Of Bosniak-Croat Federation Begins Jail Term

Fadil Novalic, the former prime minister of the Bosniak-Croat federation, one of Bosnia's two entities, has started serving a four-year prison sentence for corruption in a case regarding the purchase and importing of Chinese ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fahrudin Zolak, the head of the entity's civil protection service, and entrepreneur Fikret Hodzic were also found guilty on April 5, 2023, and were sentenced to six years and five years in prison, respectively.

Jelka Milicevic, the entity's finance minister, was found not guilty.

The trial regarding the procurement of 5.4 million euros ($5.9 million) worth of ventilators earmarked for the entity's health-care system began in February 2021.

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The Sarajevo Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation after it emerged that 100 ventilators had been purchased without following the legal public-procurement procedure via direct negotiations with Hodzic's private company F.H. Srebrena Malina (Silver Raspberry), which deals in fresh produce.

https://www.rferl.org/a/bosnia-novalic-corruption-prison-novalic/32350526.html