Latest Investigations from the Balkans
Secrets and Lies: Victims of Albanian Communism Denied Closure
Former political prisoners want truth and compensation – but their quest has become entangled in the country’s murky politics.
Political Football: The Balkans’ Belligerent Ultras Avoid Penalties
Hooligans in Macedonia stoke the embers of ethnic strife, and – like their Serbian counterparts – often escape punishment.
Green Revolution: How Eco-Activism Made Bulgaria Care Again
Environmental campaigners have shown they can fight the system – but how far can they fix it?
Collective Punishment: How a Socialist Farm Lost its Way to Market
BIRN digs deeper into the sale of a once-successful Croatian farm that went the way of many privatisations in the region – leaving workers jobless and out-of-pocket.
Kosovo PM Installs Ally to Head Privatisation Body
Back in October, Hashim Thaci vowed to keep politics out of the agency – only to nominate a political ally as chairman of the board.
Lavish Party Donations Raise Hackles in Serbia
Curious pattern of donations to the Democratic Party – many from poorly paid civil servants - raises fresh questions about party financing.
Abandoned Twice: Bosnia’s Orphans Left in the Lurch
The fractured state is unable to monitor its orphanages properly, and nor can it provide any decent alternatives to the institutions.
Kosovo Govt Paid to Help President Meet US Officials
Atifete Jahjaga’s office denies paying a lobbying firm to help set up meetings in the US - but the company’s disclosure to the US Justice Department reveals that Kosovo’s government paid it to do just that.
Occupy the Military: Squatters Struggle for the Balkans’ Derelict Barracks
Activists and the Serbian authorities fail to find common ground in a battle of ideals and real estate – unlike in Croatia and Slovenia.
The Minority Report: Jobless Ethnic Albanians “Let Down by the State”
Frustration unites members of the minority across the region – but hopes of EU entry may have eased tensions in Montenegro.
Cheap, and Far from Free: The Migrants Building Britain
Job restrictions have left Romanian and Bulgarian construction workers underpaid and vulnerable to exploitation, a BIRN investigation reveals.
Millions Vanish in North Kosovo’s Black Hole
Criminals from both Kosovo and Serbia have made fortunes from cross-border smuggling into Serb-run northern Kosovo, depriving both countries of millions of euro a year in lost duties.
How to Buy an EU Citizenship
Dodgy dealers in Romanian nationality can conjure up genuine documents for fake applicants, investigation reveals.
Belgrade Waste Contract Leaves Law in Dumpster
City’s contract for underground dumpsters clearly violated procurement law -while many believe the whole procedure was tailor-made to fit a pre-arranged winner.
Elite Prostitutes Reap Rewards
She just turned 30. She is pretty, well-groomed and well paid. Nothing about her fits the image of a typical prostitute pushed into the streets by poverty to sell her body for peanuts.
