The lustration process in Macedonia is one of several in the region that have gone horribly wrong - becoming a tool by which the authorities stigmatise their enemies.
While snowstorms batter the Balkans, Emil Boc’s government faces a political blizzard of its own, as thousands demonstrate against cuts and wage freezes.
Disputed local and parliamentary elections, risks of capital outflows from banks, more job losses and social unrest are some of many challenges Romania faces in 2012.
Corruption cases and the country's related failure to gain admission to the EU Schengen zone dominated the political landscape.
As Brussels pressures Bucharest to improve living conditions for its Roma population, thousands of euros paid by the EU and Romanian government to do just that appears to have been wasted on inflated salaries and exorbitant rents and expenses, BIRN can reveal.
Uncertainty about the future of the single currency makes many Romanians concerned for their financial future.
Bulgaria fails to integrate its refugees and routinely locks up asylum seekers, despite EU and national laws banning the use of detention centres, forcing even those who might otherwise stay to try their luck in western Europe.
Employers across Europe have read workers’ private emails and chat conversations by illegally using secret computer surveillance software; in Romania employees claim bosses have used private information gained to blackmail and bully them.
Romania’s first population count in a decade is running into controversy, as many people say they will refuse to answer some or all of the questions.
Conservationist groups plan to send a letter of complaint to Europe, accusing Romania’s authorities of lack of transparency in deciding the bear-hunting quota.
The declining reputation of the ‘beautiful game’ in Romania is being compounded by repeated cases of match-fixings, bungs and bribes.
In a country where horse and cart remains the preferred form of transport for some, a European-style motorway network remains a distant fantasy.
Forget beaches and big hotels. Romania is trying to turn its vast unspoiled countryside into the next big thing in tourism – but the figures show it has a way to go.
In the wake of last year’s expulsions from France, the EU’s Roma framework has promised to take a tougher line on monitoring member states’ efforts to integrate marginalised minorities. Not everyone is convinced.
Despite high expectations, the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 initiative is yet to make its mark and significantly improve the lot of Roma communities, say activists and campaigners.