Week in Review: Dealing With Uncertainty

Uncertain Future

The construction of the Bar-Boljare motorway through Montenegro is one of the prided public investment projects of the current Montenegrin government. The construction of the first phase is also responsible for pushing the public debt of the small Balkan economy to 79% of GDP in 2019.

With such high public debt and the unprofitability of the motorway - in terms of traffic volumes - it was always highly uncertain how the construction of future sections of the motorway would be financed. Then COVID-19 struck, blowing a hole in the Montenegrin public finances. With the economy projected to contract by 9% of GDP this year, public debt could rise to more than 90% of GDP. Amidst such a grim outlook, we examine the prospects for the motorway being completed in the near future.

Read more: Montenegrin Highway to Serbia Faces Fresh Funding Doubts (April 29, 2020)

Dangerous Words

EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Vera Jourova gives a statement on the on countering illegal hate speech online. Photo: EPA/Stephanie Lecoqo

In many corners of the Balkans, the coronavirus has helped to unmask and make more glaringly obvious 'pre-existing' political and societal problems and conditions. Authoritarian and illiberal tendencies have become ever more apparent.

In the case of Moldova, human rights activists have tracked a clear escalation in hate speech. We bring an interview with an expert from Promo-LEX, an local human rights organization, who has been monitoring the problem.

Read more: Pandemic Fires Hate Speech in Moldova (April 30, 2020)

Getting It Right

Illustration: EPA-EFE/FEHIM DEMIR

As the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic seems to be passing, it is...