civil society

Ljubljana – The Freedom Movement, the party that won the 24 April general election, and its prospective coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SD) and the Left, would like to form a government by 3 June and will set out the distribution of ministerial briefs between them by the end of the week after the first round of official talks on Tuesday.

Turkey is working on a new major construction project in Idlib province of Syria for the return of 1 million Syrians, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced, informing that it will be held with the participation of national and international non-governmental organizations.

Ljubljana – Slovenia’s potential new prime minister, Robert Golob has made a successful career for himself as an energy executive before returning to politics as a new name just in time for the general election in a manner the country has become well used to since his one-time party boss, Zoran Janković, first made such an attempt.

Ljubljana – A group led by ex-soldier Ladislav Troha and dubbed the Conscious Residents of Slovenia came to the seat of the National Electoral Commission (DVK) today. After they failed to respond to calls to leave the premises and stop obstructing the commission’s work, the DVK called the police. Troha is reportedly infected with coronavirus.

Bulgaria is classified as a "free" country in the latest Freedom House report on democracy and freedoms around the world.

Bulgaria has 79 points out of 100, one point more than last year (78). According to the rating for political rights, Bulgaria has 33 points out of 40 possible, and according to the rating for civil liberties - 40 out of 60 possible.

Ljubljana – President Borut Pahor cast his vote on Tuesday in early voting for the 24 April general election, joining civil society organisations and prominent politicians in urging citizens to exercise their right to vote.

Ljubljana – The influence of politics on the media has been a major concern in recent years. The majority of parties quizzed by the STA spoke in favour of depoliticising appointments to the governing bodies of the public broadcaster, albeit to varying degrees and in different ways. When it comes to how to finance the STA, opinions are split.

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network has launched a call for proposals for small projects by journalists, artists, historians and civil society activists covering topics related to the archives of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and domestic courts in former Yugoslav countries that dealt with war crimes cases.

The European Union has expressed concern about the election of Blerim Isufaj as Kosovo's new Chief Prosecutor on Wednesday, and local civil society organisations have urged President Vjosa Osmani to consider the evident shortcomings of the process when she decides to decree the decision or not.

U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will visit Turkey on April 4 as part of her regional trip, which includes paying visits to France, Greece, Cyprus and Germany between April 2 and 9.