After over six years on the run, Moldovan oligarch and former political leader Vladimir Plahotniuc has been handed a 19-year prison sentence for his role in a massive banking fraud widely.

A momentous election spells change not just for Hungary but also for much of the Western Balkans, as our selection of Balkan Insight Premium stories this week highlights.

Following parliament’s failure to elect a new president, Kosovo is heading towards snap polls in which former President Vjosa Osmani is clearly planning a role.

Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe bestows its top 'award' on Croatian judge Ivan Markovic for issuing over 20 lawsuits against journalists – the third 'winner' from Croatia in five years.

Political change in Sofia promises a stable government after years of turmoil – but it isn’t likely to translate into a substantial shift in policy towards neighbouring North Macedonia and its blocked EU aspirations.

Bosnian state court upholds verdict acquitting Andrija Bjelosevic, a wartime security chief in the town of Derventa, of raping a Bosniak woman multiple times.

Prosecutors lift the lid on an alleged corruption scam involving the government body tasked with handling Albania’s digital public services. A handful of people made millions.

Kosovo will face a much more hostile international environment if far-right parties gain more power in core EU states like France and Germany, while the US under Trump remains indifferent to the Balkans.

A year since the election of political novice Karol Nawrocki, his presidency has unfolded against the backdrop of a shakeup of Poland’s political landscape, signalling a generational change and a shift to the far right.

Former prime minister warns of democratic decline, criticises the rightward shift of her former party, the HDZ, and reflects on Croatia’s successful path to the EU.

The leaders of Serbia and Georgia like to talk up the economic importance of partnership with China, but it’s the EU that counts, whether they like it or not.

As they veer from the path of European Union integration, governments in Georgia and Serbia have both wielded invasive surveillance technology against pro-democracy protesters.