Balkan Developments

Romania on the brink of political crisis?

The ruling coalition in Romania is becoming increasingly fragile, Radio Romania International writes. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has threatened to leave the government if Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan does not resign by April 23. If the condition is not met, the SDP ministers will submit their resignations, BGNES reported. Due to the situation, Bolojan had a two-hour conversation with the country's President Nicușor Dan. On April 20, the SDP will hold an internal vote with a mobile application among its approximately 5,000 members to withdraw political support for Bolojan (from the National Liberal Party). In the event of a negative outcome for Bolojan, he can request a vote of confidence in parliament within 45 days and govern with a minority government. However, the SDP intends to support the vote of no confidence, which the Alliance for the Union of Romanians and Peace – Romania First announced they would submit. The leader of the third partner in the government, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, Hunor Kelemen, says that there are real chances for reconciliation within the coalition.

According to Sorin Grindeanu, head of the Social Democrats, Romania needs a "political recharge" that would change the direction of the country's development. On Facebook, he listed three negative signals for an accelerating economic decline, for which, in his opinion, Bolojan was responsible: inflation of 10%, a drop in consumption since the beginning of February and a revised IMF forecast that halves the country's expected economic growth for 2026 - from 1.4% to 0.7%.

Magyar's victory in Hungary raises the question of Nikola Gruevski's extradition

The outcome of the parliamentary elections in Hungary has raised the question of the possible extradition of former North Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. The leader of the victorious Tisza party, Péter Magyar, said that Hungary would no longer grant asylum to wanted persons, citing Gruevski as an example. He was granted asylum in 2018 after being sentenced to two years in prison in his homeland for illegally purchasing an armoured car for 600,000 euros.

The opposition in North Macedonia, led by the chairman of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, Venko Filipče, demanded clarity on whether the government would file a new extradition request. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski recalled that such a request had already been rejected in 2019, as Gruevski had been granted political asylum, and pointed out that if Gruevski returned, he would serve his sentence.

Tourism in Cyprus marks decline amid war in the Middle East

The past Easter holidays this year did not give the usual boost to the tourist season, the Cyprus Hotel Association summarized. According to its data, occupancy in hotels that were open for the holiday was between 25% and 40%, BNR correspondent on the island Branislava Bobanac reported. Cancelled reservations for April reached 40%. The level is lower in comparison to March, but new reservations are not increasing to an extent that would give the sector optimism for the summer tourist season. The problems for the industry began in March, when the two international airports reported a sharp drop in passenger traffic to and from Cyprus due to the wars in Iran and Lebanon. The airport operator reported that the flow of passengers had decreased by over 15% after a very successful January and February.

Greece and Turkey in a heated dispute over origin of tripe soup

At the suggestion of Dimitris Tsarouchas, owner of a restaurant in Thessaloniki serving "patsas" (tripe soup), the Greeks are demanding that this spicy soup should be listed by UNESCO as a traditional Greek dish. Tsarouchas has even prepared a report on the subject, stating that the recipe is mentioned in the "Odyssey" in a feast given by Penelope. The idea has sparked heated discussions in Türkiye, which also claims that tripe soup, called "iskembe" there, is its own. Turkish media point out that the 17th-century traveller Evliya Çelebi, in his "Book of Travels", described merchants selling tripe soup and emphasize that this proves that the soup has a 400-year history in Türkiye.

In fact, this type of "neighborly dispute" is nothing new. When it comes to the cuisine of Turks and Greeks the culinary rivalry often centers on dishes shared during the Ottoman Empire, the Associated Press points out.

Compiled by: Miglena Ivanova