Balkan developments

Balkan truck drivers’ protest to block EU borders

On September 14, truck drivers from Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Türkiye will stage a new protest following similar action in 2025 over strict rules on stays in the Schengen area. They plan to block traffic at border crossings with EU countries, including the largest in Europe, the Kapitan Andreevo–Kapıkule crossing on the Bulgaria- Türkiye border.

The protest is against an EU regulation that allows drivers to stay in the EU for up to 90 days within any 180-day period, birgun.net reported, citing a statement by two of Türkiye’s largest truck drivers’ organizations, KATAŞ-SEN and Uluslararası Şoförler Derneği.  

Romania will not send troops to Ukraine

Romanian President Nicușor Dan has rejected speculation that Bucharest is preparing to send troops to Ukraine to take part in the war. In an official statement posted on the presidential administration’s Facebook page, the claims were described as a “false narrative.”

“This is manipulation, deliberately distorting an administrative decision to fuel the unfounded claim that Romania is being drawn into the conflict. Romania is not sending combat units to Ukraine, nor is it sending troops to the front line”, the statement said, as quoted by BTA.

Earlier, on September 8, Nicușor Dan asked parliament to approve the participation of up to 20 officers in the operational headquarters for the Multinational Force supporting Ukraine.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis introduces Greece’s first astronaut at International Space Summit in Paris

At the International Space Summit in Paris, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis introduced Adrianos Golemis, who is set to become Greece’s first astronaut. The Greek prime minister described the event as a significant moment for the country. He noted that until recently, Greece had virtually no presence in the space sector, whereas today it has 18 microsatellites in orbit and is developing its own satellite manufacturing industry.

Golemis is a physician and head doctor of the astronauts’ medical team at the European Space Agency, BGNES reports.

Albania and Türkiye show strong results in PISA 2025

Albania ranks first in the Balkans in science and mathematics in the PISA 2025 assessment. Its students recorded average scores of 435 and 433 points, respectively, Shqiptarja.com reports. However, the country lags behind in reading, where Albanian students achieved an average score of 408 points.

The international assessment conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, science and mathematics knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges.

Students in Türkiye improved their PISA performance, scoring 494 points in science, 472 in reading and 462 in mathematics, Daily Sabah reports. Since Türkiye first took part in PISA in 2003, its scores have increased by 64% in science, 60% in reading and 52% in mathematics.

Greece recorded a decline in student performance in PISA 2025. One in two secondary school graduates is unable to perform basic mathematical reasoning, while four in 10 cannot understand simple physical phenomena or basic texts, ekathimerini.com reports.

In Romania, 48% of 15-year-old students are unable to understand a moderately long text, identify its main idea and find the requested information, according to the 2025 PISA results, Digi24.ro reports. In 2022, their share was 41.7%.

The 2025 PISA results for North Macedonia show that only 26% of students attained Level 2 or higher in reading, compared with an OECD average of 69%. 32% of students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in mathematics, compared with an OECD average of 65%. In science, the figure for North Macedonia is 36%, compared with 74% across the countries participating in the assessment.

In Serbia, 43% of students perform below Level 2 in science. In mathematics and reading, 53% and 48% of those tested, respectively, fall below the benchmark, danas.rs reports.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov