Reporting Democracy

02/06/2026

Pictured is Andrada Lautaru, one of a team of journalists that included Zuza Nazaruk and Willemijn Sneep, picking up the Border Stories Journalism Prize in Gorizia, Italy on May 29, awarded for their article published by BIRN’s Reporting Democracy initiative, “The Price of Clean Streets: How the Netherlands Deports Homeless Eastern Europeans”.

This award-winning article investigated how deportations of unsheltered EU migrants, mainly from Poland and Romania, are on the rise in the Netherlands. Some experts and NGOs regard the policy as barely legal; others argue it gives the often-addicted migrants a second chance.

Congratulations Andrada, Zuza and Willemijn!

https://balkaninsight.com/2025/10/06/the-price-of-clean-streets-how-the-netherlands-deports-homeless-eastern-europeans/rd/

02/06/2026

Nuclear power remains attractive from an energy security and decarbonisation perspective, but Hungary illustrates how such projects have become more complicated economically and geopolitically to build than a decade ago.
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Nuclear power remains attractive from an energy security and decarbonisation perspective, but Hungary illustrates how such projects have become more complicated economically and geopolitically to build than a decade ago.

29/05/2026

The EU will unblock €16.4 billion of frozen funds for Hungary as its government moves forward with sweeping reforms to restore the rule of law and eliminate corruption, PM Magyar and EU Commission chief von der Leyen announced in Brussels today. The unblocking of EU funds was one of the key promises of the Tisza party, which won a landslide victory over Orban’s Fidesz on April 12.

The race has been a showdown between an experienced but visibly aged and increasingly authoritarian Orban, and a rock star-like newcomer Magyar with a rare talent for social media and endless energy to tour the country and reach out to the remotest parts of Hungary.

29/05/2026

📢 We have an open call!

Grants worth €1.500 are available for professional freelance or staff journalists and teams from across the Visegrad and Balkan region, with ideas for investigative, analytical, or feature stories.

📅 Apply by July 1:

From Poznań to Podgorica, and from Prague to Plovdiv, journalists across Central and Southeast Europe are invited to pitch ideas for in-depth reporting projects on issues shaping democracy across the region.

29/05/2026

Akey witness in the retrial of Marian Kocner over the murder of Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak again linked the convicted fraudster and suspected mastermind of the killing to the case.

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Elsewhere in the region, Hungarian parliament revokes planned withdrawal from the ICC; speculation explodes over possible sale of Czech maker of Semtex; Poland and UK sign a new security and defence treaty.

27/05/2026

Economy Minister welcomes ruling dismissing Hungarian oil company's claims against Croatia over alleged breaches of Gas Business Agreement.

26/05/2026

Czechia’s new gun-ownership law, which treads a fine line between greater transparency and constitutionally protected rights, is unlikely to bring the kind of change many had hoped for in the aftermath of the country’s worst mass shooting.
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Czechia’s new gun-ownership law, which treads a fine line between greater transparency and constitutionally protected rights, is unlikely to bring the kind of change many had hoped for in the aftermath of the country’s worst mass shooting.

22/05/2026

Poland spent much of this week attempting to calm public concerns over the future of the US military presence in the country.

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Elsewhere, Hungary’s new government seeks to limit PM’s mandate to a maximum of two terms; EU Parliament steps up pressure on Slovakia by urging freezing of EU funds; Czechia’s three-party coalition starts to show signs of division.