Agora
At the bottom of the Balkans: Kosovo's bumpy road in securing vaccines
Covid-19 exposed systemic problems in the health system of Kosovo and other institutional branches. While the high number of positive cases and deaths made the headlines, the government declarations that they have secured hundreds of thousands dozes of vaccines were full of hope, if it were to be true.
Contributor: Arber Fetahu
Categories: Europe (276), Politics (364), Society (131)
Podcast - The heavy arm of the law: Police brutality in Greece
The behaviour of the Greek police has come under scrutiny, again, following a number of incidents over which officers have been accused of using unnecessary and excessive force.
Contributor: Agora Podcast
Categories: Politics (364), Society (131), Greece (466)
Political wrangling instead of vaccines
Since March 2020, more than 7,500 citizens have died in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the coronavirus. Currently, about 35,000 people are infected. According to Johns Hopkins data, B&H ranks first in the region and eighth in the world in terms of coronavirus mortality.
Contributor: Vanja Stokić
Categories: Europe (276), Politics (364), Society (131)
Turkey: Multiple policy challenges from all directions
A massive surge in daily coronavirus cases has put the tourism season at risk.
Meanwhile, Ankara’s almost exclusive reliance on the Sinovac vaccine is becoming a major liability due to supply and efficacy concerns.
Markets expect the TCMB to maintain the key policy rate unchanged on 15 April. This sounds reasonable but given the circumstances the potential for a negative surprise is substantial.
Already strained US-Turkey ties could worsen due to the likely recognition of the Armenian genocide by US President Joe Biden.
Contributor: Wolfango Piccoli
Categories: Europe (276), Politics (364), Economy (312)
Bulgaria's Covid-19 vaccination fiasco: excessive risks, mediocre results
Bulgaria’s vaccination program can only be deemed a fiasco. It can be attributed to a number of factors — poor organization, incompetence, and potential conflict of interest. In turn, the drama, which unravels now, is not surprising. Bulgaria is second in the EU in deaths per capita on a seven-day rolling basis and last in the EU by number of administered vaccines per capita.
Contributor: Vladimir Atanasov
Categories: Europe (276), Politics (364), Society (131)