The analysis explores how far-right Telegram channels instrumentalise opposition to the Rio Tinto project and lithium mining in Serbia to amplify their pre-existing nationalist and anti-Western narratives.

Civil society organisations express deep concern over the direction of the investigative actions concerning the incident of 15 March 2025, which have recently been undertaken by the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. The current conduct of this Prosecutor’s Office is the exact opposite of the thorough and impartial investigation that such a grave case requires. Instead, it indicates a deliberate intention to cover up the actual incident and divert public attention towards the political persecution of victims and all those who have provided them with legal or other forms of support.

Comparative analysis across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Croatia and France

The following transcript is from the opening speech by Pieter Omtzigt, former member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and former rapporteur on Pegasus and other spyware and secret state surveillance. The speech was delivered at the Sandbox Conference organised by the Civil Society Digital Security Network (CSDSN) in Tirana on 27 May 2026.

Civil Society Digital Security Network (CSDSN) brought together human rights defenders, journalists, activists, legal experts, and digital security specialists in Tirana, Albania, from 26 to 28 May 2026 for the Sandbox Conference "Protecting European Civic Space in the Digital Age". Supported by Stiftung Mercator, the conference served as a safe space for open dialogue on the growing digital threats facing civil society across the Western Balkans and the European Union.

As the coordinator of the Working Group for Chapter 24 within the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU), BCSP compiled joint comments from nine NCEU member organizations on the Draft Law on Internal Affairs, which was subject to official public debate in April 2026.

Civil society organisations, journalists, and human rights defenders across the Western Balkans and European Union (EU) are operating in a digital environment defined by raising threats and inadequate protection. This analysis presents findings from a needs assessment survey conducted within the “Defending Digital Freedoms: Strengthening Civil Society Resilience against Digital Repression in Europe” project, gathering 239 responses from 11 countries (six Western Balkan and five EU member states).

Serbia is moving further away from the European Union (EU), and this has become particularly evident since the end of 2025, when, according to the assessment of the prEUgovor Coalition, even the simulation of reform activities came to an end.

This paper examines how the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) is portrayed in existing research and media discourse, primarily as a major conduit of Russian influence in the Western Balkans through narratives tied to the Kremlin’s “Russian World” project and hybrid warfare activities.