A selection of articles about emerging Europe published elsewhere this week, all of which caught our eye and all of which are well worth your time. Listing them here, however, does not necessarily mean that we agree with every word, nor do they necessarily reflect Emerging Europe’s editorial policy.
Eastern Europe has a fire fatality problem. According to a 2019 report by the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (CTIF), which relied on national government data from 2013 to 2017, Russia had 5.3 deaths by fire per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017, compared with 1 in 100,000 in the US. Other Eastern European countries weren’t far behind in topping the global list: Ukraine had 4.3 deaths per 100,000, Latvia 4.1 and Belarus 5.2. Fellow former Soviet republics were right behind them, comprising nearly all of the 10 deadliest countries.
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Until recently, China received eight million tonnes of plastic waste a year, much of it from western European countries. But Beijing has stopped accepting most used plastics. Experts believe a lot of that waste may now be sent to Eastern Europe. In Romania, the law on incineration allows all sorts of different types of rubbish – such as tyres, oils and plastics – to be burned. Locals there are already dealing with the alarming consequences.
See the full video report here.
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As migrants to Poland, Vasyl Setrin and Anna Setrina might have been expected to have a hard time. They knew nobody, spoke no Polish and had arrived in a country where the government would soon promise a firm crackdown on immigration. Instead, they were quickly made to feel right at home — along with the two million other Ukrainians who have resettled in the country in the last four years.
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The head of Hungary’s oldest scientific institute has said it is considering taking legal action to challenge government moves to take more control over research work and budgets.
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This week marks 20 years since the end of the Kosovo war. What began as systematic Serbian state oppression led to attacks by an ethnic Albanian armed group, a vicious government response, and 78 days of NATO airstrikes. Today, 1,653 people remain missing from the war: 1,092 Albanians, and 562 Roma and Serbs. Justice is missing too.
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The construction of a deep water port in Anaklia on the Georgian Black Sea coast could be a game changer in the region. Through Anaklia both the EU and the US would be able to reach landlocked Central Asian countries.
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The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Moldova violated the rights of several Turkish professors by deporting them to Turkey, which was seeking their arrest for alleged links to cleric Fethullah Gulen’s movement.
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Bolstered by their country’s recently introduced 30 per cent cash rebate and critical acclaim for animated features Loving Vincent and Another Day of Life, Polish animators have high hopes for their growing industry.
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