—🇬🇷/🇧🇬 NEW: A delegation of Greek local-government politicians, business executives and academics, led by the Greek Deputy Interior Minister, will visit Sofia on February 16–17 for talks focused on bilateral cooperation and regional issues.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇪🇺/🇽🇰 NEW: EU High Representative Kaja Kallas hailed the formation of Kosovo’s new government as “encouraging news” after more than a year of political deadlock, congratulating Albin Kurti and urging swift reforms as the fastest way to unlock EU support worth “hundreds of millions of euros” and advance Kosovo’s EU path and Belgrade–Pristina dialogue.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—👏🇷🇸 Congratulations to the Serbian people on its Statehood day!

—🇦🇪/🇷🇸 WATCH: The world's tallest building, Dubai's Burj Khalifa, was illuminated in the colors of the Serbian flag to mark Serbia's Statehood Day and highlight friendly ties between Serbia and the United Arab Emirates.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—👑🇷🇸 WATCH: Royal Karađorđević family marks Serbia’s Statehood Day at Oplenac.

Members of the Karađorđević royal family gathered at the Oplenac royal mausoleum to commemorate Sretenje, Serbia’s Statehood Day, with Prince Philip sharing video and photos from the ceremony on social media.
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🔗 Филип Карађорђеви

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇺🇸/🇷🇸 NEW: In his Statehood Day message to Aleksandar Vučić, US President Donald Trump stressed that Serbia was “the first foreign country whose flag flew in a place of honor above the White House,” recalling Woodrow Wilson’s 28 July 1918 order to raise the Serbian flag over the presidential residence and public buildings in Washington as a wartime gesture of solidarity.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇷🇸 WATCH: Thousands of Serbian patriots marched in Belgrade to mark the 215th anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising against Ottoman rule, carrying Serbian tricolors, historic uprising flags and Orthodox Christian banners, while organizers banned EU flags from the event.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—NEW: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the idea of a world without borders and of replacing national interests with a global order has proven to be foolish, speaking at the Munich Security Conference.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🤝🇽🇰/🇭🇷 WATCH: Kosovo PM Albin Kurti met Croatian PM Andrej Plenković on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇭🇺 🇸🇰 🇭🇷⚡️— Hungary and Slovakia have asked Croatia to authorize the transport of Russian oil through the Adriatic pipeline, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

A joint letter from Mr. Szijjarto and Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova was addressed to Croatian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Ante Šušnjar. Mr. Szijjarto explained the request by stating that Ukraine "refuses, for political reasons, to resume oil transit through the 'Druzhba' pipeline."

🇪🇺 Legion Europa | Group Chat 🇪🇺

—🇧🇦 NEW: Protests in Sarajevo erupted after a fatal tram derailment on February 12, 2026, killing 23-year-old Erdoan Morankić and seriously injuring others, including 17-year-old Ella Jovanović who lost a leg. Citizens blame government incompetence in maintaining outdated public transport infrastructure run by GRAS, the public transport company.

➡️ A tram derailed near the National Museum, veering into pedestrians and causing the tragedy amid winter conditions on aging tracks.

➡️ The driver, Adnan Kasapović, was not detained despite a prosecutor's request, and questions persist about brake maintenance by an inexperienced contractor.

➡️ GRAS union called it an unforeseeable breakdown, but protesters demand full investigation transparency including service records and footage.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇧🇦 WATCH: Large protests in Sarajevo have entered their fourth day after a young man was killed in a tram accident, triggering public anger over safety and accountability in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

➡️ In response, the PM of Sarajevo Canton and the director of the cantonal public transport company have resigned.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🪖🇦🇱/🇭🇷/🇽🇰 NEW: Defense officials from Albania and Croatia, both NATO members, met in Shkodra with representatives of Kosovo to advance a trilateral military cooperation framework presented as “coordination” and “engagement.”

➡️ The move effectively treats Kosovo as a de facto military partner despite ongoing non-recognition by some states and the constraints of UNSCR 1244, adding pressure on Serbia amid the construction of new regional security structures around it.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🇷🇸 NEW: The Serbian Ministry of Defense has sharply condemned a trilateral meeting of the Albania–Croatia–Kosovo military alliance, stating that Serbia “remains committed to peace but will not allow its vital national and defense interests to be threatened.”

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🇷🇸❌🇭🇷🇦🇱🇽🇰 URGENT: Serbia’s General Staff has announced intensified efforts to bolster the country’s armed forces, declaring an ambition to build capabilities surpassing the combined military power of the recently formed Croatia–Albania–Kosovo alliance.

➡️ The move is framed in Belgrade as a response to the alliance’s emergence and a bid to strengthen national deterrence.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇷🇴📉🏭 Romania loses significant economic value annually due to the lack of refining capacity, warns Minister of Energy Bogdan Ivan, criticizing the current model of exporting raw resources.

According to him, copper ore extracted in Romania leaves at a reduced purity to refineries abroad, and is then re-imported at industrial standards, which generates significant costs and losses for the local economy. Ivan claims that an investment of approximately 300 million euros would allow the construction of the first copper refinery in the country, capable of serving both the domestic market and the region.

Ivan said that in mid-April, a Memorandum would be presented to the Government, which would formalize the collaboration between Romania and the US for the first integrated project of extraction, refining and industrial use of resources. The official specified that the partner involved already has contracts with large companies in the American aerospace industry, which could ensure the sale of the resulting production.

In the context of global competition for scarce resources, the minister believes that the development of domestic processing could transform Romania from a supplier of raw materials into a relevant player on the international market.

@Wallachian_Gazette