PENNSYLVANIA, U.S. - Former U.S. Republican Rep. Bill Shuster published a commentary in The Washington Times warning citizens how he believes Moldova may be leaning back towards readopting neighboring country’s Russia’s political system.
Experts tracking the progress of Balkan nations over the past few decades still have concerns about the stabilization of these national economies and their financial industries.
The U.S. State Department’s 2016 Annual Human Rights Report contained a 32-page chapter on Bosnia and Herzegovina, which found that “government corruption remained among the country’s most serious problems, contributing to continued political and economic stagnation.”
The 2016 report on human rights in Romania released by the U.S. State Department earlier this month documented the country’s struggle with systematic corruption.
The chapter on Slovenia in the U.S. State Department’s Annual Human Rights Report cites the threat and use of defamation suits against journalists, among other intimidation methods.
The U.S. State Department’s Annual Report on Human Rights in Bulgaria said “corruption continued to be a drag” on the country, and that efforts to punish corrupt public officials have been “insufficient.”
Between 2013 and 2014, the country of Bulgaria saw one of its largest and most successful banks get demolished by a trio of a corrupt judiciary, corrupt media, and corrupt government officials in a classic corporate raiding scheme.
A recent meeting of the current Greek leadership party's political council, chaired by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, has fueled speculation that the party will agree to demands from European creditors to conclude the second review of the Greek program.
Following the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent report on the Greek bailout, steps toward compromise between the IMF and European creditors make it likely that Greece will face pressure to meet its commitments.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Dutch finance minister and Eurogroup chairman, said the Netherlands cannot move forward with the Greek bailout program without the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) support.