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Valerie Hopkins

South-East Europe Correspondent
Email Valerie Hopkins @VALERIEin140 (link opens in a new browser window)
Email Valerie Hopkins @VALERIEin140 (link opens in a new browser window)

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  • Thursday, 9 January, 2020
    Ageing Populations
    Hungary’s Orban deems fertility clinics ‘strategic’

    Anti-immigration PM offers free IVF and nationalises clinics to reverse demographic decline

  • Wednesday, 8 January, 2020
    Hungary
    Hungary tests EU diplomatic unity with go-it-alone foreign policy

    Budapest’s stance seen as an attempt to create more leverage within bloc

  • Sunday, 5 January, 2020
    Croatia
    Milanovic wins Croatia’s presidential election

    Grabar-Kitarovic ousted as ruling party hits turbulence ahead of EU presidency

  • Tuesday, 31 December, 2019
    Romania
    Romania PM outlines pro-business agenda

    Ludovic Orban moves to undo swath of tax increases while promising to rein in deficit

  • Tuesday, 31 December, 2019
    Austria
    Vienna New Year’s Day concert severs link to Nazi era

    Philharmonic to play new version of Strauss’s Radetzky March

  • Monday, 30 December, 2019
    Bribery and corruption
    Former Croatian PM convicted of corruption in privatisation case

    Ivo Sanader accepted bribe in sale of state-owned energy group, court rules

  • Monday, 30 December, 2019
    Ageing Populations
    Depopulation an ‘existential’ risk, Croatia warns EU

    Low birth rates and emigration take toll as many states in Europe’s east lose people

  • Monday, 23 December, 2019
    Croatia
    Croatia president reaches run-off in re-election bid

    Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic will face social democrat former premier Zoran Milanovic

  • Saturday, 21 December, 2019
    Romania
    Scars of Romania’s revolution still to heal

    Trial of Ion Iliescu seen as opportunity to clear ‘fog’ over country’s democracy

  • Promoted Content
  • Friday, 20 December, 2019
    Croatia
    Gaffes blight Croatia president’s fight for new term

    Grabar-Kitarovic’s early lead eroded by own goals in run-up to first-round vote

  • Monday, 16 December, 2019
    EU eastern tensions
    Liberal mayors from Visegrad Four unite to defy own governments

    Prague, Warsaw, Budapest and Bratislava seek direct funds from Brussels

  • Sunday, 15 December, 2019
    Kosovo
    Kosovo ‘enslaved from within’ by corruption, says incoming PM

    Albin Kurti tells FT he is willing to put aside demand to unify with Albania to boost economy

  • Tuesday, 26 November, 2019
    AnalysisEurope
    Romania’s leadership duo pledge pro-EU era

    Iohannis and Orban face ballooning public spending and waning investor confidence

  • Monday, 18 November, 2019
    George Soros
    George Soros waves goodbye to Budapest

    The university he founded has fallen prey to Viktor Orban’s war on liberal values

  • Thursday, 14 November, 2019
    Travel4 min
    Why Croatia's oyster farms face an uncertain future

    The FT's Valerie Hopkins tastes the seafood taken straight from delicate waters of Mali Ston Bay

  • Wednesday, 13 November, 2019
    AnalysisEU enlargement
    EU’s gatekeeper laments bloc’s message to Balkans

    Johannes Hahn wants formal talks for North Macedonia and Albania to join union

  • Saturday, 9 November, 2019
    Special ReportWatches and Jewellery — November
    The Hungarian craftsman who upcycles pocket watches

    Lorant Tamas recasts forgotten pieces for a new life on the wrist

  • Friday, 8 November, 2019
    EU enlargement
    Von der Leyen defies Macron over Balkans EU accession

    Incoming EC president warns Russia and China are ready to step into the gap

  • Thursday, 7 November, 2019
    Brussels Briefing
    Romania’s search for stability

    Former National Liberal party leader Klaus Iohannis looks set to emerge victorious in Sunday’s presidential elections

  • Monday, 4 November, 2019
    Romania
    Ludovic Orban installed as Romania’s prime minister

    National Liberal party leader wins confidence vote to end political uncertainty

  • Monday, 4 November, 2019
    EU enlargement
    Balkan leaders warn of rising risks after EU talks delay

    Albania and North Macedonia say reforms and name deal with Greece could be under threat

  • Wednesday, 30 October, 2019
    Russian politics
    Orban-Putin talks compound disquiet over Hungary’s Russia ties

    Leaders poised to discuss business deals as unease grows among Budapest’s western allies

  • Monday, 28 October, 2019
    Global Economy
    Central Europe braces for effects of German slowdown

    Supply chains at risk as carmaking sector that has led growth goes into reverse

  • Wednesday, 23 October, 2019
    EU enlargement
    Balkan nations bank on regional ties after EU snub

    Serbia’s president sees vindication of Belgrade’s closer links to Russia and China

  • Tuesday, 22 October, 2019
    Brussels Briefing
    Zaev’s last stand

    North Macedonia's prime minister has called new elections — a move that could lead to Brussels losing one of its biggest allies in the region

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