Chronology of Major Conflicts and Political Events - IEMed

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Chronologies

Chronology of Major Conflicts and Political Events

January 2015

France steps up security measures after a series of terrorist attacks, mainly against the satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo. In Italy, Sergio Matta-rella is elected as the new President of the Republic. In Croatia, Kolinda Gra-bar-Kitarovic wins the presidential elec-tions. In Kosovo, there is unrest over the privatization of a mining complex. In FYROM, two controversial constitu-tional reforms are passed and precau-tionary measures are taken against the opposition Social Democratic party leader. In Greece, the far-left Syriza party wins the legislative elections. In Syria, the Kurdish forces and interna-tional coalition liberate Kobani. Leba-non is further destabilized and the gov-ernment restricts entry for Syrians without visas. In Egypt, the court orders the retrial of the former President for embezzlement and violence erupts dur-ing the commemoration of the Revolu-tion. Peace talks fail in Geneva be-tween the two factions vying for power in Libya, against the backdrop of a rise in the presence of the Islamic State (Daesh) in the country. In Tunisia, Ha-bib Essid tries to form a new govern-ment. Mauritania jails three anti-slavery activists.

Portugal

• On6Januarypoliceraidthehead-quartersofPortugalTelecomonsuspi-cion of fraud in connection with thecompany’sruinousinvestmentsincom-panies from theEspiritoSantogroup,whichwentbankruptinlate2014.• On 12 January, after 37 years inpower, the President ofMadeira Al-

bertoJoaoJardimresigns,leavingthearchipelagowith 6.3 billion euros ofdebt.

Spain

• On13January theSupremeCourtrules thatprisonsentencesservedbymembersoftheterroristgroupEuskadiTaAskatasuna (ETA) in any otherEUcountrywillnotaffectthemaximumsen-tenceshandeddowninSpain.• On22JanuarytheformertreasurerofthePeople’sParty(PP,centre-right)LuisBarcenasisreleasedafterpostinga200,000-eurobail,following19monthsincustodyforhisinvolvementintheGür-telcorruptioncase.

France

• On7January theFrenchbrothersSaïdandCherifKouachiburstintotheofficesof thesatiricalweeklyCharlieHebdo in Paris and kill 12 people.On8-9Januaryanotherradicalislam-ist,AmedyCoulibaly,killsapoliceof-ficer inMontrouge and bursts into aJewishestablishmentinPortedeVin-cennes taking a group of hostages.Thethreeterroristsareshotdeadbypolice.• On27 January five people are ar-rested in an anti-jihadist operation inLunel,Languedoc-Roussillon.

Monaco

• On29Januaryaroundfiftyemploy-eesofRobertshaw,amanufacturerofelectricalcomponents,protestinFont-vieilleagainsttherelocationofthecom-panytotheCzechRepublic,whichwillresultin84redundanciesattheendoftheyear.

Italy

• On3January360illegalimmigrantsweredisembarkedinCoriglianoCalabroafterbeingabandonedbythecrewoftheSierraLeone-flaggedshipEzadeen.On9Januarymorethan800immigrantsareinterceptedindifferentoperations.• On28JanuarytheSenateapprovestheelectionreformsofMatteoRenzi’sgovernment,whichforeseesa3%elec-tionthresholdforparliamentaryrepre-sentation,apremiumforthemostvotedpartyiftheytakemorethan40%ofthevotesandasecondroundofelectionsif no party obtains 40% in the firstround.• On31JanuarytheParliamentelectstheDemocraticParty(PD,socialdemo-crat)candidateSergioMattarella,Con-stitutionalCourtjudgeandministerdur-ing thegovernmentsofAndreotti andD’Alema,asPresidentoftheRepublictoreplaceGiorgioNapolitano,whoon14 January officially resigns citing hisadvancedage.

Malta

• On22JanuaryaMaltesepatrolboatrescues80migrantsadrift intheseasaroundtheisland.

Croatia

• On11 JanuaryKolindaGrabar-Ki-tarovic from theCroatianDemocraticUnion(HDZ,conservative)winsinthesecondroundofthepresidentialelec-tionswith50.74%ofthevotes.Oneofits firstmeasures is to ask theUN topushfortheSerbianpoliticianVojislavSeselj,awarcrimessuspectreleasedin2014due topoorhealth, tobe re-turned to the custody of the Interna-

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tionalCriminalTribunal for theFormerYugoslavia(ICTY).

Bosnia and Herzegovina

• On16January,followinga2013or-der of theEuropeanCourt ofHumanRights (ECHR), the ConstitutionalCourtputsastoptothereleaseoftwoformermembers of theBosnian-SerbforcesduringtheBosnianWar,MiloradTrbicandAnteKovac,pendingtheirre-trial forwar crimes inSrebrenica andVitezrespectively,undertheoldYugo-slav criminal code in forcewhen thecrimeswerecommitted.• On20JanuarytheformerCroatiangeneralBranimirGlavasisprovisionallyreleasedbyBosniauntilCroatiapassesa definitive sentence in his trial forcrimesagainstSerbcivilians inOsijekafter, on13 January, aCroatian courtannuls the previous sentence againsthim,orderingaretrialduetoproceduraldefects.• On 23 January the Foreign TradeMinisterBorisTucic, fromtheAllianceof Independent Social Democrats(SNSD,Serbiannationalist),resignscit-ingthegovernment’sdecisiontoauthor-ize the sale of Bosnian arms to theUkrainiangovernment,whichcontinuestofightagainsttheseparatistrevolutioninDonbass.

Serbia

• On30JanuarytheICTYhandsdownlifesentencestoseniorofficersof theSerbianarmyVujadinPopovicandLjubi-saBeara and sentences three formerofficersoftheBosnianSerbarmyto13,18and35years’imprisonment.Thesesentences mark the end, after nineyears, of the longest trial for theSre-brenicamassacre.

Kosovo under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244

• On19Januarythegovernmentpost-pones the parliamentary vote on thepartialprivatizationoftheTrepcaminingcomplex,partlylocatedinNorthKosovoandforwhichSerbiaclaimsownership.SerbiawarnsPristina of the negativeimpactprivatizationwouldhaveforthenormalizationofbilateralrelations.Daily

protestsoverthefutureofthecomplexintensifyon27Januaryleavingatleast37peopleinjured.

FYROM

• On20 January theParliament ap-proves two constitutional reformsde-spiteanoppositionboycott:toopenaninternational financial zone to attractinvestmentsand thedefinitionofmar-riage as an exclusively heterosexualunion.• On31JanuarythejudicialauthoritiesorderZoranZaev,leaderoftheSocialDemocraticParty(SDSM),toremaininthecountryandconfiscatehispassportafterbeingaccusedbythePrimeMin-isterNikolaGruevskiofspyingandplot-tingacoup.Zaevhadbeenthreateningthe InternalMacedonianRevolutionaryOrganization – Democratic Party forMacedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE,conservative)withthepublica-tionofinformationaboutaspynetworkinvolvingmorethan20,000citizensthatwouldbringdownthegovernment.Theformer headof secret servicesZoranVerusevski is also arrested under thesamecharges.

Albania

• On17-19JanuaryArdianTrota,theKukesmafiaboss,andArbenSula,di-rectorofaprisonnearTirana,areinjuredinaseriesofbombattacksinDurres.

Greece

• On2JanuarythefoundingassemblyisheldfortheMovementofDemocraticSocialists,anewpartycreatedbytheformerPrimeMinisterandformerleaderofthePanhellenicSocialistMovement(PASOK),GeorgePapandreou.• On25JanuaryGreeceholdsearlylegislative elections. With a 63.9%turnout, Syriza (far-left) wins taking149seats.ItsleaderAlexisTsipraswillbe thenewPrimeMinister.NewDe-mocracy (ND,centre-right), thepartyoftheoutgoingPrimeMinisterAntonisSamaras, takes just 76 seats, downfrom 129, followed by the GoldenDawn(XA,neo-Nazi)with17seats;ToPotami(TP,centre)17seats;theCom-munist Party (KKE) 15 seats; Inde-

pendent Greeks (ANEL, far-right)13 seats; andPASOK13 seats.On28 January Tsipras forms a coalitiongovernment comprising Syriza andANEL. The new ten-minister cabinetincludesnowomen.PanosKammenos(ANEL) takes over Defence; YannisDragasakis,Economy;YanisVaroufa-kis,FinanceandNikosKotzias,ForeignAffairs. The new government’s firstmeasure is the renegotiation of theGreekbailoutpackageandtheendofnegotiationswiththetroika–theEu-ropeanCommission (EC), EuropeanCentralBank(ECB)andInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF)-.

Turkey

• On20JanuarytheJusticeandDe-velopmentParty’s(AKPIslamist)parlia-mentarymajorityvotesagainstsendingfourformerministerstostandtrialwhowere involved in the corruption caseuncovered in December 2013 andwhichaffectstheparty.• On20January28employeesoftheTelecommunicationsDirectorate andgovernmentscientificresearchcouncilTübitakarearrestedsuspectedof in-volvementinillegalwiretappingofsen-ior stateofficials, in theAKPgovern-ment’s fight against the supportnetworkoftheIslamistpreacherFethul-lahGülen.

Cyprus

• On9 January theFinanceMinisterHarrisGeorgiadis announces the im-mediateclosureofCyprusAirways,fol-lowing the EU’s decision to demandrepaymentof illegalstateaidgiven totheairlinesince2007.• On 13 January YiannakisOmirou,President of theMovement forSocialDemocracy (EDEK), resignsaccusingthepartyofundermininghisleadership.

Syria

• On25JanuaryTurkeyopensthenewSurucrefugeecampwithacapacityfor35,000Syrianrefugees.• On 26 January, after 132 days ofsiege,Kurdishforces,supportedbytheinternational coalition, take full controlofKobanifromIslamicState(Daesh).


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Lebanon

• On 5 January the government im-posesrestrictionsontheentryofSyriancitizensintoLebanon,afterfouryearsofcivilwar inSyria havemadeLebanonhometo1.15millionrefugees.• On10Januaryatleastsevenpeoplearekilledinadoublesuicidebombat-tack in JabalMohsen,Tripoli.Spokes-man for the Arab Democratic Party(PAD,Alawite)AbdelLatifSalehsaysDaeshisresponsible.• On23JanuaryclashesbetweentheLebanesearmyandSyrianIslamistre-belsleaveatleastthreerebelsdeadandfivesoldiersinjuredinRasBaalbek,ontheSyrianborder.

Egypt

• On13Januaryanappealscourtan-nuls the three-year prison sentencehanded down to Hosni Mubarak forembezzlementandordersaretrial.• On14JanuaryAbdelFattahel-SisiissuesapresidentialdecreetomodifyLaw1936onMediaandCommunica-tionsandbanthesaleofanypublicationdeemedoffensivetoreligion.• On22JanuarytheCriminalCourtinCairoreleasesthesonsofformerPres-identHosniMubarak,AlaaandGamal,pendingtheirretrialformisappropriationofpublicfunds.• On24-25January,duringthecom-memorationoftheEgyptianrevolution,at least18peoplearekilled,a further50are injuredandmore than500ar-restsaremadeinanti-governmentpro-teststakingplaceindifferentcities.• On29JanuaryAnsarBaital-Maqdis,aterroristgrouployaltoDaesh,claimsresponsibilityforfourterroristattacksintheSinaithatleaveatleast29membersofthesecurityforcesdead.

Libya

• On 14 January new UN-brokeredtalksbegininGenevabetweenLibya’swarringfactions.On16Januarythepar-allelgovernmentsofTobrukandTripoliagree to cease hostilities and form aunitygovernment.On16-18JanuarytheIslamistmilitiasoftheTripoligovernmentandthegeneralcommandofthearmedforcesof theTobrukgovernmentboth

callunilateralceasefires.On19Januaryfightingisresumed.On21JanuarytheTripoligovernmentrepresentativesleavethenegotiations,whichareresumedon26January.• On27JanuaryDaeshinTripolitaniaclaimsresponsibilityforitsfirstattackinTripoli,acarbomboutsidetheCorinthiaHotelwhichleaves10peopledead.

Tunisia

• On5JanuarytheformerInteriorMin-ister Habib Essid is chosen by thePresidentBejiCaïdEssebsitobecomePrimeMinisterandformanewgovern-ment.• On23JanuaryHabibEssidunveilsthenewgovernment,whichincludesnomembersoftheIslamistEnnahdaparty.On25 January Ennahda, the secondlargestparty in theParliament, rejectstheproposedcabinet.

Algeria

• On20January theJusticeMinisterpresents a bill that foresees toughersentences formoney laundering andfinancing terrorismandallows theau-thoritiestomonitor,freezeorseizefundssuspectedoffinancingterrorism.• On22Januarythegovernmenten-suresitwillnotcutgovernmentsubsi-diesorsuspendtheplannedminimumwage increase, despite a41.7-billion-eurodeficitforecastforthe2015budg-et,duetothesharpfallinoilprices.

Morocco

• On30JanuaryMohammedVIputsanendtoelevenmonthsofdiplomaticcrisiswith Francewhen he travels toParistomeetwiththePresidentFran-çoisHollande.ThecrisisdatesbacktoFebruary 2014, when Morocco sus-pended its judicial and anti-terroristcooperationwithFranceoveratrial inParis against Abdellatif Hammouchi,headoftheGeneralDirectorateofTer-ritorialSurveillance.

Mauritania

• On 15 January BiramDah Abeid,winner of theUnitedNationsHumanRightsPrizein2013andleaderofthe

InitiativefortheResurgenceoftheAbo-litionistMovement inMauritania (IRA),Brahim Ould Bilal Ramdhane, vice-President of the IRA andDjibySow,PresidentoftheUnionforProgress,aresentencedtotwoyears’imprisonment.

EU

• On 1 January Latvia assumes thepresidencyoftheEUwiththeprioritiestorevitalizetheNeighbourhoodPolicy,refocus relationswithRussia and thenegotiationswithMoscowandKievoverthe conflict in easternUkraine, adoptmeasures to create sustainable youthemploymentandstrengthen theEuro-peanDigitalAgenda.• On1 January Lithuania adopts theeuroandbecomesthenineteenthmem-bercountryoftheeurozone.• On28JanuarytheEUForeignMin-isters renewsanctionsagainstRussiaforitssupportoftheUkrainiansepara-tistsdespitethereluctanceofthenewGreekgovernment.

Arab League

• On16JanuarytheArabLeagueap-provesaplanpresentedbyPalestinetosubmitadraftresolutiontotheUnitedNationsSecurityCouncil thatcalls foradealtoendtheIsraelioccupationbytheendof2017.

February 2015

In Spain, the two main parties agree on an anti-terrorism pact. In France, the gov-ernment survives a vote of no coinci-dence and the Falciani List is published. In Italy, the government approves new anti-terror measures. In Malta, the Con-stitutional Court awards the main op-position party two additional seats in the Parliament. Greece reaches an agree-ment with the eurozone to extend its fi-nancial assistance programme. In Turkey, more arrests are made of supporters of the preacher Fethullah Gülen. Cyprus and Russia sign an agreement that gives Russian military ships access to Greek-Cypriot ports. In Syria, Kurdish troops continue their advance from Kobani. Jor-dan executes two Islamist prisoners in


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retaliation for the execution of the pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh. Egypt launches a new offensive against Daesh in Libya, where the political situation continues to deteriorate and UN-brokered talks be-tween the Tobruk and Tripoli govern-ments make no major advances. In Tuni-sia, a new government is formed.

Portugal

• On26FebruaryAlfredoBarroso,oneofthefoundersoftheSocialistParty(PS),leaves theparty after theparty leaderAntonioCostadeclaresthatthecountry,currentlygovernedbyacentre-rightcoa-lition,isinabettersituationnowthanfouryears ago, when the former socialistPrime Minister Jose Socrates was inpower,whowasjailedforcorruption.

Spain

• On4 February thePeople’s Party(PP)andtheSpanishSocialistWorkers’Party(PSOE)signapactonthefightagainstIslamicterrorism.• On6FebruaryJuanCarlosMoned-ero,third-in-commandinthefar-leftpartyPodemosadmitstotaxfraudthroughthecreationofafictitiouscompanyin2013forinvoicing425,150eurosforworkcar-riedoutforthegovernmentsofVenezue-la,Bolivia,NicaraguaandEcuador.• On9FebruaryArturMasbecomesthefirstPresidentoftheCatalangovern-menttoappearbeforetheregionalpar-liamentoverevidencethatpointsathispossible involvement in thecorruptionscandalsurroundingtheformerCatalanPresidentJordiPujolandhisfamily.• On11FebruarytheSecretaryGen-eralofPSOEPedroSanchezsackstheleaderoftheparty’sMadridbranchTo-masGomezoverhispossible involve-ment in a corruption scandal inParlawhenhewasthemayorthere.• On26FebruarytheMurcianAgricul-ture Minister Antonio Cerda resignsafter being implicated in the NovoCarthagocorruptioncase.

France

• On5FebruarytheParischiefofpo-liceBernardPetitisarrestedforviolatingthesecrecyofaninquiryintheinvestiga-tionofconmanChristopheRocancourt.

• On6FebruaryPhilippeMartinezbe-comes the new Secretary General ofFrance’slargesttradeunion,theGeneralConfederation of Labour (CGT), afterThierryLepaon’sresignationon6January,followingirregularexpensesmadesinceheassumedthepostin2013.• On9Februaryaninternationalme-dia investigationpublishes thenamesof the so-called Falciani List, sevenyearsafterthesystemsengineerHervéFalcianiinformedauthoritiesofseveralcountries inwhich106,000clientsoftheSwisssubsidiaryoftheHongKong-ShanghaiBankingCorporation(HSBC)usedtheentitytoevadetaxesamount-ingto78billioneurosbetween2006and2007.• On17February thePrimeMinisterManuelVallspassestheso-calledMa-cronLawbydecree,designedtoliberal-izetheeconomy,thusavoidingaparlia-mentary vote. The decision leads theopposition to propose a confidencevoteon19February,whichthegovern-mentsurvives.

Italy

• On9Februaryatotalof300immi-grantshavedied in recentdays tryingtoreachItalianshores.On19FebruarytheECannounces that itwill stepupassistancetoItalyextendingOperationTritontotheendof2015andawardinganadditional13.7millioneuros.• On10FebruarytheCouncilofMin-istersapprovesthelawdecreetoughen-ingtheanti-terrorismlaws.

Malta

• On 5 February the ConstitutionalCourtorders theNationalistParty (PNChristiandemocracy) tobegiven twoseatsinParliamentduetoerrorsfoundinthevotecountingforthe2013elections.

Croatia

• On9February theoutgoingPresi-dentIvoJosipovicdecoratesEjupGan-ic, the Bosnian President during theBosnianWar, accused by Serbia oforderingtheattackonYugoslavtroopsinSarajevoin1992.• On9Februarythepublicprosecu-tor’s office withdraws an indictment

againsttwoformerCroatianpoliceof-ficersaccusedofwarcrimescommittedduringOperationStormin1995,citingshortcomings inZagreb’s handlingofthecase,wherethepublicprosecutorZeljkaPokupechands inher resigna-tion.


• On16Februarynine-month-oldFarukSalakabecomes the first citizen toberegistered with Bosnian nationality,22 yearsafter thecountry’s independ-ence,whose civil registry only allowspeopletoregisterasSerb,Croat,Bos-niakorother.• On16FebruarytheStateCourtcon-firms 21-year prison sentences forVelemirDjuric,ZoranBabicandDrago-mirSoldatfortheexecutionofBosniaksinCarakovoin1992anda20-yearsen-tenceforMiloradTrbic,commanderoftheBosnianSerb forces, for theSre-brenicamassacre.• On23February the federalParlia-mentapprovesthedeclarationsignedinJanuarybythetripartitepresidencythatcommitstofullEuropeanintegration.• On26FebruaryajudgeattheCourtofBosnia andHerzegovina, AzraMi-letic, is arrested as part of theCekic(hammer)anti-corruptionoperation.• On26Februaryparliamentarynego-tiationsagainfailtoformagovernmentfor theBosnianCroatianentity,whichhas beenpending since theOctober2014elections.

Montenegro

• On24FebruarytwodirectorsoftheMacedonianHealth Fund resign afterprotestsover thedeathof agirl on9February, while the public institutiondecidedwhetheritwouldpayforhertoreceivetreatmentinTurkey.• On24Februarythegovernmentde-cidestonegotiatethehighereducationlawreformwithteachersandstudents,whichhasbeenthesubjectofprotestssinceJanuary.

Serbia

• On3February the ICTY rules thatneitherSerbia norCroatia committedgenocideintheBalkansWar.


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• On3FebruarythePrimeMinisterIsaMustafa dismisses the Communitiesand Return Minister AleksandarJablanovic,followingprotestsstagedon16Januarydemandinghis resignationbecause of a statement he made inwhichhedescribedagroupofKosovoAlbanianswho threw ice at a bus ofKosovoSerbsinDjakovicaassavages.On4FebruarytheEUannouncesthatitexpectsasharpincreaseinthenum-berofKosovarsentering theUnion in2015,coincidingwithgrowingprotestsinKosovoagainstunemployment,pov-ertyandcorruption.• On9FebruarySerbia andKosovoagreeinBrusselstointegratethecourtsofthemajority-SerbNorthKosovointotheKosovojudicialstructure.

FYROM

• On9February thegovernmentan-nouncesthatitwillbegindialoguewithstudentsandteacherswhohavebeenprotesting since January against thereformoftheEducationLaw.Talkswillalsobeheldwithindependentworkersassociations condemning the tax in-crease,from10to35%,inforcesinceJanuary.

Albania

• On5 February theParliament ap-pointsGentSejkogovernoroftheBankofAlbania,fivemonthsafteritsdismiss-alofArdianFullani inconnectionwiththe theftof fivemillioneuros from thebank’svault.

Greece

• On2FebruaryAlexisTsiprastravelstoCyprusonhisfirstofficialvisitasPrimeMinister,where he accuses Turkey ofsabotagingCypriotreunificationnegotia-tionsbysendingahydrocarbonexplora-tionvesselintoanareawheretheGreekCypriotgovernmenthadauthorizedgasprospecting,causingtheGreekCypriotleaderNicosAnastasiadestoleavethetalkson7October2014.• On5FebruarythenewdeputiestakeofficeinthefirstParliamenttobedom-

inatedbyapartyofthefar-left.Onthesameday,thousandsgatheracrossthecountry to protest against theCBE’sdecision to toughen credit terms forGreece.• On18FebruaryProkopisPavlopou-losiselectedPresidentoftheRepublic.On20February,onathirdattempt,theeurozone’sEconomyMinistersreachanagreement with Greece on a four-monthextensionof its financialassis-tanceprogramme.Inexchange,Athenspresentsamodifiedreformsprogrammethatreceivesapositiveresponsefromtheeurozonebecauseofitsdeparturefrominitiallyradicalstances,thuscreat-ingthefirstsplitswithinSyrizaandthegovernment.

Turkey

• On8and25Februaryaroundtwen-typeoplearearrestedinthelasttworaidscarriedoutagainst the ‘parallelState,’organizedbysupportersofthepreacherFethullahGülen,accusedofillegally wiretapping senior officialsoftheRepublic.• On22FebruarytheAKPparliamen-tarymajorityapproves10ofthe32arti-clesofthecontroversialnewsecuritybill,whichwouldallowthepolicetocarryoutpreventivearrestsandsearches.• On28Februarythegovernmentandpro-KurdishPeople’sDemocraticParty(HDP) urge the Kurdistan Workers’Party(PKK)terroristorganizationtogiveuparms.

Cyprus

• On18FebruarytheformermayorofPaphos,SavvasVergas, is sentencedtosixyears’imprisonmentforacceptingbribesandmoneylaunderinginconnec-tionwiththeawardingofacontractforthetown’ssewagesystem.• On25FebruaryCyprusandRussiasignanagreementgivingRussiannavyshipsaccesstoGreekCypriotports.

Syria

• On5February10peoplearekilledinDamascusinanArmyofIslamrocketattack. The army responds with air-strikesonthedistrictofGhouta,wheretheArmyofIslamisbased.

• On 12 February the UN SecurityCouncil unanimously adopts a resolu-tionpresentedbyRussiathatincreasesmeasurestoblockthefinancingofjihad-istgroups.• On15FebruaryKurdishforcessup-portedbyFSAtakecontrolofastrate-gichillinthesouthofKobani,Aleppo,astrongholdofDaesh.• On17February thearmycapturesvarioustownstothenorthofAleppo.• On26FebruarythenumberofChris-tians kidnapped inHasadabyDaeshexceeds220,inreactiontotheadvanceofKurdishtroopsandtheinternationalcoalition.

Lebanon

• On6FebruaryinBeiruttheauthor-itiesbegintoremovepoliticalpostersthat denote areas controlled by rivalgroups in the civil war, following anagreement made between the mainpoliticalparties,includingHezbollah.

Jordan

• On 3 February Daesh releases avideoshowingthemurderof lieuten-antMoazal-Kasasbeh,memberoftheinfluential al-Kasasbeh tribe in al-Karak. In response, Jordan executestheDaesh terroristSajidaal-RishawiandIraqial-QaedamemberZiyadKar-boli.On6FebruarythousandsofJor-daniansdemonstratecallingforAbdul-lahIItoceaseairstrikesonDaesh,inthe framework of the internationalanti-jihadistcoalition,toavoidtherep-etition of cases similar to that of al-Kasasbeh.

Egypt

• On2FebruarytheCriminalCourtofGiza confirms the death sentenceshandeddownto183peopleimplicatedin themurder of 11police officers inKerdasa,followingtheevictionofIslam-istcampsinAugust2013.On6Februarythearmykills27mem-bersofDaeshintheSinaiinoneofthelargestoffensiveslaunchedrecently.• On8Februarythegovernmentsus-pendsthefootballleagueafterclashesbetweenZamalek supporters andpo-lice,whichleaveatleast30dead.


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• On10FebruaryRussia andEgyptagreetostepupmilitaryandcommer-cialcooperation,toestablishaRussianfreetradezoneintheSuezCanalandthe Russian construction of the firstEgyptiannuclearpowerplantinDabaa.• On15FebruaryEgyptbombsDaeshpositionsinLibya,hoursaftertheterror-istgroupreleasesavideooftheexecu-tion of 21 Egyptian Christians. On17FebruaryEgyptasksforaninterna-tionaloperationtobelaunchedagainstDaeshinLibya.FajrLibya,theIslamistmilitiathatcontrolsTripoli,givesEgyp-tians living in thecountry48hours toleaveLibya.• On23FebruarytheactivistAlaaAb-delfatahissentencedtofiveyears’im-prisonmentfororganisinganunauthor-izedprotestinNovember2013.• On28FebruarytheCriminalCourtinCairohandsdownlifesentencestothesupremeguideof theMuslimBrother-hood Mohamed Badie, and another13leadersofthegroup,fortheunrestinJune2013.AfurtherfourmembersoftheBrotherhoodaresentencedtodeath.

Libya

• On2FebruarytheTobrukParliamentsuspendsthepoliticalisolationlaw,ap-provedinMay2013bytheIslamistma-jorityoftheGeneralNationalCongress.On10FebruaryDaeshtakescontrolofNawfaliya.On19FebruaryDaeshtakescontrolofSirte.• On20Februaryatleast48peoplearekilledinQubbahinoneoftheworstbomb attacks in the country’s recenthistory,attributedtoDaesh.TheattackpromptstheTobrukParliamenttowith-drawfromtheUN-brokeredtalksaimedatsettlingtheLibyanpoliticalcrisis.• On25February the activist Intisaral-HasiriisfounddeadinTripoli.

Tunisia

• On5FebruarytheNationalAssem-blyapproves thenewgovernment ledbyNidaa Tounis (liberal secular) andwhichincludesEnnahda(Islamist),AfekTounes (liberal) and theFreePatrioticUnion(populist).• On17FebruaryfournationalguardsarekilledinajihadistattackinBoulaaba,Kasserine.

Algeria

• On24FebruaryanationwideprotestcalledbytheInstance de concertation et de suivi de l’opposition(ICSO)whichbringstogetherthemainoppositionpar-ties,demandsthatshalegasprospect-inginAinSalahbehalted.

EU

• On6February theEUpresents itsfirstglobalstrategyinthefightagainstDaesh.• On 6 February NATO decides tostrengthenitseasternflankinresponsetotheRussian‘aggression’inUkraine.• On11FebruarytheMinskIISummitagrees on a ceasefire in EasternUkraine.On16February theEUcon-firms its sanctions on separatist andRussian individuals and entities. On17Februarypro-Russian forcesbreaktheMinskceasefireandtakecontrolofDebaltsevo.

March 2015

In Spain, multiple arrests are made in Andalusia for corruption in the same month that the autonomous commu-nity holds early elections. France holds local elections. In Italy advances are made in approving the reform of the Senate and more mass immigrant ar-rivals are reported. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina reach a new agreement to form a government. In Greece, the Parliament approves a bill to take measures against the humani-tarian crisis and demands Germany pay war reparations. In Syria, Daesh takes control of the province of Idlib. Egypt delays elections, announces a partial cabinet reshuffle and hands down new sentences to members of the Muslim Brotherhood. In Libya, General Khalifa Haftar is appointed army commander by the Tobruk Parlia-ment. In Tunisia, 23 people are killed in an attack in Daesh in the Bardo National Museum. In Mauritania, work-ers at the country’s biggest iron ore mine continue to strike after two months.

Portugal

• On16March theSupremeCourtrejectsthefifthappealforthereleaseofformerPrimeMinister JoseSocrates,arrestedinNovember2014undersus-picionofcorruption.

Spain

• On2March up to114politicians,tradeunionistsandbusinesspeoplearearrested inOperationEdu, inconnec-tionwithacorruptionnetwork,chargedwith embezzlingEuropean fundsdes-tinedtopayfortrainingschemesfortheunemployed,whichweremanagedbytheAndalusianregionalgovernment.InFebruary87arrestsweremade.• On10March theETAmemberAl-bertoPlazaolafleesfromhishome,aftertheSupremeCourtannulsthereleaseordered inDecember by theNationalHighCourt.• On22MarchAndalusiaholdsearlyelectionswonagainbyPSOEwhotake48 seats. ThePPwins33 seats, fol-lowedbyPodemos andCitizenswhocome into theParliamentwith15and9seatsrespectively.• On 26 March the Parliament ap-proves the citizen security law, theCriminalCodereform,theanti-terrorismlaw,theparty-fundinglawandthestat-uteforseniorgovernmentofficials.

France

• On22MarchFranceholdsthefirstround of the local elections inwhichNicolas Sarkozy’s UMP wins mostvoteswith36%,haltingtheadvanceofMarieLePen’sFN,whichwon24.5%,behind the PS of FrançoisHollande(28.5%).• On29Marchthesecondroundcon-solidatestheUMP’srisewith45.2%ofthe votes. The PS wins 31.9% andloseshalfofitslocalgovernments.TheFN,with22.3%,failstotakeoveranyoftheregionalcouncils.

Monaco

• On2MarchMonacosignsataxin-formationexchangeagreementwithIt-aly, three days after signing a similaragreementwiththeUnitedKingdom.


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• On21MarchMonacolaunchesitsfirstsatelliteintoorbit,theTurkmenAl-em52E/MonacoSAT,fromCapeCanav-eralintheUS.

Italy

• On4March10immigrantsdieandover 500 are rescued in the masswaveofarrivals fromLibya, inwhich941 people have been rescued inthe first four days of March alone.Sofarthisyear,arrivalshaveincreasedby 43% comparedwith the total in2014.• On10MarchtheChamberofDep-utiesapprovesthereformoftheSen-ate, ending the so-called ‘perfect bi-cameralism,’ and theConstitution toreducethepowersofregionalcouncils.• On11March theSupremeCourtupholds theacquittalof formerPrimeMinisterSilvioBerlusconiofabuseofofficeandpayingforsexwithaprosti-tuteintheRubyCase.

Malta

• On 13 March Trade Malta islaunched,thenewentityforpromotingtheinternationalizationofMaltesebusi-nesses.• On13MarchGodwinSant,thefor-merResourcesAuthority director ar-rested on 18 January, is formallychargedwith different corruption of-fences.

Slovenia

• On11MarchthepolicesearchthehomeofAlenkaBratusekaspartofaninvestigationintotheformerPrimeMin-ister’s alleged abuse of office in hernominationascandidateforEuropeanCommissioner.

Croatia

• On27MarchCedomirVukadin,cap-tain of theKrajina paramilitary forcesduringtheBalkansWar isarrested inStrmica.• On 29March residents of Labin,Istria,voteagainsttheconstructionofacoal-firedpowerplantby94.5%,inareferendumthatwasnotbindingduetoaturnoutofjust36%.


• On6MarchGoranZubac,directoroftheStateInvestigativeandProtectionAgency,isgivenaone-yearsuspendedprisonsentenceforfailingtotakeactionduringtheanti-governmentdemonstra-tionsin2014.• On12MarchthemainpartiesoftheBosniak-Croatentityfinallyagreeonanew government led by the Party ofDemocraticAction(SDA,conservative)whichalsohasfiveministerialseatsandis joined by theCroatianDemocraticUnion of Bosnia and Herzegovina(HDZ-BiH, conservative) and Demo-craticFront(DF,socialdemocrat)whohavefiveministerialseatseach.• On16MarchtheEUapprovestheentryintoforceoftheAssociationandStabilisationAgreementwithBosnia.• On12Marchthepublicprosecutordecidesnottopresschargesagainstthe new Chairman of the House ofRepresentativesSefikDzaferovic forwarcrimesagainstBosnianSerbcivil-ians.• On31Marchaftercomplexnegotia-tionsandsixmonthsaftertheelections,Bosniamanagestoformagovernment,made up of nationalist parties.DenisZvizdic(SDA)iselectedPrimeMinisterofthenine-membercabinet.

Montenegro

• On6MarchtheformertradeunionistandMP JankoVucinicannounces thecreationofthenewWorkersParty, in-spiredbytheGreekpartySyriza.• On27MarchMontenegroofficiallyprotestsagainstCroatiaforplanningoilexploration inwaters around the dis-putedPrevlakapeninsula.• On30MarchtheEUandMontene-groopennegotiatingchapters16and30onExternalRelations in theEuro-peanaccessionprocess.

Serbia

• On18MarcheightformerSerbpo-liceofficersarearrestedfortheirallegedinvolvement in the 1995 Srebrenicamassacre.• On25MarchSerbiaparticipatesforthefirsttimeinanofficialmeetingheldinKosovo.

• On30MarchtheICTYordersSerbiato return the ultranationalist politician,VojislavSeselj,releasedinlate2014forcancertreatment,tothecustodyofthehigh court, deeming that his politicalactivitiesunderminethegroundsforhisrelease.


• On3MarchsevenKosovarsareac-cusedof collaborationwithDaesh, inthecountry’sfirstsuchaction.• On6Marchthegovernmentblocksthe accountsof theKosovoSerbmu-nicipalitiesfornotadaptingtheirbudgetstotheguidelinesoftheFinanceMinistry.• On25Marchastrikeheldbyjudgescalling for a pay rise reaches its thirdweek.• On 30March hundreds of formerfighters from the National LiberationArmy(UÇK)attempttoforcetheirwayintothegovernmentheadquartersdur-ingademonstrationcallingfordelayedpensionpaymentstobemade.

FYROM

• On10March the social democratleaderZoranZaevcallsthegovernmentto resign over evidence of electoralfraudbytheVMRO-DPMNE.• On30Marchjournalistsgatherout-side theLustrationCommissionhead-quarters to call for the release of theeditor-in-chiefoftheweeklynewspaperFokus,JadrankaKostova,whowasar-restedaccusedofspying.

Albania

• On5March theDemocraticPartystagesademonstration tocall for theresignation of theParliamentSpeakerIlirMeta,alongwiththePrimeMinisterEdiRama,fortheirallegedinvolvementinamurderplotaffectingsocialistMPsTomDoshiandMarkFrroku.

Greece

• On 11 March the Parliament ap-provesclaimsagainstGermanyforSec-ondWorldWarreparationsandforthereturnofaforcedloanandstolenherit-ageasaresultoftheNazioccupation.


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• On 19 March the Parliament ap-provesthelawtotacklethehumanitar-iancrisis,oneofSyriza’selectionprom-ises.• On20MarchNikolaosMichalolia-kos, leader of the neo-Nazi GoldenDawnpartyisreleasedfromcustody.Nikolaos Michaloliakos was impris-onedinSeptember2013inconnec-tionwiththemurderofrapperPavlosFyssas.

Turkey

• On4Marchacourt in Istanbulor-dersablockonthewebsiteoftheTurk-ishAtheismAssociation for “insultingreligion.”• On 18March Turkey begins con-struction of the Trans-Anatolian gaspipelineTanapthatwilltransportAzerigastotheEUasof2018,meeting20%oftheUnion’sneeds.

Cyprus

• On26MarchworkersattheElec-tricityAuthorityofCyprus(EAC)sus-pendstrikeactionthatwastocutoffthe island’s electricity supply, afterreaching an agreementwith the En-ergyMinistryonplanstoprivatizetheEAC.

Syria

• On1March theopposition to theSyrian regime in Aleppo rejectstheUN’sproposalforaceasefireintheprovince,asitneitherfollowsaglobalstrategy nor foresees al-Assad’s im-mediateexitfrompower.• On5MarchAbuHamanal-Shami,leader of the al-Nusra Front (Front ofVictory)iskilledinaSyrianarmyairstrikeinSalqin,Idlib.• On22Marchtheinternationalcoali-tion launches new attacks onDaeshpositionsinKobaniandal-Raqqa.• On23MarchSyriaand Iraqagreeonacommonanti-terrorismfront.• On23MarchtheIslamicMovementoftheFreeMenofSham(Levant)–partof the Islamic Front – and theShamFalconsBrigadejoinforces.• On28March the armywithdrawsfrom Idlib, leaving the entire provinceunderjihadistcontrol.

Lebanon

• On3March the terroristAbdulrah-manTamariskilledinagunfight.Tamarwaswantedby theauthorities incon-nection with various bomb attacksagainst the army in Tripoli inOctober2014.• On5MarchLebanesetroops,coor-dinatedwithChristianmilitias,HezbollahandtheSyrianSocialNationalistParty,launchtheirfirstoffensive,takingDaeshandal-NusraFrontpositions.

Egypt

• On1Marchtheparliamentaryelec-tionsscheduledforbetween21Marchand7MayarepostponedbytheCon-stitutionalCourt,which rules that themodificationoftheconstituenciesunderthecurrentelection law isunconstitu-tional.• On4MarchtheCouncilofMinistersapprovestheInvestmentLaw.• On5Marchaspartofapartialcab-inet reshuffle, PresidentAbdel Fattahel-Sisi sacks the InteriorMinisterMo-hamed Ibrahim,oneof thecentral fig-ures behind the wave of repressionsincetheJuly2013coup. IbrahimwillbereplacedbytheheadoftheNationalSecurity Department Magdy AbdelGhaffar.• On 7 March Mahmoud HassanRamadan is executed, sentenced todeath on 5 February for throwing ateenagerfromarooftop inAlexandriaon5July2013duringtheclashesthatfollowedthe2013coup.Thisisthefirstexecution of a supporter of the de-posed Islamist President MohamedMorsi out of the hundreds of deathsentencespassedinthelastyearandahalf.• On16MarchtheSupremeGuideoftheMuslim BrotherhoodMohammedBadieandanother13brotherhoodlead-ersaresentencedtodeathforattacksagainstthesecurityforcesfollowingthedispersalof the Islamistcamps inAu-gust2013.

Libya

• On 2March Khalifa Haftar is ap-pointedarmycommanderbytheTobrukParliament.

• On 3 March Tobruk governmentforces launch an attack on Tripoli’sMitigaairport,controlledbyIslamistmi-litias.• On4MarchtheNationalOilCom-pany(NOC)declaresforcemajeureonmanyof its facilitiesduetotherecentstreamofattacks,largelycarriedoutbyDaesh.

Tunisia

• On18March23peoplearekilledinaDaeshterroristattackattheNationalBardoMuseum,thesamedaythatPar-liamentdebatesthereformoftheanti-terrorismlaw.On23MarchthePrimeMinister Habib Essid dismisses thecapital’spolicechiefsaftersecurityfail-ingsarefound.• On28MarchatleastninemembersoftheOkbaIbnNafaaBrigade,includ-ing its leader andmastermindbehindthemuseumattackLuqmanAbuSaqr,arekilledinaNationalGuardoperationinGafsa.• On30March25,000peopledem-onstrateagainstjihadistterrorism.

Algeria

• On8MarchtheMinisterofNationalSolidarity,FamilyandWomen’sAffairsMouniaMeslemannouncesanupcom-ingreformoftheFamilyCodethatad-dresses shortcomingsdetected sincethe previous reform in 2005, andstrengthensandguaranteestherightsofwomen.

Morocco

• On 8March tomark InternationalWomen’sDay,ademonstrationinRabatcallsfortheeffectiveimplementationofgender-equality rights, included in the2011constitutionalreform.• On 16 March Mohammed VI an-nouncesthatheiswillingtomodifyMo-roccan legislationthatmakesabortionillegalforMoroccanwomeninthema-jorityofcases.

Mauritania

• On28MarchthePresidentMoham-edOuldAbdelaziz callsworkers fromthe country’s biggest iron oremining


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hubZouerate,whohavebeenonstrikesince28Januarytodemandpayrises,toresumeactivitywhilenegotiationsareheldbetweentheIndustrialandMiningNationalSociety(SNIM)andtheFreeConfederationofMauritanianWorkers(CLTM).

EU

• On 8March the President of theCommissionJean-ClaudeJunckercallsforthecreationofaEuropeanarmy,atatimeofincreasingtensionswithRus-sia over the situation in Ukraine andamidconcernsofgrowingjihadism.• On12MarchIcelandwithdrawsitscandidacytoentertheEU.• On16MarchtheEUadoptsacom-monstrategyforSyriaandIraq,whichincludesabillioneurostosupportforc-es thatopposeDaesh, thepreventionofregionalcontagion,thestrengtheningofbordercontrol,vitalhumanitarianaidandtheregion’sinternationalprotection.• On19March theEUandSwitzer-landsignahistoricagreementontrans-parencyand the fightagainst taxeva-sion.

Arab League

• On 29 March the Arab Leagueagreesontheformationofajointmilitaryforcetofightagainstterrorismandde-batesmeasurestohalt Iran’sadvanceintheregion.

April 2015

Italy, overwhelmed by the influx of im-migrants from Libya, asks the UE for urgent assistance, in a month in which at least 950 immigrants die in the Strait of Sicily. The EU activates the Stabilisa-tion and Association Agreement with Bosnia. An Islamist attack in Zvornik, in the Republika Srpska, ignites ethnic ten-sions in Bosnia. Kosovo sets up a spe-cial court for the 1998 Kosovo conflict and anti-government demonstrations are held, in the same month Kosovo Serb MPs end their parliamentary boycott. Tensions intensify between Albania and the FYROM following two UÇK bomb attacks. In Greece, Alexis Tsipras reshuf-

fles the team responsible for negotiating the terms of the Greek debt with the creditor institutions. In Turkey, members of the terrorist group Revolutionary Peo-ple’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C) assassinate the public prosecutor Me-hmet Selim Kiraz. In Cyprus, the left-wing candidate Mustafa Akinci wins the presidential elections in Northern Cy-prus. In Syria, Daesh takes control of most of the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Damascus. Egypt approves the Election Law reform demanded by the Constitutional Court and new sen-tences are passed against the Muslim Brotherhood. In Libya, Daesh’s pres-ence continues to expand.

Portugal

• On30Aprilaround30Portuguesemediacompaniescallfortheendofthelawthatregulatesthecoverageoftheelection campaigns, in force since1975,aweekafterthetworulingpar-ties,PSDandCDS,andthemainop-positionparty,PS,promoteareformofthelawthatisasrestrictiveasthecur-rentone.

Spain

• On16April the former vice-Presi-dentofthegovernmentandformerman-agingdirectoroftheIMFRodrigoRatoisdetainedforeighthoursaspartofacourtinvestigationagainsthimforfraud,assetstrippingandmoneylaundering.

France

• On1ApriltheformerPresidentNico-lasSarkozy is declared ‘assistedwit-ness’ by theParis public prosecutor,after testifying regardinghis accountsinhis2012presidentialcampaign.• On7Aprilthesocialistsenatorandformermayor of Tours JeanGermaincommits suicidebefore thebeginningofhistrialforcorruption,leavinganoteprotestinghisinnocenceandcondemn-ing thepersecutionof theFrenchpo-liticalelite.

Italy

• On19April at least 950 irregularimmigrantsdrownintheStraitofSicily

whentheirboatcapsizes,inthegreatesttragedy of this type in theMediterra-nean in recent decades. Between10and17Aprila totalof13,500 im-migrantshavebeenrescued.Sincethebeginning of 2015, the number ofdeathshasrisento1,600,whileafur-ther 35,000 havemanaged to reachEurope.Atthisrate,thefigureswillhavefar exceeded the total for 2014(3,500deaths and218,000 arrivals).Overwhelmedbysuchanalarming in-crease, Italy urges theEU to provideassistanceandrequestsanemergencyEuropeansummitonirregularimmigra-tion. On 22 April the Parliament en-dorsesthegovernment’srequesttotheUN forpermission to launchairstrikesagainstboatsusedbyillegalpeopletraf-fickingnetworks,whicharemoored inLibyanports.

Slovenia

• On23ApriltheConstitutionalCourtannulsthetwo-yearprisonsentenceforcorruptionhandeddowntotheformerPrimeMinister Janez Jansa, citing ir-regularitiesinthecourtproceedingsandasksforaretrial.

Croatia

• On15April the name of the newsocialdemocraticpartyofformerPres-identIvoJosipovicisrevealed,NaprijedHrvatska(ForwardCroatia).• On13ApriltheCzechnationalVidJedlickaproclaimsthe“newindepend-entState”ofLiberland,sixsquarekilo-metresinGornjaSiga,anoman’slandon thebanksof theDanubebetweenSerbiaandCroatia.


• On8ApriltheICTYsentencestheformerBosnianSerbgeneralZdravkoTolimirtolifeimprisonmentfortheSre-brenicamassacreof1995.• On13ApriltheformerBosnianSerbofficerVinkoPandurevicisreleasedbytheICTYafterservingtwothirdsofhis13-year prison sentence for theSre-brenicamassacre.• On16ApriltheBosnianSerbleaderMiloradDodikmakesahistoricvisittoSrebrenica topay tribute to the thou-


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sandsofBosniakswhodiedinthe1995massacre.• On 21 April the EU activates theStabilisation and Association Agree-mentwithBosnia thatwill enter intoforceon1June2015.• On27AprilaBosnianman,NerdinIbic, bursts into a police station inZvornikfiringagunandshouting“Allahisgreat.”Thegunmanandapoliceof-ficerarekilledintheattackthatignitesethnictensionsduetoZvornik’slocationintheRepublikaSrpska.

Serbia

• On15ApriltheformerCroatianSerbgeneral andPresident of the now-de-functRepublicofSerbianKrajinaGoranHadzicarrivesinNoviSadafterbeingreleased by the ICTY, because he issufferingfromterminalbraincancer.


• On 8 April the government esti-matesthattherewere25,000militantsfightingintheranksoftheUÇKduringtheKosovoconflict,5,000morethanprevious estimates. This is the steppriortothepublicationofadetailedlistofcombatants,whichwillenablethesepeople to receive state pensions aswarveterans.• On14AprilCivilnaZastita(CivilPro-tection), the Kosovo Serb militia innorthernKosovo,isintegratedintotheKosovopoliceforce.• On 14 April clashes break out inNorth Kosovo after a young Serb isstabbedon thebridge thatdelineatesthe Serbian and Albanian sectors inMitrovica.• On15ApriltheConstitutionalCourtapprovesthecreationoftheEU-backedspecialwarcrimescourtfortheKosovoconflict.• On 18 April thousands of peoplecalledbytheseparatistpartiesVetëven-dosje (Self-determination,socialdemo-crat),theAlliancefortheFutureofKo-sovo (AAK,conservative)and InitiativeforKosovo(NISMA,centre-left)demon-strate inPristinaagainsttheeconomicpolicyofHashinThaçi’sgovernmentanditsplanstogivegreaterautonomytothemajority-Serbmunicipalities.

• On 22 April Serbia and KosovoagreeinBrusselsonPristinahaltingtheprivatizationprocess of companies inNorthKosovo, rejected by the area’sSerbmajority.• On27AprilKosovoSerbMPsputanend to twomonthsofboycottandreturn to theKosovoParliament afterbeing guaranteed greater decision-makingpowers.

FYROM

• On13ApriltheAlbanianparamilitarygroup, the National Liberation Army(UÇK)claimsresponsibilityforanexplo-sionoutsidethegovernmentheadquar-tersinSkopje,whichcausesnoinjuries.On21Aprilaround40armedmembersoftheUÇKstormacheckpointontheKosovoborder.• On15April themeetingscontinuebetween thegovernment and the op-position to end the country’s politicalcrisis.• On23Aprilstudentsandteachersprotestagainagainsttheeducationsys-temapprovedby thegovernment thatforesees the introduction of externalexams,aswellastheuniversityexams.

Greece

• On1ApriltheECBextendsitsemer-gency funds limit forGreekbanksby700millioneuros,to71.8billioneuros,adayaftertalksaresuspendedinBrus-sels betweenGreece and its interna-tionalcreditors.TheEUandIMFcitealackofprecisemeasures in the listofreformspresentedbyAthens.• On5ApriltheFinanceMinisterYanisVaroufakis,inameetingwithChristineLagarde,commitstodeliveronfinancialcommitmentswiththeIMF,startingwiththepaymentof450millioneuros thatAthensmustrepayon9April.• On6Apriltheparliamentarymajorityofthegovernmentcoalitionreceivesap-provaltocreateaparliamentaryinvesti-gationcommitteetostudythecircum-stances underwhich it agreed to thecountry’sbailout.• On20Aprilthetrialbeginsagainstmembers of theGoldenDawn party,chargedwithformingacriminalorgani-zationactivesince2008.Thepartylead-ersrefusetoshowupatthetrial.

• On 20 April the government ap-proves a decree that requires towncouncils to hand their cash reservesover to theBankofGreecetoenablethe repayment of the country’s debtsandtopaysalaries.• On20Aprilatleastthreepeoplearekilledwhenaboatcarryingsome200immigrants runs aground in Rhodes,Dodecaneso.• On 22 April Greece’s FinancialCrimeSquad(SDOE)arreststhebusi-nessmanLeonidasBobolas,memberofone of the country’s most powerfulfamilies,undersuspicionoftaxevasionandmoneylaundering.• On27AprilAlexisTsiprascarriesoutareshuffleoftheteamsetuptonegoti-atethetermsoftheGreekdebtwithitslendinginstitutions,whichincludesre-movingthecontroversialFinanceMinis-terYanisVaroufakisfromtheteam.

Turkey

• On1Apriltwomilitantsfromtheter-roristgrouptheRevolutionaryPeople’sLiberationParty/Front (DHKP-C) takethe public prosecutorMehmet SelimKiraz hostage,who is responsible forinvestigatingthedeath in2014of thefar-leftdemonstratorBerkinElvanduringthe 2013 TaksimGezi Park protests.Thespecialforcesintervenekillingthetwo kidnappers. The prosecutor dieshours later fromgunshots firedby theterrorists.• On12AprilTurkeysummonsitsAp-ostolicNuncioinAnkaraandwithdrawsitsambassadorintheVaticanafterPopeFrancisIdescribesthemassacreofAr-menians by the Ottoman Empire in1915as“genocide.”Ankaraalsocon-siderstheEuropeanParliament’sresolu-tionthaturgesTurkeytoacknowledgethemassacreas“genocide”as“ridicu-lous.”• On20April thePrimeMinisterAh-metDavutogluextendshiscondolencestoArmeniaforthemassacreofArmeni-ansatthehandsoftheOttomanEmpireduringWorldWarIandannouncesthat24Aprilwillbecommemoratedinare-ligiousceremony.On21ApriltheArme-nianParliament approves a resolutionto call upon the international commu-nitytorecognizethemassacrecarriedoutagainstitspeopleasgenocide.


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• On30April theCriminalCourt ofFirst Instance in Istanbul acquits 26leadersoftheTaksimGeziParkprotestsinJune2013.

Cyprus

• On18April theParliament adoptstheforeclosurelawdemandedbyinter-nationallendersforthereleaseofanewinternational aid tranche of 86millioneuros.• On26ApriltheleftistcandidateandreunificationproponentMustafaAkinciwins in thesecond roundofNorthernCyprus’presidentialelections.

Syria

• On2AprilDaesh takes control of90%ofthePalestinianrefugeecampofYarmouk inDamascus,hometosome18,000civilians.Atleast2,000peoplehavefledfromtheareawherefightingbreaksoutbetweenDaeshandmilitiasloyaltoHamas.ThisisthefirsttimethatDaeshhashadamajorpresenceintheSyriancapital.• On10AprilaroundofnegotiationsinMoscowbetweentheSyrianregimeandrepresentativesofthemoderatepoliticaloppositionendswithoutagreement.

Egypt

• On 5 April police agents kill thefounderandleaderoftheterroristgroupAjnadMisr(SoldiersofEgypt)HamamMohamedAtiya,inCairo.• On11April theCriminalCourt inCairoupholdstheverdictof16MarchsentencingtheSupremeGuideoftheMuslimBrotherhoodMohamedBadietodeath,alongwithanother13Brother-hoodleaders,fortheattacksagainstthesecurity forces following thedispersaloftheIslamistcampsinAugust2013.• On13AprilEgypttoughensitslegis-lationagainstanyonediggingorusingtheGazabordertunnels,increasingthepen-altytolifeimprisonment.ThemeasureispartofanewattempttohaltthejihadistinsurgencyandattacksintheSinai.• On15ApriltheCouncilofMinistersapprovesthenewversionoftheElectionLawas requiredby theConstitutionalCourt, therebyallowingEgyptianswithdoublenationalitytorunforelectionsand

foreseeinganincreaseinthenumberofindependent candidates from 420 to442.Thenumberofseatsreservedforpoliticalparties remainsat120,whichrepresentsjust20%ofthetotal.• On19April theCriminalCourt ofPort Said sentences 11 people todeath,implicatedinthedeathof74foot-ballfansinthemassacreof1February2012inthecity’sfootballstadium.• On21April theCriminalCourt inCairo sentences the formerPresidentMohamedMorsi,Essamel-Erian,vice-Presidentof theFreedomand JusticeParty (PLJ) and other Brotherhoodmembersto20years’imprisonmentfortheclashesoutsidetheIttihadiyaPresi-dentialPalaceinDecember2012.

Libya

• On19AprilDaeshreleasesavideoinwhichmembersoftheterroristgroupareseenexecutingaround30EthiopianChristians.• On 23 April the self-proclaimedTripoligovernmentwarnstheEUagainstthepossibilityofaunilateraldecisiontolaunch attacks on Libyan soil againstpeople traffickers and says itwill re-spondtoanymilitaryactiontaken.

Tunisia

• On7AprilfoursoldiersarekilledinanambushinKasserine,whichbordersAlgeriaandhas registeredhigh levelsofjihadistactivity.• On15ApriltheECapprovesami-crofinanceassistancepackageof100millioneurosintheformofloanstoTu-nisia, the first tranche of themicrofi-nanceplanadoptedinMay2014.

EU

• On23ApriltheHeadsofStateandGovernmentoftheEUagree,atItaly’srequest,toexpandthetwosearch-and-rescueandmonitoringmissionsinItal-ian (Triton)andGreek (Poseidon)wa-ters, coordinated by the EuropeanAgencyfortheManagementofOpera-tionalCooperationattheExternalBor-ders (Frontex). On 29 April the ECPresident Jean-Claude Juncker urgesEuropeangovernmentstoacceptman-datory refugee quotas and increase

development assistance for the immi-grants’countriesoforigin.• On 27 April the 17th EU-UkraineSummit isheld inKiev, the firstwithintheframeworkoftheassociationagree-ment.

May 2015

Spain holds municipal and regional elec-tions and in Italy there are regional elec-tions following the approval of the Elec-tion Law reform. The Serbian Prime Minister makes an historic visit to Alba-nia. The political crisis in the FYROM continues. Greece continues its efforts to reach an agreement with its creditors on its debt repayment. Reunification ne-gotiations are resumed in Cyprus. In Syria, Daesh makes major inroads in Homs and Idlib. Egypt calls Arab coun-tries to accelerate the creation of a joint Arab military force. In Libya, Daesh takes complete control over Sirte. Algeria and Morocco reshuffle their cabinets. The EU takes measures against the migra-tion crisis in the Mediterranean.

Spain

• On24MaySpain holdsmunicipalandregionalelections.Witha64.94%turnouttheelectionsareasuccessforthe newpartiesCitizens (centre) andPodemos (far-left),which run throughdifferentpopularunitycandidacies.Theyalso reveal a weakening in the PP-PSOEtwo-partysystem,thetwopartieswinning,respectively,27%and25%ofthevotesinthemunicipalelections.

France

• On5MaytheNationalAssemblyap-proves the controversial draft law tocombat terrorism,whichwill allow thesecret services to spy onFrench citi-zenswithoutacourtorder.• On 20 May a general teachers’strike is staged – supported by fiveunions and a largemajority of publicopinion.Thereisalsoalargedemon-strationinParisagainstelementsofthegovernment’seducationreformwhichare considered a threat to France’sintellectual identity, as they foresee


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reducing the teaching hours of LatinandGreek,makingmedievalChristian-ityortheEnlightenmentoptionalsub-jects,increasingthehoursforstudyingIslamandputtinganend tobilingualclasses.• On26MayaFrenchcourtauthor-izestheUnionforaPopularMovement(UMP, right-wing) to be renamedTheRepublicans,attherequestofitsleaderNicolasSarkozy.

Italy

• On2-3May the Italian authoritiesrescuemorethan6,000immigrantsintheMediterranean.• On4May theChamberofDeputiesapproves the Election Law reformknown as ‘Italicum’ by 334 votes infavour to 61 against. The text pro-posed by the government aims tobring greater stability to the Parlia-mentandforeseesaproportionalelec-tionsystem.• On31MayItalyholdsregionalelec-tionsinwhichthePDwinsmostvotesinTuscany,Umbria,Marche,PugliaandCampania,butlosesLiguriatothePeo-pleofFreedom(PdL,right-wing).ThepopulistFiveStarMovementbecomesItaly’s second strongest party. TheNorthern League (Padanian national-ism)holdsontoVenetoandgrows incentralItaly.

Slovenia

• On13MaytheParliamentconfirmsthe appointments ofAndrejaKatic asDefenceMinister andMajaMakovecBrencicasEducationMinister.

Croatia

• On7MaytheformerCroatianpoliceofficerMihajloHrastovissentencedtofouryears’imprisonmentforthemurderof 13 Yugoslav soldiers in Karlovac,ending a 23-year trial, the longest todatefortheBalkansWar.• On28MayclashesbreakoutinZa-grebbetweenthepoliceandwarveter-answho,formorethan200days,havebeencampaigningfortheresignationoftheVeterans’AffairsMinisterPredragMaticandtheapprovalofimprovedas-sistance.


• On3Maymorethan5,000peopledemonstrateinBanjaLukaagainsttheBosnianSerbgovernment’sadoptionofthenewLabourLawapprovedby thefederalgovernmentattheEU’srequesttoadvancetheaccessionprocess.• On13May the federal ParliamentrejectsthedraftresolutionpresentedinFebruarytoclaimsovereigntyoverSu-torinaandKrusevicefromMontenegro.Thisdecisionputsanendtotheborderdispute between Sarajevo and Pod-gorica.• On 27May theSDA electsBakirIzetbegovicasitsPresidentforthenextfouryears.

Montenegro

• On8May theMontenegrinmediaagaincondemnsthefrequentattacksithas suffered after being the victim oftwo acts of vandalism inKolasin andBijeloPoljeandasksforgreaterprotec-tionofpressfreedoms.

Serbia

• On 27May Aleksandar Vucic be-comes the firstSerbian leader to visitAlbania.Vucicmeetswithhiscounter-partEdiRamatoimprovethenormallytensebilateralrelations.


• On8MaytheSpecialCourtinKo-sovoaccuses32peopleofinvolvementwithDaeshandtheal-NusraFront.TheInteriorMinisterestimates thataround300KosovarshavetravelledtotheMid-dleEasttofightwithDaesh.

FYROM

• On9MayapoliceoperationintheAlbanian-majority city of Kumanovoleaveseightpoliceofficersand14UÇKmembersdead.• On12MaytheInteriorandTransportMinistersGordanaJankuloskaandMileJanakieski and IntelligencechiefSasoMijalkov resignover thepoliticalcrisissparkedby the social democratic op-position’saccusationsagainstthegov-

ernment for the illegalwiretapping of20,000 people and abuse of power,which have led to clashes betweendemonstratorsandthepolicesinceFeb-ruary.On13May the director of thePublicSecurityOfficeMitkoCavkovisappointed InteriorMinisterand thedi-rector of the state highway companyVladoMisajlovski,asthenewTransportMinister.On27MayLjupcoAndonovs-kiisnamedthenewheadofintelligence.• On17May20,000peoplegatherinSkopjetocallfortheresignationofthePrimeMinisterNikolaGruevski,inthecountry’slargestprotestinthelastdecade.

Greece

• On 6 and 12MayGreecemakesinterest repayments of 200 and 750millioneurosrespectivelytotheIMF,aspartofthe2010financialbailoutrepay-ment.However, there isstilldisagree-mentwithitsinternationalcreditorsoverthe reforms to be takenbyAthens inordertoreceivethe7.2billioneurosofthenexttrancheoftherescuepackage,which the country needs to payback1.58billioneurostotheIMFbeforetheendofJune.

Turkey

• On18May,20days aheadof thegeneral election, twodevicesexplodein offices of thePeople’sDemocraticParty(HDP,socialist,Kurdishnational-ist)inMersinandAdana.

Cyprus

• On15MayCyprusreunificationtalksresume, suspended inOctober2014afterTurkeysentanexplorationvesselinto the island’s Exclusive EconomicZone(EEZ).• On28MaytheParliamentapprovesthereformofthepenalcodetocriminal-izehomophobia.

Syria

• On16MaythePentagonannouncesthatAbuSayyaf,headofDaesh’sgasandoiloperations,hasbeenkilledinaraidcarriedoutbyUSSpecialOpera-tionsForces.


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• On19Maytheal-NusraFronttakescontrolofthemilitarystrongholdofal-MastumainIdlibfromtheSyrianregime.• On21MayDaesh takescompletecontrolofPalmyra.ThislatestadvancegivesDaeshcontrolofmorethan50%ofSyrianterritory.• On22MayDaesh takescontroloftheT3gasstation,shortlyaftercapturingtheal-Waleed(al-Tanf)crossing,theonlybordercrossingwithIraqthatwasstillinthehandsoftheSyrianauthorities.• On 25 May an explosion from arocket shakes the regime’s AlawitestrongholdofLatakia,whichuntilnowhas not been directly involved in thefighting.• On28MaytheSyrianarmyisoustedfromAriha,thelasttowncontrolledbygovernmentforcesinIdlib,byacoalitionof rebel factionscalling itself Jaishal-Fatah (ArmyofConquest) and ledbytheal-NusraFront.

Egypt

• On9MayacourtinCairosentencesHosniMubarakandhis sonsAlaaandGamal tothreeyears’ imprisonment forthemisappropriationofpublicmoney.Theverdictrepeatstheinitialsentence,over-turnedinJanuarybytheAppealCourt.• On10MaytheSinaiTribalFedera-tiondeclareswaronDaeshincoordina-tionwiththeEgyptianarmedforces.• On11MaytheJusticeMinisterMah-fouzSaberisforcedtoresignaftersay-ingthat“thesonofarubbishcollectorshouldnotbecomeajudge.”• On 16 May the former PresidentMohamedMorsiandanother105Islam-istsaresentencedtodeathforpartici-patinginprisonbreaksduringthe2011revolution.• On16MaytheCairoCourtforUr-gentMattersdesignatesallofEgypt’sUltra football fan groups as terroristorganizations.• On17Maysixprisonersareexecut-ed for attacks against security forcesandbeingmembers ofAnsarBeit al-Maqdis(SupportersoftheHolyHouse).

Libya

• On 10May Libyanmilitary forcesundercontroloftheTobrukgovernmentbombaTurkishcargoshipcomingfrom

Spain after it enters Libyanwaters atDernawithoutauthorization.Tobrukac-cusesTurkeyandQataroffundingtheIslamistgovernmentcontrollingTripoli.• On12MaytheEUHighRepresent-ativeFedericaMogheriniaskstheUnit-edNationsSecurityCounciltogivethegreen light to military intervention inLibya,inordertoputastoptothemas-sive immigrant trafficking crisis in theMediterranean.Therequestcomestwodaysaftertheinternationally-recognizedTobrukgovernmentaskstheEUtohelpinitsfightagainstthepeople-traffickingmafias.• On17MaytheLibyanauthoritiesar-restaround400illegalmigrantsinTa-jura, mostly Ethiopian and Somalian,waitingtoboardashipforEurope.• On21MaycontrolofSirteistakenbyDaesh.• On26MaythePrimeMinisterAbdul-lahal-ThaniescapesunharmedfromaterroristattackinTobruk,carriedoutbyunidentifiedarmedmen.

Tunisia

• On18MayTunisiaannouncesthattalks are underway for the release of172 Tunisians detained in Libya by agroupbelongingtotheFajrLibyacoali-tion(LibyanDawn)inretaliationforthearreston14MayofoneofitsleadersWalidel-KlibiinTunisia.• On21May the TunisianPresidentBejiCaïdEssebsitravelstotheUSonan official visit to strengthen bilateralrelationsandobtainmilitaryandfinan-cialassistancefromWashingtonin itsfightagainstterrorism.

Algeria

• On 14 May Abdelaziz Bouteflikamakeschanges in10ministerialposi-tions.TayebBelaizisreplacedasInte-riorMinister by the current EducationMinister Noureddine Bedoui. In turn,BelaizbecomesStateMinisterandspe-cialadvisertothePresident.TheEnergyandMiningMinister Youcef Yousfi isreplacedbySalahKhebri.IntheFinanceMinistry Abderrahman Benkhelfa re-placesMohamedDjellab.• On19Mayatleast23membersofDaesharekilledinamilitaryoperationinAlgiers.

• On23MayAmineMazouzi is ap-pointedCEOofSonatrach,toreplaceSaidSahnoun.Executivechangesarealso announced inAir Algérie,NaftalandSonelgaz.• On 28May Abdelkader BensalahresignsasSecretaryGeneraloftheNa-tionalRally forDemocracy(RND)duetohisgrowingroleat theheadof theNationalCouncil, owing toAbdelazizBouteflika’s fragile health. The formerPrime Minister and Cabinet directorAhmedOuyahiatakesoverasleaderoftheRND.

Morocco

• On15MayMohammedVIapproveslooseningrestrictionsforlegalabortiontoinclude,aswellascaseswherethemother’slifeisthreatened,foetalimpair-mentandcasesofrapeorincest.• On20MayMohammedVIappointsAbdelazizel-OmariMinisterofRelationswithParliamentandCivilSocietytore-placeLahbibChoubani;Jamilael-Mous-salli Education Minister Delegate toreplaceSoumiaBenkhaldoun; KhalidBarjaoui (PopularMovement,MP, lib-eral), Vocational Training Minister toreplaceAbdeladimGuerrouj;MohandLaenser,currentTerritoryandUrbanismMinister, asYouth andSportMinisterafter Mohamed Ouzzine’s departurefromthepostinJanuary.DrissMerroun(MP)willbethenewTerritoryandUr-banismMinister.

Mauritania

• On7May thePresidentMohamedOuldAbdelaziz responds to the thou-sandsofpeoplewhoon30Aprilpro-testedagainstthecountry’sstanceonslavery,sayingthatinMauritaniathereareonly“thelastvestigesofthatprac-tice.”• On 14May the jihadist group al-Murabitun(TheSentinels),whichdomi-nates large areasbetweenMauritaniaandChad,pledgesallegiancetoDaeshandrevealsthenameofitsemirAdnanAbulWaleedel-Sahrawi.

EU

• On13MaytheECadoptstheEuro-peanAgendaonMigration.


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• On21-22MaytheEUandmembercountries of the Eastern PartnershipholdasummitinRigatoacceleratetheassociation agreementswithUkraine,Moldova and Georgia and establish“tailor-made relations” with Armenia,AzerbaijanandBelarus.• On27May theECannounces itsfirst provisional emergencymeasures,whichincluderelocating40,000immi-grantarrivalstoGreeceandItalyinre-centmonthsamong theStates,someofwhichrejectoutrightthemeasureorquestiontheredistributioncriteria.

Arab League

• On25MayEgypt’sarmychiefGen-eralMahmoudHegazy asks hisArabcounterparts,gatheredinCairo,tofinal-izemeasures forcreatinga jointArabmilitaryforcewithinamonth.

June 2015

In Spain and France there are ministe-rial changes. The Association and Sta-bilisation Agreement comes into force between Bosnia-Herzegovina and the EU. Montenegro opens two new acces-sion negotiation chapters. Slovenia extradites the former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj to Kosovo. Greece and the EU fail to reach an agreement in negotiations on debt repayment and a third rescue plan. The AKP loses its absolute majority in Turkey’s general election. Fighting intensifies in Syria over control of Hasaka and Idlib. Jordan announces plans to set up a buffer zone on its border with Syria. In Egypt, Mo-hamed Morsi and senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood are handed down new sentences and a retrial is ordered against Hosni Mubarak, the same month that the public prosecutor is killed by a car bomb. In Libya, Daesh takes control of Harawa. In Tunisia, a Daesh sympathizer kills 38 tourists in a hotel close to Sousse, the same day that Daesh carries out attacks in France and Kuwait. Tensions rise between the Western Bloc and Russia and the EU continues in its efforts to negotiate so-lutions for the migration crisis in the Mediterranean.

Portugal

• On7Junethegovernmentannounc-esthatitwillbepayback2billioneurosto the IMFaheadofscheduletosaveon interest,afterhavingalsomadeanearlypaymentof6.6billioneurosforitsbailoutrepayment.

Spain

• On12 June theParliament unani-mouslyvotesinfavourofgrantingSpan-ishcitizenshiptoSephardicJews.• On12 June FelipeVI revokes thetitleofDuchessofPalmafromhissister,PrincessCristinaofBorbón,whoisal-readyexcludedfromroyalfamilyeventsbecauseofherinvolvementintheNooscorruptioncase.• On25JuneManuelChaves,PSOESecretaryGeneral, formerAndalusianPresidentandformerMinister,givesuphisseatafterbeingchargedbytheSu-premeCourtintheEREcorruptioncaseaffectingtheAndalusiangovernment.InApril,anotherformerAndalusianPresi-dentJoseAntonioGriñanhadalreadyresignedassenator for thesamerea-son.• On 25 June the EU Secretary ofStateIñigoMendezdeVigoisappoint-edEducationMinister toreplaceJoseIgnacioWert.

France

• On9Junethegovernmentpresents18measures tocreate jobswhich in-cludeafinancialbonusforacompany’sfirstcreatedjobandcapsondamagesforunfairdismissal.• On 17 JuneClotilde Valter is ap-pointed Secretary of State for StateReform andSimplification to replaceThierryMandon,whoisappointedSec-retaryofStateforHigherEducationandResearch;MartinePinvilletakesoverasSecretaryofStateforTradeandCraftsreplacingCaroleDelga.LaurenceRos-signol,SecretaryofStatefortheFamily,becomesChildren’sWelfareMinister.• On 25 June violent unrest eruptsamong taxi drivers inParis and othercitiesagainsttheUbermobileapplica-tion.On29JunethedirectorsofUberforFranceandWesternEuropearear-restedinParisforlegalirregularities.

• On26Juneasecurityguardisbe-headed and a further twopeople areinjuredinaDaeshattackonagasfac-toryinSaint-Quentin-Fallavier.

Italy

• On4June44politiciansandbusi-nesspeople are arrested inRome aspartoftheMafiaCapitalcorruptioncaseaccusedofriggingpubliccontractsforthemanagement ofmigrant receptioncentres.• On6-7June5,851immigrantstryingtoreachItalianshoresareintercepted.• On12JuneFranceclosesitsborderwith Italy to stop the entry fromVen-timigliaofatleast200illegalimmigrants.Italythreatenstogivepaperstoallim-migrants if it does not receive assis-tancefromtheEU.GermanyurgesIta-ly to comply with the SchengenAgreementandtakechargeofthede-portations.

Malta

• On3JuneRosetteThakeiselectedSecretary General of the NationalistParty(PN,Christiandemocracy).

Croatia

• On3MayfreshchargesarebroughtagainsttheMayorofZagrebMilanBan-dicforabuseofoffice.Thisisthesec-ondtrialagainstBandicfollowingpro-ceedings brought against him inFebruary.• On11JuneCroatiaproteststhede-cisionofaBosniancourttofilechargesagainst senior ranks of the Croatianarmysuspectedofinvolvementincom-mittingwarcrimesinBosnia.


• On1JunetheStabilisationandAs-sociationAgreementwiththeEUcomesintoforce.• On5 June the government of theBosniak-Croatentitycollapsesfollowingthe exit of theDemocratic Front (DF,social democrat) from the governingcoalition.• On10JunetheBosnia-HerzegovinaFederationadoptsacrucialreformplanfor advancing the accessionprocess.


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However,theBosnianSerbgovernmentrefusestosign.• On25JuneaBosniancourt,forthefirsttime,ordersaggressorsofawomanwhowasrapedduringtheBosnianwarto give her compensation. Between20,000 and30,000women sufferedsexualabusesduringtheBosnianwarand no trial has been held for suchcrimesuntilnow.

Montenegro

• On3 June theParliamentSpeakerRankoKrivokapicisreelectedasleaderoftheSocialDemocraticParty(SDP),which forms part of the governmentcoalitionledbytheDemocraticPartyofSocialists(DPS).• On22JuneMontenegroopenstwonewchaptersinitsaccessionnegotia-tions:FinancialservicesandTrans-Eu-ropeannetworks.

Serbia

• On16JunethePresidentTomislavNikoliccancelshisvisittoBosniaandHerzegovinaattherequestoftheBos-niakmemberofthetripartitepresidencyBakirIzetbegovic,becauseofthearrestin Switzerland of NaserOric, formerBosnian commanderwanted by Bel-gradeforwarcrimesagainstSerbs inZaluzjein1992.On25JuneBernex-traditesOrictoBosnia,whereheisalsowantedbythejudiciary.


• OnJunetheInteriorMinisterreportsthat 7,500 illegal Kosovo immigrantshavebeenreturnedfromtheEUsinceJanuary.• On19Juneinresponsetoaresolu-tionmade by theKosovoParliament,Slovenia releases former UÇK com-manderandformerPrimeMinisterRa-mushHaradinaj, arrestedon17 June,thusavoidingtheirextraditiontoSerbia.

FYROM

• On10Juneanewroundoftalksfailbetween thegovernment and the op-positiontoputanendtothecountry’spoliticalcrisis,whileinthestreetsthere

aregrowingsignsofdiscontenttowardsthegovernmentofNikolaGruevski,es-peciallyamongtheAlbaniancommunity,ledbytheBesamovement.• On16Junetheopposition’ssocialdemocrat leader Zoran Zaev revealsnewrecordings that implicateanothergovernmentcoalitionparty, theDemo-craticUnionforIntegration(DUI,Alba-niannationalist),inthecorruptionscamaffectingtheVMRO-DPMNE.

Albania

• On21JuneAlbaniaholdslocalelec-tions in which the 37 parties of thecentre-left government coalition win62%ofthevotes.

Greece

• On11JunetheHellenicBroadcast-ingCorporation (ERT) begins broad-castingafterbeingclosedfortwoyearsbecauseoftheeconomiccrisis.• On15JuneFofiGennimataiselect-edasthenewPASOKleader.• On 29 June the banks and stockexchange are closed and a 60-eurodaily limit on cashwithdrawals is im-posedafternegotiationsfailwithinter-nationalcreditors,whorejectAthens’requesttoextendtherescueplanifthecountrydoesnotadoptnewausteritymeasures.• On30JunethedeadlinerunsoutforGreecetoagreeonathirdbailoutplanandwithoutAthenspaying the corre-sponding1.5billioneurosfortheprevi-ousbailout.

Turkey

• On7 June Turkey holds a generalelectioninwhichtheAKPlosesitsma-jority,whichithasheldsince2002,win-ning just 255 seats, down from311,andisforcedintoacoalitioninordertoremainingovernment.• On17JunetheformerPresidentandPrimeMinisterSuleymanDemireldies.Demirelwas twice overthrownby themilitaryinhissevenyearsattheheadofthegovernment.• On28 June thepolice take actionagainst participants in theGayPridemarchinIstanbulanddispersescrowdsfromTaksimSquareandIstiklalStreet.

Cyprus

• On25JunetheParliamentpassesabill allowing civil servants and publicemployeestoholdpositionsinpoliticalparties.• On23JunetheIMFreportsthatCy-prus’ economic situation is faringwellafterthemeasuresithasadopted,whichhaveseengrowth levels in thecountrysincethefirstquarterof2015turnposi-tiveforthefirsttimeinfouryears.

Syria

• On4 June Iran sends20,000 sol-dierstoLatakia,afterIdlibfallsintothehandsoftheal-NusraFront.• On8-9June150representativesoftheSyrianoppositionmeet inCairototry and forman alternative oppositionfronttothefragmentedNationalCoali-tion forSyrianRevolutionary andOp-positionForces(NCSROF).• On11Junetheal-NusraFrontkillsatleast20membersofthecountry’sDru-zeminorityinQalbLoze,Idlib.• On12JunetheSyrianarmyandpro-government armed groups overthrowrebelmilitiaswhohadtakentheal-ThalaairbaseintheprovinceofSweidaon10June.• On16JuneKurdish forcesandtheFree Syrian Army (FSA) capture TalAbiad,ontheTurkishborder,fromDaesh.• On16Juneat least34peoplearekilledand190injuredwhenrebelforcesbombgovernment-controlledAleppo.• On22JuneKurdishforcesandtheFSAdriveDaeshfromtheAinAisamili-tarybaseinal-Raqqa.• On 23 June Daesh destroys twomausoleumsinPalmyra.• On26Juneat least47peoplearekilledinDeraaduringtherebelSouthernStorm offensive against regime posi-tions.

Lebanon

• On9JuneHezbollahrepelsaDaeshattackontwostrategichillsinRasBaal-bek.

Jordan

• On29 June Jordan announces itsintentiontosetupabufferzonealong


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itsborderwithSyriaopentoSyriancivil-iansandnon-extremistmilitias.

Egypt

• On1JuneMahmoudGhozlanisar-rested,theformerspokespersonfortheMuslimBrotherhood.• On4JunetheAppealsCourtordersthe retrial of former President HosniMubarak for his responsibility in thedeathofdemonstratorsduringtheEgyp-tianrevolution.• On16 June theCriminalCourt inCairo sentences the former EgyptianPresidentMohamedMorsiand16otherIslamiststo life imprisonmentaccusedofspyingandcollaborationwithforeignorganizationstoplanattacksinEgypt.ThespiritualleaderoftheMuslimBroth-erhoodMohamedBadie is sentencedto25years’imprisonmentinthesamecase.AnotherthreeBrotherhoodlead-ers – Jairat ash-Shater,Mohamed al-Beltagui and Ahmed Abdelati – aresentencedtodeath,alongwithafurther13peoplewhoaretriedin absentia.• On16 June theEgyptian judiciaryupholds the death sentence for thecountry’s former PresidentMohamedMorsiforhisescapefromtheWadiel-NatrunprisoninJanuary2011.• On29JuneEgypt’spublicprosecu-torHishamBarakat dies from injuriesreceivedinabombattackinCairo.

Libya

• On 5 June Daesh seizes Harawapowerplant,whichsupplieselectricitytoSirteandtheGardabiyaairport.• On12JuneatleastsevenpeoplearekilledwhenmembersofDaeshopenfireonademonstrationinDernaprotestingagainstthejihadistpresenceinthecity.

Tunisia

• On5 June the InteriorMinisteren-forces a curfew inDouz after severaloutbreaks of violence in recent daysoverpoorlivingconditionsandhighun-employment.• On23JuneTunisia’sCriminalCourtofFirstInstancesentencestheoustedPresidentZineelAbidineBenAli,whohasfledthecountry,theformerPublicLands andNationalDefenceMinister

RidhaGriraandBenAli’sbrother-in-lawMohamedSakhrel-Materi to10yearsin prison and orders them to pay100,000eurosfor illegallyawardingacontractforaquarryinBizerte.• On26JunetheDaeshsympathiserSeifeddineRezguistormstheRiuImpe-rialMarhabahotel,nearSousse,andkills38touristsbeforebeingshotdownbypolice.TheattackcoincideswithothersperpetratedbyDaeshinGrenobleandKuwait.InthedaysfollowingtheattackTunisia deploys a large-scale securityoperationandmakesnumerousarrests.

Algeria

• On4JuneanarmycoloneliskilledinBatnainanattackclaimedbyAQIM.Theterroristgroupclaimsresponsibilityfor another attack, carried out on12May also inBatna,which left fourcommunalguardsdead.

EU

• On7JunetheG-7adoptsnewmeas-uresagainstRussia,excludedfromtheclubover the crisis inUkraine,whereclashes continue in Donbass.On 10JunetheEuropeanParliamentapprovesthe “critical reassessment”of relationswithMoscow.On14June theUSan-nouncesitissendingtanksintoCentralEuropeasa“deterrent.”On17JuneRus-siaannounces theadditionof40newintercontinental nuclearmissiles to itsnucleararsenalandNATOtriplesitsde-fensivecapacity inCentralEurope.On22 June theEUextends its sanctionsagainstRussiato31January2016.• On 9 June citing “procedural rea-sons,”MartinSchulz,President of theEuropeanParliamentdelaysthevoteontheTransatlanticTradeandInvestmentPartnership(TTIP)becauseofprotestsfromMPsinfavourofafreetradeagree-mentwiththeUS.• On16JuneEuropeofNationsandFreedom is created, a newEuropeanparliamentary group composedof theFrenchNationalFront,theDutchPartyfor Freedom, the Italian NorthernLeague, theBelgian Flemish InterestandtheAustrianFreedomParty.• On17 June theEuropeanCouncilpostponesitsdecisionontheCommis-sion’splantoredistributeasylumseek-

ers and refugeeswho are arriving enmasse in andGreece, after failing toreach an agreement on a relocationmechanism.• On22 June the EU approves theactivationofthefirstphaseofamilitaryoperationagainstmafiastraffickingim-migrantsacrosstheMediterranean.

July 2015

In Portugal, the former Minister Antonio Vara is arrested. Spain approves the re-form of its criminal code. There are new episodes in the migration crisis in Italy and France. Italy restricts the right to strike. The border mediation process between Slovenia and Croatia is endan-gered. Bosnia advances along its path to accession approving major reforms. The government and opposition of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia agree to hold early elections in April 2016. Greece requests a third bailout plan after accepting the EU and IMF’s conditions and the coalition government enters a crisis. Turkey launches offen-sives in Syria against Daesh and the Kurdish militias. In Libya, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is sentenced to death by a court in Tripoli. Tunisia tightens its security.

Portugal

• On10 July the formerMinisterAr-mandoVaraisarrestedinrelationwiththecorruptioncaseaffectingtheformersocialistPrimeMinisterJoseSocrates.• On22JulytheParliamentapprovestougherabortionlaws.

Spain

• On1 July thecriminal code reformcomesintoforcethatintroducesreview-ablelifeimprisonmentandtoughenssen-tencesforcorruption,illegalfundingforpoliticalparties,gender-basedviolence,violencetowardsminorsandanimalmis-treatment.ItalsoforeseesaDNAdata-baseforanyoneconvictedofacrime.

France

• On1 JulyLe Nouvel Observateur reportsthatFrancehasspiedoninter-


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national telecommunications since2008, days after theExteriorMinisterLaurent Fabius summons theUSam-bassador,on22June,overwiretappingthatWashington carriedout between2006and2012onPresidentsChirac,Sarkozy and Hollande, revealed byWikiLeaks.• On2Julyacourt inNanterreover-turns Jean-MarieLePen’ssuspensionfrom theNational Front approved on4Maybytheparty’sleadership.• On7JulyJosebaIñakiRetadeFru-tosandJavierGoienetxea,consideredtheheadsoftheETAterroristorganiza-tion’slogisticalapparatus,arearrestedinOsses,Aquitania.• On28Julyaround2,000immigrantsfromtheillegalcampknownasTheJun-glearearrestedafterstormingtheEu-rotunnelterminalinCalaisinanattempttoentertheUnitedKingdom.

Monaco

• On7Julythegovernmentagreestoresume the Anse du Portier project,whichwillreclaimsixhectaresfromtheMediterranean,therebyeasingthepres-sureontheworld’smostdenselypopu-latedcountry.

Italy

• On7JulytheformerPrimeMinisterSilvioBerlusconiissentencedtothreeyearsinprisonbyacourtinNaplesforbribingsenators.• On9Julyatotalof823immigrantsarerescuedintheStraitofSicily,partoftheunendingarrivalsfromtheNorthAfricancoast.• On 21 July the ECHR condemnsItalyforfailingtoofferappropriatelegalprotectiontogaycouplesorrecognizetheirrights.• On22Julythepolicearrest41mem-bersoftheCalabrian‘Ndrangheta’andseizes56oftheorganization’scompa-nies, valued at approximately 2billioneuros.• On 27 July 13 bodies are foundaboard a vessel carrying 522 immi-grantsintheStraitofSicilybyanIrishshipparticipatingintheTritonmission.• On28JulyafterthegeneralstrikesstagedbyworkersatRome’smetronet-work,AlitaliaandtheruinsofPompeii,

thegovernmentpresentsanewlawthatrestrictstherighttostrike.

Croatia

• On23JulyCroatiathreatenstowith-drawfromthecourtofinternationalar-bitration set up to settle the borderdisputewithSlovenia,afteritisrevealedthat confidential information hasbeenexchangedbetweenoneofthejudgesandthegovernmentofLjubljana.• On27JulytheConstitutionalCourtorderstheretrialoftheformerPrimeMin-isterIvoSanader(HDZ)forcorruption.


• On 2 July the Republika Srpskafreezes the 8.75%price increase onelectricity faced with its widespreadrejection.• On11JulytheSerbianPrimeMinis-terAleksandarVucicisforcedtoleavethesite for thecommemorationof the20thanniversaryoftheSrebrenicamas-sacre, afterBosniak attendees throwstonesathim.• On15JulytheParliamentoftheRe-publikaSrpskavotesinfavourofholdingapublicreferendumontheauthorityofthe federal judicialsystem in theBos-nianSerb entity and theHighRepre-sentative of the InternationalCommu-nityValentinInzko.• On19JulytheEnergyMinisteroftheFederationofBosniaandHerzegovinaandtheminingtradeunionsagreeonapriceincreaseonenergyconsumptionintheentity.• On23July the federalgovernmentand that of the country’s two entitiesapprovethekeyreformsdemandedbytheEUandIMFtobeanofficialcandi-dateforaccession.• On30JulythousandsprotestinSa-rajevoagainsttheBosnianCroatentity’sapprovalofthelabourlawreform.

Montenegro

• On19JulyMontenegroreportsthearrestofformerSerbiangeneralBorislavDjukicforwarcrimesin1993.• On23 JulyDejanPerunicic is ap-pointed the new intelligence agencychiefwithin theprogrammeofpre-ac-cessionreforms.

Serbia

• On6JulytheHungarianParliamentapprovestheconstructionofafencetocontaintheflowofrefugeesattemptingtoentertheEUalongthe175-kilometreborderwithSerbia.• On7JulyatSerbia’srequest,RussiavetoesaUNSecurityCouncilresolutiontoqualify theSrebrenicamassacreasgenocide.


• On24Julynegotiationsforanagree-ment on vehicles crossing theborderbetweenSerbiaandKosovoarehaltedafter Pristina demands thatBelgraderecognize registration plateswith theinitialsRKS (Republic of Kosovo) aslegal.

FYROM

• On15 July theEnlargementCom-missionerJohannesHahnannouncesanagreementreachedbythegovernmentand opposition to put an end to thecountry’spoliticalcrisisandformapro-visionalgovernmentaheadoftheearlyelectionsin2016.• On23 July, despite theoppositionboycott,thecoalitiongovernmentsub-mitsthebudgetfor2016totheParlia-ment,thelargestinits25yearsofinde-pendence.• On24JulyXhemailRexhepi,mem-beroftheDemocraticUnionforIntegra-tion(DUI,Albaniannationalist)iskilledinKumanovoinafightwithotherpartymembers.

Albania

• On22JulytheParliamentapprovestheHigherEducationlawreform,con-testedbystudentsandteachers.

Greece

• On 5 July 61.3% of Greeks voteagainstacceptingthetermsoftheinter-nationalcreditorsinthereferendumheldbythegovernment.Aftertheresult,An-tonisSamarasresignsasleaderofthemainoppositionparty,NewDemocracy.TheFinanceMinisterYanisVaroufakis


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resignsto‘facilitate’thenewnegotiationsandisreplacedbyEuclidesTsakalotos.• On8JulyGreeceaskstheEuropeanStabilityMechanism (ESM) fora thirdbailoutpackagetobeenableittorepaythedebtandstabilizethefinancialsys-tem.On13JulyGreeceandtheEuro-groupreachanagreement,thusavoid-ingthe‘Grexit’–Greece’sexitfromtheeurozone.• On 16 July the Eurogroup givesGreecea7-billion-eurobridge loan toavoidbankruptcy.• On18Julythe10newministersaresworn into the cabinet, reshuffled byAlexis Tsipras due toSyriza’s internalcrisis.• On15 and22 July theParliamentapproves reformpackagespresentedby thegovernment anddemandedbytheeurozoneforthethirdfinancialbail-outpackage.

Turkey

• On20 July at least 30people arekilledandmorethanahundredinjuredinasuicidebombattackinSuruç,closetotheSyriancityofKobani.On21-22July thereareoutbreaksofviolence inIstanbulaswellasinthemainKurdish-majoritycitiesduringprotestsovertheattackinSuruç.• On 24 July Turkey announces theconstructionofawallatvariouspointsofitsborderwithSyria.• On25JulybombingcarriedoutbyTurkeythroughoutthemonthinthestripoflandbetweenTurkeyandthejihadiststrongholdsinAleppoleavemorethan35 jihadistsdead.AfterdrivingDaeshoutoftheareaandinexchangefortheopeningof the IncirlikAir base to theinternationalcoalition,Turkeyisguaran-teed the creation of the so-called‘Daesh-freeZone,’a98-kmlongand40-kmwidebufferareaalongtheborder.• On27Julythenumberofpeoplear-rested in successive raids in TurkeysuspectedofhavingconnectionswithDaesh, thePKKorDHKP/C reaches900.

Cyprus

• On24 JulyGeorgePamboridis isappointed the newHealthMinister toreplacePhilipposPatsalis.

Syria

• On1JulytheKurdishPeople’sPro-tectionUnits(YPG)declaretheyhavetakenfullcontrolofthestrategictownofTelAbyadfromDaesh.• On2JulythePentagonconfirmsthedeathofTariqal-Harzion16June,akeyfigureinDaesh’slogisticaloperations.• On 2 July Daesh releases photo-graphsofitsmilitantsdestroyingdiffer-entsculpturesinPalmyra,amongthemtheLionofAl-Lat.• On4JulyavideoreleasedonsocialnetworksconnectedwithDaeshshowsthe execution of 25 prisoners in Pal-myra’sRomantheatre.• On6JulyDaeshrecapturesAinIssa,takenbyKurdishmilitiason26June.• On7JulySyria’sKurdishforcesre-port takingbackmore than10 townsclosetoal-RaqqafromDaesh.• On8 JulyMuhsin al-Fadhli, oneoftheheadsofal-QaedainSyria,iskilledduring an attack by the internationalcoalitiononSarmada.• On 15 July the Syrian army sup-portedbyHezbollahtakesalargepartofZabadani.• On19JulytheSyrianarmyreportsthecaptureofnewtownsclosetoLa-takiacontrolledbyIslamistgroups.• On27JulytheUSappointsMichaelRatney as the newSpecial Envoy forSyriatoreplaceDanielRubinstein.• On27Julyrebelslaunchamajorat-tackonregime-controlledSahlal-Ghab,whichgivesaccesstotheprovincesofLatakiaandTartus.• On29 July the al-Nusra Front kid-napsNadimal-Hassan,theheadoftheDivision30rebelgroup.• On31Julytheinternationalcoalitionbombsal-NusraFront targets inAzaz,Aleppo,inresponsetotheattackledbytheal-Qaeda-affiliatedgrouponDivision30twodaysprevious.

Lebanon

• On9JulyMichelAoun’sFreePatri-oticMovement (FPM,MaroniteChris-tian)leadsamarchinBeiruttoprotestagainst the appointment of the newarmychief,apositionreservedfor theChristian community, along with thecountry’s presidency,which hasbeenemptysinceMay2014duetoadisa-

greementbetweenpoliticalparties.ThemandateofthecurrentarmychiefJeanKahwajiexpiresinSeptember2015.• On 25 July protests and unrestbreaksoutinBeirutovertheso-calledGarbageCrisis,followingthecollapseofthecountry’smainlandfillandfailureoftheauthoritiestofindasolution.• On28Julyat leasttwopeoplearekilledinclashesbetweenJundal-ShamandFatahintheEinel-HilwehrefugeecampinSidon.

Egypt

• On2JulytheairforceinitiatesnewairstrikesonjihadistsinSinai,whereter-rorist attacks continue throughout themonth.Thegrowingconcern inEgyptandIsraelovertheupsurgeofDaeshintheregionpromptsIsraeltoallowEgypttousemilitaryhelicoptersinSinai.• On17JulysixmembersoftheMus-limBrotherhood are killed in clasheswithpoliceinGiza.Afurther15Brother-hoodmembersarearrestedinCairoand20moreinAlexandria.

Libya

• On12 JulyLibya’s factionspartici-pating in negotiations inSkhirat,Mo-rocco,undersignadraftpeacedealtoforma national unity governmentwiththenotableabsenceoftheGeneralNa-tional Congress, the unrecognizedTripoli-basedgovernment.• On28JulyaLibyancourtsentencesSaifal-IslamGaddafitodeathin absen-tia,whoiscurrentlybeingheldcaptiveinanunknownlocationbyZintanmilitia-menthatopposetheIslamistauthoritiesinTripoli.

Tunisia

• On4JulyTunisiadeclaresastateofemergency aweek after the attack inSousse.• On7JulythePrimeMinisterHabibEssid announces the acceleration ofconstructionworksfora168-kilometrewallanddefensivetrenchontheLibyanborder.• On 10 July the authorities arrest1,000 people and prohibit a further15,000fromleavingthecountry,incon-nectionwiththeattackinSousse.


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Morocco

• On2JulytheCentralOfficeofCrim-inal Investigation arrests nine peoplesuspectedofbelongingtoDaesh.• On8 JulyWafaaCharaf, a knownMoroccan activist, member of the20FebruaryMovementandprisonerinTangier,initiatesa48-hourhungerstriketodenouncethepoorconditionsofMo-rocco’sprisons.• On21JulyeightpeoplearearrestedinMoroccoforbeingpartofaterroristcelllinkedtoDaesh.• On28JulythejournalistAliLmrabetendsa34-dayhungerstrikeoutsidetheUNHumanRightsCommittee inGe-neva,aftertheMoroccanInteriorMinis-ter officially authorizes the consularprocedureallowingLmrabettosetupaSatiricalweeklymagazinetofollowhispreviousone,Demain.

EU

• On1JulyLuxembourgassumesthesix-monthrotatingEuropeanpresiden-cywiththeprioritiesofstrengtheningtheUnion’sinternationalposition,deal-ing with the migration crisis in theMediterranean,promotingsustainabledevelopment,combiningfreedomandsecurity,reactivatingtheSinglemarketandEurope’scompetitivenesson theglobalstageandfocusingonpoliciestodeepentheEU’ssocialdimension,boostemploymentandattract invest-ment.• On7July theEuropeanParliamentapprovesanECproposal to increaseitsbudgetformanagingmigrationflowsby69.6millioneuros.• On13JulythecurrentDutchPresi-dentoftheEurogroupJeroenDijsselblo-emiselectedforanewterm.

August 2015

France and the United Kingdom agree on measures to work together to man-age the migration crisis in the Channel. The worsening situation in Syria and saturation in neighbouring countries cause a dramatic increase in the flows of refugees trying to enter the EU through Italy, Greece and the Balkans.

The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigns forcing the creation of an interim government until early elec-tions are held in September. There is increasing unrest in southeastern Tur-key between security forces and the PKK. In Lebanon, the so-called Gar-bage Crisis triggers major citizen pro-tests denouncing corruption and the ineffectiveness of the public authori-ties. The presidents of Egypt and Tu-nisia ratify their respective anti-terrorist law reforms. The Libyan authorities in Tobruk ask the Arab League for urgent assistance to halt the expansion of Daesh, which spends the month fight-ing the inhabitants of Sirte for the city’s total control. Mauritania approves a new anti-slavery law.

Spain

• On 28 August the Civil GuardsearchestheheadquartersoftheDem-ocratic Convergence of Catalonia(CDC,Catalanseparatist)and itspo-liticalfoundation,CatDem,aspartofthecourtinvestigationforthe3%corruptioncase,affectingthePresidentofthere-gionalgovernmentArturMas.

France

• On 20August the French InteriorMinister BernardCazeneuve and hisBritishcounterpartTheresaMaysignacooperationagreementtodealwiththemigrationcrisis inCalais,wheremorethan3,000illegalimmigrantsarewaitingto cross the channel into theUnitedKingdom.• On21August theMoroccanAyubel-Khazzani,suspectedinSpainofhav-ing jihadist connections, attempts tocarryoutamassacreonahigh-speedtraintravellingtoParisfromAmsterdam,after boarding the train in BrusselsarmedwithaKalashnikov.TheterroristissubduedbyagroupofpassengersandarrestedinArras.

Italy

• On2Augustthenumberofpeoplerescued in theStrait ofSicily rises to4,000 in72hoursasa resultofcon-stant,mass arrivals on Italian shores,whichcontinuethroughoutthemonth.


• On27AugusttheEU-Balkanssum-mit inVienna focuseson the region’sjoint commitment toEuropean acces-sionbuthighlightstheneedtoacceler-ateandbroadenthereformsdemandedbyBrussels.• On27AugusttheoppositionleaderintheRepublikaSrpskaclaimstohaverecordings that prove votes wereboughtintheOctober2014electionsbytheSNSD,theentity’srulingparty.• On27AugustBosnia’spublicpros-ecutor accuses the former BosniakGeneral Naser Oric of war crimesagainstSerbiantroops intheBosnianwar.

Montenegro

• On13AugustRussiaincludesMon-tenegro, togetherwithAlbania, Liech-tensteinandIcelandinthelistofstatesthat are banned fromexporting food-stuffs to the country in retaliation forsanctionsadoptedbyPodgoricaasaresultoftheconflictinUkraine.

Serbia

• On26AugusttheEUannouncesitwillgive1.5millioneurostoassistSer-biaandtheFYROMtotacklethemigra-tioncrisis,oneofthemainissuesoftheEU-BalkanssummitinViennaon27Au-gust.


• On3AugusttheParliamentadoptstheconstitutionalamendmentsneces-sary for settingupa special court forwarcrimescommittedduringtheKos-ovoconflict.Theoppositionlodgesanappeal with theConstitutional Courtaskingforthemeasure,whichmayseeUÇKmembersgo to trial, tobeover-turned.• On14August a demonstration inMitrovicacallsforthereleaseofOliverIvanovic,arrestedinJanuary2014ac-cusedofwarcrimesandcurrentlyonhungerstrikependingadefinitiveverdictfromtheEURuleofLawMissioninKo-sovo(EULEX),whichextendedhiscus-todyon6August.


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• On25AugustSerbia andKosovosignnewagreementsonenergy, tele-communications,freedomofmovementaround thebridge inMitrovica and toestablishacommunityofSerbianmu-nicipalitiesinNorthKosovo.

FYROM

• On 20 August Skopje declares astateofemergencyonitsborderswithSerbiaandGreeceduetotheavalancheof refugees trying to reach the EUthroughHungary.• On26August thegovernmentandoppositionfailtoreachanagreementinBrusselsontheappointmentofaspecialprosecutortoinvestigateaccusationsofstatespyingmadebythesocialdemo-cratleaderZoranZaev,whothreatenstoreleasenewrecordingsifanagreementisnotreachedby15September.

Greece

• On 14August the Eurogroup ap-proves a third bailout package forGreece of 86 billion euros, to be re-leasedoverthenextthreeyears.• On20AugustthePrimeMinisteran-nounceshisresignationandearlyelec-tionstobeheldinSeptemberafterjustsevenmonthsingovernmentandamidstthesplit intherulingSyrizapartyoverthetermsacceptedforthethirdfinancialrescue package. The announcementcoincideswith the releaseof the firsttrancheof thenewpackage–26bil-lion–and repaymentsbeingmade totheECBandIMF.• On 21 August, according to theUnitedNationsHighCommissionerforRefugees(UNHCR),50,000refugeesarrived inGreece in July 2015;morethaninthewholeof2014(43,500)anda750%increasefromJuly2014.• On27Augustafterthethreemajorparliamentarygroupsfailtoformagov-ernment to replaceAlexisTsipras, theGreekPresidentProkopisPavlopoulosappointsthePresidentoftheSupremeCourtVasilikiThanouasthecaretakergovernment’sPrimeMinister.

Turkey

• On 14 August Turkey begins theconstructionofawallintheborderprov-

inceofHataytohalttheincreaseinil-legalimmigrantsenteringfromSyriaandIraq.• On17-18August the governmentsetsuparoundahundredspecialse-curityzonesintheeastandsoutheastofthecountryandimposescurfewsinMus and Diyarbakir following fierceclasheswith the terroristorganizationPKK,which in JulyandAugust leftatleast53 insurgentsdead. Inaddition,Ankarastepsupitsbombingthrough-outAugustofPKKpositionsinTurkeyandnorthernIraq.• On21AugustthePresidentRecepTayyipErdoganannouncesearlyelec-tionsfor1NovemberafterthecurrentPrimeMinisterAhmetDavutoglu(AKP)failstogetthesupportoftheRepubli-canPeople’sParty (CHP,kemalist)ortheNationalistMovementParty(MHP,far-right)tocontinuetogovern.

Cyprus

• On14AugusttherepresentativeoftheUNSecretaryGeneral onCyprusEspenBarthEideexpressesoptimismfortheprogressmadeinthereunifica-tionnegotiations,especiallyonthesub-jectofnaturalresources.

Syria

• On6AugustDaeshtakesthetownofal-Qaryatain,Homs,locatedbetweenPalmyra and theQalamunmountains.Days later,Daeshabducts230of thetown’sresidents.• On7AugusttheUnitedNationsSe-curity Council unanimously adopts aresolutionthatauthorizesUNinvestiga-tors to identify theperpetratorsof theattacks using chemical weapons de-nouncedduringtheSyrianwar.• On12AugusttheUScarriesoutitsfirst airstrike on Daesh positions inSyriafromTurkey’sIncirlikairbase.• On12,13and14AugustHezbollahandAhrarash-Shamannounceacease-fireinZabadani,closetotheLebaneseborder, brokered by Turkey and Iran.However,anagreementisnotreachedforaprisonerexchange.• On16AugusttheSyrianarmystepsupitsbombingofthecityofDuma.Atleast 80people are killed throughoutthedayandanother200areinjured.

• On22AugustDaeshdestroys theChristian monastery of St. Elian, inHoms.• On 23 August it is reported thatDaesh hasdestroyed theBaalshamintempleinPalmyra.• On31AugustDaeshdestroysPal-myra’semblematicBaalTemple.

Lebanon

• On22August the citizenprotestsbegunattheendofJulyoverthepoliti-cal stalemate and corruption and theGarbageCrisisinBeirutbecomelarge-scaleandviolent.Dozensofdemonstra-torsarearrestedor injuredduring theinterventionbyriotpolice.On27AugustthePrimeMinisterTammamSalamcallsonthegovernmenttourgentlyresolvethe unrest in Beirut. On 29 August10,000peopledemonstrateagainintheLebanesecapital.• On24AugustnewclashesbreakoutbetweenFatahandJundash-Sham intheAin al-HilwehPalestinian refugeecamp.• On12AugustsupportersoftheFreePatrioticMovementdemonstratetode-nouncethemarginalizationoftherightsofLebaneseChristians.

Egypt

• On17AugustthePresidentAbdelFattah el-Sisi ratifies the anti-terroristlawapprovedbythegovernmentinJulythat, through its54articles, toughenssentencesforterrorism,protectssecu-rityforcesandrestrictspressfreedoms.• On22AugusttheSupremeGuideof theMuslimBrotherhoodMohamedBadieandothermembersofthegrouparesentencedto life imprisonmentformurderandincitingviolenceinconnec-tionwiththe2013IslamistattackonapolicestationinPortSaid.• On29AugustthreeAl-Jazeerajour-nalistsaresentencedtothreeyearsinprisonaccusedofairingfalsenewsthatjeopardizedstatesecurity.

Libya

• On11AugustviolentclashesbreakoutinSirtewhenitsinhabitantstrytostopDaesh taking full control of thecity.Thefightingissparkedbythemur-


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derbyDaeshofanimam,SheikhKhalidbinRajab Ferjani, from the influentialal-Farjan tribe.On 15AugustDaeshbeheadsandcrucifies12localgunmeninthestruggleforcontrolofthecity.Afurther 22 fighters from the city aremurdered by Daesh members whentheyarefoundinjuredinthecity’shos-pital.DespiteSirte’sdesperatesitua-tion,neithertheforcesloyaltoTripoli,northoseloyaltoTobrukmakeanykindofdecisiveinterventionthroughoutthemonth.• On 18 August the Tobruk Parlia-mentaskstheArabLeagueforhelpinthe fight against the expansion ofDaeshinLibya.Atthesametime,thepeace talks held in Geneva on 11-12 August and in Skhirat on 27-29Augustaresilencedbyanewoutbreakofviolenceinthecountry.On25Au-gusttheheadofthenegotiatingdele-gationfromtheGeneralNationalCon-gress (Tripoli) resigns inprotest overTripoli’s refusal toenter intodialoguewiththeTobrukgovernment.

Tunisia

• On7AugustthePresidentBejiCaïdEssebsi ratifies the anti-terrorism lawapprovedattheendofJulybytheParlia-mentwith174votesinfavour,10againstandnoabstentions.Themeasures in-clude the death penalty for terroristcrimesandprisonsentences forpub-liclydefendingterrorism.Itwillalsoal-lowsecurityforcestodetainsuspectsforupto15dayswithoutaccesstoalawyerorbeingbroughtbeforeajudge,aswellasmakingiteasiertophone-tappeopleunderinvestigation.

Algeria

• On26August the InteriorMinistryannouncestheresultofdifferentopera-tions carried out throughout Augustagainst theSoldiersof theCaliphate,loyaltoDaesh,andAQIM,intheprov-incesof JijelandSkikda.At least fiveterroristshavebeenkilledintheopera-tions.• On27AugustMadaniMezrag, thepardoned former leaderof the IslamicSalvationFront,announceshisintentiontocreateanewparty,theAlgerianFrontforReconciliationandSalvation.

Morocco

• On25August14peoplesuspectedofbeingmembersof aDaesh recruit-mentnetworkarearrestedinFez,Casa-blanca andMadrid in an operation incoordinationwiththeSpanishauthorities.

Mauritania

• On 6 August the Mauritanian au-thoritiesreportthereleaseoftheMalianIslamistmilitantandformerspokesmanforAnsarDine,SandaOuldBouamama,despitebeingunderaninternationalar-restwarrant.• On13AugusttheNationalAssemblyapprovesadraftlawcomprising26ar-ticlesthatconsidersslavery–officiallybannedinthecountryin1980butstillwidelypracticed– as a crimeagainsthumanity.Aswellasmakingitanoffenceandsettingtheapplicablepenalties,thetextallowshumanrightsdefenceasso-ciations to denounce infractions andassist victims, one of the central de-mandsofanti-slaveryorganizations.

EU

• On10AugustBrusselsannounces‘substantial financial aid’ – around2.4 billion euros – to help 23 of the28MemberStatestotacklethelargestmigrationcrisissinceWorldWarII.Ita-ly,SpainandGreecewillbethelargestbeneficiaries.

Arab League

• On26AugusttheArabLeaguean-nouncessine die postponementofthemeetingscheduledforthefollowingdayinwhich the ForeignAffairs andDe-fenceMinistersofits21memberswereplanningtoapproveandsignanagree-mentfortheformationofajointmilitaryforce.

September 2015

In Spain early elections are held in Cat-alonia. Greece holds early parliamentary elections. In Turkey, clashes increase between the army and the PKK terrorist organization. The relentless advance of

Daesh in Syria prompts Western govern-ments to change strategy with respect to the Syrian regime and Russia initiates its intervention in the country. Public protests continue in Lebanon. In Egypt the cabinet is reshuffled. The two paral-lel governments in Libya make no ad-vances in negotiations in Morocco. In Tunisia, more than a hundred security force members are sacked for links with terrorism and organized crime. The Al-gerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika concludes a reform process of the secret service. Morocco holds local elections. The EU is faced with the division of its members over the mass refugee arrivals from the Middle East.

Portugal

• On15SeptembertheBankofPor-tugaltemporarilysuspendsthesaleofNovoBanco,created inAugust2014usingthehealthyassetsofthedefunctBancoEspiritoSanto,twoweeksafterthecollapseofitssaletotheChineseentityAnbang.

Spain

• On1SeptembertherulingPPsub-mitsaConstitutionalCourtreformtotheParliamentasamatterofurgency,whichenablesittofineorsuspendanyonenotcomplyingwithitsrulings.• On27SeptemberCataloniaholdsparliamentaryelectionsinwhichthepro-independenceparty Junts pel Sí (To-getherforYes)winswith62seats,al-thoughitonlywins39.57%ofthevotes.TheCitizensparty(liberal),whichwantsCatalonia to remain as part of Spainexperiencesasharprisebecomingthesecond most voted party (25 seats,17.21%), followed by the Socialists’Party of Catalonia (PSC, 16 seats,12.72%),CataloniaYesWeCan(left-wing, 11 seats, 8.93%), thePeople’sParty(right-wing,11seats,8.5%)andPopularUnityCandidacy(CUP,far-left,10seats,8.21%).• On29SeptembertheCatalanPres-identArturMas,hisEducationcounsel-lor Irene Rigau and his former vice-PresidentJoanaOrtegaarechargedbytheHighCourtofCataloniaforvariouscrimes after holding a referendumon9November2014onCatalonia’sself-


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determination, despite this being theexclusiverightoftheState.• On30September thenew lawonnationalsecurityenters into force thatallows thegovernment to takechargeofalltheadministration’spersonnelandmeansincaseofcrisisoranattackontheconstitutionalorder.

France

• On2SeptemberMyriamel-KhomriisappointedLabourMinistertoreplaceFrançoisRebsamen,whoisappointedmayorofDijon.• On9SeptembertheNationalFrontischargedwithdefraudingtheStatebyfalsifyingitscampaignaccountsinthe2012parliamentaryelections.• On30September thegovernmentunveilsthe2016nationalbudget,whichincludestaxcutsaimedatloweringthedeficitandstabilisingthepublicdebt.

Italy

• On19SeptembertheCoastGuardreports they have rescued4,343 im-migrantsthroughoutthedayfrontoftheLibyancoastline.• On24SeptemberthepartyofPrimeMinisterMatteoRenzireachesaninter-nalagreementonthereformbillfortheSenate,whichmayleadtoitsapprovalintheParliament.

Croatia

• On 4 September a consortium ofinternationalbanks,whichincludesmostof the Croatian banking system, an-nouncesit issuingtheStateoverZa-greb’sdecision,on25August,toallowitscreditinSwissfrancstobeconvert-edintoeurostostemtheeffectsofthegrowthoftheSwisscurrency.• On17SeptemberCroatiareceives5,500refugeesfromSerbiainasingledayaftertheclosureoftheHungarianborder. The mass influx of refugeessparks tensionsbetweenZagreb andBelgrade,who accuse each other ofhandlingthecrisispoorly.


• On8September,afterthreemonthsofdebates,thegovernmentadoptsthe

five-yearstrategy for thereformof thejudicialsystem,requiredtoadvancetheEuropeanaccessionprocess.

Montenegro

• On23SeptembertheformermayorofBar,ZarkoPavicevic isarrested forabuseofofficeinacityplanningcorrup-tion case.His arrest comes amonthafterthoseofthemayorofBudvaLazarRadjenovicandhispredecessorRajkoKuljaca,undersimilarcharges.

Serbia

• On3SeptembertheSocialistPartyappointsNikolaSainovicasamemberofitscabinetonhisreturntoBelgradeafterservingtwothirdsofhissentenceforwarcrimesinKosovo.• On 11 September the Albanian-majoritymunicipalitiesinsouthernSer-biaannouncetheirintentionofcreatingaunionsimilartothatproposedbytheSerbmunicipalitiesinKosovo.


• On23SeptemberUÇKwar veter-ans,who have beendemandingpay-mentofadignifiedpensionforseveralmonths, reject thegovernment’s offerfor unemployed ex-fighters to receivemonthlypensionsofbetween130and170eurosandwarntheywillreturntothestreetsinprotest.• On29SeptemberSerbiaandKos-ovoagreeonthemutualrecognitionoftheiruniversitydegrees.

FYROM

• On1September,inaccordancewiththegovernment’sproposalsubmittedtotheParliamenton15July,theLustrationLaw,underwhichpeoplesuspectedofcollaboratingwithYugoslavia’ssocialistregimecouldbeinvestigatedandtried,isrepealed.• On4SeptemberAustria,Hungary,SerbiaandtheFYROMsignamemo-randumofcooperationtodealwiththemigrantandrefugeecrisis.• On 15 September the ParliamentappointsKaticaJanevaasspecialpros-ecutortoinvestigatetheillegalphone-

tappingscandaldenouncedbytheop-position.

Albania

• On5September the socialist law-makerArmandoPrengaisarrestedun-derchargesofshootingandinjuringafishermanduringabrawloverthefishingrightsinalagooninLac.• On5September the socialist law-makerArbenNdoka resigns from hisparty after the opposition reveals thathewas sentenced in Italy for humantraffickingin2003.

Greece

• On8Septemberthetrialisresumedagainstthe leadershipoftheneo-NaziGoldenDawnparty.• On 13 September the caretakerPrimeMinisterVasilikiZanouannouncestheopeningoftwonewreceptioncen-tres inAthens andSalonica during avisittoLesbos,themainportofentryforimmigrants coming from the MiddleEast.• On 20 September Syriza winsGreece’searlyparliamentaryelectionswith 35.46% of the votes and145 seats. New Democracy, led byEvangelosMeimarakis, takes secondposition(28.1%ofthevotes,75seats).Golden Dawn comes third (6.99%,18 seats). PASOK finishes fourth(6.23%,17seats).• On 22 September Alexis Tsipras,reelectedasPrimeMinister,announcestheformationofhisnewcabinet,againa Syriza – ANEL coalition. EuclidesTsakalotosremainsasFinanceMinisterandOlgaGerovasiliasspokeswoman.NikosKotziasalsoremainsatthehelmof theForeignMinistryand theANELleaderPanosKamenosstaysonasDe-fenceMinister.• On24September thenewdeputyMinisterforTransportDimitrisKamenosresignshoursafterbeingsworninoveranti-semitic, racist and homophobicpostshemadeonTwitter.

Turkey

• On2SeptembertheTurkishairforcebombsnewPKKpositionsinthesouth-eastofthecountryfollowingthemurder


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of a Turkish soldier in the area. Therehavebeenconstantclashesintheareasince the terrorist organization endedtwo yearsof trucewithAnkara at theendofJuly.• On 3 September the Parliamentvotesinfavourofthegovernmentpro-posaltoextendthemandatethatena-blestroopstobedeployedinSyriaandIraqbyanotheryear.• On7SeptemberTurkishIslamistna-tionalists set fire tonineprovincial of-ficesofthePeople’sDemocraticParty(HDP, left-wing, pro-kurdish), lynch agroupofKurdishworkersinAnkaraandattackbusesownedbyKurdishcompa-nies in retaliation for thePKKterroristcampaign. The HDP condemns thePKK’sattacksandcontinuestocalltheterroristorganizationtounconditionallylay down its arms, but sees how therenewedwarbetweentheterroristor-ganizationandsecurity forces iscom-plicating its options in the upcominglegislativeelections.• On17September thepublicpros-ecutorseeksa34-yearprisonsentencefortheinfluentialIslamistpreacherandpolitical enemy of President RecepTayyip Erdogan, FethullahGülen, forchargesofconspiracy,forgeryofofficialdocuments and slander. The publicprosecutor also demandsprison sen-tences of up to 26 years for another32people suspectedof belonging toGülen’snetwork,whichisdescribedbyAnkaraasaparallelstate.

Cyprus

• On24SeptemberRikkosErotokritouissackedasdeputyattorneygeneralbytheSupremeCourtforinappropriatebe-haviourwhenheaccused theattorneygeneralCostasCleridesofbriberyandabuse of office, forwhich Erotokritouhimselfiscurrentlybeinginvestigated.

Syria

• On 4 September Daesh destroysthree ancient tombs in Palmyra, builtbetween103and44B.C..• On7SeptembertheUSexpressesitsconcernoverRussiasendingamili-tary advance team to supportBasharal-Assad’sforcesinLatakia.Thenego-tiationsbetweenWashingtonandMos-

cowforasolutiontotheSyrianconflicthingeonquestionof removingAssadfrompower.• On8SeptemberclashesbreakoutbetweentheSyrianarmyandDaeshforcontroloftheJazaloilfields.• On9SeptemberSyriantroopswith-draw from the Abu al-Duhur militaryairfield.• On17September theSyrianarmybombal-Raqqa,Daesh’sheadquartersinSyriasince2013.• On27SeptembertheFrencharmyjoinstheairstrikesagainstDaesh.• On27SeptembertheIranianPresi-dent Hassan Rouhani declares that“everyone has accepted” thatBasharal-AssadshouldremaininpowertofightagainstthegrowingthreatofDaesh.Hiscomments coincidewith a change inWesternleaders’stancewithrespecttothedictatorremaininginpower.• On30SeptembertheRussianSen-ateunanimouslyapprovestheuseofitsairforceinSyria.

Lebanon

• On2Septemberaround40activistsfromthe#YouStinkmovement,setupin response to theGarbageCrisis todenouncepolitical ineffectivenessandcorruption, are removed by securityforcesfromtheofficesof theEnviron-ment Minister. On 9 September thegovernment agrees on an emergencyplantodealwiththecrisis,whichhandswastemanagement over to localmu-nicipalitiesandopentwonewlandfillsinAkkarandMasnaa.

Egypt

• On7SeptembertheAgricultureMin-isterSalahHelal isarrestedforhisal-legedconnectiontoabriberyscandalinvolving government officials. HoursearlierHelalhadsteppeddownfromhispost.• On12SeptemberthePresidentAb-delFattahel-Sisiacceptsthefullresig-nationofthegovernmentsubmittedbythePrimeMinisterIbrahimMehlebamidawaveofcorruptionscandalsaffectingvariouscabinetmembers.• On19September themembersofthenewgovernmentaresworninbythePresidentAbdelFattahel-Sisi.Thenew

cabinet, led by the former PetroleumMinisterSherifIsmailmaintainsthepre-viousgovernment’sministersofInterior,ForeignAffairs,Defence, Investment,Finance,Justice,WaterResources,An-tiquitiesandSupply.AhmedZakiBadr,EducationMinister in the last year ofHosniMubarak’srule,isappointedMin-isterofLocalDevelopmentandHishamZaazoureturnstothehelmoftheTour-ismMinistry,apostheoccupiedduringMorsi’sruleanduntilMarch2015.Tarekel-Molla,theformerchairmanofEgypt’sstate-ownedoilcompany,isappointedMinisterofPetroleum.• On24SeptemberAbdelFattahel-Sisigrantspardonsforahundredpris-onersontheeveofthecelebrationofEidal-Adha(FeastofSacrifice).AmongthosepardonedaretheAl-Jazeerajour-nalists Mohamed Fahmy and BaherMohamed.

Libya

• On15SeptembertheParliamentinTobruk rejects the amendments pro-posed by the Islamist government inTripolitotheplanpresentedbytheUNto reachapoliticalagreementandor-dersitsdelegationtoleavethenegotia-tionsintheMoroccantownofSkhirat,fivedaysbeforethedeadlinesetbytheUNSpecialRepresentativeinLibyaBer-nardinoLeon.

Tunisia

• On16September110securityoffic-ersaresackedundersuspicionofhavinglinks to terroristgroupsandorganizedcrime.

Algeria

• On13SeptemberthePresidentAb-delazizBouteflikaconcludesthereformofthesecretservices,begunin2013,with thedismissal ofMohamedMedi-ene,headoftheIntelligenceandSecu-rityDepartment(DRS).

Morocco

• On4SeptemberMoroccoholdslo-calelectionswhich,witha53%turnout,reveal a surge in popularity of PrimeMinister AbdelilahBenkiran’s Islamist


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JusticeandDevelopmentParty (PJD),especially in urban areas, after thepartywinscontrolofCasablanca,Tang-ier, Rabat, Fez and Agadir. The PJDobtains16%oftheseats,threetimesmorethaninthe2009municipalelec-tions. TheAuthenticity andModernityParty (PAM,centre-right) takes6,655seats in local councils (21% of theseats)andtheconservativeIstiqlalwins5,106seats(16%oftheseats).

EU

• On4-5SeptemberLuxembourgcallstheUnion’sForeignMinisterstoadopturgentmeasurestodealwiththemigra-tion crisis andprepare the summit ofHeads of State andGovernment on14September,whichfailstoreachanykindofagreementfortheredistributionofthe160,000refugeesoverthenexttwoyears,orevenanagreementwithoutan established timeframe,mandatoryquotasorobligations.• On9September theECapprovesthemandatory relocation of a total of160,000refugeesandamechanismforfining countries that refuse to acceptthem.• On23SeptembertheEUreachesanagreement, validatedby theEuropeanParliamentontherelocationof120,000refugees,mostlySyrians.Hungary,Po-land,theCzechRepublicandSlovakiaarenotpartoftherelocationscheme.• On28SeptembertheEUauthorizesthesecondphaseofOperationSophiaaimedattacklingmigranttraffickingintheMediterranean,whichallowsvesselsus-inginternationalwaterstobeintercept-ed,seizedordestroyedasof7October.

October 2015

Portugal holds parliamentary elections. The main Spanish parties reach an agreement on principle on national unity. The Italian and Greek governments ap-prove the budgets for 2016. Slovenia, Croatia and Greece face mass refugee arrivals from the Middle East, as does the FYROM, which is also seeking, through EU mediation, to end a political crisis between the government and op-position. Montenegro and Kosovo are

also still engulfed in problems of govern-ability. Instability increases in Turkey over the proximity of the Syrian conflict, the reactivation of the fight against the PKK and political polarization. Russian inter-vention in Syria leads to advances made by the regime and at the end of the month an international summit on Syria is held, which concludes with a commit-ment to negotiate for a transitional gov-ernment, but without reaching an agree-ment on Bashar al-Assad’s immediate exit from power. Egypt holds the two rounds of the first phase of parliamen-tary elections. In Libya, and without the presence of the General National Con-gress in Tripoli, the United Nations me-diation team presents a new proposal to form a national unity government. The EU and Tunisia launch negotiations for a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement.

Portugal

• On4OctoberPortugalholdsparlia-mentaryelectionsinwhichthecentre-rightcoalitionPortugalAhead,compris-ingtheSocialDemocraticParty(PSD)andtheCDS–People’sParty(CDS-PP)wins99ofthe230seatsinParlia-mentwith36.8%ofthevotes.TheSo-cialistParty(PS)areclosebehindwith85 seats, 32.38%of the votes.Aftercome the Left Bloc (BE) (19 seats,10.22%) and theUnitaryDemocraticCoalition (CDU) of the CommunistParty(PC)andEcologistParty–Greens(PEV)–17seats,8.27%.• On22OctoberthePresidentAnibalCavacoSilva reappoints theoutgoingPrimeMinister PedroPassosCoelho(PSD)attheheadofanewgovernmentof 15 ministries, two newly created,whichtakesofficeon29Octoberasaminority-ledgovernment.

Spain

• On20October theParliamentap-proves the state budget for 2016,basedona3%growthforecast,despitemisgivingsfromBrussels.• On21OctoberAndreuViloca,treas-urer of Democratic Convergence ofCatalonia(CDC,Catalanseparatist)isarrestedinthe3%corruptionscandalthatisaffectingnumerousofficialsand

members of the party of the regionalPresidentArturMas.• On27OctobertheNationalPoliceraid the homesof the formerCatalanPresidentJordiPujol(CDC)andthoseof threeof his children in thebiggestpoliceoperationinthecorruptionprobeaffectingthefamilyofCatalonia’srulerfor23years.• On30October thePrimeMinisterMarianoRajoy announces the agree-mentbetweenthecountry’smainpar-ties to safeguard national unity, facedwiththeplansoftheCatalanseparatistpartiestovoteintheregionalparliamentonatexttoopenaprocessofunilateralsecession.

France

• On3Octoberaroundahundredim-migrantsstormtheEurotunnelinanat-tempt to get to theUnitedKingdom,forcingitsclosureforseveralhours.• On23Octoberthegovernmentan-nouncesmeasures to improve health-care for thenearly6,000 irregular im-migrants camped inCalais hoping tocrossovertotheUnitedKingdom.

Italy

• On9October IgnazioMarino(PD)resignsasmayorofRome.Marinohasbeen involved in numerous scandals,includingbeing suspected of involve-mentwithorganizedcrimeinthearea,poormanagement,misuseandmisap-propriationofpublicfunds.• On13Octobermorethan700mi-grantsarerescuedinItalianwatersbyMédicinsSansFrontières.• On13OctobertheSenateapproves,by178votes infavour,16againstandsevenabstentions,itstransformationintoa consultative assembly of 100 sena-tors – as opposed to the current315–puttinganendtotheperfectbi-cameralisminplacesince1947.• On15Octoberthegovernmentap-proves thebudget for2016which in-cludesmajortaxcutsinviewofsignsofthecountry’seconomicgrowth.

Slovenia

• On 21 October the Parliamentadopts amendments to the Defence


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Lawthatallowsthearmy,togetherwithpolice, tocontrol themassive influxofrefugees.• On23Octoberthegovernmentan-nouncesthatit isconsideringbuildingaborderfencewithCroatiatocontainthemassmigrantarrivalstryingtoreachAustriaandotherplacesintheUnion.

Croatia

• On16OctoberCroatiaannouncesanagreementreachedwithSloveniatoinitiatethejointmanagementofmigrantsand refugeesarrivingon theirsoilsassoonasHungaryproceedswiththeim-minentclosureofthefencethatdeline-atestheHungarian-Croatianborder.


• On6OctobertheoppositionUnionforaBetterFuture(SBB,conservative)announcesitsfullsupportforthereformagendaofthegovernmentoftheFed-erationofBosniaandHerzegovinaput-tinganendtomonthsofpoliticalturmoilintheBosnian-Croatentity.• On 6 October four Bosnians aresentenced to betweenone and threeyearsinjailforbelongingtoaterroristorganizationandrecruiting jihadists tofightinSyriaandIraq,inthecountry’sfirstsuchconviction.

Montenegro

• On6October hundredsof peoplecalled by the opposition DemocraticFront (DF, conservative, Serbian pro-unionist) demonstrate in 15 differenttownstodemandtheresignationofthePrimeMinisterMiloDjukanovicandhisgovernment,whotheyaccuseofelectionfraud.Theprotestsaddtothoseongoingsince27September inPodgorica.On18Octoberdemonstratorsgivethegov-ernmentanultimatumtostepdownandcall early elections,while clasheswithpolicecontinueleavingatleast39peo-pleinjuredon24OctoberinPodgorica.

Serbia

• On23October theConstitutionalCourt’sdecisiontakenon9Apriltoter-minate theLawonPublicGatherings,because it is deemednot to conform

withtheconstitution,enters intoforcewithout an alternative law being ap-proved.


• On12October there areprotestsand unrest in Pristina sparked bythe arrest and interrogation of AlbinKurti, leader of the ultranationalistVetëvendosje party, for throwing teargasintheParliamenton8Octoberinprotest against the implementation ofthe agreement to normalize relationsbetween Kosovo and Serbia.On 15October theParliament is evacuatedafteranothergascannisteristhrownbyaVetëvendosje MP.• On12Octoberahandgrenade isthrownatthehomeofthemayorofLe-posavicDraganJablanovic,fatheroftheformerMinisterAleksandarJablanovic,againstabackdropofgrowingtensionswithin theKosovoSerb political blocfollowingthedismissalon29Septem-berofAleksandarJablanovicasleaderof theSrpska Lista –member of thecoalitiongoverningKosovo–accusedof holding a secretmeetingwith thePrimeMinisterHashimThaçitosupportthecreationofaKosovoarmy.• On27OctoberKosovosignsitsAs-sociationandStabilisationAgreementwiththeEU,pavingthewaytoitsfutureaccessioncandidacy.

FYROM

• On 9October more than 10,000refugeesandmigrantsfromtheMiddleEastarriveatthecountry’sborderinanewwaveofarrivalsthatbeganthepre-viousday.Skopjeasks theEU foras-sistancewarning that its capacity todealwiththemassiveinfluxisstretchedtoitslimit.• On30OctobertheECannouncesthatitsrecommendationforthestartofaccession talks could dependon theconclusion of an agreement betweentheFYROMgovernmentandoppositiontoputanendtothecountry’spoliticalcrisisandimplementtheoppositionde-mands: electoral reform before theearly elections scheduled for 16April2016,agreedinJuly2015,andtheap-pointment of a caretaker government,

withtheparticipationoftheopposition,topreparesaidelections.

Greece

• On4OctoberNikosVoutsis,formerInteriorMinister, iselectedSpeakeroftheParliamenttoreplaceZoeConstan-topoulou,wholeftSyrizainoppositionto the thirdbailout package to createthepartyPopularUnity.• On5October thegovernment un-veils the budget for 2016, which in-cludespensioncuts,anincometaxre-form and a harsher tax system forfarmers,asa trade-off for theEUandIMF’s86-billion-euroaidpackage.• On 29 - 30October around 400migrantsarriveinLesbos,KalymnosandRhodes in two days inwhich 40mi-grantslosetheirlives.TheInternationalOrganisation forMigration (IOM)setsthe number ofmigrants and refugeesthathavearrivedinGreecesinceJanu-ary2015at527,000.Intotal,morethan700,000havearrivedontheshoresoftheUnionaftercrossingtheMediterra-nean. A further 3,200 have lost theirlivesattemptingthejourney.• On31October theECBasks thefour largestbanks inGreeceto justifythe14.4-billion-eurodebttheyhaveac-cumulated and explain how they canguaranteeitsrepayment.

Turkey

• On 1 October Ahmet Hakan, aHürriyetandCNN TürkreportercriticaloftheAKPgovernment,isassaultedinIstanbulbyfourmenthoughttobepartysupporters.• On10Octoberat least95peoplearekilledand246injuredinAnkaraintwoDaesh suicidebombattacks, themostdeadlyinthecountry’shistory.• On26OctoberatleasttwoTurkishpoliceofficersarekilledinanoperationagainstDaeshintheKayapinardistrictinDiyarbakir.• On 28October police in IstanbulstormtheofficesofKoza Ipek,amediagroup critical of the government andclose to the movement of preacherFethullahGülen,andcutbroadcastsoftheKanaltürkandBugün TVtelevisionchannels,justdaysaftertheparliamen-taryelections.


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Syria

• On4OctoberDaeshdestroysPal-myra’sArchofTriumph.• On6OctobertheRussianairforcebombsDaeshpositionsinPalmyra,al-BabandDeirHafer,Aleppo.• On 7October Russia bombs thestrategic townofTalbiseh, inprepara-tionforitsadvanceonHoms.• On8OctoberRussian-backedSyr-ian troopsbegin amajor offensive totake back control of thewest of thecountryfromrebelhands.• On9OctobertheUSaxesitsplanto set up a 500-million-dollar pro-grammetotrain5,400moderaterebelsfightingagainstBasharal-Assad.• On 16 October the Syrian armylaunches an offensive to take backAleppo.• On21OctoberTelAbyad,liberatedfrom Daesh by Kurdish fighters(peshmergas) inJune isdeclaredpartof the Kurdish self-government innorthernSyria.• On 30 October the participatingcountriesintheinternationalsummitinViennaonSyria, attendedby IranbutnottheoppositiontotheSyrianregime,agree to cooperate to establish a na-tionalunitygovernmenttopavethewaytoademocratictransition.ParticipantsfailtoagreeonastanceonthefutureofthePresidentBasharal-Assad.

Lebanon

• On8Octoberpoliceusewatercan-nonstodispersedemonstratorsprotest-ing in the streets ofBeirut against agovernmenttheysayiscorruptandinef-fective.

Jordan

• On23OctoberRussiaandJordanagreetocoordinatetheirmilitaryopera-tionsinSyria,includingthoseoftheirairforces,outofacoordinationcentre inAmman.

Egypt

• On15OctoberEgyptiselectedasanon-permanentmemberoftheSecu-rityCounciltogetherwithUkraine,Uru-guay,JapanandSenegal.

• On18-19October the first roundtakesplace of the first phase (UpperEgyptandWestDelta)oftheparliamen-tary elections to the new unicameralparliament composed of 596 seats–448forindividualcandidates,120forpartylistsand28selectedbythePres-ident.ThebannedMuslimBrotherhooddo not participate, although there areindependentcandidateswithlinkstotheoustedMubarakregime.• On21October TarekAmer is ap-pointedgovernoroftheCentralBankofEgypttoreplaceHishamRamez.• On26-27Octoberthesecondroundisheldofthefirstphaseofparliamen-tary elections.After the vote count ofboth rounds the resultsgivevictory inthe first phase to the FreeEgyptiansParty(liberal)with41seats,followedbytheNation’sFutureParty(pro-Sisi)with26seats.• On31OctoberflightKGL-9268op-eratedbytheRussianairlineKogalyma-via, travelling from Sharm el-Sheik toSaintPetersbourg, explodes in the airover the Sinai Peninsula, killing all224passengersandcrew.Daeshclaimstobebehindthetragedy.

Libya

• On9OctobertheSpecialUNRep-resentativeBernardinoLeonannouncesa proposal in the Moroccan town ofSkhiratforaLibyannationalunitygovern-mentpendingapprovaloftheTripoliandTobrukparliaments.ThisnewcabinetwillbeheadedbyFaizSerrajasPrimeMin-ister.Theannouncementcomeswithoutthepresenceof theGeneralNationalCongressinTripoli,whichdemandsnewamendmentstothepeaceplanpresent-edbytheUnitedNationsbeforesupport-inganykindofunitygovernment.

Tunisia

• On6October the police disbandthreeDaeshrecruitmentcellsinLibya.• On13October theEUandTunisiaofficiallystartnegotiationsforadeepandcomprehensivefreetradeagreement.

EU

• On25OctobertheECanditsMem-berStatesholdanemergencymeeting

with representatives of theWesternBalkanstoaddressthetensionscausedby the flowof refugees. Themeetingproposesthecreationof100,000plac-es for refugees in centres across theBalkancountries,althoughthereisstilldisagreementoverhowtomanageandcontrolthearrival,transitandrelocationofthemigrants.

November 2015

In Portugal, the parties on the left agree on a coalition to form a government. In Spain, the Catalan Parliament approves a declaration in favour of secession. In France, a chain of Daesh attacks shakes Paris. The attack causes France to enter the military offensive in Syria and leads the EU to step up security measures. In Italy, the Mafia Capital trial opens. Malta hosts an EU-Africa summit on the migra-tion crisis. Slovenia begins construction of a border fence. Croatia holds parlia-mentary elections. The political crisis continues in Montenegro and Kosovo. In the FYROM, the government and op-position reach an agreement to settle the political crisis. In Greece, there is a gen-eral strike against the new austerity measures. Tensions rise between Turkey and Russia over the downing of a Rus-sian fighter jet. Turkey also holds parlia-mentary elections and manages to re-sume EU accession negotiations in exchange for committing to keep refu-gees in the country. In Lebanon, Daesh carried out an attack in Beirut. Egypt continues with its parliamentary elec-tions. In Tunisia, Daesh attacks a presi-dential guard bus. In Algeria, a senior military intelligence figure is sacked.

Portugal

• On 10 November the recentlyformed government of PedroPassosCoelho istoppledafter losingaconfi-dencevotetabledbytheleft-wingop-position.• On24NovembertheSecretaryGen-eraloftheSocialistPartyAntonioCostais appointedPrimeMinister, becomingthefirstpersontogovernPortugalwith-outwinningelectionsthankstothejointsupportofthecountry’sleft-wingforces.


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Spain

• On9NovembertheCatalanParlia-mentapprovesadeclaration in favourofsecessionfromtherestofSpainwith72votesofits135deputies.

France

• On13Novemberatleast130peo-plearekilledandover400injuredinfivecoordinatedDaeshattacksinParis.ThePresidentFrançoisHollandedeclaresastateofemergency,steppingupsecu-rityandcarryingoutraidsinthecoun-try’s largestcitiesinsearchoftheter-roriststhatsurvivedtheattacks,mostofwhomwerefromBelgium,wheresecu-ritymeasuresarealsotightened.On18Novembertwojihadistsarekilledduringan anti-terrorism operation in SaintDenisinconnectionwiththeattacks.• On24NovembertheSalafistimamOlivierCorel,knownasthewhiteemirand suspected mentor of MohamedMerah, perpetrator of the attack on aJewishschool inToulouse in2012, isarrested for the illegal possession ofarmsandhandeddownasix-monthsus-pendedprisonsentence.• On25NovemberthePrimeMinisterManuelVallssaysthattheEUcanac-ceptnomorerefugeeswithouttheUn-ionbeingendangeredby thegrowingdivideamongMemberStatesonhowtomanagethemassarrivals.

Italy

• On 5 November the trial beginsagainst46peopleintheMafiaCapitalprobe,aninvestigationthatuncoveredanextensivecriminalnetworkinRomewhichhad infiltrated theCityHallandwasembezzlingpublicfunds.• On19November Italy tightens itssecuritymeasuresfollowingwarningsofpossibleterroristattacks.

Malta

• On3November the formerHealthMinisterJoeCassargivesuphisseatintheParliamentafterbeingimplicatedintheGaffarenacorruptionscandal.• On 11 November more than 60HeadsofStateandGovernment fromEUandAfricancountriesattendasum-

mitinVallettatoaddresstheproblemofmassmigrationtoEurope.• On17November theMPMarleneFarrugia resignsasmemberof the la-bour parliamentary group after votingagainstherownparty,currentlyingov-ernment, on two amendments to theEnvironmentProtectionAct.

Slovenia

• On11NovemberconstructionbeginsonaborderfencewithCroatiafacedwiththelarge-scalearrivalofrefugeestravel-lingtoAustriaandGermany.

Croatia

• On 8 November the conservativePatrioticCoalitionwins parliamentaryelections narrowly beatingCroatia isGrowing,thecoalitionledbytherulingSocialDemocraticParty.• On13NovemberCroatiaasks theEUforurgentassistancetotacklethelargenumberofrefugeesarrivinginthecountryfollowingtheclosureoftheSlo-venian,AustrianandHungarianborders.• On 19 November Croatia, SerbiaandtheFYROMstarttoenforcelimitsontheentryofrefugees.• On25NovembertheformerPrimeMinisterIvoSanaderisreleasedbytheSupremeCourt,whichordershimtoberetriedforcorruptionduetoproceduralerrorsintheoriginaltrial.


• On 4November theBosnian andSerbiangovernmentsholdtheirfirstjointsessioninSarajevo.• On5NovemberacourtinSarajevosentencestheSalafistpreacherHuseinBosnictosevenyears’imprisonmentforincitingterrorism.• On18NovemberEnesOmeragic,memberoftheBosnianWahhabimove-ment,opensfireinabettingshopkillingtwosoldiersandshootsatabusshout-ing“Allahisgreat.”

Montenegro

• On30NovembertheEUagreestomediatethepoliticalcrisisbetweenthegovernmentandopposition,whichhasbeenthecauseofprotestsandclashes

inthelasttwomonthsoverthecoalitiongovernment’sdecision todelay imple-mentingthenewelectionlaw.

Serbia

• On 6 November the governmentpromises toensure theviabilityof therecently defunct public news agencyTanjug,whichcloseddownforbusinessunderthelawpassedinAugust2014which requires theState towithdrawfrommediaownership.• On20NovemberNATOliftsrestric-tionsonSerbianairspaceimposeddur-ingtheKosovoconflict.


• On9November Kosovofailstoat-tain theminimumof95 votes inUne-sco’sGeneralConferencetobecomeamemberoftheorganization.• On10NovembertheConstitutionalCourtpartiallysuspendstheapplicationoftheagreementsignedwithSerbiaontherightsoftheSerb-majorityareasinKosovotoself-governance.• On17-18Novemberviolencebreaksout inPristinaduringademonstrationagainstthearrestofVetëvendosje dep-utyDonikaKadaj-Bujupiforthrowingateargascannister in theParliament, inprotestagainsttheagreementwithSer-biatogivegreaterautonomytoKosovoSerbareas.On30NovemberthepartyleaderAlbinKurtiisarrestedagainforasimilaractionandclashesbreakoutin-volvingmembers of the party, whichorganizes protests against the agree-mentthroughoutthemonth.

FYROM

• On6Novemberthegovernmentandsocialdemocraticoppositionreachanagreementtoendthecountry’spoliticalcrisis and implement the agreementsigned in July to appoint a newunitygovernment toprepareearlyelectionsscheduledforApril2016,inaccordancewithanewelectionlaw.

Albania

• On20NovembertheleadersoftheMuslimcommunityasktheStatetohelp


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tighten controls on certain radicalmosquesinthecountry.

Greece

• On12NovemberthereisunrestinAthensduringthegeneralstrikeagainsttheausteritymeasuresadoptedbythegovernmentinitsnegotiationswiththeEUandIMF,whichresumedtheprevi-ousday, to releasea fresh trancheof2billioneurosforbackpaymentsandafurther10billioneurosforthefourlarg-estGreekbanks.

Turkey

• On1NovemberTurkeyholdsearlyparliamentaryelectionsinwhichtherul-ingAKPwinswith49.4%ofthevotesand316ofthe550seatsintheParlia-ment.• On2NovemberMuratÇapanandCevheriGüven, editor anddirector ofthemagazineNotka,arearrestedsus-pectedofpreparingacoup.• On4Novemberatleast18peoplearekilledinfightinginthesoutheastofthecountryafterthearmylaunchesair-strikesagainstthePKKanddeclaresacurfewinHaniandLice,Diyarbakir.• On5November16militantsfromthePKK terroristorganizationarekilled inbombinginYuksekova.• On5NovemberthePKKannouncesitisendingtheceasefireithasobservedsince10October.• On6November20peopleaccusedofbelonging toDaesharearrested inAntalyaaweekbeforetheG20summit.• On6NovemberthepoliceraidtheofficesoftheTuskonbusinessconfed-erationinAnkara,linkedtothepreacherFethullahGülenwhogovernment ac-cusesofheadingaconspiracyorganiza-tionparalleltotheState.• On11November the army entersthemajority-KurdishSilvantoquellal-mosttwoweeksofpopularuprisingledbymilitants fromthePKKterroristor-ganization.• On15-16NovemberAntalyahoststheG20summit,whichagreesonajointstatementreiteratingareadinesstocol-laborateinthefightagainstterrorism.• On24Novembertensionsrisebe-tweenRussiaandTurkeyaftertheTurk-ish armydowns aRussian fighter jet,

which,accordingtoAnkara,wasflyingoverTurkishairspaceunauthorized.Rus-siaensuresthattheaggressionwillnotalteritsinterventioninSyria.On28No-vemberRussiaorderseconomicsanc-tionsonTurkeyandsuspendsvisaex-emption for Turkish citizens as of 1January2016.• On27NovemberCanDündar,directorofthecentre-leftnewspaperHürriyet,andthe head of the newspaper’s office inAnkaraErdemGülarejailedforpublishingimagesinMayofanMITconvoy(Turkishintelligenceagency)beingstoppedandinspected by a prosecutor linkedwithFethullahGülen as itwas travelling toSyrialoadedwithweapons.• On28November Tahir Elçi, Presi-dentoftheDiyarbakirBarAssociationandactivistforapeacefulresolutionoftheKurdishconflictisshotdeadduringanappearancebeforethepress.

Cyprus

• On3Novembermore than a hun-dredSyrian andPalestinian refugeesdetainedintheBritishDhekeliamilitarybasedemandasolutiontotheirsituationanddenouncetheconditionstheyarelivingin.• On18NovemberfourGreekCypri-ots are arrested accused of attacksagainstTurkishCypriots inNicosiaon16NovemberduringstudentprotestsagainstthecommemorationoftheTurk-ishCypriotunilateraldeclarationof in-dependencein1983.• On 19 November Cyprus offersFrancetheuseofitsbasesinitsinter-ventionagainstDaesh.

Syria

• On4Novemberthearmytakescon-trolfromDaeshoftheonlyhighwaythatconnectsAleppowiththecentreofthecountry.• On10NovemberthearmyandRus-sian air support breakDaesh’s three-yearsiegeof theKweirismilitarybaseinAleppo.• On13November theSyrian armytake the rebel strongholdof al-Hader,Aleppo.• On15November12planesfromtheFrenchairforcebombDaeshpositionsinal-Raqqa,onthefirstFrenchoffensive

since themassacre inParis twodaysprevious.• On19NovemberChinaconfirmstheexecutionofFanJinghui, the firstChi-nesehostagemurderedbyDaeshandpromisesitwill“resolutelycrackdown”onthoseresponsible.

Lebanon

• On 12November a double bombattackcarriedoutbyDaeshinBeirut’sshiiteneighbourhoodBourjel-Barajnehleavesatleast41deadand200injured.

Jordan

• On9NovemberapoliceofficerkillstwoUSmilitaryinstructorsandaSouthAfrican in a training camp in al-Mu-waqqar,Amman.

Egypt

• On4November at least six policeofficersarekilledinasuicideattackinal-Arish,inNorthSinai.• On22-23Novemberthefirstroundof the secondphaseof parliamentaryelectionsisheld(CentralandEastDel-ta).• On24Novemberatleastsevenpeo-ple are killed in an attack byWilayatSinai, a local branch ofDaesh, in al-Arish.

Libya

• On4NovembertheUNannouncesthe replacementof theSpanishdiplo-matBernardino Leon by theGermanMartinKoblerasSpecialRepresentativeinLibya.• On14NovemberUSmilitarysourc-esreportthatDaeshpositionsinLibyahavebeenbombedpossiblykillingtheterroristgroup’s leader in thecountry,knownasAbuNabilal-Anbari.

Tunisia

• On4November 30 parliamentari-ans from the rulingpartyNidaaTunissuspendtheirmembershipandthreat-entoleavethepartydefinitivelyinthesplit between the factions led byHafedhCaïdEssebsi,sonofthecur-rentPresidentBejiCaïdEssebsi,and


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theparty’sSecretaryGeneralMohsenMarzouk.• On17NovembertheInteriorMinisterreportsthearrestofajihadistcellcom-posedof17 terrorists thatwereplan-ningimminentattacksinSousse.• On24Novemberatleast12peoplearekilledinasuicideattackonapresi-dentialguardbus.• On27Novembertheauthoritiesar-restaround40peopleandputafurther90 under house arrest suspected ofreturning from fighting for Daesh inSyriaandIraq.

Algeria

• On 26 November a military courtsentencestheformerheadofcounter-terrorismAbdelkaderAitOuarabtofiveyears’ imprisonment fordestroyingof-ficialdocumentsandarmstrafficking.• On30November, despite the op-position’soutrightrejection,theParlia-ment approves the budget for 2016withmajorcutstocounteractthedam-aging effect of the fall in oil and gaspricesontheeconomy.

Morocco

• On6November, the40th anniver-saryoftheGreenMarch,MohammedVIpardons215Sahrawiprisoners.Afur-ther218havetheirsentencesreduced.• On16NovembertheInteriorMinistryreports the dismantling of a Daesh-linkedterroristcellinBeniMellal.

EU

• On5NovembertheECannouncesthatitexpectsthreemillionrefugeestoarrivefromtheMiddleEastandAfricabetweennowand2017.• On17November theEuropeanDe-fenceAgencygivesitsunanimousback-ing to the French request to activatearticle42.7of the community treatiesontheMemberStates’mutualdefence.• On20NovembertheInteriorMinis-tersoftheEuropeanCouncilagreetoincrease controls of the external bor-ders.ThemeasurealsoaffectscitizensfromtheSchengenarea.• On 29 November the EU-Turkeysummit relaunchestheaccessionpro-cessinexchangeforAnkaracontaining

theflowofrefugees,forwhichtheMem-berStatesofferTurkeya3-billion-euroaidpackage.

December 2015

Spain holds a general election and France regional elections. Slovenia re-jects same-sex marriage in a public ref-erendum. Croatia appoints Tihomir Oreskovic as the new Prime Minister. The Republika Srpska suspends coop-eration with the Bosnian public prosecu-tor. Montenegro is extended a formal invitation to join NATO against a back-drop of political instability in the country. Serbia sacks its Defence Minister. Dem-onstrations in Kosovo continue against the agreements with Montenegro and Serbia. In the FYROM, the government and opposition agree on the composition of a new election commission. There is a general strike in Greece in the same month that new tranches of the interna-tional financial rescue package are re-leased. Clashes continue between the Turkish security forces and the PKK ter-rorist organization. In Syria, Russia steps up bombing in the same month that Riyadh hosts a new meeting of Syrian opposition groups. The Lebanese gov-ernment approves measures to try to resolve the Garbage Crisis. Egypt con-cludes its legislative elections. The Lib-yan governments of Tobruk and Tripoli reach an agreement to put an end to the country’s divide. The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Portugal

On23December theParliament ap-provestheamendedbudget for2015toincludemorethan2billioneurostoprevent the bankruptcy of theBanifbank,despitetheSocialistParty’sleft-wing government members votingagainstit.

Spain

• On2December theConstitutionalCourt annuls the unilateral secessiondeclarationoftheCatalanregionalPar-liament.

• On 20 December Spain holdsparliamentary elections with a highturnoutof73.2%.ThecurrentPresidentMarianoRajoy’sparty,thePP,winswith123 deputies in the congress and124seatsintheSenate.PSOEcomessecondwith90deputiesand47senators.Thenewreformistpartiesmakeastrongstart in theParliament:Podemos, (left-wing, 63 deputies, 14 senators) andCitizens(liberal,40deputies).

France

• On 6 and 13 December Franceholds regional elections. TheNationalFrontisthesecondmostvotedpartyinsixregionsinthefirstround,butinthesecondfailstotakevictoryinanyregion.The joint listsof theright-wingpartiesformedbyTheRepublicans(LR)andtheUnionofDemocratsandIndependents(UDI)willgoverninsevenofthe13re-gions.Thedifferentleft-wingalliances,headedbytheSocialistPartywininfiveregions.VictoryinCorsicagoestothenationalists.• On17December theNationalAs-sembly definitively approves the gen-eralbudgetfor2016,whichaimstosetthe public deficit at around 3.3% ascomparedwith3.8%in2015,withsav-ingsof15billioneurosonsubsidies,aidandpublicworks,compensatedinpartwithanincometaxcutthatwillcosttheStatearound2.1billioneuros.• On23December the governmentannouncesthatplanstoreviewthecon-stitution announced by thePresidentFrançoisHollandewillincludestrippingFrench-borncitizensaccusedofterror-ismofFrenchnationality.

Italy

• On 4December the police arrestninemembersofthe‘NdranghetaclaninVeniceandseize130kilosofcocainein the biggest operation carried outagainsttheCalabrianmafia’straffickingofthedrug,whichhasmonopolizedthecity’sdrugdealing.• On 18 December the Minister ofConstitutionalReformsandParliamen-taryRelationsMariaElenaBoschisur-vivesaconfidencevote tabledby theoppositionoveraccusationsofaconflictof interests in the financial bailout of


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BancaMarche,BancaEtruria,CariChi-etiandCariFe.• On 23December the Senate ap-provestheGeneralBudgetfor2016ofPrimeMinisterMatteoRenzi,themostexpansivesince2001,whichforeseesmajortaxcuts,againsttheEC’srecom-mendations,andadropinthedeficitto2.4%,ratherthanthe1.8%demandedbyBrussels.

Malta

• On10DecembertheMalteseMus-lim community protests in VallettaagainstDaeshandJihadistterrorism.

Slovenia

• On20DecemberSloveniansrejectthelawonsame-sexmarriageapprovedby theParliamentwith63.48%of thevotes.

Croatia

• On 23 December the technocratcandidate, favoured by conservativesandreformists,TihomirOreskovicisap-pointedPrimeMinisterbythePresidentKolindaGrabar-Kitarovictoformacoa-litiongovernmentafterthe8Novemberelections.


• On10DecembertheRepublikaSrp-skasuspendsallcooperationwiththefederalpublicprosecutorafterfiveBos-nianSerbsarearrestedaccusedofwarcrimesduringtheBosnianwar.• On11December the firstmeetingof the Stabilisation and AssociationCouncilbetweenBosniaandHerzego-vinaandtheEUisheld.• On21DecemberSonjaKaradzic-Jovicevic,daughteroftheformerBos-nianSerbleadertriedbytheICTYRa-dovan Karadzic and member of theoppositionSDSparty,iselecteddepu-tyspeakeroftheBosnianSerbParlia-ment after a long and tenseprocess,replacingNenadStevandic,whohaslefttheSDS.• On22December11peoplearear-rested inSarajevo under suspicionofjihadistterrorisminalarge-scalepoliceoperation.

• On31DecemberBorislavParavac,formerBosnianSerbmember of thefederaltripartitepresidency,ischargedwithtakingpartinanattackonDobojandTeslicin1992and1993thatkilledhundredsofBosniaksandCroats.

Montenegro

• On1Decemberthepublicprosecu-torpresseschargesagainsttheformermayor ofBudva LazarRadjenovic forcorruption in relation to constructionworks.• On2DecemberMontenegroisfor-mallyinvitedtojoinNATOinatimeframeoftwoyearsagainstabackdropofin-ternalinstabilityinthecountryandten-sionwithRussia,whichwarnsthatthemeasure will have its repercussions.NATOalsoreiteratesitshopesforthefuturemembershipofBosnia,GeorgiaandtheFYROM.• On 20 December the oppositioncoalitionledbytheDFprotestscallingforanewelectionlawandtheformationofa transitiongovernment toorganizeearlyelections.• On21DecembertheEUopenstwonew accession negotiation chapters–transportandenergy.

Serbia

• On14DecemberthesecondSerbia-EU Accession conference opensnegotiationsof chapter34– financialcontrol – and part of chapter 35– the normalization of relations withKosovo.


• On 14 December ultranationalistdeputiesfromVetëvendosjeusetear-gasagainintheParliamenttodemandthesuspensionofagreementstonor-malizerelationswithSerbia.• On16DecemberKosovoisexcludedfromtheexpansionofcountriesallowedvisa-freetraveltotheEU–UkraineandGeorgia.• On 23 December the Constitu-tionalCourtdeclaresthatpartoftheagreements on the normalization ofrelationswithSerbiaandHerzegovinaareillegal.

FYROM

• On15December the governmentandoppositionagreeonthemembersofthenewelectioncommissionthatwillorganizetheelectionsinApril2016.• On21DecembertheHealthMinisterNikola Todorov survives a confidencevoteonthepoorconditionsofthecoun-try’shospitals.

Albania

• On 9 December a demonstrationdemanding compensation for crimescommitted during the dictatorship ofEnverHoxhaturnsviolentwhenseveraldemonstrators try todestroyabunkerfromthecommunistera.• On17DecembertheParliamentap-provesthelawtodecriminalizepoliticsthat prevents anyonewith a criminalrecordorprevious involvement incor-ruptioncasestoholdpublicoffice.• On 17December the opposition,ledbytheDemocraticParty,stagesaprotestcallingfortheresignationofEdiRama’s government, coincidingwiththe parliamentary vote on the 2016budget.

Greece

• On 3December the trade unionsstageageneralstrike,thesecondsinceAlexisTsiprastookoverasPrimeMinis-terinJanuary2015,callingforthesus-pensionof thereformsto thepensionsystemdemandedforthethirdbailoutoftheGreekeconomy.• On4DecemberGreeceannouncestheactivationoftheEU’scivilprotectionmechanism, its approval of the actiontakenbyFrontexonitsborderwiththeFYROManditsrequestforthedeploy-mentofarapidborderinterventionteam(RABIT).• On8DecembertheESMreleases2.71 billion euros to recapitalize theBankofGreece.On11Decemberanagreementisreachedforthereleaseofan additional 1 billion euros in aid inexchangeforacommitmenttoneweco-nomicreforms,whichon15Decemberreceiveparliamentaryapproval.• On23DecembertheParliamentap-proves civil partnerships for same-sexcouples.


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Turkey

• On2DecembertheECHRrulesthatTurkey’s systematicblocksonYoutubewithoutlegalgroundsviolatefreedomofexpressionandtherighttoinformation.• On3DecemberRussia suspendsnegotiationswith Turkey to build theTurkish Stream gaspipeline,amidrisingtensionsbetweenMoscowandAnkaraovertheSyrianconflict.• On14December the11thTurkey-EUAccessionConferenceopensnego-tiationsofchapter17–economicandmonetarypolicy.• On18December54PKKmilitantsarekilledinfourdaysoffightingwiththearmyinCizreandSilopi,ontheSyrianborder. The fightingwith the terroristorganization goes on throughout themonth,aswellastheattacksonTurkishsoldiers.

Syria

• On3DecembertheUnitedKingdomlaunchesitsfirstoffensiveinSyria.• On10Decemberthemainopposi-tionfactionsinSyriameetinRiyadhandagreeto initiatenegotiationswithrep-resentativesoftheSyrianregime,inac-cordancewiththecommuniquéoftheGenevaIConferenceandunderUnitedNationsmediation.Theapproveddocu-mentproposesthestartofatransitionprocessonlyafterBasharal-Assadandhis government have stepped downfrompower.• On18DecembertheSyrianopposi-tion elects the formerPrimeMinisterRiadHijabwithmorethantwo-thirdsofthe vote as its representative in thepeaceprocessthatwillbegininJanuary2016inGeneva.• On18December theUNSecurityCouncilunanimouslyapprovestheres-olution that establishes the roadmapthat the peaceprocess inSyriamustfollow.• On23DecemberRussiareports ithascarriedoutatotalof302airstrikeson1,093DaeshtargetsinSyrianterri-torysince18December.

Lebanon

• On1Decembertheal-NusraFronthands16soldiersandpoliceofficers

abducted in August 2014 over toLebanoninexchangefor13prisoners,including Saja Dulaimi, the ex-wifeofDaeshleaderAbuBakral-Baghdadi.• On17DecembertheformerLeba-nese deputyHassanYacoub, son ofSheikhMohammadYacub,whodisap-peared in Libya in 1978, is arrestedchargedwithbeing involvedwith thekidnapping of Hannibal Gaddafi,thesonoftheLibyandictatorMuam-mar el-Gaddafi. After the arrests hissupporters cut off several roads inBaalbek.• On18Decemberthearmyfendsoffanattackbytheal-NusraFrontonArsal,two days after defending against aDaeshattackinKhirbetDaoud.• On 18 December the lawmakerSuleiman Franjieh, personal friend ofSyrianPresidentBasharal-Assad,an-nounceshiscandidacytotheLebanesepresidency,whichhasbeenvacantformorethan18months.• On22December the governmentapprovestheexportofgarbagefromthecountrytotrytoputanendtotheGar-bageCrisis,whichhastriggeredawaveofanti-governmentproteststhroughouttheyear.

Jordan

• On8DecemberUNHCRcalls onJordantoallowentryto12,000Syrianrefugeesstrandedontheborder.

Egypt

• On 1-2 December the secondroundofthesecondphaseofelectionstakes place for Egypt’s new unicam-eral Parliament.On 4December theelectionresults,markedbyanextreme-ly low turnout at 28.3%, confirm thelandslide victory of For the Love ofEgypt, an alliance of parties that aresupportiveofthePresidentAbdelFat-tahel-Sisi.• On4DecemberanEgyptiancourtrepeals thedeath sentencesgiven toMohammedBadie,theSupremeGuideofthebannedMuslimBrotherhood,andanotherelevenmembersoftheorgani-zationaccusedofterrorismduringtheclashesthatfollowedthedismantlingoftheRabaaal-AdawiyaIslamistcampsinJuly2013.

• On 29December Egypt, EthiopiaandSudan sign theKhartoumDocu-mentunderwhichtheycommittokeeptryingforadefinitiveagreementontheGrandRenaissanceDamthatEthiopiahasbeenbuildingintheBlueNilesince2011.

Libya

• On 17 December the rival parlia-ments of Tobruk and Tripoli sign anagreement in the Moroccan town ofSkhirattoestablishanationalunitygov-ernment.• On17DecemberthegeneralKhalifaHaftar,thearmycommanderoftheTo-brukgovernmentaskstheUNtorepealtheweaponsembargotoadvanceinthefight againstDaesh and other radicalIslamistmilitias.• On27DecembertheInteriorMinistryof theTobrukgovernmentreports thatDaeshnowhasaround5,000militantsin Libya, making the Mediterraneancountrythethirdtargetfortheextensionof the self-proclaimed caliphate, afterSyriaandIraq.

Tunisia

• On2DecemberRafikChelly,Na-tionalSecurityMinisterissackedaweekafter the Daesh suicide attack on apresidential guard bus. Chelly is re-placedbyAbderrahmaneHajAli.• On 9December the TunisianNa-tionalDialogueQuartet,–theTunisianHuman Rights League (LTDH), TheTunisianGeneralLabourUnion(UGTT),theTunisianConfederationofIndustry,TradeandHandicrafts(UTICA)andtheNationalBarAssociation–isawardedtheNobelPeacePrize inOslo for itsdecisiveroleintheTunisiantransition.• On21DecembertheECannouncesanaidpackageof112millioneurostohelpwithsocio-economicreformsinthesouthernneighbourhood,especially inSyriaandTunisia.

Algeria

• On11DecembertheSenateunani-mouslyadoptsthechangetotheCrim-inal Code to increase measures forprotectingwomenagainstall formsofviolence.


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Morocco

• On11DecemberMorocco issuesanarrestwarrantagainstSalahAbde-slam, suspected of taking part in theattacksinParison12November.• On14DecembertheEUannouncesthatpaceofreformsintheareaofhu-manrightsand fundamental freedomsinMorocco has sloweddownduring2015.

EU

• On17-18DecembertheEuropeanCouncilagreestocontinueitsworktobringabout thecapitalmarketsunion,theenergyunionanddigitalmarketun-ion,andtostrengthenthefightagainstterrorism.With regard to thequestionoftheUnitedKingdomremainingintheUnion,itcommitstoseekinganagree-mentintheCouncilon17-18February,2016.• On21December 1,005,504 refu-geesandmigrantshavearrivedinEu-rope in 2015 according to themostrecentdataoftheInternationalOrgani-sationforMigration(IOM).

Gibraltar

• On 12 June the Spanish govern-mentapprovestheclosureoftheCer-vantesInstituteinGibraltar,createdin2011asaresultoftheTripartiteForumoverseenbythepreviousgovernmentofJoseLuisRodriguezZapatero,claim-ingthatitmakesnosensetohaveaninstitutiondedicatedtothepromotionof theSpanish language abroad in aplacethatSpainseesasitsownterri-tory and where everyone alreadyspeaksSpanish.• On3AugusttheECbeginsformalinfringement proceedings against theUnitedKingdomforitsallegedviolationoftheHabitatsDirectiveontheconser-vationofecosystemsinBritain’sSpecialAreas ofConservation (SAC), two ofwhichaffectGibraltar.• On27NovemberGibraltarholdsageneralelectionwonbythecentre-leftcoalitionof theSocialist LabourPartyandLiberalParty(GSLP-LPG), ledby

theChiefMinisterFabianPicardo,with68.03%ofthevotes.

Western Sahara

• On29JanuaryMoroccoliftsitsvetoontheworkofUNstaffintheWesternSahara after it is confirmed thatthemonitoring of human rights in theareawillnot formpartof themandateof theUnitedNationsMission for theReferendum in Western Sahara(MINURSO).• On10March areportfromtheEuro-peanAnti-FraudOffice (OLAF) revealsthatalargepartofthehumanitarianaidsentbetween2003and2007bytheEUandotherinternationalorganismstoSah-rawi refugees in theTindouf camps inAlgeria,endsupbeingsoldinAlgerian,MauritanianandMalianmarkets.• On9AprilthejudgeattheSpanishHighCourtPabloRuztrieseightmilitaryleaders and threeMoroccan civilianssuspectedof takingpart in the large-scale, systematic killing of Sahrawisbetween1976and1991.• On28ApriltheUnitedNationsSe-curityCouncilunanimouslydecidestoextendthemandateofMINURSO.• On4October,accordingtosourc-es from theMoroccanState, around40,000 people demonstrate outsidetheSwedishembassyinRabatcalledby thegovernment toprotestagainsttheplansoftheSwedishParliamenttorecognize theWesternSahara as anindependent state. In addition to thedemonstrationisthecampaigntoboy-cottSwedishproductsandcompaniesinMoroccoannouncedon2Octoberby the Communications MinisterMustapha Khalfi, which comes threedaysafterthecancellationoftheopen-ingofanewstoreoftheSwedishcom-panyIkeainCasablanca.• On14December the EU ForeignMinisters decide to appeal the rulingmade by the EU’s General Court,which,on10December,annulledtheapplicationoftheAgriculturalandFish-ery trade agreement concluded in2012withMorocco on the groundsthatitshouldnotapplytotheWesternSahara.

Sources

ABCAffaires Stratégiques–IFRIAffarInternazionali–IAIAgenceFrancePresseAgenciaEFEAl-AhramAl-JazeeraAl-MonitorAl-Masry al-YoumANSAMedAssociatedPressBBCBalkan InsightCarnegieEndowment for InternationalPeaceChathamHouseCouncilofForeignAffairsDiploWebElectionGuide–IFESEl MundoEl PaísEuropaPressEuropeMediaMonitorForeign AffairsForeign PolicyHaaretzIl Corriere della SeraInternationalCrisisGroupJeune AfriqueLe FigaroLe MondeLe monde diplomatiqueLimes – La RepubblicaL’Orient Le JourMagharebiaMEMRIMiddleEastInstituteOasisOsservatoriobalcanieCaucasoPoliticoRadioFreeEurope/RadioLibertyRadioTelevisiónEspañolaRealInstitutoElcanoReutersRobertSchumanStiftungSwissInfoSWPThe GuardianThe Huffington PostThe New York TimesThe TelegraphThe Washington PostTransconflictTunisia Live


Chronology of Major Conflicts and Political Events - IEMed

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