📨 Lossi 36 Weekly #23: news highlights from Central Europe to Central Asia

This edition of Lossi 36 Weekly was originally sent by email on 7 December 2020. Subscribe to Lossi 36 Weekly here.

⭐️ This week’s special

Hungarian MEP of anti-LGBTQ party caught with drugs while fleeing gay orgy. When Fidesz MEP József Szájer resigned from his post in the European Parliament on November 29, few thought there was more to the decision than his proclaimed reason of being under “more and more mental stress.” The Fidesz politician has been an MEP since Hungary’s ascension to the EU in 2004 and besides helping write Hungary’s 2011 constitution, he has been fervently representing PM Viktor Orbán’s interests in the EP ever since. Who could blame him for burning out?

But his resignation was thrown under a different light as more news started to emerge from Brussels. Local papers confirmed that the police had broken up a house party that violated emergency lockdown rules instituted because of the coronavirus. They also confirmed the house party was a gay orgy. They also confirmed that one of the participants was “a recently resigned Hungarian MEP”, who tried to escape the police through the window. After he was apprehended, police found an ecstasy pill in his bag that he denied ownership of.

Ever since then, Szájer has issued a public apology and left Fidesz, his party he was a founding member of, which has been putting more and more emphasis on anti-LGBTQ rhetoric during recent months. His resignation comes during a crucial time for Hungary, as Viktor Orbán continues to veto the new 7-year-budget in protest of the recently established rule-of-law requirements for member countries’ receiving of EU funds. For this very reason, some voices on both the left and right in Hungary have raised the possibility that Szájer’s fall has been orchestrated by western secret services. So far, theories about this are still unsubstantiated.

🌺 In the Balkans…

Local elections in Kosovo show positive signs of the oppositions’ comeback. On November 30, the northern municipalities  of Podujeva and Mitrovica held snap local elections. Earlier this year, the  mayors of the two cities had resigned to join the central government as Interior Minister and Minister of Local Government respectively. Podujeva, a former LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) stronghold, will from now on be administered by the Vetevendosje opposition movement, which won the election with 51,6 % of the vote and put an end to  20 years of LDK rule. In North Mitrovica, besides the expected victory of the Serbian candidate, Vetevendosje performed better than the PDK. These results can be understood in light of the decreasing popularity of the Hoti-led LDK government. The national government has been criticized for lacking a political vision, the cost of Covid-19 treatments for citizens, the current parliamentary deadlock, and the lack of transparency of ongoing dialogue with Brussels.

North Macedonia makes last-ditch effort to pass Bulgarian veto. North Macedonia has stepped up its final forces to overcome an official Bulgarian veto to open EU accession talks as the last European Council Summit under the German Presidency 2020 approaches on 10-11 December. Last week, the Macedonian government appointed a special envoy for talks with Bulgaria, the former PM Vlado Buckovski, who is expected to arrive in Sofia before the EU Summit to try to save the holding of the first EU-North Macedonia Inter-governmental Conference at the last minute. A Roadmap to resolving Bulgarian-Macedonian disputes is being discussed as a possible compromise, both parties announced. Meanwhile, Macedonian opposition protesters have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

⛰️ In the Caucasus…

Treaty with Russia sparks uproar in Abkhazia. On November 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the President of the de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, signed a treaty decreeing the creation of a common socio-economic space. The agreement aims to harmonize Russian and Abkhaz legislation. According to the Abkhaz authorities, the treaty would be the logical continuation of the agreement on the Alliance and the Strategic Partnership signed in 2014. Nevertheless, many saw the threat of annexation of Abkhazia by Russia, particularly Georgia, which immediately denounced the signing of the treaty. Within Abkhaz society, the agreement has also caused an uproar. While the agreement grants Russian citizens more economic liberties in Abkhazia, including the right to buy real estate, specialists such as Inal Khashig and former political figures such as Akhra Bzhania have expressed concern about the risks the agreement poses to Abkhaz sovereignty. Weakened by an ongoing economic and energy crisis, it is unlikely Abkhazia had any choice but to sign the document.

Negotiations over Election Results continue in Georgia. Although a month has passed since parliamentary elections, the results remain to be disputed. With the involvement of the US and EU ambassadors, the talks have now left the streets of the capital. However, a resolution still remains to be found. The country is hanging in a delicate balance, and with stricter restrictions impacting the health and economic well-being of Georgia, the results of continued uncertainty can be well felt. The advice given by the facilitators has been to exhaust the institutional resources available and try to resolve most disputes in courts. The opposition continues to argue that no progress has been made, since the court rulings on such issues have often been unhelpful or unfair. On the other hand, the electorate seems to be tired of the continued uncertainty and changing tone of different opposition leaders. With the added stress of harsher social distancing measures, diminished resources and everyday problems experienced by society, many long for the end to this uncertainty.

🚃 In Central Europe…

🏢 In Eastern Europe…

🛤 In Russia & Central Asia…

Uzbekistan to repatriate citizens from Syrian camps. Uzbekistan decided to repatriate over 100 of its stranded citizens in Syria, mostly the wives and children of Uzbek Islamic State fighters. The conditions in the Syrian camps are deplorable, the access to food, water and medical assistance is difficult, and the housing situation is precarious. Of the estimated thousands of Central Asian Islamic State fighters, most came originally from Uzbekistan, explaining the complicated and isolated situation in which the Uzbek wives and children were left. Last year, 220 Uzbek citizens were repatriated from Syria under similar arrangements.

Navalny to EU: I’m not the first, and unfortunately not the last to be poisoned or killed. The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee invited Aleksei Navalny to join their online debate. During the debate, Navalny urged the EU to adopt a new approach to Russia in light of his poisoning. A distinction between the Russian people and the Russian state should form the basis of the new approach. According to Navalny, the EU should not recognize the outcome of the 2021 Duma elections if the likely exclusion of opposition candidates becomes a reality and it should impose sanctions on judges who fail to follow decisions taken by the European Court of Human Rights. Navalny also implored the EU to impose sanctions on the financial assets of influential “Russian oligarchs” close to Vladimir Putin, insisting that these are more effective and will be taken more seriously than current sanctions. In the context of the debate, the EU expanded its black list to include the first deputy head of the presidential administration Sergei Kirienko, FSB director Alexander Bortnikov, and two deputy defense ministers. Some domestic commentators have criticized Navalny on calling foreign governments to act, for they expect domestic opposition to come under even tighter pressure from the Russian authorities as a result.

Thank you to this week’s contributors: Masa Sebek, Mate Mohos, Louise Guillon, Naser Bislimi, Ryan Patterson, Roxana Chiriac, Ana Robakidze, Zadig Tisserand, Agnieszka Widlaszewska, Tijs van de Vijver and Evguenia Roussel 💘