With a new law on ‘fair’ representation in North Macedonia’s public administration stalled, hiring is heavily determined by an outdated university ranking system that critics say puts Albanian graduates at a disadvantage.

Construction workers from across the Balkans have flooded a small corner of northern Greece to help ready an expanded gold and copper mine for production; local resistance, driven by a fear for the environment, has given way to economic dependence.

Activists and migrants say a new programme to regulate the status of migrant workers in Romania is being used to deport those unaware they have already been issued with return orders.

Coming from Nepal, Mexico, the Philippines and beyond, the number of foreign nationals working in Montenegro has almost doubled since 2017, as authorities and employers scramble to fill widening gaps in the jobs market.