Behind the glitzy facade of the World Cup... there's a darker side to the world of football.

Elsewhere, Robert Fico is the great political survivor as he celebrates 20 years since winning his first election; strike by Czech public media staff called after government unveils reforms to funding model; and Hungarian PMs current and former in Brussels.

The legislation, which includes the setting up of deportation centres located outside the EU, is designed to increase the low removal number of failed asylum seekers from the current 28 per cent.

Peter Magyar’s Tisza party campaigned on a promise to take Hungary into the eurozone, but delivering on that promise would entail blood, sweat and tears – and likely an accompanying loss of popularity.

To speed up deportations of migrants whose asylum claims have failed, the EU is set to authorise detention centres beyond its borders. But will they help to resolve the issue?

The draft law seeks to bring back journalistic independence, editorial freedom, unhindered access to reliable information and a space for open public discourse.

Elsewhere, Slovak president urged to halt controversial ambassador pick for Cyprus; Czech defence minister calls for increase in defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP; and Hungary's government submits omnibus bill designed to unlock frozen EU funds.

Drone incursions have heightened fears that the war in Ukraine is spilling into Romania, exposing vulnerabilities in the NATO member’s air and maritime defences.

Repairing Polish-Hungarian relations is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for resolving the broader challenges facing the V4 regional alliance of Central European states.

The human rights lawyer has spent her career documenting Russian war crimes. Now she’s trying to ensure they are punished – whether Russia wins or loses on the battlefield.

Black market Botox clinics and DIY injections are putting people’s health at risk.

Elsewhere, Czech police charge four in OnlyFans human-trafficking case; Hungarian PM raises pressure on president to quit; fresh dispute over wartime history frays Polish-Ukrainian ties; Slovak government defends overdue package of measures to support growth.

Deal between Ukraine and Hungary’s new government over minority rights clears way for Kyiv to start EU accession talks.

Nuclear power remains attractive from an energy security and decarbonisation perspective, but Hungary illustrates how such projects have become more complicated economically and geopolitically to build than a decade ago.

By the year 2040, will countries in the region choose to consolidate democracy, settle for ‘stabilitocracy’, or descend into full-blown authoritarianism?

Across the region, corruption is shaking the highest levels of government. How is Europe tackling the issue?

Elsewhere in the region, Hungarian parliament revokes planned withdrawal from the ICC; speculation explodes over possible sale of Czech maker of Semtex; Poland and UK sign a new security and defence treaty.

Economy Minister welcomes ruling dismissing Hungarian oil company's claims against Croatia over alleged breaches of Gas Business Agreement.

In her latest despatch from Washington, Jovana Djurovic dissects official State Department policy on the Balkans.

Czechia’s new gun-ownership law, which treads a fine line between greater transparency and constitutionally protected rights, is unlikely to bring the kind of change many had hoped for in the aftermath of the country’s worst mass shooting.

Political pressure and dwindling public funding mean that Europe’s museums are struggling to stay afloat - and fundraising via corporate sponsorship has brought its own issues.

Elsewhere, Hungary’s new government seeks to limit PM’s mandate to a maximum of two terms; EU Parliament steps up pressure on Slovakia by urging freezing of EU funds; Czechia’s three-party coalition starts to show signs of division.

Six weeks after his Tisza movement upended Hungarian politics, Peter Magyar arrived in Poland on his first official foreign trip – a visit carefully designed to signal both democratic realignment and regional ambition.

Rene Karabash tells BIRN how the ancient Albanian custom of women becoming ‘sworn virgins’ became the subject of her acclaimed novel – which put Bulgarian literature in the spotlight as a contender for the International Booker Prize.

Orban turned Hungary’s public service media into a propaganda machine after taking office in 2010. Now out of power, questions are being raised about what to do with the state media and the journalists who supported the system.

Playing tour guide over the weekend to various buildings renovated using billions in taxpayer money, Magyar said his government will keep the building previously used as the Prime Minister’s Office open to the public.

Discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is on the rise across Europe, despite stronger equal rights laws.

While the prize of EU membership is coming within grasping distance for Montenegro, our selection of Balkan Insight Premium stories this week highlights the uncertainties facing other countries in the region.

Elsewhere, Magyar sworn in as new Hungarian PM and holds first cabinet meeting; Trump ally tipped as new US ambassador to Slovakia; Czech president and PM still at odds over who should attend NATO summit in Ankara.

Meeting in Romania ahead of the July's NATO summit in Ankara, 14 member countries called for closer coordination on regional security along the alliance's eastern flank to counter the continuing threat from Russia.