Nadja Lovadinov
@lovadinov.bsky.social
460 followers 78 following 51 posts
LSE MSc IR, and HOT takes🌶️❤️‍🔥 on (mostly) European politics 🇪🇺🗳️✍️ for @tldrnews.bsky.social. I sometimes appear on TLDR podcasts - if I'm allowed to rant about Western Balkan politics!
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🧵 (1/3)Why hasn't the EU imposed sanctions on Israel yet?!⛔

Israel’s economy is highly dependent on EU trade, investment, and financial reserves. This means the bloc holds quite a bit of economic leverage over Israel and could, in theory, hit Israel hard…if the political will exists to impose them.
Reposted by Nadja Lovadinov
Indeed, the journey towards 🇪🇺 membership has, for the six Western Balkan states, turned into a decades-long walk through the desert.

Since 2022, many have spoken of new momentum. And while, yes, the #EU27 have taken more decisions and done so more quickly.
🇧🇦 After months of secessionist bluster, former RS President Milorad Dodik has stepped aside ahead of the RS presidential elections, pressed by international, domestic, and party pressure.

He leaves behind a crippling RS economy and a patronage network choking the entity.

www.dw.com/en/republika...
Republika Srpska: Milorad Dodik steps aside – DW – 09/30/2025
After dominating politics in Republika Srpska for 27 years, Milorad Dodik is stepping down in the face of national court rulings and international pressure, paving the way for a presidential election ...
www.dw.com
Reposted by Nadja Lovadinov
Not sure I could come up with three people I would trust less with the lives of Palestinians than Trump, Netanyahu and Blair
Article naming Tony Blair to be with Trump in the “Board of Peace”
early bird catches the worm 🪱
🇲🇩 BIG win for Moldova’s ruling pro-EU party following yesterday's election -> majority intact + EU path 🇪🇺 reaffirmed.

However, the defeated pro-Russian bloc has cried foul play and is disputing the result

🎥 Full explainer below 👇
youtu.be/Fl3gno2cEcU

#Moldova #Europe #EU
Pro-EU Parties Win Moldova’s Election: What Next?
YouTube video by TLDR News EU
youtu.be
Reposted by Nadja Lovadinov
🇵🇸 VIDEO: Gaza City residents divided as Western powers recognise State of Palestine

Residents of Gaza City, the target of a major Israeli offensive, offer mixed opinions after a fresh slate of Western nations recognised the State of Palestine.
Reposted by Nadja Lovadinov
Romanian prosecutors today charged Călin Georgescu — who rose from obscurity to win the first round of a presidential election before being barred from running — with planning a violent coup.
Romania’s far-right former presidential candidate charged with coup plot
Călin Georgescu tried to organize a revolt in Bucharest, prosecutors allege.
www.politico.eu
🇧🇾🇷🇺With Belarus and Russia conducting their joint Zapad 2025 military drill, tensions surged this week

🇵🇱Poland closed its border with Belarus and shot down a swarm of Russian drones in its airspace, prompting the invocation of NATO’s Article 4 and the deployment of 40,000 troops to the border🪖
Reposted by Nadja Lovadinov
🇺🇸🥔 John Cole said that the US intends to return the American embassy to Minsk.

"If we come to the right decisions in our discussions on the remaining people who are being held (prisoners), we can achieve a lot on the path to normalization."
Reposted by Nadja Lovadinov
Hopefully we'll have videos on both soon! 🇮🇩🇱🇧
Reposted by Nadja Lovadinov
🇪🇺💥The EU’s top hard-right pressure group got millions from sources tied to Hungary’s populist PM Viktor Orbán, new filings show. MCC Brussels’ transparency register confirms the think tank received over €6M last year.
Orbán’s favorite Brussels think tank received millions from Budapest, new figures reveal
MCC Brussels has received more than €6 million in funding to influence debate on public policy.
www.politico.eu
While Lukashenko initially encouraged exports to Russia, he imposed an export ban earlier this year, as Belarus struggled to feed its own people, let alone its Russian allies.

This highlights the growing tension between political loyalty to Moscow and the harsh economic realities at home.
Price controls made things worse. In 2022, Lukashenko capped food prices, including potatoes.🥔

Farmers cut production as costs rose faster than prices, and by 2024, harvests were down 25%👨‍🌾

Farmers also redirected supplies to Russia, where prices are roughly double amid Moscow’s own potato shortage
Belarus' own labor shortages have added to the pressure🧑‍🏭👷‍♀️👩‍💼

Estimates vary, but around tens of thousands of young people left after 2020 to Lithuanian and Poland, and more moved to Russia to fill war-related jobs.

Wage hikes eased some pain for workers, but drove costs and inflation higher📈🪙
But as Russia’s economy cools down under sanctions and mounting war costs, Belarus is sinking with it.📉

This year, Belarus' exports of machinery, lumber, and consumer goods to Russia fell over 70%. GDP growth has slowed to just 2.1%, the budget deficit is widening, and inflation continues to climb.
Cut off from the West, Belarus turned almost entirely to Russia🇷🇺

Cheap energy⚡ + credit🏦 from Moscow propped things up. Exports to Russia jumped 50% in 2022.

Belarus' economy soon became completely dependent on Moscow. When Russia boomed post-2022, Belarus bounced back too (+3.9% growth in 2023)📈
Since the fraudulent 2020 election, Western sanctions have hit key Belarusian exports (oil🛢️, potash🪨, and fertilizers🪴).

Sanctions expanded after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. These hit hard; Belarus' GDP shrank 4.7% in 2022, exports fell 20%, and the IT sector hollowed out as firms fled abroad.