The Balkans experienced a turbulent 2025, with political upheavals, natural disasters, tragic incidents, and social unrest shaping the year. In Serbia, anti-government demonstrations continued following the collapse of a concrete canopy at a Novi Sad train station on November 1, 2024, which killed 16 people, triggering spontaneous protests throughout the year. Turkey witnessed the largest protests in over a decade after opposition figures, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, were arrested, prompting mass demonstrations against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In Greece, delayed farm subsidies caused by a corruption scandal led to farmer protests and blockades of key roads and border crossings late in the year. Romania also saw protests in response to government reforms aimed at controlling the budget deficit, while Croatia experienced an early-year wave of consumer boycotts over high prices, inspiring similar actions across the region.

Natural and human-made disasters marked the year as well. In Greece, an “earthquake storm” struck Santorini and Amorgos in February, with tremors reaching magnitude 5, prompting a state of emergency, school closures, and partial evacuations. North Macedonia suffered a catastrophic fire at a disco in March, killing 63 young people and injuring more than 200. Slovenia legalized assisted suicide in July, only to suspend the law in November following a second referendum where voters rejected the measure.

Key political and judicial events unfolded chronologically. On January 12, Zoran Milanović won a second term as Croatian president with nearly 75% of the vote, after receiving 1,120,832 votes against Dragan Primorac’s 380,038. Croatia’s first shop boycott occurred on January 24, led by the consumer association ECIP through the Facebook group “Hello Inspector,” leaving shops and shelves empty and significantly reducing retail turnover. On January 25, Archbishop Anastasios, head of the Orthodox Church of Albania, passed away at age 95 in Athens.

February was marked by tragedy and legal action. On February 1, a drunk gunman killed 12 people, including two children, in Cetinje, Montenegro, before taking his own life. On February 10, Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj was arrested on corruption and money-laundering charges, while the Greek parliament elected Konstantinos Thassoulas as president on February 12.

March saw continued upheaval and legal scrutiny. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office opened proceedings against 100 people in Greece for fraudulently claiming €2.9 million in EU subsidies. Albania temporarily banned TikTok for a year following a fatal stabbing linked to the platform. On March 16, the Pulse disco fire in Kocani, North Macedonia, claimed 63 lives, with over 200 injured and some sent for treatment abroad, including to Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, and Serbia. The trial for this fire began on November 19. Meanwhile, Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu’s arrest on March 19 triggered mass protests and street riots across Turkey.