Transport & Cross-Border Work: Serbia is set to reestablish the Belgrade–Trieste rail link, with talks held with Italy and a plan to issue D visas for Serbian professional drivers to ease longer stays in the Schengen zone—an issue tied directly to supply chains across the region, including North Macedonia. Defence Exports: Türkiye’s MKE BORAN 105mm air-transportable howitzer has reached Albania as its second NATO customer in Europe, with six systems and ammunition agreed—another sign of faster, lighter artillery demand on NATO’s southeastern flank. Logistics Expansion: Serbia’s Post of Serbia plans a major logistics and warehouse complex at Constantine the Great Airport in Nis, aiming to speed deliveries for southern Serbia and the wider Western Balkans, including North Macedonia and Albania. Energy & Retail Capital Raising: Hyprop Investments raised about R739m in an oversubscribed bookbuild for expansion, including solar and battery storage projects at Canal Walk and Somerset Mall. HSEQ Services Growth: Technique Works opened an Albania office to support workplace risk, health, safety, environment and quality services across the Western Balkans. EU Standards Gap: A new wiiw analysis says Western Balkan countries may need decades—sometimes a century—to catch up with EU standards, with infrastructure and environment the biggest hurdles.