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The Regions This Week
October 5, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 10
Southeast Europe
Montenegro’s president warned of wider nega- tive implications of the Macedonian referendum. The mass boycott of the vote should be seen by the EU as an "alarm signal" and a “final warning” that enlargement policy needs a more serious ap- proach, President Milo Djukanovic said.
Romanian budget airline Blue Air bought Mol- dovan flag carrier Air Moldova alongside two Moldovan citizens. The buyers, through a tie- up named Civil Aviation Group, paid MDL1.2bn (€61.5mn).
Troubled Croatian shipbuilder Uljanik lost an- other contract, this time with Canada’s Algoma Central Corporation. Zagreb is mulling options for restructuring Uljanik, including spinning off its 3. Maj shipyard in Rijeka.
Turkey switched to permanent daylight sav- ing time under a presidential decree. The deci- sion stirred a public debate, as some communi- ties, especially in the west of the country, have complained about having to wake up in the dark well before sunrise.
German discount retail chain Lidl will open its first 16 stores in Serbia on October 11. Stores will be opened in 12 cities, including the capital Belgrade, and more will follow in November.
Slovenian police officers went on strike ask- ing for higher salaries. Police officers will still work so as to prevent any actions that might put people’s lives, health or property at risk, a union representative said.
Albania successfully placed a seven-year Eu- robond worth €500mn, the third time the country has tapped international money markets. The min- istry will use the money to repurchase €200mn
of the outstanding €450mn Eurobond due in 2020 and to cover the budget deficit.
Bosnia’s Republika Srpska granted a 33-year concession to collect tolls on the Banja Luka- Prijedor motorway to China’s Shandong International Economic and Technical Cooperation Corp. The Chinese company is also building the motorway.
The European Commission could take Roma-
nia to court over the revision of its justice laws, European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans warned. Timmermans argued that in their current form the amendments to Roma- nia’s justice laws and the criminal codes affect the ability to fight corruption and other crimes.
Thousands of people protested in Kosovo against a mooted exchange of territory with Serbia. The two sides are understood to be considering a land swap as part of a solution to their long-standing conflict that would allow both to progress towards EU integration.
The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party will file a third no-confidence motion against the Bul- garian government, this time for failure to carry out health sector reforms. The motion has little chance of succeeding as the Gerb-led coalition has a comfortable majority in parliament.
Montenegro’s GDP growth accelerated to 4.9% y/y in the second quarter of 2018, up from 4.5% y/y in the previous three months, the statistics office reported. The government expects growth to top 4.4% this year, while IFIs anticipate more modest growth of between 2.8% and 3.1%.
Turkey for the first time will import high-protein wheat from Russia using Russian rubles. Turk- ish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been complaining that the US is using the dollar as a weapon to undermine other country’s economies, and urged Turkey’s trading partners to use local currencies where possible.