Page 6 - bne_newspaper_November_24_2017

The Regions This Week
November 24, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 6
Southeast Europe Romania’s government survived a non-confi-
dence vote. The National Liberal Party (PNL), backed by other opposition parties, submitted the motion asking for the dismissal of the government and the cancellation of a series of highly contro- versial amendments to the Fiscal Code.
Sofia is reportedly poised to give the go ahead for the construction of a second ski lift at Bulgaria’s Bansko ski resort. Expansion of the resort is fiercely opposed by environmentalists who claim that it would affect protected areas.
The IMF warned Bosnia & Herzegovina that it must complete pledged reforms soon to keep its loan agreement and get fresh cash. Although Bosnia’s two entities desperately need the cheap funds from the IMF, political disagreements have frozen key reforms for months.
Votes cast in the second ballot of the local elections in Kosovo’s capital city Pristina and second city Prizren will be recounted after allegations of irregularities. The request came as the initial count showed candidates from two parties — Vetevendosje and the Democratic League of Kosovo — were separated by less than one percentage point.
The average net monthly wage in Macedo-
nia rose by a real 3% y/y to MKD23,229 (€377.2) in September, speeding up from a 0.9% y/y in- crease in the previous month. The new Social Democrat-led government has promised to in- crease the average net wage to MKD30,000 by the end of its mandate.
Romania’s largest private healthcare provider MedLife continued its aggressive expansion, opening a clinic in Braila with an investment of €700,000. The expansion will help MedLife, which carried out an IPO last year, to further strengthen
its position on the Romanian private medical services market.
The Communist Party has joined the pro-EU op- position in pushing for a referendum on changes to Moldova’s electoral system. The changes have already been adopted, but opponents want them to be reversed.
Energy companies from Bulgaria and Macedo- nia agreed to launch a feasibility study on ways to link their gas transmission systems. The two countries want to reduce dependence on gas im- ports from Russia.
One of Russia’s largest copper producers Russian Copper Company, (RCC) is reportedly interested taking over Serbia’s state owned RTB Bor. RTB Bor is among several major state-owned enter- prises for which the government is seeking a buyer after failing so far to privatise them.
Montenegro's current account gap contracted by 9.2% y/y to €385.8mn in the first nine months of 2017. The current account gap equalled 9.2% of the full-year GDP projection, down from 11.4% a year earlier.
Croatia’s government needs to address several issues to boost competitiveness, foreign inves- tors said in a new report. Areas highlighted by the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) in Zagreb include legal uncertainty, tax obligations, labour issues and access to financing.
Employees at Serbia’s public postal services company Post of Serbia started a strike in Bel- grade and other places in Serbia on November 21, stated the president of the trade union Zoran Pav- lovic. Workers want higher wages, long-term con- tracts for part-time employees and the dismissal of the management as its term expired in September.