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The Regions This Week
January 19, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 6
Southeast Europe
Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov vetoed
a law that would make Albanian the second official language in the country. The parliament is still able to overturn the presidential veto with another vote on the draft law.
Albania’s trade gap reached an 18-year high in 2017, data from the statistics institute Instat showed. The trade deficit reached ALL353bn (€2.6bn), which was 5% higher than in 2016.
80.9% of Montenegrins would vote in favour of membership in the European Union if the country called a referendum, the government said, quoting a poll conducted by Defacto agency. There are hopes that EU membership would improve the quality of life for residents of the tiny country and create more opportunities to travel.
Romania’s Banca Transilvania became a shareholder in Moldova’s Victoriabank, with
a total participation of over 66% alongside the EBRD. This is the first time in the past 10 years that a bank from outside Moldova has invested in the market.
Kosovo's leaders could face harsh consequences if the country’s parliament votes to abolish a new war crimes court, US ambassador Greg Delawie warned. The court will prosecute alleged war crimes committed by members of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) against ethnic Serbs during Kosovo's independence war in 1998-99.
Four international cocaine smugglers were arrested in Serbia. Law enforcement officers detained three Australians linked to the smuggling of 1,280 kilograms of cocaine seized in Sydney, and one Lebanese man suspected of forging IDs.
The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party filed a no-confidence motion against Boyko Borissov’s government. The vote is doomed to fail as
Borissov and his coalition partner have enough MPs and will most likely also be supported by two opposition parties as well.
Purcari Wineries plans to launch an IPO on Romania’s Bucharest Stock Exchange. Purcari is a leading wine producer in Romania, Moldova and Central Europe.
Consultations started on a potential regulatory framework for blockchain technology and initial coin offerings (ICOs) in Slovenia. The country’s Prime Minister Miro Cerar announced in October that he wants to position the country as the most recognised blockchain destination in the European Union.
The parliaments of Bulgaria and Macedonia ratified a historic friendship treaty between the two countries. The treaty is expected to help Macedonia towards its goals of membership in the EU and Nato.
Croatia's consumer prices rose 1.2% y/y in December, slowing down from the 1.4% annual rise in the previous month, data from the statistics office showed. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects consumer prices to go up 1.2% in 2018.
The share of bad loans in the Slovenian banking system fell to 6.7% in November against 6.9% at end-October, the central bank said. European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said recently that the decline in bad loans in Slovenia is among the fastest in the EU.
United Group announced the sale of satellite TV distribution platform Total TV in Croatia. The deal paves the way for United, which is owned by US investment firm KKR and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), to acquire Croatia’s most popular TV channel, Nova TV.