Page 9 - ARUBA TODAY

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WORLD NEWS Thursday 24 May 2018

Bulgaria hits setback in bid for euro membership

By DAVID McHUGH made by eurozone political background of rising anti-
VESELIN TOSHKOV leaders based on the cur- EU political forces in Hun-
Associated Press rency union's rules but the gary, Poland and most re-
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ECB report will strengthen cently in member country
— Bulgaria has hit a set- skepticism about the Bul- Italy.
back to its hopes of soon garian bid. The EU's execu- There is also however the
becoming a member of tive commission released worrisome example of
the shared euro currency its own report Wednesday, Greece, which joined the
after the European Central saying Bulgaria had fulfilled euro in 2001 after fudg-
Bank said the EU's poorest requirements for sound ing its budget statistics
country needs "wide-rang- public finances, stable and with an economy
ing" reforms to get its econ- long term interest rates and burdened by corruption,
omy in shape. price stability. Economic political patronage and
That assessment came Affairs Commissioner Pierre bureaucracy. Greece
in the ECB's report card Moscovici cautioned that wound up needing three
Wednesday on progress to- experience had shown bailouts and precipitated
ward membership among that for countries to prosper a eurozone financial crisis.
seven European Union In this May 22, 2018 photo a thunderbolt goes down behind the in the eurozone, it's impor- Once in the euro, coun-
member countries that banking district in Frankfurt, Germany. tant that their economies tries no longer have their
have not yet joined the Associated Press be truly in tune with others own currency to devalue,
19-country euro. in the bloc. They must "work the usual safety valve in a
Bulgarian officials have said eurozone would guarantee education and skills train- hard" to increase invest- crisis. Instead, they must
they want to enter the two- Bulgaria's deeper integra- ing. Bulgaria is also experi- ment and productivity, he go through agonizing cost-
year process that leads tion in the EU. encing a high level of bad said. cutting to regain competi-
to joining the euro, called But the ECB expressed con- loans burdening bank bal- Bulgaria's desire to join tiveness. When adjusted for
ERM II, this year. Their hope cern about high business ance sheets. makes a positive statement the lower cost of living, it
is that a swift entry into the debt, corruption and weak The decision is ultimately for EU officials against a was still only $19,242.q

Germany: Local office improperly approved asylum requests

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER with higher than average and 2016, mostly from war-
Associated Press approval rates are also torn Syria, Iraq and Afghan-
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's under review, the German istan. Authorities at the time
interior minister banned a news agency dpa report- were overwhelmed with a
local branch of the Federal ed. flood of asylum applica-
Office for Migration and Two law firms also are sus- tions, and some cases were
Refugees from making asy- pected of having partici- processed quickly, without
lum decisions Wednesday pated in the scheme, the the usual care or interviews
amid a widening scandal Interior Ministry said without that are normally part of
over the allegedly improp- providing details or naming the procedure.
er granting of more than a the firms. The nationalist Alternative
thousand requests for asy- Federal Office for Migra- for Germany party has used
lum. tion and Refugees director the issue of how authorities
Interior Minister Horst See- Jutta Cordt was coming dealt with the masses of
hofer suspended the pro- under pressure as part of new arrivals to attack the
cessing of applications at the fallout from the alleged government. The party was German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer arrives for the weekly
the migration office in the wrongdoing in Bremen. for the first time elected to cabinet meeting of the German government at the chancellery
city of Bremen after an in- Prosecutors in the Nuerem- the national parliament in in Berlin, Wednesday, May 23, 2018.
ternal review of 4,568 asy- berg-Fuerth region have September. Associated Press
lum cases concluded that opened a preliminary in- Interior Ministry spokes-
branch officials intention- vestigation into whether woman Annegret Korff said In April, prosecutors said the Bremen branch as well
ally violated regulations. Cordt's office helped mi- that until an investigation at least 1,200 asylum re- as other employees.
"Trust in the quality of the grants who didn't meet the is completed, Bremen's quests, mostly by members Seehofer said he had or-
asylum procedures and the requirements for asylum to asylum applications cases of Syria's Yazidi minority, dered a review of all asy-
integrity of the welcome remain in Germany, ac- would be handled by offi- may have been wrongly lum requests approved in
center in Bremen has been cording to dpa. cials elsewhere. She wasn't approved between 2013 Bremen starting in the year
massively damaged," See- Germany took in more than immediately able to say and 2016. They are investi- 2000 and in which employ-
hofer said. one million refugees and how many cases were af- gating corruption charges ees suspected of corrup-
Another 10 branch offices migrants between 2015 fected. against the former head of tion were involved.q