Montenegro

Vice Admiral Rumen Nikolov, Chief of Defence Staff of Bulgaria, will participate in the Annual Meeting of the Chiefs of Defence/General Staffs of the Balkan Countries on May 27-28 in Budva, Montenegro.

Italy supports Montenegro's bid to join NATO, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said at a meeting with his Montenegrin counterpart, Filip Vujanovic, on Tuesday.

Mattarella said he was confident that Montenegro would obtain an invitation to join the Western military alliance by the end of the year .

Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who is visiting Montenegro, has assessed that this country is ready for membership in NATO.

Mattarella on Tuesday added that he is confident Montenegro will get an invitation to join by the end of the year.

The Montenegrin Chamber of Commerce on Monday said companies in the country hope to do important business with NATO armies as a result of obtaining a coveted NATO code.

According to official data, 25 companies have thus far obtained the NATO Commercial and Government Entity Code, NCAGE. The first company to win an NCAGE award was in 2012.

Bulgaria's head of state is due to take over from Albania the presidency of the Southeastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP) while on a visit to Tirana on Tuesday, his press office has said.

President Rosen Plevneliev is to take part in a Tuesday summit bringing together all heads of state and government of countries who participate in  the SEECP.

Scientists of the Institute of Marine Biology and the University of Montenegro on Monday launched a research project to identify the number and types of dolphin in the Albanian part of the Adriatic,  in order to try and preserve one of the most endangered spieces in the region.

President Nikolic warns of danger posed by "Greater Albania" plans

The latest terrorist attacks in the region "confirm fears that creators of the so-called Greater Albania are not resting,president of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic has said.

The Romanian Agency for Fiscal Administration, ANAF, is to verify whether there are differences between the money declared by the 50 HSBC clients and the amounts found in their accounts in Switzerland, according to media reports on Monday.

Any unreported income will be taxed at 16 per cent, ANAF officials were quoted as saying by Digi24 television. 

The Central Bank warned in its annual report issued on Monday that high interest rates are causing a decrease in liquidity which could lead to insolvency, while also contributing to last year's decline in investment activity.

"In the long run, that leads to stagnation and a recession in economic activity," the report said.

The Montenegrin government plans to set clearer rules on granting asylum in order to distinguish "those in need of international protection" from a growing number of illegal migrants, mainly from Asia and Africa.