All News from Balkans

Four consortia in $2.6 bln Dardanelles bridge bid

Turkey's highways authority has received bids from four international consortiums to build, operate, and maintain a new 10 billion-Turkish Lira ($2.61 billion) suspension bridge over the Dardanelles Strait, the authority said Jan. 26.

Tsakalotos to meet Schaeuble ahead of Eurogroup meeting

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos is expected to meet with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble at 3.30 p.m. before a meeting of eurozone finance ministers - also known as the Eurogroup - at 4 p.m. in Brussels on Thursday.

Bleak IMF reports on Greece

Two negative reports concerning Greece were forwarded to the members of the IMF’s board directors, Tuesday night. Citing an informed source, mignatiou.com says that the two documents, which are expected to be discussed during a special IMF board meeting in the first week of February, were “depressing.” “The reports were not good for Greece.

Over 201,000 inmates in Turkish prisons: Justice Ministry

There are over 201,000 convicts and people under arrest in Turkish prisons, according to figures released by the Justice Ministry. 

The number of convicts has decreased while the number of people under arrest has increased since a July 2016 coup attempt, according to the ministry.

Farmers block highway in northern Greece

Farmers angered by hikes in taxes, gas prices and social security contributions on Thursday shut the Serres-Thessaloniki national road at the junction of Lefkonas, in northern Greece.

Meanwhile, police was trying to prevent about dozens of farmers from driving their tractors to the Promachonas checkpoint on the border with Bulgaria.

Juncker Pledges Support for Bulgaria's Interim Govt

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has promosed to support the incoming caretaker government of Bulgaria that is due to take over on Friday.

Serbian and Belarus cities twin as PM visits Minsk

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic started his two-day visit to Belarus on Thursday by a meeting with the country's Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov.

According to the Serbian government, they discussed bilateral relations and strengthening economic cooperation.

Kazakh leader says to devolve some powers to parliament, cabinet

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will delegate some of his sweeping powers to the Central Asian nation's parliament and cabinet, he said on Jan. 25, a move that could facilitate an eventual political transition. 

A new chapter in US-UK ties?

Friday's meeting between US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House may signal a new dynamic in the relationship between the two countries responsible for shaping Europe last century.

An expensive lesson

Two years have passed since leftist Alexis Tsipras was first elected prime minister, and it is more than apparent that he was in way too much of a rush to rule. He entered the election race without having done any serious prior preparation and then went on to embroil Greece in a frightening adventure from which it is unlikely to recover anytime soon.

Bankers are worried about delay in draft law on debts

The delays in the tabling of a bill concerning out-of-court debt settlements and the immunity of bank officials are generating concerns regarding the achievement of the target set by the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) for a 40.2-billion-euro reduction in the sum of bad loans by the end of 2019.

Turkey strongly condemns terror attack in Somalia

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned a deadly terror attack in Somalia that killed at least 14 people on Jan. 25, according to an official statement released later in the day. 

"We strongly believe that terrorist attacks, such as the one perpetrated today, cannot derail Somalia's progress in ensuring stability," the ministry said. 

Turkey awaits results of US study on safe zones in Syria

Turkey has always supported the idea of safe zones in Syria but would need to review any U.S. plans before commenting on a draft executive order that is expected to be signed by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding safe zones in Syria, Ankara has said.

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