Greece with new 2.5-billion euro relief package for business

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced a package of new measures to support companies, freelancers and workers. He pointed out that during the two years of the crisis - 2020 and 2021, the state would allocate 35.6 billion euros to support business. The seventh relief package totals 2.5 billion euros and targets 6 sectors of the economy. The new measures will reach more than 500,000 self-employed citizens, as well as millions of workers. The money is for preferential loans to companies with reduced turnover. The amount of lending is also rising - from 1,000 euros for the self-employed to 100,000 for companies. 30 to 50% of the loans will not be repaid. The subsidy will also take the form of extended credit for tax and social security contributions so that companies can recover after the pandemic, BTA reported.

9 EU countries want discussion on the Western Balkans

Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu and his counterparts from Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Slovakia and Slovenia have sent a letter to High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security PolicyJosep Borrell. They call for a strategic discussion on the Western Balkans to be included in the agenda of the European Council meeting on foreign affairs in April, BTA reported. The foreign ministers pointed out the importance of the discussion because of a number of internal developments in the Western Balkans, which the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic are added to. These challenges have reinforced some existing trends and activities of third countries with geopolitical effects, the letter reads. Ministers also called for better co-operation with the United States, a key EU partner in the region.

Population census in North Macedonia sparks political debates

In a video message on social media, the leader of the Democratic Union for Integration in North Macedonia, Ali Ahmeti, called on the Albanian diaspora to participate en masse in the country's census. Opposition parties that are not represented in parliament have called on North Macedonians to boycott the census, saying the government has already agreed to falsify the results in favor of Albanians, BTA reported. The opposition VMRO-DPMNE submitted a bill for stopping the census, but it was rejected. The population census is conducted according to Eurostat standards. The census for North Macedonian citizens abroad will continue until March 31st. The census in North Macedonia will take place from April 1st to 21st.

Construction of third unit at Akkuyu nuclear power plant has started

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of Russia Vladimir Putin, took part in a video-conference ceremony to lay the foundations for the third unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Mersin. Construction of the first unit began in 2018 and should be completed in 2023. The plant will have 4 units with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts each. It will produce over 35 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, BTA reports. Construction of a fourth unit will start in 2022. At the ceremony Erdogan said that the goal was "to add nuclear energy, which runs on zero emissions and does no harm to the environment, to Turkey's energy basket". Putin pointed out that the construction of the plant has provided 16,000 jobs and after its construction, 4,000 people will continue to work at Akkuyu.

PM Janša calls for resignations in Slovenian Press Agency

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša has called on the director of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Bojan Veselinovič, to resign. This happened via Twitter. The politician accused the media of acting in favor of the opposition. The prime minister's call comes after months of conflict between the agency's management and the government over funding for the STA. The media receives half of the funds it needs from the state and raises the rest from other sources. The STA leadership and journalists have been warned that the government would not renew the agreement and the agency's survival was in question. Because of the crisis, the opposition demanded a parliamentary vote of no confidence against Janša but it was unsuccessful in late February.

Compiled by: Ivo Ivanov

English: Alexander Markov

Photos: EPA/BGNES