Wildfires continue to rage across Greece

Numerous fires have been raging on the territory of Greece in recent days and dust particles in the air exceeded 10 times the norms. Athens is also now under an ash-black sky. The fires destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of forests. In the Dadia National Park near the Turkish border, more than 20 bodies were found. According to the police these are the bodies of illegal migrants who had been hiding. The authorities organized the evacuation of local residents, tourists and migrants from the dangerous areas. Foreign teams are also involved in extinguishing the fires, including 36 well-trained firefighters from Bulgaria. “Our whole life is gone. Look, everything is on fire," a resident of the Athens suburb of Fyli, where houses, shops and a factory burned down, has told BNT. "A notification system sends people information about the direction they need to go and about closed roads," a Bulgarian compatriot in Northern Greece said about the measures taken by the local authorities. At the moment, the situation is slightly improving after unexpectedly heavy rain. The police detained several people for attempted arson, BNR correspondent Katya Peeva reported from Greece.

Hakan Fidan: We expect the EU to change its attitude towards Turkey

Turkey plans to discuss with EU representatives in September the renewal of the road map of its relations with the bloc. "We expect the EU to change its attitude towards Turkey. We know that so far no rational assessment has been made and the process has been politicized". This was what Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in response to a question from BTA during a joint press conference with Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel, who paid a visit to Ankara. According to Fidan, Turkey's membership would strengthen the position of the EU as a global factor, but EU member states do not consider the matter in this way. At the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, Turkey agreed to lift its veto on Sweden's NATO membership if Turkey's path to EU membership is opened.

Turkey was granted candidate status for EU membership in 1999, but as of 2018 accession negotiations are stalled due to EU concerns over human rights abuses and respect for the rule of law in the country.

Serbia-Bulgaria gas connection is expected to be ready in October

Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović inspected the construction of the gas interconnector Serbia-Bulgaria. She expects the gas pipeline to be completed this October, the Serbian Radio and Television reported. According to Đedović, 100% of the pipes for the construction of the gas pipeline have been delivered, 70% have been placed, and 45% of the overground sites have been built. Through the already built gas pipeline between Bulgaria and Greece, it is possible to connect with gas sources reaching Greece, mainly from Azerbaijan and the Caspian region, as well as terminals for liquefied natural gas. "With this gas pipeline, Serbia gets greater energy security and will also play the role of a transit country for the region, as in the case of the Balkan Stream gas pipeline," Đedović pointed out.

The construction of the interconnector costs about 90 million euros. 49.6 million euros were grants from the EU, 25 million euros are loans from the European Investment Bank and the rest is Serbian co-financing.

The Montenegro 365 campaign promotes the country as a green destination

The revenues of Montenegro's national parks for the first time exceeded 2 million euros by August 20 this year, as visitors are 80,000 more than in the record pre-pandemic year of 2019, the Radio and Television of Montenegro reported, citing a post by Prime Minister Dritan Abazović on Twitter. So far in 2023, Montenegrin parks have been visited by a total of 459,500 people. "What a victory for a green Montenegro. Congratulations to the management of the national parks and to all promoters of the natural beauty of our country, who have made an immeasurable contribution to this excellent result," Abazović wrote. He added that the country will continue to develop the Montenegro365 campaign, branding Montenegro as a green destination.

Compiled by: Miglena Ivanova

English: Al. Markov

Photos: BGNES, mfa.bg, rts.rs, Twitter/DritanAbazovic