Balkan developments

published on 7/26/24 1:10 PM | updated on 7/26/24 1:14 PM

Turkish minority in Western Thrace is a priority for Ankara, Turkish president says

The problems of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace are a priority for Turkey in its dialogue with Greece. Ankara will continue to take care of “its compatriots” there, as well as of the “usurped rights” of the Turkish Cypriots, stated Turkish President Recep Erdogan, as quoted by the Bulgarian news agency BTA. He stated that Ankara was using the “developing dialogue” with Greece in the context of “protecting the rights of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace”. There is a considerable minority, established a long time ago, living in the Greek region of Western Thrace (in the Northeastern part of the country, close to the Turkish border) which Turkey defines as Turkish, and Greece - as Muslim, according to the Lausanne Peace Treaty, in which minorities are defined not in terms of ethnicity but of religion. Civil rights and the right to an education of this minority are often cause for criticism of Greece by Turkey, whereas Greece firmly denies there are any violations of the rights of the Muslims and reacts sharply when they are described as Turks.

Romania with ambition to become regional energy hub

Romania has the potential to become an important regional energy centre, and the American investments in the sector will contribute to attaining this goal, said Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu after a meeting with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm who is in Bucharest to take part in the ministerial meeting of the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy and Climate Cooperation (P-TECC), the Bulgarian news agency BTA reports. Marcel Ciolacu laid emphasis on Romania’s cooperation with the US on a project for the construction of two more reactors at Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant which currently has two functioning Canadian reactors CANDU, and for investing in small reactors for Doicesti Thermal Power Plant. Thanks to the partnership between the Romanian company Nuclearelectrica which runs Cernavoda NPP and the US companies NuScale and Fluor, the former coal-fired plant at Doicesti is being transformed into a modern nuclear power plant, with Romania playing the role of “pioneer in this sphere”.

In the space of 10 years the average salary in Serbia has gone up from EUR 330 to EUR 855

The average monthly salary in Serbia has gone up to the equivalent of EUR 855, according to data from May. Just 10 years ago, it was EUR 330. This was announced on social media by Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, who specified that these data indicate the country is on a good route. The average salary in Belgrade is EUR 1,075, in Novi Sad – EUR 982, in Nis – EIR 813. The target Belgrade is setting itself is an average salary in Serbia of EUR 1,400 by 2027.

European Commission grants Greece EUR 80 million for faster internet

The European Commission is granting Greece EUR 80 million for faster internet. The money is being granted in voucher form for high-speed internet for physical persons and for SMEs, BNR’s correspondent in Greece Katya Peeva reports. A survey including 38 countries places Greece in 29^th position in internet speed. Data also show that the Greeks have to work 6 times more than Bulgarians to be able to afford one gigabyte for their mobile phone. The speed of the fixed internet connection in Greece is half that in Bulgaria, of mobile internet – 36% lower. Fixed internet prices are also too high in comparison with the incomes of the population. The European vouchers will only cover half of the cost of the access to high-speed internet.

Croatia wants the bay Karin Sea to be recognized as the world’s smallest sea

Croatia wants the Karin Sea, located near its borders, to be recognized as the world’s smallest sea, and is applying to the Guinness Book of Records. The Karin Sea covers an area of approximately 6 sq. kms. Even though it is, in practical terms, a bay, located 30 kms. East of the coastal city of Zadar, the locals call it a sea, public service TV BNT reports, specifying that several deep bays along Croatia’s Adriatic coastline have long been called seas – Novigrad Sea, Vir Sea, Murter Sea. If it is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records that would give it protection and promote tourism. The Sea of Marmara in Turkey is currently the smallest recognized sea in the world.