Bulgaria to step up involvement in EU military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

“We need to strengthen our support to Moldova and Georgia and look at the Western Balkans, because we will see provocations to the Western Balkans, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in order to support the stability of the country I have decided to mobilise the reserve force of Operation Althea, which means to deploy 500 members of this mission on the ground,” Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said, and added that this will “reinforce our capacity to control the situation”.

Up to 140 Bulgarian servicemen could join operation Althea, which oversees the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, alongside personnel from Austria, Romania and Slovakia. With the new reinforcement, the EUFOR which now number 600 on the ground, will reach 1,100, the EU foreign ministers have decided, BNR’s correspondent in Brussels Anguelina Piskova reports.

Serbia to hold elections for parliament as well as for president on 3 April

“The crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine is having a dramatic effect on Serbia. Nothing is the same as it used to be,” Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said in his latest address to the nation regarding the Russian aggression in Ukraine, BGNES reports. President Vucic, who has talked to many world leaders, said he was afraid UN resolution 1244 on Kosovo may be changed. The President says he is expecting more economic problems. According to him foreign investments in Serbia will decline. As a candidate country, Serbia is under pressure from the EU to join the sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile the President of the Serbian National Assembly Ivica Dacic set down 3 April as the date for the presidential election. The voting will take place simultaneously with the snap parliamentary election.

Turkey will not join sanctions against Russia

Turkey did not allow the passage of Russian warships, which are not registered in the Black Sea fleet, through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles Straits, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated. Minister Cavusoglu stated further that the country would apply the 1936 Montreux Convention, regarding the regime of passage of the straits, “literally, transparently and without double standards”. In his words, in response to an incoming bid for the passage of ships from the Russian Baltic military fleet, Ankara requested that it be withdrawn, to which Moscow agreed. Under the Montreux Convention, Turkey can prohibit the transit of certain warships through the Turkish Straits in time of war. Cavusoglu also stated that Turkey would not join the sanctions against Russia, Haberturk TV reports.

Romania increases defence spending

“Romania must improve its defence capabilities, that is why the Supreme Council of National Defencehas decided to raise defence spending from 2% to 2.5% of the GDP,” President Klaus Iohannis stated. The prime ministers of Romania and Poland Nicolae Ciuca and Mateusz Morawiecki have agreed to a Polish unit joining a NATO battlegroup to be stationed in Romania. “We discussed how to enhance NATO’s deterrence and defence position in the Eastern flank of the alliance,” Nicolae Ciuca said. The NATO ministers of defence have already made the decision to station the new NATO battlegroup in Romania, and possibly in other countries in the Eastern and Southeastern flank. The group consists of multinational battalion units of 1,000 servicemen. Command will be exercised by the country which has sent the biggest contingent, DiGi24 TV reports

Greece sets down profit threshold as an anti-speculation measure

Greece is putting in place a profit threshold for dealers trading in essential commodities, after they raised the prices of many commodities by around 50% in past months, the Consumers Association has announced. A report by the Price Monitoring Agency shows that many of the prices are high because of the high profit set down. Minister of Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadis urgently submitted to parliament a request for a profit threshold for traders in commodities whose prices are directly affected by the war in Ukraine. Petrol, wheat, cooking oil and other commodities will be sold at a profit equal to the profit level of September 2021, BNR’s correspondent in Greece Katya Peeva reports. Severe fines are envisaged, as well as withdrawal of authorization for businesses violating the restrictions. The government once again rejected the demand of the opposition parties to reduce excise duty on fuels.

Compiled by Ivo Ivanov