North Macedonia’s Premier Zoran Zaev resigns

North Macedonia’s Premier Zoran Zaev submitted his resignation from the position of Prime Minister to the Speaker of this country’s Parliament Talaf Xhaferi. “It would be politically irresponsible and unjustified for me to continue to lead the country along the Euroatlantic path”, Zoran Zaev noted in his letter of resignation.

“EU membership is the best option for this country. However, it should not be at the expense of the red lines outlined by the Parliament. We must not focus on the speed of EU accession, but on the real reforms, including the rule of law”, North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski said in his annual address to the Parliament, Alsat-M TV reports.

Romania is planning to make green certificate mandatory for workers

Romania confirmed 12 cases of Omicron coronavirus variant. This country’s cabinet is preparing to issue a decree that will make green certificate mandatory for workers. Romania is to issue a green certificate to people with completed vaccination cycle, people who recovered from Covid-19 and people with a negative test result. The green certificate is expected to become mandatory at work after three consecutive weeks of rising morbidity. Nearly 40% of this country’s population has received two vaccine doses. Almost 2 million people have had a booster shot.

Cyprus resumes gas drilling

The Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry of Cyprus has announced the start of assessment drilling in the county’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The first drilling should provide a more accurate estimate of the potential of Glaucus gas field. It was discovered by the joint venture ExxonMobil and Quatar Petrolium in February 2019. According to preliminary estimates, there are between 140 and 230 billion cubic meters of gas in this gas field. The future development of Cyprus’ energy programme largely depends on the final estimates, this country’s Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry Natasha Pilidou said.

Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania sign agreements at Open Balkans summit in Tirana

“We have created the best initiative, an initiative that will change the face of the Balkans and will bring many benefits to the citizens”, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vicic said after an Open Balkans summit in Tirana. “It is important to continue to work on all topics, abolish fees, erase borders between the three countries and attract more investors together”, President Vucic said at a press conference with the Premier of Albania Edi Rama and North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. Aleksandar Vucic voiced satisfaction with the agreements signed between Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania and noted that they were subject to discussions in the course of two years and that finding a solution was a difficult task due to a series of bureaucratic procedures.

Turkish Lira rallies after President Erdogan announces measures to support the national currency

The Turkish Lira rallied after this country’s President Recep Erdogan announced a string of measures to protect savings from fluctuations of the national currency. The US Dollar nosedived to 11.51 Lira and the Euro dropped to 13.85 Lira. Recep Erdogan revealed new measures, including making up for the losses incurred by the holders of lira bank deposits should its decline against the USD or the Euro exceed bank interest rates. “From now on, none of our citizens will have to convert their Turkish Lira deposits into foreign currency due to concerns about exchange rate, President Erdogan said.”

Written by: Ivo Ivanov

English version: Kostadin Atanasov