Balkan developments

Greece receives the fourth tranche of almost 1 billion euros under EU Recovery and Resilience Plan

The European Commission paid Greece the fourth tranche under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RSP) worth 998.6 million euros. This was reported by the Greek state television ERT, quoted by BTA. As for all EU member states, payments to Greece under the Plan are performance-based and depend on the implementation of the investments and reforms set out in the national plan. The fourth payment for Greece is related to reforms such as the development of the information system of justice and the increase of electricity production from renewable sources, investments in afforestation and fire prevention.

The total value of Greece's financing under the Recovery and Resilience Plan is 35.9 billion euros, of which 18.2 billion are subsidies and 17.7 billion are loans.

Albania has started EU membership negotiations

Albania has opened the first cluster of negotiations for accession to the European Union. This happened in Luxembourg at the second EU-Albania Intergovernmental Conference, Euroactiv reported. The Fundamental Issues cluster includes topics of fundamental importance for building a democratic and pluralistic society. The start of Albania's negotiations became possible after the EU split the Albania-North Macedonia tandem on September 25. The reason – Skopje refused to fulfill its commitment to changes in the constitution. The requirement for the Republic of North Macedonia is to include the Bulgarian minority among the other minorities mentioned in the country's constitution.

"I have to thank Vladimir Putin, who, due to the brutal offensive war, woke up even the most skeptical and made them see the reality that the Western Balkans are necessary for a stronger EU as much as the EU is necessary for the Western Balkans," commented Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in the beginning of his country's negotiations for EU membership, quoted by the Albanian news agency ATA.

The EU's methodology for the enlargement of the Union from 2021 envisages a negotiation process in six negotiating groups or clusters with a main focus on fundamental reforms in the candidate countries for membership.

The minimum wage in Romania becomes 810 euros

From January 1, 2025, the minimum wage in Romania will increase from 3,700 lei to 4,050 lei (810 euros). The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Tripartite Committee of the Romanian government, trade unions and employers' organizations, Radio Romania International reported. "Thus, the minimum wage in Romania will be equal to 47% of the European one and will correspond to the European directive, which provides for the minimum wage to be from 47% to 52% of the average European salary. The National Block of Trade Unions was not completely satisfied with this increase. For the chairman of the block, Dumitru Kostin "this increase is insufficient and is only a step forward".

During the debates on determining the minimum wage, it was proposed to be 50 or 52%, but in the end, the minimum of 47% was chosen, which the business insisted on. According to Sterike Fudulea from the National Council of Small and Medium Enterprises, also the increase of 350 lei (70 euros) implies a great financial effort on the part of small businesses, especially since this is the second increase in the last 6 months.

For comparison, the proposed minimum wage for Bulgaria from January 1, 2025 will be BGN 1,077 (€550).

Kosovo Serbs can now travel visa-free in the EU

Kosovo Serbs with passports issued by the Coordination Service of Serbia can now travel to EU countries without visas, BTA reported. The visa-free regime for citizens of Kosovo came into force on 1 January 2024. However, this decision excluded citizens with passports issued by Serbia. They were also excluded from the visa liberalization for citizens of Serbia, which entered into force in December 2009. The visa-free regime became possible after the entry into force of the Visa Waiver Regulation on 14 October, published in the Official Journal of the EU on 23 September and mandatory for member countries.

The visa issue was related to Serbia not recognizing the independence of its former province of Kosovo, which was declared in 2008. Kosovo does not recognize Serbian passports issued by the Coordination Office, which it perceives as an illegal institution.

Compiled by Miglena Ivanova

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