Romanians to vote once again for president on May 18

George Simion and Nicusor Dan are the two candidates who will face each other in the runoff of the presidential election in Romania on May 18. Simion, who is candidate of the nationalist party Alliance for the Union of Romanians, won 41% of the vote in the first round on May 4. Independent candidate Nicusor Dan, who is the mayor of Bucharest, collected 21% and overtook the candidate of the ruling coalition, Crin Antonescu. This led to the resignation of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. Deputy Prime Minister Cătălin Predoiu temporarily took the prime minister's position.

The political turmoil led to a collapse in the exchange rate of the national currency - the leu. The National Bank of Romania spent more than 7 billion euros on the interbank market to counteract the decline of the leu.

Greece introduces new personal number system

Greece is introducing a new Personal Number for citizens, which is also mandatory for foreigners living and working in the country. The presidential decree for issuing a personal number has been signed, Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou announced on state television.

In order to avoid administrative errors when issuing state certificates, every Greek receives a 3-digit number with an added code from their tax identification number. For convenience, the new personal number will also be included in the new ID cards, but the documents will not be replaced if they are valid.

When visiting a doctor, for example, Greeks will only show their personal number. It will also be indicated in prescriptions. For any service from a state institution, only this number will be needed. It will be issued automatically and will be indicated in the tax and social security file.

Traffic jams cost Istanbul billions in losses

"Istanbul's heavy traffic, caused by the huge number of cars and the lack of compliance with the rules, costs the Turkish economy up to 7 billion dollars a year," Associate Prof. Selim Dundar of Okan University told Anadolu Agency. According to him, the traffic jam is mainly due to the huge number of cars, which significantly exceeds the capacity of the road network in the metropolis. Drivers’ behaviour, improper parking and violations of traffic regulations are also significant factors.

"Expanding the road network is a temporary solution. Adding lanes makes more people use cars and causes even greater traffic jams. Only investments in the development of public transport and the expansion of the use of bicycles will have a positive effect on reducing traffic," Dundar said.

The European Parliament has adopted a critical report on Serbia's progress towards the EU

The collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy has become a tragic symbol of systemic corruption, nepotism and inadequate control mechanisms. This was what the rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula, wrote in his first report to the European Parliament, N1 TV reported. The report also states that despite some progress in the EU membership negotiations, Serbia still needs to overcome significant obstacles to improve internal political dialogue, needs reforms in the area of ​​the rule of law and the fight against corruption, reaching a comprehensive agreement on the normalization of relations with Kosovo, as well as full compliance with the EU's foreign policy.

Picula said that he wrote the report under conditions that included undiplomatic practices, unfounded accusations and manipulations in the host country, BGNES reports.

Milanovic says in Skopje that there is an alternative for North Macedonia outside the EU

"North Macedonia should not tolerate extortion in exchange for EU membership," Croatian President Zoran Milanović said in Skopje at a press conference with President Gordana Siljanovska, MIA reported. He pointed out that North Macedonia received a lot of advice - from its neighbors, from international diplomacy and the EU, but not all of it was "smart or useful".

“Here I do not intend to argue, nor do I think of your neighboring country Bulgaria, they have their own ideas about how this should look. The rules are clear, consensus is needed, unanimity is required. As long as someone is against, North Macedonia unfortunately cannot progress on that path. The only question is whether this is still the most important thing in this world, or if there are other things that can define the state as a successful and realized community. But here I have no advice, that is your decision,” Milanović said.

Compiled by: Ivo Ivanov

Publication in English: Al. Markov

Photos: BGNES, Facebook /Dimitris Papastergiou, Reuters, toninopicula.com, pretsedatel.mk