The Greek economy will start recovering in the second half of 2011

The Greek economy will start recovering in the second half of 2011 but will require additional austerity measures for 2012, while unemployment is expected to soar to 15 percent next year, the European Commission forecast yesterday in its report on the next two years. The acceleration of structural reform measures and the containment of any salary increases are essential for the country’s financial streamlining, while Brussels believes that the gap in 2010 budget revenues was the main reason behind the prime minister’s decision to take extra austerity measures for 2011.

Greece’s big challenge over the next couple of years will be to return to growth while continuing its effort to reduce its deficit, the Commission estimates in its fall report. The austerity measures will continue to hinder Greek growth into 2011, the year when the country’s gross domestic product is set to decline by 3 percent. However, the first signs of recovery are set to appear in the second half of next year, while the successful implementation of the memorandum signed by Athens and its creditors will gradually restore market confidence in Greece and improve the general mood in the country. Next year will be the third and last one when Greece will be in recession, with 2012 set to see growth of 1.1 percent of gross domestic product. For this year, the Commission expects the recession to deepen to 4.25 percent of GDP, up from the most recent forecast by Greece’s creditors of a 4 percent contraction.

Brussels also expects Greece’s deficit to come to 9.6 percent of GDP (or 22.3 billion euros) in 2010 and to 7.4 percent next year, although in order to achieve the target set by the memorandum for the deficit to come in at 6.5 percent in 2012, the Commission believes that the government will need to take further measures that are not included in the memorandum. Meanwhile, the government announced yesterday an extension until December 28 of the deadline for the settlement of outstanding debts by taxpayers from the years 2000 to 2009.

News source: Ekathimerini link: article

Eurozone 2011 growth to slow amid spending cuts

The euro zone's economy will slow slightly next year as governments cut spending to win back financial market confidence. But private demand should give growth a fresh boost in 2012, the European Commission said on Monday. In its twice-yearly economic forecasts for the 27-nation bloc, the European Union executive said growth in the single currency area would slow to 1.5% in 2011 from 1.7% seen this year, but rebound to 1.8% in 2012. "With private domestic demand as a whole strengthening, the recovery is said to be increasingly self-sustaining over the forecast horizon," Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told a briefing. The main engine of growth in the euro zone will be the biggest economy, Germany, where growth is likely to slow substantially next year from the 3.7% expansion seen in 2010, but still be a respectable 2.2%.

A weaker global economy will cut demand for eurozone exports, but many eurozone governments will also be slashing spending and raising taxes to return public finances to a sustainable path. The aggregated eurozone budget deficit will shrink next year and in 2012, but debt will continue to rise, with that of Belgium and Ireland becoming larger than their annual output, the Commission said. Concern over the ability of Ireland to service its huge debt, which was boosted by government support to the ailing banking sector, has forced Dublin to seek EU financial help and prompted concern Portugal and even Spain could be next. The budget deficit of the countries using the euro will fall to 4.6% of gross domestic product next year from 6.3% expected this year and further to 3.9% in 2012.

Government debt is set to rise to 86.5% of GDP next year from 84.1% in 2010 and increase to 87.8% in 2012. "A determined continuation of fiscal consolidation and frontloaded policies to enhance growth are essential to set a sound basis for sustainable growth and jobs," Rehn said. "The turbulence in sovereign debt markets underlines the need for robust policy action."

News source: EurActiv link: article

Germany assists FYR Macedonia hydropower and wind farms development with 60 million EUR loan

Germany has peldged to help the FYR Macedonia energy market through loans signed this week amounting to 60 million which will be placed though KfW bank. The loans will be used to fund rehabilitation of hydropower plants in Globocica, Tikves Vrutok, Raven, and Vrben Shpilje and the rest to build windmills in Bogdanci.

This a step ahead for the Government towards achieving the set targets for increased use of renewable energy sources, improve energy efficiency and reducing dependence on imported electricity energy said FYR Macedonia's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski after signing the agreements. The project for wind envisions a fleet of wind plants which will reach an annual production of 100 gigawatt hours.Bilateral cooperation between Germany and FYR Macedonia aims to improve economic and social development of FYR Macedonia. Today's event is one step in our joint efforts to improve the lives of citizens in FYR Macedonia, said German Ambassador Knotz. 

News source: Balkans.com link: article

Bosnia: MF Banka raises capital by 30%

The Banja Luka bourse said on Friday that Bosnia's MF Banka has raised its capital by 6.0m marka ($4.1m/3.1m euro) to 26 million marka through a new share issue. The bourse said in a statement on its website the bank's capital was raised through the placement of 60,000 new shares with a par value of 100 marka each and the increased capital is now divided into 260,000 shares of the same par value.

No further details were immediately available.In July, Bosnian microfinance institution Mikrofin bought local Russian-owned bank IEFK Banka. It renamed it to MF Banka in August.

News source: Balkan.com link: article

Consumer price indices, Slovenia, November 2010

In November consumer prices on average 0.3% higher. In November consumer prices increased on average by 0.3%. In the first eleven months of this year they increased by 1.8% (in the same period a year before by 2.3%). On average, goods prices went up by 0.5%, while service prices went down by 0.1%. As regards goods, semi-durable and non-durable goods prices went up by 2.1% and 0.4%, respectively, while durable goods prices went down by 0.7%.

Higher prices of clothing and footwear, food and vegetables. In November higher prices were recorded in these groups: clothing and footwear (by 2.4%), food and non-alcoholic beverages and education (each by 0.9%), communication (by 0.3%), health (by 0.2%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco, furnishing, household equipment and maintenance, and miscellaneous goods and services (each by 0.1%). New lines in stores continued to have an impact on the prices in the group clothing and footwear; the prices of clothing materials increased by 3.0%, of garments by 2.7% and of footwear by 1.9%. The rise in the group food and non-alcoholic beverages was mostly caused by higher prices of vegetables (by 5.7%) and fruit (by 5.1%). On the other hand, prices of bread and cereals and of milk, cheese and eggs dropped the most (each by 0.7%).

In the group education the prices in the subgroup education not definable by level increased by 5.6%, while the prices of pre-primary education and tertiary education remained unchanged. In November prices also grew in the group communication, which can be attributed to the higher prices of telephone and other equipment (by 2.8%). In the group health the prices of pharmaceutical products increased by 0.5%. Higher prices of clothing and footwear pushed the inflation up by 0.2 of a percentage point, vegetables and fruit added 0.1 of a percentage point each as did all other increases together.

Lower prices of package holidays and motor cars. In November lower prices were recorded in these groups: restaurants and hotels (by 0.6%), transport (by 0.3%), recreation and culture (by 0.2%) and housing, water, electricity and other (by 0.1%). In the group restaurants and hotels the prices of accommodation services in hotels decreased the most (on average by 4.0%). As regards transport, the prices of new motor cars and second-hand motor cars went down by 0.9% and 1.8%, respectively. On the other hand, the prices of passenger transport by air went up by 3.1%. In the group recreation and culture the prices of books decreased the most (on average by 2.0%), followed by package holidays with 1.5% and audio-visual, photographic and information processing equipment with 0.8%. On the other hand, the prices of sports equipment and of games, toys and hobbies increased by 6.8% and 2.4%, respectively. The fall in the group housing, water, electricity, gas and other was mostly caused by lower prices of heat energy (3.3%), gas (0.4%) and actual rents for housing (0.3%), while solid fuel prices went up by 2.9%. Lower prices of package holidays and motor cars each pushed the inflation down by 0.1 of a percentage point.

In November 2010 the annual growth of consumer prices was 1.4%, while the 12-month average price growth was slightly lower at 1.8% (in the same period last year 0.9%). The highest annual growth was recorded in the group alcoholic beverages and tobacco (by 8.0%), followed by housing, water, electricity, gas and other (by 7.1%), health (by 4.4%), communication (by 2.8%), food and non-alcoholic beverages (by 1.9%), furnishing, household equipment and maintenance (by 1.8%), education (by 1.3%) and miscellaneous goods and services (by 0.6%). On the other hand, in one year prices decreased only in the groups restaurants and hotels (by 11.0%), transport (by 1.2%) and recreation and culture (by 0.1%). On average the prices of clothing and footwear remained unchanged. In comparison with November last year, goods prices went up by 2.2%, while services prices went down by 0.4%. As regards goods, non-durable and semi-durable goods prices grew by 4.7% and 0.3%, respectively, while durable goods prices decreased by 5.2%.

News source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia link: publication

Golf will be a tourism brand of Montenegro in the future

Judging by the development strategies of golf in Montenegro, prepared by the well known U.S. company Hurdya / Fry Environmental Golf Design, which specializes in building golf courses around the world, golf will be tourism brand of Montenegro in the future, the newspaper Pobjeda reports.

Construction of golf courses in Zagora, Buljarica, Virpazar, Luznice, Vrele, Jelovica, Velika Plaza, Tivat, Grahovo, Danilovgrad and others is planned, i.e. there will be a developed network of golf coursese and golf schools for them. The first course will be ready in 2013.

In fact golf appeared more than 600 years ago. They played golf in Cetinje in the early twentieth century, and apparently golf will be played again in Montenegro.

News source: InvestMontenegro link: article

Romania property fund plans listing in Jan

Romanian investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, which analysts say could offer impressive returns, may be listed on the stock exchange in late January, its manager was quoted as saying. The fund, set up by the government to compensate Romanians whose properties were seized under communism, holds minority stakes in several Romanian companies including energy groups Petrom (SNPP.BX) (OMVV.VI), Transgaz (TGNM.BX) and Transelectrica (TSEL.BX).

"The estimated date of the listing on the Bucharest bourse is January 25," Greg Konieczny, portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton, was quoted as saying by Ziarul Financiar on Tuesday. Proprietatea is seen as a prized asset in eastern Europe, where investors may soon get a chance to snap up bargains in areas such as energy and banking as the region's governments unload assets to rescue their budgets.

The fund, which holds assets worth about 3.2 billion euros, targets a 207 million lei ($63.34 million) net profit next year against 195 million in 2010. The Romanian government holds a 43 percent stake in Fondul Proprietatea. ($1=3.268 Lei)

News source: Reuters link: article

Bulgaria urges fiscal leeway for Nabucco financing

Bulgaria urged the European Union on Tuesday to allow countries in the Nabucco pipeline to write off bank guarantees they are to extend from their fiscal deficits, to show the gas link is a priority for Brussels. "We have always put the Nabucco pipeline as a priority ... But I have many, many remarks on the speed of work and on its actual, real position as a priority for the European Union," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov told an energy forum.

"My proposal is for member states in Nabucco, the bank guarantees that we will give to the European Investment Bank, or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ... to be written off the deficits of these countries," he said. Borisov said if the fiscal leeway was not provided, Bulgaria would be forced to breach the EU's threshold for a deficit of 3.0 percent of gross domestic product. Bulgaria's state company BEH is one of the shareholders in the 7.9 billion euros ($10.39 billion) pipeline, aimed to transport Caspian gas through Turkey and eastern Europe to Austria and cut the continent's dependence on Russian gas.

Other shareholders include Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI), Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE), Hungary's MOL (MOLB.BU), Romania's state-controlled Transgaz TGNM.BX, and Turkey's Botas.

Each shareholder has to provide about 2 billion euros in bank guarantees, the head of the Nabucco consortium, Reinhard Mitschek told reporters on the sidelines of the same forum.

Borisov's offer concerns Bulgaria and Romania, which will have to provide state guarantees for Nabucco. Borisov said Bulgaria would not block the project in case Brussels turned down its request, but said it would be a bad signal to Bulgaria and push it to an excessive budget deficit.

The Balkan country hopes to bring its fiscal deficit to 2.5 percent of GDP next year, after a prolonged recession and hidden deficits piled up by the previous Socialist-led government is likely to push its budget shortfall to 4.6 percent of GDP.

Last week, the spokesman of the Nabucco consortium said the first gas contracts for the Nabucco pipeline should be sealed by the middle of 2011 as gas supply talks with Azerbaijan had intensified.

The pipeline, which competes with Russia's South Stream gas pipeline, is expected to become operational in 2015.

News source: Reuters link: article

EIB opens Western Balkans regional office in Belgrade

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has opened a new regional representation office in Belgrade today. At the official inauguration ceremony the EIB was represented by its President, Philippe Maystadt and Vice-President, Dario Scannapieco who is responsible for operations in the Western Balkans; the Prime Minister, Mirko Cvetković and the Deputy Prime Minister, Bozidar Djelic were present for the occasion. “The opening of this office has significance in two respects today: on the one hand, to increase EIB activity in the region; on the other, to stress the commitment by European institutions to support your countries in joining the European Union” noted EIB President Maystadt. After the opening ceremony, three different loans totalling EUR 325 million were signed:

-Corridor X (E-80) Motorway phase I. EUR 195 million.

Construction of a new 36 km section of motorway on the Pan-European Corridor X in Serbia between Nis and Ciflik. The project is co-financed by the World Bank, EBRD and the Serbian Government.

-Belgrade City Sava Bridge. EUR 90 million.

Second tranche of 90 million of a EUR 160 million approved loan for the construction of access roads to the new Sava Bridge in the Serbian capital Belgrade. The first EUR 70 million tranche was signed last December. The project is co-financed by EBRD and the City of Belgrade.

-EPS electronic meters. EUR 40 million.

The project involves the replacement of around 5% of the existing obsolete electro-mechanic meters by digital meters integrated into a remote reading and connection/disconnection system within Elektroprivreda Srbije. The project is co-financed by EBRD and EPS.

“The EIB is one of the largest investors in the Republic of Serbia and since 2001 has supported projects in private and public sector with around 3 billion EUR. The Bank has financed very important projects in infrastructure, as well as energy but also education and health sector as well as the development of small and medium enterprises. The opening of the EIB regional office in Belgrade will further strengthen the relationship of Serbia and the EIB, while further support of this financial institution will help countries of the Western Balkans in fulfilling their strategic goals such as increase of competitiveness and accession to the EU", the Serbian Prime minister Cvetković said. “The three loans signed this morning confirm that the EIB is close to Serbia, to your municipalities and to the companies active in the region. An efficient infrastructure system is the backbone for the recovery and is essential to improving living conditions and economic standards of the population", noted EIB Vice-President Scannapieco.

“With the opening of its regional office in Belgrade, the European Investment Bank is confirming the clear European path of the Republic of Serbia. Moreover, after years of investing in our road and railway infrastructure, the Bank has now also recognised the goal of Serbia to become a knowledge-based economy. As a result of this, in 2010, the first €200 million for R&D infrastructure and an additional €50 million for education have been approved", noted the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Djelic.

News source: EIB link: article

Prioritise investments to safeguard growth and jobs, ministers say

The EU must prioritise investment in education, training, research (fundamental and applied), development and innovation as well as key technologies if it is to safeguard its sources of future growth and jobs, according to EU research and industry ministers. The recommendation is one of many contained in the conclusions on the 'Innovation Union' initiative issued by participants at the latest Competitiveness Council, which took place in Brussels, Belgium on 25 and 26 November. The Innovation Union is one of a number of flagship initiatives launched under the banner of the Europe 2020 strategy. In their conclusions, the ministers stress : 'Scientific excellence and basic and applied research, supported by world-class infrastructures, life-long learning, training and higher education, in particular in science and engineering, as well as incentives for commercialisation of results, are preconditions for an efficient innovation system.'

In another 'key message', the ministers call on both the EU and Member States to take a 'strategic and integrated approach to innovation', by aligning policies designed to contribute to innovation. In a similar vein, the ministers underline the importance of strengthening the 'knowledge triangle' and facilitating commercialisation and knowledge transfer. At the EU level, the Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (RTD), the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and the Structural Funds should all 'focus more on the priorities of the Europe 2020 strategy'. Access to these funds should also be 'radically simplified' ministers underline. According to the ministers, ensuring access to finance for innovation activities, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be a 'top priority for action'.

Ministers welcome the idea of the European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs), emphasising that these structures should 'provide genuine European added value, address societal challenges, avoid duplications, and be based on flexible, simple and transparent governance associating Member States and relevant stakeholders'. The ministers go on to invite the European Commission to carry on developing the practical aspects of the EIPs, notably with regard to funding, selection criteria, governance, and legal issues. The Commission, Member States and other stakeholders are invited by the ministers to launch a pilot EIP on active and healthy ageing in early 2011. In fact, the European Commission launched a consultation on this very subject on 26 November.

The ministers' conclusions on the Innovation Union end with a roadmap for actions. Among other things, the European Commission will present a communication on standardisation, an eco-innovation plan, a consultation on measures needed to achieve the European Research Area (ERA), and proposals on what is needed to achieve a genuine European Venture Capital Market. Finally, ministers invite the European Commission to start work on the development of an innovation indicator. The indicator, which should be ready by 2012, would help monitor overall progress on innovation performance in all dimensions.

Furthermore, Commission, Member States and others are invited to launch an annual 'innovation convention' in the second half of 2011 and run awareness raising campaigns at the European, national, regional and local levels in order to 'stimulate and innovation mindset'. For their part, Member States are invited to develop strategies to meet their national research and development (R&D) targets and improve the use of the Structural Funds for research and innovation. Elsewhere at the meeting, ministers discussed the issue of a European patent. In a statement, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier said: 'As everyone knows, there is no unanimity in Council on the language regime for the European patent. Several Member States have today indicated their support to move towards enhanced cooperation. As soon as the Commission receives a formal request, we will be ready to take action quickly and seriously.
'We need a European patent. The current system for the patent is too expensive; it costs 10 times more than in the United States. It impedes growth. And it is small and medium sized businesses - genuine sources of dynamism for the future - which are suffering most from it. We thus need to move forward quickly on this issue. The December Competitiveness Council will be the opportunity for this.' 

News source: CORDIS link: article

Croatia may wrap up EU accession talks in June 2011

The European Commission said in Brussels on Monday for the first time that Croatia could wrap up EU accession negotiations towards the end of the first half of 2011. If all criteria are met, the negotiations could be wrapped up by June 2011, during Hungary's European Union presidency, said Alexandra Cas Granje, director for accession candidates at the European Commission's Enlargement Directorate General. Speaking at a meeting of the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee, which began in Brussels on Monday afternoon, Granje outlined the possible pace at which the remaining negotiation chapters could be closed.

At the next accession conference, scheduled for December 22, Croatia could close three chapters - "Justice, Freedom and Security", "Environment" and "Foreign, Security and Defence Policy". The European Commission has already confirmed that Croatia has met all the closing benchmarks for the "Environment" chapter and on Monday this was also confirmed for "Justice, Freedom and Security" and "Foreign, Security and Defence Policy". The Commission has forwarded the chapters to Council of the EU working bodies, which have to greenlight the closing. Regarding the "Judiciary and Fundamental Rights" chapter, one of the most difficult, she said the Commission would likely release a provisional report on Croatia's compliance with the closing benchmarks on March 11, at which point it would be clearer when the chapter could be wrapped up.

Granje warned of the criteria that must be met for the closing of the "Judiciary and Fundamental Rights" chapter, including cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal, which involves providing the court with missing military documents from the 1990s. Zagreb has to close six policy chapters next year. It has met the closing benchmarks for the "Fisheries" chapter but the EU must respond to Croatia's request for a transitional period and to Slovenia's request regarding traditional fishermen's rights. Granje said those elements were under discussion and that "Fisheries" could be ready for closing early next year. The closing of the "Competition Policy" chapter will depend on restructuring plans for the country's shipyards. Granje said the Commission had received plans for three shipyards and that they were being examined.

News source: BalkanInsight link: article

Euro area unemployment rate at 10.1% EU27 at 9.6%

The euro area(EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.1% in October 2010, compared with 10.0% in September. It was 9.9% in October 2009. The EU271 unemployment rate was 9.6% in October 2010, unchanged compared with September. It was 9.4% in October 2009.Eurostat estimates that 23.151 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.947 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in October 2010. Compared with September, the number of persons unemployed increased by 84 000 in the EU27 and by 80 000 in the euro area. Compared with October 2009, unemployment rose by 0.590 million in the EU27 and by 0.402 million in the euro area.

These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (4.4%), Austria (4.8%) and Luxembourg (5.0%), and the highest in Spain (20.7%), Latvia (19.4% in the second quarter of 2010) and Lithuania (18.4% in the third quarter of 2010).Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in eight Member States and increased in nineteen. The largest falls were observed in Germany (7.5% to 6.7%), Malta (6.9% to 6.2%), Sweden (8.8% to 8.1%) and Finland (8.7% to 8.0%). The highest increases were registered in Lithuania (14.4% to 18.4% between the third quarters of 2009 and 2010), Greece (9.2% to 12.2% between the second quarters of 2009 and 2010) and Latvia (16.5% to 19.4% between the second quarters of 2009 and 2010).

Between October 2009 and October 2010, the unemployment rate for males rose from 9.8% to 9.9% in the euro area and from 9.5% to 9.6% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 9.9% to 10.3% in the euro area and from 9.2% to 9.6% in the EU27. In October 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 20.1% in the euro area and 20.4% in the EU27. In October 2009 it was 20.2% and 20.6% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in Germany and the Netherlands (both 8.5%) and Austria (9.8%), and the highest rates in Spain (43.2%), Lithuania (35.3% in the third quarter of 2010) and Latvia (34.0% in the second quarter of 2010). In the USA, the unemployment rate was 9.6% in October 2010. In Japan it was 5.0% in September 2010. 

News source: Eurostat link: article

Raiffeisen allowed to buy Bulgaria's Mall Varna

Bulgaria's Competition Protection Commission has approved the request of Austria's biggest banking group, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Austria AG to buy out the Mall Varna shopping and office center in the Black Sea city of Varna. Raiffeisenbank will thus go ahead with the purchase 100% of Miller Mall Varna One EAD, headquartered in Sofia. RZB is the owner of Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria, which owns Raiffeisen Real Estate. Raiffeisenbank Austria AG is a holding company of the Raiffeisenbank Group, which owns Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria EAD.

Miller Mall Varna One EAD manages the commercial and entertainment center known as Mall Varna. Raiffeisenbank approached the Competition Protection Commission over the deal at the beginning of October 2010. The competition watchdog has now ruled that there is "neither horizontal, nor vertical connection between the activities of the two parties," which will therefore generate no changes in the market situation of the participants after the deal is carried out. The Commission believes that the purchase will not affect the efficient market competition in the respective sector. The sum that Raiffeisenbank will pay to acquire Mall Varna's owner has not been revealed. Mall Varna was constructed by the Bulgarian Interservice Uzunovi Jsc and opened in the summer of 2008. Shortly after it was acquired by the Scottish Miller Developments, a subsidiary of Miller Group.

The price of EUR 120 M was record-high for the purchase of a commercial center in Bulgaria at the time. This was also the second largest real estate deal in the country. Bulgaria ranks first in the European Union in the number of new shopping malls in the first half of the 2010, according to a report by Cushman and Wakefield consultancy. While in most EU member-states the number of malls is on the slide due to the global economic crisis, their construction has accelerated in Bulgaria, marking a nearly 90% increase over one year. A similar trend is also witnessed in other Balkan states - Bosnia&Herzegovina, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia - but the growth rate there is 5-10%.

The stock of contemporary shopping mall space in Bulgaria doubled in the first six months of 2010 with the opening of five new shopping malls, reaching 452 000 sqm in total, according to a recent realtor report. Another five shopping mall projects are expected to open until the end of 2010, which will add 126 000 sqm of contemporary stock to the market, according to Colliers International's retail market overview for the first half of 2010 in Bulgaria. Mall Varna was the first major shopping mall to open doors in Bulgaria's Varna. At the time of its opening it became the largest shopping mall in Bulgaria, with a total all-out build-up area of 70 000 square meters. Two similarly giant malls opened doors in Varna subsequently – Grand Mall Varna, and Varna Towers.

News source: Novinite.com link: article

Montenegro tourists mainly came from Serbia, Russia and EU

Eighty two percent of questionnaired toursists are wiling to come back to Montenegro - stated Predrag Nenezic, Minister of Tourism According to the questionnaire done by National Tourism Organisation between 80 and 90% of tourists were satisfied with their stay in Montenegro. 

Government stated that tourist season was well prepared and fulfilled expecations. Total revenue for nine months of 2010 was equal to 617,3 million of Euros. Very important indicator is that number of tourists on the north of the country increased by 20%. Structure of tourists was: 30% from Serbia, 21% from Russia and former Soviet Union countries, 24% from European Union, 14% ex Yugoslav countries without Slovenia and 11% from other European and nonEuropean countries.

News source: Balkans.com link: article

Albania welcomes Serbian business and investment

The Serbian business will be welcomed like any other investor and will find support and guarantees required by the Albanian state. “Albania and Serbia are waiting the signing of several agreements that will guarantee the relationship further economic growth.

On the other hand, the head of Economy stated that the legal framework will be made to all amendments to ensure business ventures and investment between both sides” said the Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy, Ilir Meta, during a meeting with Serbian business, in the activity "The Day of Economy of Serbia". He ensured that the Albanian government will give full support to foreign investors, including Serbs, as the future of the Balkans is that of cooperation and business knows this better than anyone reports

News source: Balkans.com link: article

LJSE introducing Xetra Trading Platform on 6 December

The introduction of the platform is one of the most important strategic goals in the integration of the Slovenian market into international capital markets, Ljubljanska borza said in a press release. Xetra is used by more than 250 financial firms with more than 4,800 stock brokers. Investors access the system directly from 18 countries in Europe and the Middle East. It is also an optimal platform for the CEE Stock Exchange Group, of which the LJSE is a member, while the creation of a single trading platform is of key importance for development and integration of markets, according to Ljubljanska borza.

Xetra is expected to boost the interest of international investment firms and banks in Slovenian stocks, attract new foreign portfolio investors, enable trading of new financial products and help LJSE members enter new markets. As part of its adoption of Xetra, the LJSE introduced new rules as of Saturday. The main change is the adoption of closing price as the official share price. Additionally, closing auctions, which accumulate supply and demand, are being introduced to improve the formation of the closing price. According to Ljubljanska borza, which is owned by the Vienna Stock Exchange, the closing price is a much better indicator of end-of-day market situation and future trading than the average price, currently used by the LJSE as the official price.

The Vienna-based Raiffeisen Centrobank (RCB) became a LJSE member today, and the bank is expected to be listed soon after the introduction of Xetra. Ljubljanska borza boss Andrej Sketa said some other major international banks are expected to join the LJSE by year's end.

News source: Invest Slovenia link: article

Croatian railways plan new infrastructure renewal projects for next year

The Croatian Railways Infrastructure company is preparing additional infrastructure modernisation projects estimated to cost several hundreds of millions of Euros, for next year. The first two of three contracts regarding the performance and supervision of the projects has been signed with the consortium made up of Austrian company Siemens AG Österreich, Zagreb firm Elektrokem d.o.o. and Spanish company Tecnic y proyests SA.

The works are expected to start in the first half of 2011 and  will last through to the end of 2012, the daily Vecernji List writes. The company's CEO Branimir Jerneic disclosed the plans during the visit of the European Commissioner for Enlargement Stephan Fuele. Fuele visited Zagreb’s main railway station where a 12.6-million project financed by European Union pre-accession funds is underway.

He was accompanied by representatives from Croatian Railways Infrastructure, which is working on updating the safety-signaling equipment system at the station. Jerneic explained that the renewal of signaling on Zagreb's main railway station is one of the most complex technical operations, expected to lessen the impact of bottlenecks in long-distance traffic on the Pan-European Corridor X. This should decrease the travel time of passenger trains, benefiting some 90,000 people that use the railways on a daily basis.

News source: Croatiantimes.com link: article

Illyrian Airways to launch flights

A new Priština and Skopje based airline, Illyrian Airways, will commence scheduled flights from December 18 to several Italian cities. The airline recently received a Boeing B737-300 and an Embraer E145 jet, with which it will operate its initial route network. The airline also plans to introduce a Boeing B737-500 and another E145 at a later stage.

Illyrian Airways will inaugurate services with flights from Priština to Brescia and Treviso in Italy and from Skopje to Treviso on December 18. On December 24, the airline will commence flights from its two bases to Rome. On December 24, Illyrian Airways anticipates to launch 1 weekly flight to Antalya. Most other flights will operate twice per week.

Yesterday, Illyrian Airways arranged a promotional flight between Priština and the Albanian capital Tirana. Whether Illyrian Airways will be successful or not remains to be seen. Several previous airlines based in Priština, such as Kosova Airlines and Air Prishtina, suspended services over the past few years.

News source: EX-YU Aviation link: article

Serbian Railways introduces new Balkan Flexipass offer

Serbian Railways starting Dec. 12 will introduce Balkan Flexipass offer which allows rail travelling in seven Southeast European countries in seven days in a one month period.

The first class ticket for youth under 26 years of age will cost EUR 94, for adults EUR 158 and for older above 60 will cost EUR 125.

Balkan Flexipass offers unlimited First Class Rail travel in the following countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania and Turkey. Choice of 5, 10, or 15 days of unlimited train travel in a one-month period.

News source: EMG.rs link: article

American mobile buys Telekom Srbije tender documentation

American Mobile has purchased the tender documentation required for participating in a tender for purchasing Telekom Srbija shares, BETA learned on Nov. 27 from sources in the government. American Mobile is a U.S. company owned by the world's richest man Carlos Slim, whose fortune is estimated to be worth $83 billion.

American Mobile is run by the Slim family and AT&T, the U.S.'s biggest telephone company. Slim owns 45 percent of the company, AT&T owns 25 percent, while the rest is owned by minors shareholders and one fund. American Mobile is a massive corporation with over 211 million mobile telephone and 25 million stationary telephone subscribers.

According to BETA's information, the Greek OTE telecommunications company will definately sell its 20 percent stake in Telekom Srbije. The decision will officially be disclosed by year-end. The Serbian government cited "enormous interest" on Nov. 26 as the reason for extending the deadline for purchasing the tender documentation for Telekom Srbije to Dec. 10. The papers have so far been purchased by Telekom Austria, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom.

News source: EMG.rs link: article

November 2010: Economic Sentiment is gaining further momentum

A majority of Member States reported either improvement or stabilisation in sentiment. Among the seven largest Member States, Germany registered the most significant increase (+2.8), followed by Italy (+1.4). Improvement was less pronounced in the UK (+0.5) and in the Netherlands (+0.4), while sentiment remained broadly stable in Spain, Poland and France. In Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands the ESI is above its long-term average. 

Sentiment in services, which increased markedly by 2.1 in the euro area and by 3.0 in the EU, was the main contributor to the overall improvement. Most respondents in this sector reported brighter assessments of demand and business situation over the past three months. Confidence in industry improved by 0.9 points in the euro area and by 0.7 points in the EU, mainly driven by buoyant German industry. Gains in industrial confidence in the euro area reflected improvements in order books and production expectations. Export orders books have also become more upbeat, in both the EU and the euro area. 

As indicated in the flash estimate released on 22 November, confidence among consumers gained momentum in the euro area (+1.5), while it increased only marginally in the EU (+0.5). Increased optimism about the general economic situation and a significant easing of unemployment fears in Germany contributed to the overall improvement. Sentiment in the retail sector decreased by 0.7 point in the EU and remained broadly unchanged in the euro area (-0.4). After improvements in September and October, sentiment in construction set back in both regions (-0.9 the EU and -1.0 in the euro area), mainly owing to sizeable negative readings in Spain.

Confidence in financial services –not included in the ESI– rebounded after two consecutive drops in both the EU and the euro area (+2.6 and +1.9 points respectively).

According to the six-monthly industrial investment survey, which was carried out in October and November of 2010, managers expect to increase their investment volumes by 4% in the EU and by 2% in the euro area in 2011 as compared to investment in 2010.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

Greece gets bailout repayment extension - finmin

Greece will have until 2021 to repay its 110 billion euro ($145.7 billion) EU/IMF bailout loan, the country's finance minister said on Monday. n return, Greece will have to pay a higher fixed interest rate of about 5.8 percent from 5.5 percent, George Papaconstantinou told reporters.
"The decision is very important, it opens the way to return to markets earlier than expected," he said.

News source: Reuters link: article

EU-funded mathematicians piece together radio frequency design puzzle

Scientists in Europe have pooled their knowledge and ideas to develop and deploy integrated simulation algorithms and prototype tools to overcome the barriers in both existing and future radio frequency design flows. The result is part of the ICESTARS ('Integrated circuit/EM simulation and design technologies for advanced radio systems-on-chip') project, which is funded under the 'Information and communication technologies' (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to the tune of EUR 2.8 million. RFIC (integrated circuits for radio frequency) design is currently integrated with digital and analogue modules on the same die, posing severe challenges to existing simulation tools. Driven by the market demand for higher bandwidth and more end-product capability, radio frequency designs are moving into higher frequency ranges and growing in complexity.

The processes to develop both electronic design automation (EDA) and computer aided design (CAD) - indispensable to design integrated circuits for radio frequency design - and their underlying mathematics are themselves complex. Solutions to these problems therefore need new modelling approaches, new mathematical solution procedures and numerical simulations with mixed analogue and digital signals. That is where ICESTARS, a consortium of five leading European mathematical institutes, two semiconductor companies and two software providers, stepped in. 'Advancing radio frequency design in super high and extremely high frequencies necessitates new transceiver architectures and CAD tools as today's EDA tools are functionally not adequately addressing the simulation challenges of high-frequency designs,' said Jan ter Maten from NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch semiconductor company and ICESTARS partner.

'The project's research areas have been the efficient connection between the frequency domain, where the radio frequency part of wireless transceiver systems is usually designed, and the time domain, where the digital signal processing and control logic are developed,' he explained, adding that 'in electromagnetic (EM) analysis and coupled EM circuit analysis we deal with the 'communication' of the physical layer (such as mapping of devices) and the mathematical one'. The team used modified algorithms to tackle these issues. Mathematical equations, such as ordinary differential equations (ODEs), differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) and partial differential-algebraic equations (PDAEs), are the basis of time- and frequency-domain analyses.

However, the researchers modified these to cover extended functionalities to develop new algorithms to meet the simulation demands of circuits operating in frequency beyond 3 Gigahertz (GHz). For example, when it comes to the mutual simulation of digital and analogue radio frequency parts, standard time-domain techniques alone are far from sufficient. Therefore, the ICESTARS partners developed and successfully tested a prototype of adaptive wavelet-based analysis, an entirely new circuit simulation algorithm. In circuit-envelope simulation, input waveforms are represented as radio frequency carriers with modulation envelopes. By embedding the system of DAEs into partial DAEs the project succeeded in formulating a general mathematical framework that can be adapted to different classes of radio frequency circuits. An optimal dynamic time splitting allows efficient simulation of frequency or amplitude modulated signals.

Adaptivity - the dynamic simulator adjustment to the frequency response of, for instance, amplifiers, filters or mixers, in terms of network parameters or frequency-dependent noise - was core to the frequency-domain research in the project. The researchers achieved reasonable estimates for the initial conditions for distortion analysis of free-running oscillators, and for the first time, in ICESTARS, a truly generic multi-device, a so-called VoHB algorithm, was coded and tested for circuits that are larger than plain single-transistor power amplifiers. To prove that these and other concepts dreamed up by the researchers worked, they have been put to the test successfully by the industrial partners and Upper Austria University.

News source: CORDIS link: article

Macedonia's high property prices refuse to come down

The global financial crisis and the country’s political stalemate have not reversed the steady climb in real estate prices. A square metre in a flat in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, still sells for between 1,000 and 1,500 euro, statistics show, making purchase of a home for people on average salaries of about 330 euro a month almost impossible. Real estate agencies say prices of flats are staying high in Macedonia, despite the sluggish demand. "We're having hard time selling flats and houses because only those who have to buy are actually deciding to buy," Marija Todorova, from the Avenija real estate agency, told Balkan Insight. "The rest are waiting for prices to drop."

The agency said that only small flats of below 50 square metres sold relatively well, because many people cannot afford anything bigger. Real estate prices jumped two years ago on the eve of the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania. In expectation of joining the Alliance at the summit, confidence grew in the country and real estate prices soared accordingly. However, prices failed to come back down after Macedonia left the NATO summit empty-handed because of its unresolved dispute with neighbouring Greece over its name, which Athens objects to.

Even the global financial crisis has not dampened prices. Data from Macedonia’s Chamber of Commerce show they have continued to grow, albeit slowly. The Ministry of Transport, in charge of financing social housing, hopes to reduce real estate prices by offering more state-built apartments. This month, authorities began construction of a new complex of social housing in the capital, comprising 14 new buildings. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Minister Mile Janakieski expressed hopes that the increased availability of social housing “will dampen average prices and so eventually make housing available to the broader population".

Some construction companies say they have to keep prices of private homes high because building materials are more expensive than they were. "The price of iron, concrete, plaster and other materials is relatively high on world markets, which has increased our construction costs and dictates the [high] prices," Naum Sotirov, a construction engineer for one local construction company, told Balkan Insight. The daily "Utrinski Vesnik" has calculated that it would take 155 average salaries, or 13 years' worth of salaries, for a worker on average pay to amass the 52,000 euro needed to buy an apartment of 60 square metres.

News source: BalkanInsight link: article

Delays put Kosovo bank loan at risk

Parliament's failure to agree to a 20-million-dollar aid package from the World Bank could mean time runs out on the deal. The World Bank has told Balkan Insight that if Kosovo does not ratify its $20-million [15-million-euro] package soon, it risks losing it. The funds, agreed earlier this year by the Bank’s board, include $12 million to modernize the outdated land registry system and a further $12 million, [nearly 9 million euro], for bringing other areas of the public sector up to date. Despite a number of discussions in parliament on the issue, the funds, which include a $9 million, [6.75 million euro], grant and $11 million, [8.25 million euro], soft loan, was not approved by parliament, which was dissolved earlier this month ahead of December’s general elections. It could be several months before a new government is formed.


Laura Kullenberg, senior operations officer at the World Bank's Kosovo Office, told Balkan Insight that countries have 18 months from when the deal is approved to ratify the funds. In Kosovo’s case this happened in February 2009. “In many member countries, including Kosovo, financial agreements for World Bank credit-funded operations must, by law, be approved by national parliaments," she said. “Since Kosovo became a member of the World Bank in June 2009, the Bank’s Board of Directors has approved three operations: two investment operations - Real Estate and Cadastre Registration Project, RECAP, and the Public Sector Modernization Project, PSMP, and one budget support operation, SEDPP.


"The Bank hopes these operations are ratified by parliament as soon as possible, so the country can begin to receive the resources and benefits provided by those operations. "If the Bank operations are not ratified within a certain time period the country risks losing the funds." Muharrem Shahini, from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, told Balkan Insight that the funds will be approved when the time was right. "The World Bank loan will be approved by parliament ... at an appropriate moment," he said. “There is no reason for the loan not to be approved, because it is in the citizens’ interest," he said. ”Officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance said that land registry has a huge need for financial investment, which will lead to an improvement in the business environment. This funding will accelerate development and improve the business environment," Shahini added.


Haki Shatri, former Minister of Economy and Finance and an assembly member for the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, said that while he supported extra funds for the cadastral office, he feared money given for "public sector modernisation" could disappear into the government’s accounts. Muhamet Mustafa, head of the Riinvest Institute, said the Ministry of Economy and Finance was to blame for the delay as they had not explained the importance of the grant to parliament.

News source: BalkanInsight link: article

Sibiu – Urban Transport Project – Phase II Upgrade and refurbishment of streets along public transport routes

The City of Sibiu (the “City” or “Sibiu”) has applied for a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) of EUR 11.5 million to upgrade and refurbish streets mainly located along public transport routes in the City and the construction of a new bridge. The proposed project has an estimated total cost of EUR 14.07 million, and is intended to be financed by the loan from the EBRD and the city of Sibiu.
The investment programme will be implemented over 3 years and require the procurement of works for refurbishment of 34 streets and the construction of a bridge.

Contracts to be financed with the proceeds of a loan from the EBRD will be tendered in accordance with the EBRD’s Procurement Policies and Rules and will be open to firms from any country. The proceeds of the EBRD loan will not be used for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations or under a law or official regulation of the Purchaser’s country.

News source: EBRD link: article

Over 200 million euros invested in housing developments in Romanian Titan so far

Titan district has seen more than 200 million euros invested in homes. Developers have managed to sell about 80% of them. Titan has been one of Bucharest's most sought after districts of by real estate developers, as well as by customers in the last few years, so around 80% of the homes completed between 2007 and 2010 in eastern Bucharest have been sold, according to a ZF analysis.


Smaller projects, such as Swiss Cottage (102 apartments), Titanium (73 apartments) and Siriului Residence (63 apartments) were fully sold, while in bigger complexes, completed more recently, around 600 apartments are still available. In the Pallady Towers complex, around 150 apartments of the 216 completed in the first two blocks of apartments have yet to be sold, in Citadella Titan 136 out of 224 are still available, while in the Armonia project, Adama has sold 60% of the 262 finalised apartments, so around 100 are still unsold.

News source: ZF English link: article

Investors demand faster regulatory change in Serbia

The Government should be more concrete and efficient in the implementation of regulatory change, and encourage open dialogue with the private sector, especially until full economic recovery, concluded members of the Board of Governors of American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia (AmCham) at today’s meeting with media representatives, conveying recommendations for improvement of the current business environment.

Representatives of the largest foreign investors and domestic companies summarized key issues which need to be improved in order to enhance the investment climate. „The Government must cultivate modern labor relations, eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy, and improve implementation of new construction regulations. In order to improve the healthcare sector, higher procedural transparency and creation of framework for Public-Private Partnership are needed. For better business climate, government officials must speed up the regulatory reform,” stated Skip Bornhuetter, President of AmCham.

In addition, AmCham companies are advocating stopping of proliferation of “earmarked taxes” and hike in local charges, stating that this can significantly decrease predictability and transparency of otherwise favorable tax system in Serbia. Investors say that it is necessary to express firm political will to ensure respect of intellectual property, appealing to the implementation of a stricter penalty policy against those who breach intellectual rights, consistent enforcement of the existing laws and adoption of the Law on Optical Discs.

Finally, AmCham’s Members of Board of Governors reiterated appeal for faster implementation of the Guillotine of Regulations project and measures of the National Competitiveness Council, and underlined necessity to adopt the Law on Capital Markets and finalise the Draft of the Foreign Exchange Law.

News source: EMG.rs link: article

B&H delays Amsterdam launch

B&H Airlines has delayed the launch of its much publicised Sarajevo – Amsterdam service. The flights, which were supposed to be inaugurated on December 02, have been deferred until December 16. Flight times have not been altered. However, the Bosnian national carrier will operate the service every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday instead of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The route will operate with an Airbus A319. All flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.

Bookings for the new route have been going well in the lead up to the holiday season. Schengen zone visa restrictions for Bosnian passport holders will come to an end on December 15, which could be one of the reasons for the delay, although no official word has been given as for the reason behind the deferral. B&H is no stranger to cancelations and delays.

News source: EX-YU Aviation link: article

FYROM: Credit growth rate is expected to accelerate to 9.4% in 2010

Credit growth in Macedonia is expected to spike in 2010 and 2011 as local lenders step up their product launches. The country's credit growth rate is expected to accelerate to 9.4% in 2010 as the banks' loan portfolio has already risen by an annual 7.7% to 188.6bn denars ($4.1bn/3.1bn euro) at the end of the third quarter, the Macedonian National Bank, NBRM, said earlier this month.

The loan portfolio of domestic banks grew by only 3.5% in 2009 to 178.2bn denars after a torrid 34.4% growth in 2008. The acceleration of the pace of lending after last year's slowdown is spurred by expectations for higher deposit levels and increased demand for loans, NBRM said in its 2011 macroeconomic forecast.

The central bank has forecast a credit growth of 12.1% for 2011, based on an outlook for improved macroeconomic conditions, higher consumption and lower lending risk.

New loans will be financed mainly by the increase in deposit volumes whereas the rise in private sector deposits is fuelled by the pick-up in economic activity, the central bank said.

Deposits with Macedonian banks rose by 14.4% on the year to 203.6bn denars at the end of September.

At the same time, NBRM expects the country's economy to grow by 2.0%-3.0% in 2011 after it projected a growth of 0.6% for this year. A total of eighteen banks operate in Macedonia, a country of 2m people.

Some of the mid-sized players are raising the ante in the competition with their brawnier rivals by launching new loan products while others have cut interest rates and raised deposit rates in a bid to attract clients and improve their market position.

Earlier this month, Izvozna i Kreditna Banka (IK Banka) signed a 5m euro loan agreement with the Green for Growth Fund Southeast Europe for energy efficiency projects. It makes IK Banka the first bank in Macedonia to sign a loan with GGF and the first to offer household loans for such projects.

These types of loans were previously not available or were accessible only for large companies, IK Banka's chief executive director Yucel Inan said at the signing ceremony. We have increased our lending activity in 2010 and we will continue to provide new and sophisticated offers to our clients in all segments," Inan said.

IK Banka is majority-owned by Netherlands-based Demir-Halk Bank. Sparkasse Banka Makedonija, part of Austria's Steiermarkische Bank und Sparkassen, recently launched a new loan product aimed at the farming sector.

The size of the loans ranges between 100,000 and 700,000 euro. The interest rate for loans with a foreign currency clause varies between 4.0%-5.0% while for loans denominated in euro and denars the rates are set at 8.45% and 13%, respectively. The repayment period is up to seven years with a three-year grace period.

Going forward, loan conditions will be eased while lending support for the economy will strengthen, Sparkasse Banka managing board president Srgjan Krstic told Skopje-based daily Utrinski Vesnik in a recent interview.

This is noticeable in the increased supply and demand for loans, lower risk in the real economy and stronger competition among banks attempting to raise their market share, he told Utrinski Vesnik.Skopje-based ProCredit Bank recently cut the interest rates of loans for micro businesses by 1.0%-5.0% and extended the repayment period to 60 months in a bid to support their growth, the bank's general director Jovanka Joleska Popovska said in a statement sent to SeeNews. In an attempt to boost its deposit base, one of the country's smaller lenders, Univerzalna Investiciona Banka, is offering an interest rate of 8.88% for one-year time deposits, much higher than its bigger rivals. At the same time, the three biggest banks in Macedonia, Komercijalna Banka, Stopanska Banka and NLB Tutunska Banka, offer one-year time deposits in the local currency at rates of 7.3%, 7.2% and 7.2%, respectively.One-year time deposits in euro at Komercijalna, Stopanska and NLB are offered at rates of 4.0%,4.85% and 4.0%, respectively.

News source: Balkans.com link: article

Erste Group Croatian Unit To Lend 1.3 Bln Kuna to Croatian Water Management Co

Croatia's Erste&Steiermaerkische Bank (ESB), part of Austria's Erste Group, said on Wednesday it will lend 1.3 billion kuna ($234 million/176 million euro) to Hrvatske Vode water management company. The funds will be used in capital investments in the area of water damage, water supply and waste water treatment, the bank said in a statement. Earlier this month, the Croatian government issued a state guarantee for the Hrvatske Vode to borrow 1.03 billion kuna from ESB.

News source: Waterwold link: article

UNECE launches Joint Wood Energy Enquiry

The UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section is launching the Joint Wood Energy Enquiry for the UNECE region for the reference year 2009. Wood energy statistics are often scattered among different entities and concealed within statistics on energy from renewables and waste. The Enquiry aims to shed light on the real role of wood energy within the region by promoting cross-sectoral communication and cooperation between the energy and forestry sectors in the member States.The Enquiry offers a unique framework for assessing wood energy flows in member States. It provides specific information on the origin (fresh fibres, co-product and wood waste) and amount of wood energy used by different clients (households, commercial power and heat generation, forest-based industries and services). This knowledge allows decision makers to enhance socio-economic welfare by reducing conflicts between energy and material use at an early stage.
The third of its kind, the Enquiry is a reference source of information on wood energy, drawing responses from an increasing number of countries. National correspondents acting as focal points are coordinating a complete response for their countries by January 2011.

Past enquiries conducted for the reference years 2005 and 2007 confirmed the position of wood as the principal source of renewable energy in the UNECE region, accounting for over half of all renewable energy consumption. Between 2005 and 2007, wood energy use in responding countries grew annually by 3.5%. Private households are the biggest users of wood energy – a situation that is expected to continue. In addition, the use of wood for commercial power and heat generation has developed strongly, showing annual growth of more than 18% between 2005 and 2007. There has also been a marked change in the types of fuel used by private households, particularly in EU/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, with “traditional” fuels, such as round and split logs losing market share to “modern” wood fuel such as wood chips, wood pellets and briquettes.The Enquiry has been developed in close collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Commission (EC). It is fully compatible with international energy and forestry statistics.

News source: UNECE link: article

Greece's NBG has credit lines of 5.5 bln euros

National Bank (NBGr.AT), Greece's biggest lender, has increased credit lines with foreign lenders, as it strives to regain full access to the interbank market, which it lost because of the country's debt crisis.
"We opened interbank lines exceeding 5.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion)," chief executive Apostolos Tamvakakis told shareholders on Friday. Earlier this month, an NBG official had said the group had repo lines of up to 4.7 billion euros with maturities up to 12 months, and would continue an effort to broaden funding sources.This signalled improved access to the wholesale funding markets which shut their doors to Greek lenders in the wake of the crisis, forcing banks to turn to the European Central Bank for funding. Greek banks had to use the ECB as lender of last resort for liquidity, using Greek government bonds and guarantees as collateral.
Latest data showed ECB lending to Greek banks dropped 1.7 percent month-on-month to 94.3 billion euros in September.

In October, NBG strengthened its balance sheet via a 1.8 billion euro rights issue. It is also eyeing proceeds of another billion from the planned sale of a 20 percent stake in Turkish unit Finansbank in early 2011.
"After the sale of the Finansbank stake, the capital adequacy ratio will be between 14.5 and 15 percent, one of the highest in Europe," Tamvakakis said. NBG passed a European stress test in July, scoring a Tier 1 capital ratio of 7.4 percent under an extreme scenario simulation. EFG Eurobank, the country's second-largest lender which also passed the July stress test, said earlier this month it had repo lines totaling 4.0 billion euros with foreign lenders, having used 3.0 billion to fund its non-Greek bond portfolio

News source: Reuters link: article

Sofia risks losing Russian support for nuclear plant

Bulgaria has until spring to decide on its participation in the Belene Nuclear Power Plant or risk losing Russian support for the project, a top nuclear official in Moscow said Thursday. Sergey Kiriyenko, CEO of the Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, told Bulgarian media that if the deadline is not met, the Russian contractor on the project, Atomstroyexport, will redirect the equipment for the Belene NPP to another nuclear project and Moscow will refuse to become a shareholder in the Bulgarian plant. The future of the nuclear plant has been unclear since Bulgaria’s new government came into office in July 2009. The new cabinet moved to put the project on hold, reassessing the costs and potential benefits to the country. The project was frozen when several months later a key German investor, RWE, withdrew.

Since then, Sofia has been courting investors and debating the role that it plans to take in the plant.
Kiriyenko explained that Moscow demanded a 30-40 per cent stake in the project and would not agree to less than 25 per cent, during negotiations between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Bulgarian officials earlier this month. He added that there is still a chance that Belene NPP will not be realised, particularly if Moscow and Sofia are not able to agree on a price.

“Russia will not lower the Belene NPP price to €5 billion, as demanded by the Bulgarian government,” the Rosatom CEO said. He noted that the real price of the plant is at least €6.7 billion, but was lowered to €6.4 billion during the bilateral negotiations. “If Russia makes any more compromises in this direction, the project would be built at a loss,” Kiriyenko said. Explaining that the Belene has made progress and its equipment is ready, Kiriyenko warned that if Sofia delayed its decision on the project until after spring of 2011, the equipment would be given to another country – China or Turkey, and Bulgaria will have to pay much more if it reordered later.

“I am convinced of the profitability of the Belene project and we are ready to become 100 per cent shareholders in it, but I am not sure we will be allowed to,” he said, adding: "Negotiating with the Bulgarian government is very difficult. This is why there is a risk.” Kiriyenko will visit Sofia on November 30 to meet with Borisov and continue the negotiations about Belene NPP. The two are expected to discuss the exact price for the construction of the plant.

News source: BalkanInsight link: article