March, 2009

• 12 March

  Serbia needs $2.0 bn for ’09 alone from IMF

  BELGRADE, March 12  – Serbia will need $2.0 billion from the International Monetary Fund for 2009 alone and a new three-year loan deal with the lender would mean a lot more money to maintain stability, the central bank governor said on Thursday. In a live interview with B92 radio, governor …

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• 12 March

  World Bank official: Croatia behaves relatively well in economic crisis

  Croatia was behaving relatively well in the present global economic crisis, unlike some other countries in the region that have been hit hard, a senior official of the World Bank said on Wednesday. Shigeo Katsu, World Bank vice president for Europe and Central Asia, said that this was partly thanks …

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• 12 March

  Russia seeks to extend lease agreement for Azerbaijan radar

  BAKU, March 12 – Russia’s foreign minister told his Azerbaijani counterpart on Thursday that Russia wants to continue using the Gabala early-warning radar after the current lease expires in 2012. “Russia is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in using the Gabala radar station, and will seek appropriate agreements with our …

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• 12 March

  EU observers ask to stay in Georgia as Russia digs in

  Brussels – The European Union should be ready to keep some 250 observers in Georgia’s war-torn areas far beyond the autumn as Russia is blocking other international missions, the head of the EU observation team warned Thursday. At a meeting with EU ambassadors on Wednesday, Haber “recommended that the EU …

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• 12 March

  Charges against ex Romanian president dropped

  BUCHAREST, Romania: Prosecutors say they have dropped criminal charges against former President Ion Iliescu for allegedly inciting miners to riot in clashes that left six people dead. The general prosecutor’s office made the announcement Wednesday. The charges related to violence in June 1990, when Iliescu was president.

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• 12 March

  Montenegro considers IMF agreement

  Podgorica. Montenegro might apply for an International Monetary Fund /IMF/ loan provided that the country’s economic growth is between 2.5% and 0% in 2009, which is below the previous forecast of 5%, said Minister of Finance Igor Luksic. “We are nearing a very low economic growth of between 0% and …

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• 12 March

  Czech presidency backs EU enlargement to Western Balkans

  Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, expressed his support for EU enlargement by the Western Balkans countries during a March 10 2009 visit to Macedonia. “You have a graduation ahead of you in the form of elections,” Topolanek said in …

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• 12 March

  Call for EU to prioritise press freedom in membership talks with Turkey

  International Press Institute (IPI) director David Dadge met European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and other EC officials on March 9 2009 to call on the EC to make press freedom a priority in EU membership talks with Turkey. In a media statement, the IPI said that the appeal was made …

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• 12 March

  Greek ire at Obama trip to Turkey

  The announcement by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton that president Barack Obama is to visit Turkey in the next month or so sparked indignation among Greek media and prompted the country’s main opposition party to attack prime minister Costas Karamanlis government’s foreign policy as “inept and irresolute”. On March …

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• 12 March

  Bulgaria can adopt the euro only when the crisis has passed – Finance Minister

  The adoption of the euro is a secondary priority for Bulgaria to securing macroeconomic stability and a prudent fiscal policy, Finance Minister Petar Oresharski said in Brussels. In an interview with Bloomberg after a session of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin), Oresharski said that Bulgaria’s entry into the …

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