Bulgaria and Romania to study the possibility of launching seasonal flights from Burgas to Brasov

Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Romania Radko Vlaykov and the Prefect of Brasov county Mihai Vasii attended a business forum in Brasov. Bulgaria and Romania will study the possibility of launching seasonal flights from the coastal city of Burgas to the town of Brasov. As of 2023, the airport in Brasov is expected to become an international airport. “Brasov is part of Bulgaria’s history. This is not only due to the fact that the popular Fish Primer by Dr. Petar Beron was compiled here. Today, Brasov and the castles near the city are the most popular tourism destination for Bulgarian tourists, after Bucharest”, Radko Vlaykov said. Romania is Bulgaria’s second-biggest trade partner, Ambassador Vlaykov reminded.

Skopje invests EUR 200 million in the construction of a railway line to Bulgaria

Skopje is to invest EUR 200 million in the construction of a railway line to Bulgaria. The contractors of the first two sections are already forming their teams and preparing their equipment to start work in the autumn, North Macedonia’s Minister of Transport and Communications Blagoj Bochvarski said in the town of Strumica. North Macedonia’s national railway operator signed an agreement with the Austrian company STRABAG to reconstruct and complete the first section of the railway line between Kumanovo and Beljakovce. The Turkish company Gülermak is to build the second section between Baljakovce and Kriva Palanka. By the end of 2022, a tender will be announced for the selection of a contractor for the third, and most difficult section between Kriva Palanka and the Bulgaria-North Macedonia border. The project is part of the Railway Corridor No 8. According to North Macedonia’s Transport Minister, this is the largest investment in the country’s transport since 1991.

Tirana Pyramid to be converted into the largest technology information center in the Balkans

Construction works of the Tirana Pyramid, which is becoming the region’s largest technology information center, is nearing completion, ATA reported. The new center is named TUMO. Albania’s Premier Edi Rama released photos from the construction works. “Every day and closer to the completion of the pyramid project which will be the future and the center of the Balkans in innovation”, Edi Rama wrote. The transformation of the Tirana Pyramid into a youth IT center is a project of Albania’s Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Tirana and the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF). In 1988, the structure opened as the Enver Hoxha Museum, originally serving as the museum about the legacy of Enver Hoxha, the long-time leader of Communist Albania. Seen from above, the octagonal umbrella of the façade front is reminiscent of an eagle-wing shape

Turkey announces a large-scale social housing project

Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan announced a large-scale social housing project to cater to low-income families. 250,000 homes are expected to be built within 2 years in all 81 districts, Anadolu Ajansi reported. The project is expected to create 100,000 new jobs. The Turkish government’s goal is to build 500,000 accessible homes until 2028. President Erdogan clarified that 50,000 homes will be built for people aged 30 or under and 50,000 homes will be built for seniors. The government will extend the repayment period to 20 years to keep monthly payments as low as USD 125. The project is considered as the country’s largest ever social project and is expected to bring down property prices and rents.

Croatian authorities call on the members of the Croat community in Serbia to identify themselves as Croats at the forthcoming census

Croatian authorities and leaders of ethnic Croats in Serbia called on the members of the Croat community in Serbia to identify themselves as Croats at the forthcoming 2022 Serbian census in October, explaining that the “outcome of the census will impact their status in the next 10 years”, TANJUG reported. “Unfortunately, Croats are often presented in the media in a negative context, and this has implications, and spreads fears among the population, which leads to some people not wishing to identify themselves as belonging to their ethnic group”, said Jasna Vojnic, head of the Croatian National Council. According to the leader of the ethnic minority party Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina, Tomislav Zigmanov, Croats in Serbia “are a stigmatized community”. That is why the campaign “I know who I am” has been launched among the Croatian minority in Serbia.

Compiled by: Ivo Ivanov

English version: Kostadin Atanasov