Romania will get through winter using only gas extracted nationally

Romania is ready for the winter cold, and will make it through winter on Romanian gas only, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja wrote on Facebook. “As the winter has been going thus far, but even if conditions worsen with 1-2 cold spells and blizzards a month, we will get by using only the Romanian gas we produce,” Minister Burduja wrote, as quoted by Digi24 TV. “A cold spell is coming but we are ready. We have gas in the storage facilities which are 82.93% full,” he said, as weather forecasts warn of a cold spell next week when temperatures will plummet to 15°C below zero. Sebastian Burduja says further that the water basins used for the production of electricity are three-quarters full, which is a good level for the optimum operation of hydroelectric power stations, and that at the moment, Romania is exporting electricity.

Cabinet reshuffle in Greece

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis carried out a cabinet reshuffle. The aim is to take “corrective moves to enhance the government’s effectiveness” and to make way for the young, said government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis. Health Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis will now take over as Minister of Citizen Protection from Ioannis Oikonomou who will no longer be a member of the cabinet. This will be Chrisochoidis’ fifth term at the Ministry of Citizen Protection. Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Adonis Georgiadis has taken over the health ministry. Domna Michailidou will serve as Minister for Labor and Social Security. PM Mitsotakis kept some key ministers in the cabinet – of the economy, of defence and of foreign policy. According to state TV ERT, Oikonomou is being replaced over outbursts of violence during a series of mass sporting events.

Ankara will not allow war ships bound for Ukraine through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus

Turkey will not allow two British minehunter ships to transit the straits en route to the Black Sea, to be handed over to Ukraine, as this would be a violation of the Montreux Convention. In December, the UK announced it would be handing two minehunter ships over to Ukraine. Even though it is a member of NATO, Turkey informed its allies it would not allow the ships through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. We are applying the 1936 Convention impartially and thoroughly, so as to prevent any escalation in the Black Sea, Turkey’s Presidential Directorate of Communications says, and goes on that they are not allowing Russian war ships through either.

Ankara maintains good ties with both Kyiv and Moscow amid the war, Reuters writes.

Reintroduction of mandatory military service mulled in Serbia

The general staff of the armed forces of Serbia is proposing the reintroduction of mandatory military service of up to 4 months, BGNES news agency reports. The Ministry of Defence announced that this is being done “in order to increase the defense capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces, through the rejuvenation and improvement in the training of the active and reserve forces.”

“After 13 years we need to refresh the army reserve. This is not something only Serbia needs, many European countries are activating compulsory military service,” Minister of Defence Milos Vucevic said in an interview with RTS. Minister Vucevic went on to say that the initiative will benefit the whole of society and denied Serbia was getting ready for war. Part of the opposition described the decision as populist and warned that if it is implemented it will speed up the process of emigration of young people from the country.

Visa free travel to EU for citizens of Kosovo

As visas were abolished, the citizens of Kosovo set out for Switzerland and the countries of the EU in droves, the media in Kosovo write. Many are flying from Adem Jashari airport in Pristina, and thousands are travelling to Europe by car and by bus. Travel agencies say this travel tendency will continue. Even the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti surprised passengers on the first Pristina-Vienna flight on 1 January from the cockpit of the plane. “Hello all! This is not your captain speaking, this is your prime minister. A happy New Year! Today is the first day of 2024, and the first day of visa-free travel,” Kurti said. From the cockpit, he urged the public not to break the rules of visa liberalization, and to abide by the permissible 90-day stay inside the Schengen area within a 180-day period.

Compiled by Ivo Ivanov

Translated and posted by Milena Daynova

Photos: romaniatv.net, politic.gr, Reuters, srbija.gov.rs, lexo.al