Balkan developments

published on 9/5/24 11:07 AM

Turkey applies to join BRICS

Turkey has applied for full membership in BRICS and its accession will be discussed at the organization's summit in Russia in October, Bulgarian media reports. If accepted, it will be the first NATO country and a candidate for EU membership to enter the group, which currently includes 10 countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and the UAE, the publications note. The news was also confirmed by Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Putin.

"Turkey is seeking to increase its global influence and forge new ties beyond its traditional Western allies. The country's diplomatic pivot reflects its aspirations to develop ties with all countries in a multipolar world while fulfilling its obligations as a key member of NATO," Bloomberg agency notes. EU spokesman Peter Stano commented that, despite this, Ankara remains a candidate for full membership in the European Union and a loyal member of NATO.

Free Europe emphasizes that our neighbor's negotiations for EU membership have been going on for nearly 20 years.

Albania releases the Greek MEP Freddy Belleri from prison

Greek MEP Freddy Belleri has been released from prison in Albania, where he was serving a sentence for buying votes, BNR correspondent in Greece Katya Peeva reported. Belleri has been released on parole but is not exonerated, his lawyer emphasized. Upon his release from prison, the MEP said that his fight for justice is just beginning. He will file a claim with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and be acquitted as the prosecution against him was political.

Ethnic Greek Freddy Belleri was arrested in 2023 for buying votes ahead of local elections in the predominantly ethnic Greek town of Himara. He managed to win the election even though he was in prison, but he was never able to take office. After efforts by Greek diplomacy to secure his release proved unsuccessful, he was included in Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's ruling party list for the European elections and was elected as an MEP, albeit in prison. The case sharply strained relations between Athens and Tirana.

Mircea Geoana quits the post of NATO deputy head to run for president

Deputy Secretary General of NATO Mircea Geoana has announced that he is stepping down from his post on September 10, Agerpress reports. Geoana is expected to announce his candidacy for the presidency of Romania after his resignation. The first round of the presidential election will be held on November 24, the Romanian government has decided. It is expected that there will be a second round, which will be two weeks later - on December 8, and between the two rounds, on December 1 - the national holiday of Romania, parliamentary elections will be held.

According to Radio Romania, the battle in the second round of the presidential elections will most likely be between Mircea Geoana, who is the former leader of the Social Democratic Party, and its current leader and Prime Minister Marcel Çiolacu. In the 2009 presidential election, Mircea Geoana's rival for the post was Traian Basescu, who beat him by less than one percent, raising doubts about the fairness of the vote.

Transport companies in Greece and Turkey are looking for ways to bypass Bulgaria

Due to traffic jams at the border points, there is a risk that transport companies from Greece, Romania and Turkey will start bypassing Bulgaria. This was discussed at a meeting in Tashkent of road transport associations in the Black Sea region and an alternative transport corridor outside our country was discussed. Bulgaria is criticized for chaos at its border crossings and long queues at checkpoints. This was also the reason for a meeting on September 4 of Bulgarian freight carriers with the team of the Ministry of Transport, but the talks were without result, BNT reported.

According to the authorities, about 3,500 heavy goods vehicles pass through the Kulata-Promachonas crossing per day, and during peak hours the border crossing takes about an hour on average. Truck drivers, however, have a different opinion. Ioana Lalova, vice-president of the European transport cluster, stated before the BNR that drivers wait 30-40 hours in Vidin to cross our border with Romania, and from Turkey to Bulgaria they wait 4 days.

Lalova also pointed to a scandalous example from the Captain Andreevo border crossing point on the border with Turkey, where Bulgarians are charged BGN 20 for disinfection, and foreign trucks are charged EUR 20. For now, disinfection is free at the border with Greece, she specified.

Compiled by Miglena Ivanova

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Balkan developments

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