The summit of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEЕCP), held in Tirana under the Albanian presidency, ended without Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina endorsing the joint declaration, Bosnia's public broadcaster BHRT reported.

Albanian President Bajram Begaj said the forum's final document was supported by most member states. "Belgrade and Sarajevo had their own requirements on security issues," Begaj said. Serbian Prime Minister Djuro Matsut, who represented Serbia, confirmed that his country had not voted "for" the declaration because of Kosovo. 

SEECP member states are Bulgaria, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece. The SEECP presidency was taken over by Bulgaria on a rotating basis.

Trilateral patrols with Slovenian, Croatian and Italian police officers have started operating on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenian national broadcaster RTVSLO reported.

The trilateral patrols are part of a joint effort by Slovenia, Croatia and Italy to boost defence, tackle security threats and tackle illegal migration. 

Several EU member states, including Slovenia, continue to have police controls on their internal Schengen borders. Slovenia introduced border controls with Croatia and Hungary on 21 October 2023, following Italy's introduction. Both countries are continuing to step up border controls. Slovenia's border controls with Croatia and Hungary have been extended until 21 December 2025.

Amid consultations in Bucharest to form a new coalition government, Romanian business associations have issued an open letter urging politicians not to introduce progressive taxation and to maintain the flat rate of 10%, AGERPRES reported.

"We call for political responsibility by committing to governance and measures without direct or disguised progressive taxation, while maintaining the flat rate," the letter, signed by 13 of the largest business associations, states.

The interim chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Sorin Grindeanu, said that if progressive taxation were implemented, there would be no need for a VAT increase to reduce the huge budget deficit of 9.3% for 2024. The country's current VAT rate is 19%, but there are separate reduced rates of 9% and 5%.

Greece could become a nuclear power country. This was stated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at a conference in Athens dedicated to the energy transition, quoted by the newspaper To Vima. In a discussion with Emilia Michasou, the Financial Times' climate editor, Mitsotakis said that he could not imagine achieving climate neutrality without the use of nuclear power, adding that he wanted his country to participate in discussions on nuclear technologies. The Greek prime minister called for a "strategic commitment" by the country and Europe to attract investment in the sector, because "it will not come overnight".

The prime minister also pointed to the possibility of using nuclear power to propel ocean-going ships in the next 10-15 years, because Greece remains a country with one of the largest merchant fleets in the world.