Southeast Europe / News
Romania’s ruling PSD stages 200,000 strong protest in Bucharest
Show of strength by ruling party amid power struggle with President Klaus Iohannis over the future of Romania's anti-corruption directorate.
Albanian central bank intervenes to stop local currency appreciation
The Albanian lek started to strengthen against the euro in 2016 and the trend has accelerated recently, raising fears about the competitiveness of Albanian exports.
Turkey’s central bank surprises markets with 125-bp pre-election rate hike
Lira makes solid gain on move seen as an assertion of regulator’s independence, but post-vote anxieties over political interference remain.
Bulgaria’s parliament votes to revive Belene project
Ruling party and opposition MPs united to back €10bn nuclear power plant construction despite dire warnings of lack of economic viability and scope for corruption.
Election surprise: Speculation grows Turkish army is under orders to destroy PKK’s Iraq HQ
“Now it is time for Qandil,” President Erdogan declares at dinner in reference to operation that seemingly has Baghdad and Washington’s approval.
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CEE monthly bond wrap: dead as a Dodo
Bond markets in Eastern Europe were as dead as the proverbial Dodo in May, continuing the slowdown already seen after the US imposed new sanctions on Russia in April.
Political crisis deepens in Romania as president declines to sack anti-corruption chief
Klaus Iohannis has not yet complied with a Constitutional Court ruling that he must dismiss DNA head Laura Kovesi, fuelling his ongoing conflict with Romania's ruling coalition.
“Very credibility” of Turkish central bank at stake as MPC meeting approaches
Taking stock of latest inflation data analyst says regulator has “very little wiggle room” not to hike rates again.
Worse-than-expected May inflation figure delivers small gain for Turkish lira on rate hike hopes
Investors’ nervousness over president’s monetary role appears to still be hindering currency’s recovery.
Political unknown who became presidential runner-up is now Slovenia's kingmaker
Janez Jansa's rightwing SDS took the largest share of the vote in Slovenia's general election but the former prime minister will be unable to form a government unless he can strike a deal with Marjan Sarec.
Creditors of Croatia’s Agrokor reach agreement on debt settlement
Deal with creditors expected to lead to a smooth restructuring of Croatian food and retail giant, which will ease the pressure on Andrej Plenkovic's government.
Macedonian opposition stages huge protest against name change
Macedonia "doesn't need EU or Nato" if name change is needed to get membership, say protesters at mass rally that took place as the government comes close to striking a deal with Greece
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PM Miro Cerar heads for crushing defeat in Slovenian general election
Failure to communicate his government’s economic achievements led to Cerar’s slump in the polls, but likely handover of power to rightwing SDS leader Janez Jansa is not expected to disrupt Slovenia’s burgeoning prosperity.
Croatian police open fire on migrant smugglers as new crisis looms
People traffickers have opened up new routes across the Western Balkans after the closure of the original route through the region two years ago.
Russia to extend Turkish Stream to Bulgaria, PM Borissov says
Borissov and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev have both visited Russia in recent weeks as they mount a charm offensive aimed at taking part in the new pipeline that will deliver Russian gas to Europe via Turkey.
Romanian court says president must dismiss anticorruption chief
Romania's ruling coalition finally succeeds in decapitating anticorruption body that has launched probes into dozens of top politicians and businesspeople.
Turkey’s economic confidence index falls by sharp 5% m/m in May
Sentiment seen as shaken by turmoil surrounding decline of the Turkish lira and subsequent emergency rate hike.
CEE faces massive cuts in EU cohesion spending
Warsaw says changes that will see Poland losing €19.5bn in EU funding in 2021-2027 are “unacceptable”, as Brussels shifts focus from GDP per capita to youth unemployment, climate and integration of migrants.
Energy Community drops cases against Macedonia
After years of delays Skopje has finally adopted an EU-requested energy law that foresees further liberalisation of the electricity market to include small firms and households.
Serbia’s newly-appointed finance minister aims to curb public debt quickly
Former Belgrade mayor Sinisa Mali takes over the finance ministry as Belgrade prepares to secure a new deal with the IMF.