The European Parliament says "yes" to Croatia for Schengen

The European Parliament has voted a resolution on the admission of Croatia to Schengen. An appeal has been made for the Council of the EU to approve the acceptance of Zagreb by the end of the year. The decision was adopted with 534 votes "for", 53 "against" and 25 abstentions. During the debate, it was pointed out that Croatia has fulfilled 281 recommendations in eight areas and it is time to join the European area of ​​movement without border checks.

A month ago, MEPs also expressed support for the immediate admission of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area. The issue is expected to be put to a vote at a meeting of the EU Council in December. In order to have a positive decision, unanimity is necessary, HINA agency reported.‎

The Greek state has stopped the privatization of Alexandroupolis port

The Greek government has cancelled the sale of Alexandroupolis port. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told ERT television that the geopolitical events of recent months have changed the strategic importance of the port for the state and it no longer intends to part with 67% of the ownership. Four bidders for the deal qualified for the final stage of the auction, and two conglomerates submitted bids for the purchase in September.

Reuters points out that Alexandroupolis is becoming an important trading point for liquefied natural gas in Southeast Europe, and that the port is part of the routes for the delivery of military equipment to NATO's eastern flank through Bulgaria and Romania. Bulgaria has a 20% stake in the floating gas liquefaction terminal under construction.

NATO, the EU and the US call for a de-escalation of tensions in Kosovo

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on Serbia and Kosovo to refrain from escalating tensions. The reason for another crisis is a requirement introduced by Pristina in the northern part of the country, where there are municipalities with a Serbian population, to use only Kosovo state number plates on cars. In response, the Serbian representatives demonstratively left the Kosovo institutions.

The EU also called for abstinence from unilateral actions. The US ambassador in Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, asked the authorities to postpone the introduction of the numbers for another 10 months. The diplomat stated that the negotiations for the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities in Kosovo should begin urgently, but stressed that the union should not grow into a kind of Republika Srpska, such as there is in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reports KosovaРress.‎

The new Romanian nuclear reactors in Cherna Voda will be American

Romania will use technology and funding from the US to double the capacity of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, AGERPRES reported. The American bank EXIM will grant a loan of over 3 billion dollars for two new reactors at the Danube nuclear power plant. Romanian Energy Minister Virgil Popescu and EXIM President Reta Jo Luis signed the agreement during the COP27 UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Cernavoda NPP produces 20% of Romanian electricity with two Canadian CANDU reactors, operating since 1996 and 2007. According to the project, the site is built for 5 reactors. In 2015, Romania planned to build two Chinese reactors in Cernavoda with funding from Beijing, but abandoned them in 2020 in favor of US technology. ‎

Turkey relies on common policy with the Turkic countries in Asia

The summit of the Organization of Turkic States is being held in Samarkand under the motto "A New Era for Turkic Civilization: Towards Common Development and Prosperity". Turkish President Recep Erdogan will hand over the rotating chairmanship of the organization from Turkey to Uzbekistan.

The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that “Asia is coming to the fore”, adding that Ankara attaches great importance to common actions with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber reported that a commission is already working to create common Turkic alphabet, which will accelerate the process of language unity.

Members of the organization are Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan and Hungary have the status of observers. ‎

Compiled by Ivo Ivanov