Parties from broad coalition in Romania face off on eve of elections

Two months before the elections for president and for parliament in Romania, the ruling social democrats and liberals entered into a heated debate over the ruling by the Constitutional Court, which is dominated by magistrates appointed by the social democrats, not to allow far-right MEP Diana Șoșoacă to run for president. Both Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu and the leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and President of the Senate Nicolae Ciucă are running in the presidential race. PSD and PNL, the two biggest parliamentary parties, have been governing the country together since 2021. According to the PNL, Șoșoacă’s elimination will help Ciolacu in the presidential race. Surveys from September put Ciolacu in first place, followed by Ciucă and left-leaning Mircea Geoană, DiGi-24 reports.

Albania and Turkey deepen partnership

Turkey and Albania signed an agreement of cooperation in agriculture, education and communications, Anadolu Ajansi reports. In Tirana Turkish President Recep Erdogan held talks with his Albanian counterpart Bajram Begaj and with Prime Minister Edi Rama. The second meeting of the Turkish-Albanian Cooperation Council was held. “Our friendly relations, for which we draw strength from our historical ties and cultural proximity, span more than a century,” President Erdogan said. “We have been working towards boosting bilateral trade up to USD 2 billion. We shall provide the necessary support to the army of our strategic NATO ally. We discussed our joint fight against terrorist organizations, especially FETO,” the Turkish president said. Edi Rama and Recep Erdogan opened the Great Mosque in Tirana called Namazgah, considered to be the biggest mosque in the Balkans.  

Serbia and North Macedonia to construct gas interconnector along route of Corridor No. 10

Energy and transport connectivity between North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as the shared vision that the future of the Western Balkans is in the EU were at the focus of attention during the visit to Skopje by Serbia’s Prime Minister Miloš Vučević. A memorandum of cooperation in energy, mining and mineral resources was signed. A joint sitting of the two governments in Niš was agreed upon, and the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski received an invitation to pay an official visit to Serbia. PM Mickoski stated that talks had been held on the construction of a high-speed railway line along Transport Corridor No. 10 “which is a strategic priority” for Skopje. The construction of a gas interconnector was also discussed, to connect the two countries with another gas connector towards Greece, to deliver gas to Central Europe, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reports.

Fines raised in Greece for vehicles transporting proscribed cargo

Police in Greece are carrying out widespread checks and are fining vehicles for transporting proscribed cargo. The fines for the transportation of prohibited items in car trunks are being raised, law enforcement authorities say. In Greece the transportation is prohibited of: petrol canisters, heavy oversized items, items which protrude from the car. Transporting pets inside the trunk is not allowed either. Other prohibitions include tinted windows, drawbars, covering up the registration number, as well as audio systems causing noise pollution. The police recommend removing all prohibited items before travelling, BNR’s correspondent in Greece Katya Peeva reports.

Search continues for people still missing after the flooding in Bosnia and Herzegovina

No less than 23 people lost their lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the flooding and landslides in several municipalities in the country. The villages of Donya-Yablanitsa, Konjic and Fojnica in the Southern part of the country were hit hardest. The search is still on there for three missing people, the Bosnian service of Radio Free Europe reports. The government of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton set up a working group for damage assessment, identifying and restoring the regions affected. As regards the responsibility for the disaster at one of the controversial quarries above Donya-Yablanitsa, the Ministry of Economy has been tasked with finding all papers from the archives and submitting a report to the government. Donya-Yablanitsa was almost entirely buried in rocks and rubble from the quarry located on a hill above the village after the heavy rainfall on 4 October.

Compiled by Ivo Ivanov
Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photos: ziaruldeiasi.ro, mre.gov.rs, aa.com.tr, sport24.gr, Reuters