Eurozone prepared to continue giving money to Greece, if reforms are implementedBrussels, 17 November 2015 (MIA) - The Eurozone is prepared to disburse the next tranche of two billion EUR from the Greek bailout as well as the 10 billion EUR meant to recapitalize the Greek banks, badly hit by deposit withdrawals. Eurogroup President and Dutch Foreign Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said that the funds will be released if Greece implements the agreed economic reforms and the cost cutting program it accepted over the summer.
On Tuesday morning, a tele-conference was held between the representatives of the creditor countries, on what reforms and other steps they expect from Greece in order to release the funds. A sticking issue, which should be resolved after talks in Athens, is the procedure for foreclosing on real-estate offered as collateral for bank loans. Greek laws protected delinquent loaners from foreclosure on homes they offered as collateral if it is their primary residence, leading to extremely high rates of non-performing loans that the banks have no way to collect. A law that will allow banks to begin foreclosing on these homes should be submitted to Parliament on Tuesday and the vote is scheduled on Thursday evening.cc/15:08
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Romanian Parliament approves govt of technocrats
Bucharest, 17 November 2015 (MIA) - The Romanian parliament has approved a government of technocrats headed by an ex-European Union agriculture commissioner, after the previous government collapsed amid mass protests in the wake of a nightclub fire in which at least 56 died, AP reports.
The nomination of Dacian Ciolos is a direct criticism of Romania's politicians who are perceived as being corrupt, arrogant and removed from the problems of ordinary people.
"This government has no political objective more important than supporting and strengthening democracy," said Ciolos Tuesday before Parliament approved his Cabinet by a vote of 389-115.
Ciolos named his Cabinet Sunday, but then withdrew the proposed health minister, a 28-year-old surgeon, after photos appeared of him modelling underwear. He also withdrew his proposed justice minister, a respected democracy activist, because she had not studied law. lk/16:28
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UN: Don't blame refugees for Paris attacks
Presevo, 17 November 2015 (MIA) - The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees warned on Tuesday against blaming refugees for terrorism after one of the Paris suicide bombers apparently came to Europe along with the thousands fleeing war and poverty.
Antonio Guterres urged united European action to create more legal forms of entry so refugees can undergo proper screening and security checks, AP reports.
"It was not the refugee movement that created terrorism; it is terrorism together with tyranny, together with war, that created refugee movements," Guterres said during a visit to a refugee camp in Serbia.
One suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the French national soccer stadium in Paris was found with a Syrian passport, and prosecutors say his fingerprints match those of someone who passed through Greece in October.
Serbian police have confirmed the same passport-holder passed through the camp in Presevo, near the border with Macedonia.
Guterres said "there was very probably one person that passed here that was part of the terrorist operation." But, he added that "there's every day 5,000 to 7,000 people here, women and children fleeing violence. ... It would be totally unfair to blame refugees" for terrorist activities in the world.
Serbia lies on the so-called Balkan corridor that tens of thousands of people have used to enter Europe. The refugees are registered and their fingerprints are taken along the route as they are allowed through.
Guterres said there are groups trying to penetrate the migrant flow, but insisted the same applies for European society in general.
"It is essential to have more legal forms for refugees to come to Europe in order to have proper screening, proper identification, security checks, which are much more easy to do if things are done legally," Guterres said.
He said this would mean creating "massive reception capacities at entry point" from where "people can be distributed orderly" to various countries.
"Let's be very clear, we cannot blame the refugees," he said. "Refugees are the first victims of terror." lk/17:16
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King of Jordan warns of 'world war' against humanity
Pristina, 17 November 2015 (MIA) - Jordan's King Abdullah II warned Tuesday of a "third world war against humanity", describing the Islamic State group as "savage outlaws of religion" in the wake of the Paris attacks.
During an official visit to Kosovo, Abdullah said both Europe and Islam were under attack from the "scourge" of terrorism that could strike anywhere and at any time, AFP reports.
"We are facing a third world war against humanity and this is what brings us all together," he told a press conference.
"This is a war, as I've said repeatedly, within Islam," he said, stressing the high number of Muslim victims of the Islamic State (IS) group.
Abdullah said groups such as IS "expose themselves daily as savage outlaws of religion, devoid of humanity, respecting no laws and no boundaries".
"So therefore we must act fast and holistically to tackle and respond to the interconnected threats whether it is in this region, Africa, Asia or in Europe," he said. lk/18:02
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Protests erupt in and outside Kosovo's parliament
Pristina, 17 November 2015 (MIA) - Kosovo's opposition fired tear gas and pepper spray in parliament on Tuesday while protesters outside threw stones and paint, in the latest eruption of a long-running protest against agreements made with Serbia, AFP reports.
Opposition MPs have been paralysing parliamentary sessions for weeks in a bid to thwart EU-brokered dialogue and agreements with Serbia, the country from which Kosovo broke away and declared independence in 2008.
Despite a heavy police presence in and around the parliament, tear gas was released on Tuesday for the fourth time in the chamber, while prominent opposition MP Albin Kurti fired pepper spray, said an AFP reporter at the scene. Kurti, from the Self-Determination party and a leading figure in the ongoing protests, sprayed in the direction of ministers but was blocked by two rows of police.
Meanwhile, outside parliament, clashes broke out between around 100 protesters and anti-riot police, who fired tear gas in retaliation to hurled bottles, stones and paint, an AFP photographer said. Police said Molotov cocktails were used by protesters in the scuffles which injured six officers and one protester, while two demonstrators were arrested.
The disruption inside parliament forced MPs from the governing coalition to reconvene in another room to finish the session on next year's budget but without the presence of opposition deputies.
"This is a criminal act of individuals against whom measures should be taken. They should be held accountable before the law," Prime Minister Isa Mustafa told the reconvened MPs. "We will not allow a minority of 30 deputies to obstruct the work of the parliamentary majority."
The protesters are especially opposed to plans to set up an association of Serb-run municipalities giving greater autonomy to Kosovo's Serb minority, saying the initiative will deepen the ethnic divide and increase Serbia's influence in Kosovo. The agreement was reached during EU-brokered talks with Serbia, which aim to improve relations between the two sides that were at war in 1998-1999.
Belgrade refuses to recognise the independence of Kosovo, whose population is predominantly ethnic Albanian. The opposition also rejects a border agreement made with neighbouring Montenegro in August, which it says led to a loss of territory.
"Our requests are clear. We have been opposing the parliament for almost two months now, and we will continue until they are fulfilled," said Visar Ymeri, leader of the Self-Determination party.
Earlier this month, Kosovo's constitutional court suspended the implementation of the controversial association of Serb-run municipalities, pending the court's review, following failed attempts by parliamentary leaders to reach a compromise on the issue. lk/19:42
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Croatia says will close borders if Germany does
Zagreb, 17 November 2015 (MIA) - Croatia's police chief says the country will close its borders to migrants if Germany shuts its door as well, AP reports.
Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic said Tuesday that for now Germany is accepting about 6,500 people a day, which makes the flow across the Balkans fairly calm.
There are fears in the Balkans that Austria and Slovenia may restrict the flow in the wake of the Paris attacks last week, which could leave tens of thousands of people stranded in the region. Most of the migrants just want to pass through and reach Germany.
Fears of the closure of the EU borders have risen since French investigators determined that one of the Paris suicide bombers passed the Balkan corridor in October. lk/19:54
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Slovenian minister calls for rationing refugee intake
Ljubljana, 18 November 2015 (MIA) - Slovenian Interior Minister Vesna Gjerkes Znidar on Tuesday called for enhancing cooperation between the countries along the Balkan migrant route to reduce the influx of refugees, Hina reports.
Speaking to the press after a meeting with interior ministry officials from Greece, Serbia, and Macedonia in the Slovenian mountainous resort of Brdo Pri Kranju, Gjerkes Znidar said that they had agreed that it was necessary to "start slowing down the migration flow to prevent the overload of the countries along the migrant route."
She said that in order to ration the intake of refugees, it was necessary to improve the cooperation among the countries along the Balkan route, adding that they needed to increase their accommodation capacity for migrants.
She described the meeting as successful, despite the fact that Croatian officials did not attend.
Gjerkes Znidar said that "we have to ensure maximum control of the refugee influx, even if Croatia pushes us into an unfavourable position." ik/08:49
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Greek farmers rally in Athens
Athens, 18 November 2015 (MIA) - Farmers from across the country were gathering in front of Parliament Wednesday to protest upcoming legislation that will change their tax and social security status, daily Kathimerini reports.
A delegation is expected to submit farmers’ demands to the finance ministry and Parliament.
Farmers are planning the rally ahead of a vote in the House on the second set of prior actions Athens must ratify before further loans are released by creditors.
This batch will include increases to farmers’ taxes. ik/11:00
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Hand grenade explodes outside Kosovo court building
Pristina, 18 November 2015 (MIA) - Police and bomb squad units surrounded Kosovo's Constitutional Court on Wednesday after a hand grenade exploded outside the building, a Reuters witness said.
On Tuesday, opposition lawmakers fired tear gas and pepper spray in parliament and police clashed with rock-throwing protesters as a political crisis over relations with Serbia - from which Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 - deepened.
The grenade was thrown into the back yard of the complex in central Pristina, a senior police official said. The witness said there appeared to be no casualties.
The official, who declined to be named, gave no further details about the explosion or who might have been responsible.
Kosovo's parliamentary opposition is demanding the government scrap a European Union-brokered deal to regulate ties between Serbia and Kosovo.
Kosovo's president has sought a ruling from the court on whether the deal was in line with the constitution. The court is due to issue its ruling in the next few weeks. ik/11:22
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Turkey detains 8 Europe-bound IS suspects 'posing as refugees'
Istanbul, 18 November 2015 (MIA) - Turkish police detained eight suspected members of the Islamic State jihadist (IS) group, state media said Wednesday, adding they were planning to sneak into Europe posing as refugees, AFP reports.
Counter-terror police detained the suspects in Istanbul's Ataturk Airport after they flew in from the Moroccan city of Casablanca on Tuesday, the official Anatolia news agency reported.
The police found a hand-written note on one of the suspects detailing a migration route from Istanbul to Germany via Greece, Serbia and Hungary, including smuggler boats across the Mediterranean Sea, as well as several train and bus journeys.
The eight men told police that they were just tourists who had been planning to spend a few days in Istanbul and had booked rooms at a hotel, but no reservations were found under their names.
Turkey is the main launching point for migrants coming to Europe, and currently hosts over two million Syrian refugees.
More than 650,000 migrants and refugees, have reached the Greek islands so far in 2015 using the eastern Mediterranean route, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said earlier this month.
The Paris attacks however threw a security spotlight on the migrant flow, after the discovery at the scene of one of Friday's attacks of a Syrian passport registered in the Greek island of Leros on October 3.
Turkey was long criticised by its Western allies for failure to take robust action to stem the flow of IS militants across its porous border.
But Ankara has stepped security measures in recent months after a series of deadly attacks blamed on the extremists, including a twin suicide bombing in Ankara that killed 102 people last month.
According to official data released to AFP last week, in the first half of 2015 over 700 foreign suspected jihadists were detained and deported from Turkey whereas for all of 2014 the figure was 520.
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