All News from Balkans

Greek yields dip as S&P says might raise ratings

Greek bond yields dipped on Friday after Standard & Poor's said it could raise Greece's credit ratings if GDP growth were to pick up more substantially, after keeping them deep in junk territory with a stable outlook.

OMV Sets Eyes on Potential Black Sea Gas Deposits

Significant amounts of natural gas could be extracted from Bulgaria's Khan Asparuh deep-water block, OMV believes.

Austrian energy company's expectations have so far been fomented by the discovering of vast amounts of gas at Neptun, a deep-water block in neighboring Romania situated next to Khan Asparuh.

European Investment Bank Gives EUR 50 M for Bulgaria's SMEs

The European Investment Bank (EIB) provides UniCredit Bulbank with EUR 50 M for financing Bulgarian SMEs in agriculture, industry and services.

The first half of the credit line was presented by Mihai Tnasesku, EIB vice president and UniCredit Bulbank's CEO Levon Hampartzumian.

DSS official: Koštunica stepped down "permanently"

BELGRADE -- Vojislav Koštunica has left politics "completely and permanently," the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Vice President Slobodan Samaržić has said.

Speaking for B92 TV on Friday, Samardžić stated that the party "will become relevant after a difficult period of time."

Kirby urges probe into ties between Saric, gov't officials

BELGRADE - The arrest and trial of drug lord Darko Saric will lead to a reduced role of organised crime in society, US Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby has said in an interview with Politika, adding that possible ties between Saric and government officials must be checked.

New Belgrade Boss Awaits Progressives’ Call

Victorious Progressives have yet to decide on their candidate for mayor of the capital - but BIRN has learned that five candidates are in the running.

Public debt at EUR 20.4 billion

BELGRADE - Serbia's public debt went up by EUR 178 million in February reaching EUR 20.4 billion or 62.9 percent of the country's GDP, the Ministry of Finance has released on its website.

At the end of 2013, the public debt totaled EUR 20.089 billion or 61.2 percent of the GDP, and according to the Budget System Law, Serbia's public debt is limited to 45 percent of the GDP.

Bulgaria's State Railways to Scrap Property for BGN 19M

Deputy Prime Minister Daniela Bobeva has started negotiations with the international creditors of Bulgarian State Railways who have agreed to reschedule loans for 10 years.

The Holding's total liabilities currently amount to BGN 620M compared to BGN 704M in May, 2013, CEO Hristian Krastev told in an interview for Trud Daily.

Kacin: Strong gov’t that will change Serbia is called for

BELGRADE – European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin said that Serbia should get a strong, operational and capable government that is ready to change the country and create the conditions necessary for investment and job creation.

Visa, MasterCard Stop Processing Bank Rossiya's Card Transactions

Visa and MasterCard stopped processing transactions for holders of cards, issued by Russia's bank Rossiya, the bank said.

"The management of Rossiya understands the difficulties of clients in the current situation and will do all it can to solve them," the bank said in a statement.

Ukraine, EU Sign Political Part of Association Agreement

Ukraine and the EU signed on Friday the political chapter of the Association Agreement.

The event took place at a ceremony attended by European Council and European Commission Presidents, as well as by heads of state and government of all EU members, Ukrainian newspaper KyivPost has reported.

Prosecutor: No discs documenting Šarić's meetings

BELGRADE -- Organized Crime Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljević says his office has not received discs allegedly including footage of Darko Šarić's meetings with politicians.

Šarić is suspected of masterminding a drug smuggling operation and heading a crime group, and has been in custody in Belgrade since Tuesday.