Thermal treatment

The mayor promised a mass tree-planting effort, new construction legislation, more inspections, a rethink on public transportation, the gasification of households and a host of other measures.

According to the available data and the opinions of experts, some progress has been made towards cleaning up Skopje and its air.

In the first plenary session of the week, the deputies will discuss at second reading amendments to the Environmental Act, which tighten control over waste incineration.

The annual regional business forum is being held at Kopaonik Ski Resort in southwestern Serbia from March 1-4. On it, the director of the state-owned company Srbijagas Dusan Bajatovic revealed details about the Turkish Stream project and the country's gasification after its completion.

Bulgaria's Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov has ordered the Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW) to carry out an immediate inspection of potential environmental pollution at the district heating companies of Pernik and Sliven, and the thermal power plants of Bobov Dol and Brikel, following a report by the State Agency for National Security of a threat to country's environmental security p

Following a documentary entitled "War for Carcasses" by investigative journalist Genka Shikerova, Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov has ordered an immediate investigation into the allegations of official misconduct and unfavourable contracts concluded by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA), said the Prosecutor's Office, Focus News Agency Reported.

The interest in the free of charge DESIREE GAS project is high, with the applications submitted to date in the whole country totaling 6,753, Energy Minister Temenujka Petkova announced in response to a request from MPs under today's parliamentary scrutiny. The projects of 4,637 households are completely finished, she added.

Locals of Dilovas?, an industrial zone close to Istanbul, have halted their three-day protest against the bad smell emanating from a waste facility, after local officials said the facility will be closed as of 2016.

The citizens of Stara Zagora have started a protest against the planned construction of a farm, whose main activity will be burning of minks in the nearby village of Madzherito.

Close to 17 000 people have already signed the online petition opposing the project, as reported by bTV.

Two companies, Turkey's Aksoy Energy and CPL Concordia of Italy, have passed the next stage in an important competition for the announced €100 million gasification of Skopje, it was announced.

Macedonia's Transport Ministry is due to select the winning private partner for the energy project in September.

If all goes to plan, construction is expected to start early next year.

 Ministry rubber-stamps plan to replace illegal dumps with EU-aligned scheme

The Environment Ministry on Tuesday approved plans by the regional authority of the Peloponnese for the implementation of a modern waste management system across the region where illegal landfills abound.