Key railway track inaugurated

A new railway track that will connect the container terminal in Neo Ikonio, near the main port of Piraeus, to the Thriasio Plain, Greece's main logistics hub, is being inaugurated on Thursday.

Croatia Airlines Cuts Istanbul And London Connections

Croatia’s financially troubled national carrier Croatia Airlines has cut two of its services connecting the Croatian capital with Istanbul in Turkey and London in the UK, reports aviokarte.hr.

11.8 Million Tourists Visit Croatia Last Year

The Croatian Central Bureau of Statistics has finally released official figures from Croatia’s successful tourist year in 2012. There were 11.83 million tourists to visit Croatia in 2012. The majority of those, 4.63 million or 39% of the total number of tourists, selected to stay in hotels whilst they were in Croatia. Also popular were campsites in the country, 2.3 million tourist selected that form of accommodation on their holidays in Croatia.

Greek exports rise to record 24.5 bln euros in 2012

The value of Greek exports surpassed 24 billion euros in 2012, a record year for the Greek economy, although a strengthened euro currency exchange rate against the US dollar undermined Greek exports to the European Union, the Panhellenic Federation of Exporters said.

Around ten investors interested in Romanian Post privatization

A number of up to ten investors have submitted letters of interest regarding the privatization of the Romanian Post, according to Dan Nica, the minister of communications.

Karlovac Famous Brewery Changes Name To Heineken Croatia

Karlovac Brewery (Karlovacka pivovara), which was founded in 1854 and is home to one of Croatia’s most famous beers Karlovacko, has officially changed its name to Heineken Croatia, it was announced at a press conference in Karlovac brewery on Friday.

Bank Lending in Slovenia Down 10%

The amount of loans to businesses by Slovenian banks decreased by 10.2% to EUR 16.43bn in 2012, shows the February report by central bank Banka Slovenije published on Friday. The banks' combined after-tax loss was EUR 642m, mostly as a result of a 23% increase in impairments and provisions to EUR 1.482bn.

Dubrovnik airport on a new British Airways list of special prices

British Airways has launched a ‘hand baggage only’ fare for short-haul customers at Gatwick airport.

35th International Tourism Fair in Belgrade kicks off

The 35th International Tourism Fair, which will bring together 1,000 exhibitors from 46 countries, opened in Belgrade on Thursday, and will last by February 24. 

Bulgaria Backpedals on Stripping CEZ Power Utility License

The Bulgarian State has ceded Wednesday from an earlier decision to immediately strip the local unit of power distributor CEZ of license.

Instead, the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) issued a deadline of April 16 for CEZ to eliminate all established violations. On this date, DKEVR will hold a new sitting to examine again the issue with the revocation of license.

Fiat 500L will be produced in Kragujevac

The prototype of the new Fiat 500L with seven seats was presented to Minister of Finance and Economy Mladjan Dinkic and Prime Minister Ivica Dacic in the Fiat Automobiles Serbia factory in Kragujevac on Monday.

Dinkic told reporters that Fiat Automobiles Serbia would launch serial production of the new model and employ several hundred more people in May. The new Fiat 500XL is primarily aimed at the U.S. market and according to the minister, the sale will begin this summer.

Bulgaria May Strip Power Utility CEZ of License amid Protests

Bulgarian energy watchdog is considering the option of revoking the license of the local unit of Czech power utility CEZ to operate the country's national grid.

This was announced by Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev at a press conference on Sunday as tens of thousands of Bulgarians protested in more than 20 cities against high electricity bills.

Slovenian banks losses higher than expected

Slovenian banks ended 2012 with higher-than-expected losses mainly due to higher provisions, a central bank's governor preliminary report said Friday.

Pre-tax losses in Slovenian mostly state-owned banking system in 2012 amounted to 606 million euros ($810 million) compared with 539 million euros in 2011, local media reported central bank governor Marko Kranjec as saying.

Bulgaria's Inflation Accelerates Further in 

January

Bulgaria's consumer price inflation quickened further in January on the back of higher spending for heating, electricity and transport, data of the statistics office showed on Thursday.

Prices went up by 4.4% on an annual basis in January, after rising 4.2% in December.

Ιnflation in Greece evaporates amid downturn

Greek inflation evaporated in January, hitting its lowest level since data began in 1996, the national statistics service (ELSTAT) said on Friday, as the country's economic downturn sapped consumer price pressures.

The EU-harmonised consumer inflation rate (HCPI) was 0.0 percent year-on-year in January, ELSTAT said, below a 0.2 percent forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

Greece, Italy and Albania sign gas pipeline agreement

Greece, Italy and Albania signed on Wednesday a trilateral agreement lending state support to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The project will involve the construction of a natural gas pipeline to carry Azeri gas to Central Europe, on the condition that the group to utilize the Azeri gas reserves chooses TAP instead of rival Nabucco for the fuel’s transmission this summer.

Crisis shakes the telecommunications sector in Montenegro

Largest telecommunications companies', Montenegrin Telecom and Telenor Montenegro, income declined last year, writes portal Business plus.

Greece unemployment rate climbs to 27 pct in November

Greece’s unemployment rate in November rose to 27 percent from 26.6 percent in the previous month, according to data released Thursday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

Unemployment in Greece was more than double the eurozone's average rate of 11.7 percent in November as an austerity-fueled recession continued to take its toll on the labor market.

Albania signs deal to sell four hydro power plants to steelmaker Kurum

Albania's economy ministry has signed a deal to sell four hydro power plants to steelmaker Kurum International, the ministry said in a statement. The deal will need the approval of the government and the parliament.

Russian Sintez closer to the acquisition of DEPA

The Russian company Sintez has remained the main candidate interested in buying the Greek public gas company DEPA. The company has offered 1.9 billion euro, which is considered the highest price the Public Property Management Fund has received as reported by To Vima, which cites the Russian edition of Kommersant. Against this amount, the Russian candidate will receive 65% of the ownership of the company.

EUR 24 million for South Stream construction land

Around 8,000 hectares of land will have to be expropriated for the needs of construction of the South Stream pipeline section through Serbia and this will cost around EUR 24 million, the Serbian parliament Committee for the Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy stated at its Monday session.

Expansion of Sofia Airport Terminal 2 to Absorb BGN 2 M

Bulgaria's Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski has announced that a sum of nearly BGN 2 M will be invested in the expansion of Sofia Airport.

Speaking Tuesday at the sod-turning ceremony, Moskovski noted that the project for the expansion of the airport met all Schengen requirements.

Lidl Buys Land In Serbia, Plans ‘Simultaneous’ Opening Of Stores

Lidl, a German discount retailer, picked four sites in Serbia and is looking for more land to build stores as it moves into the Balkan country.

Talks start between Jat and Etihad

Etihad Airways from the United Arab Emirates is interested in Jat Airways and exchange of business data has already been arranged between the two companies, Tanjug learned from Jat on Friday.

Albania Snubs Ousted Utility CEZ's Indemnity Claim

The government of Albania has refused to pay compensations requested by Czech power utilityCEZ for the early termination of its contract (January 21 Albanian energy regulator ERE revoked the license of the local CEZ unit, with the government regaining control overpower distribution in the country).

Bulgaria-Romania Danube Bridge 2 to Open on Day of Europe

The second bridge between Bulgaria and Romania, known as Danube Bridge 2, will be officially opened on May 9, the Day of Europe.

The news was announced Wednesday by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, who inspected the bridge and traveled its entire length by car. Transport Minister,Ivaylo Moskovski, was also present.

Sunlight announced large industrial investment

Greek company SUNLIGHT, that designs and manufacturers batteries, proceeds in a €20 million investment in Komotini where a new lead recycling unit has already been established.