Ex-bank chief arrested in Greece fraud probe

Angelos Filippidis is latest Greek official to be arrested amid crackdown on alleged corruption at Hellenic Postbank. Last updated: 11 Jan 2014 17:59

At least 25 people have been charged in an investigation into loans issued by Hellenic Postbank [EPA]

The former head of a major Greek bank has been arrested in Turkey, the latest in an expanding investigation into several Greek officials allegedly involved with issuing faulty loans. Angelos Filippidis, the former chief executive officer of the now-defunct Hellenic Postbank, was arrested on Friday in Istanbul, Greek police confirmed. Filippidis's lawyer told AFP news agency that the ex-CEO appeared before a Turkish magistrate on Saturday and asked to return to his country in order to face questioning. At least 25 people have been arrested so far in Greece by the anti-corruption magistrate, which has been looking into a series of loans issued by Postbank between 2007-2012 and resulted in losses of more than 400 million euros. An unsecured loan is particularly advantageous to the borrower since no guarantee or collateral is required. Filippidis denied any wrongdoing earlier in the week. "All the loans were issued with unanimous decisions by the board and all the procedures were respected," he told Skai Radio on Thursday. "If I could turn back time, I would issue them again today." Major restructuring Greek authorities have gotten tough on corruption, bringing to light the extent of fraud before the country’s economy collapsed in 2010. Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras backed Anastasia Sakellariou, head of the country's bank bailout fund, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), after she was also charged in connection to the fraud allegations on Friday. "I fully trust and respect Greece's justice system, but I also fully trust Mrs Sakellariou, her integrity, her professional expertise and above all, her work so far," Stournaras said. Sakellariou was charged with breach of trust, court officials said. The HFSF was set up in 2010 to restructure the debt of Greece's four biggest banks. The fund pumped about 4.5 billion euros into Hellenic Postbank, before the bank's healthy assets were absorbed by Greece's Eurobank. The Greek banking sector also underwent major restructuring last year under the terms of the country's bailout deal with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Greater Albania rising: Meeting the Gov’ts of Kosovo and Albania in Prizren

BETA, RFE/RL, B92, Blic, Telegraf

Governments of Kosovo and Albania held a joint session today in Prizren, and one of the topics was the position of Albanians in the municipalities of Bujanovac and Presevo in Serbia.

Illustration

“It was a historic meeting, after 100 years two prime ministers and two governments met. This is the first step towards the unification of Albanians, moving towards a single state,” said the President of the Movement for Democratic Progress Jonuz Musliu.
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said that one of the major decisions today, in the joint session of the Governments of Kosovo and Albania in Prizren, is establishing a fund for the Albanians in Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac.
“Welcome to the shared house,” said Thaci at the opening of first session of the two governments, which he considered ” historic and a new chapter for Kosovo, Albania and the region.”
“The meeting of our two governments, in this holy place of the revival of the Albanian nation, presents respect to our heroes from various periods of time, and a proof that their hard work, sweat and blood is respected,” Thaci said, RFE/RL reported.
“Thanks to their work, present and future generations can enjoy more peace, freedom and development, and the citizens of Kosovo and Albania can live nearby and without barriers on their homes,” he said.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that two governments share aspiration for contribution to Albanian and regional integration in a united Europe.
“We are more than citizens of the two neighboring countries. Vast majority of our citizens belong to a nation which, with all internal differences, has a common language, culture and tradition,” said Rama.
The first session of the two governments was marked by the signing of an agreement on cooperation in the field of trade, transport and European integration.

Hint of a new regional unrest?

Thaci said that, at this session, a promise will be made of taking historical responsibility of taking care of their compatriots who live in the region, to strengthen ties with the Albanian diaspora and announced the establishment of a fund for the Albanians in the Presevo Valley.
“The citizens of Kosovo and Albania, and those in Tetovo, Presevo, Ulcinj and in the Diaspora, eagerly awaited this joint session. It is no coincidence that one of the major decisions today is the formation of a fund for the Albanians in Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac,” Thaci said.
He added that the “aim of this intergovernmental forum is to harmonize policies and attitudes concerning the unsolved problems of Albanians wherever they are.”

Kind of national unity – Demaci

One of the leading political authorities in Kosovo, Adem Demaci, said that the joint meeting of the Governments of Kosovo and Albania is a “kind of national unity.”
In an interview with a Kosovo daily, Demaci said that “given the time, space in which we live, and international developments, this (joint session) is a kind of national unity”.
He said that the joint session is a step towards strengthening the two countries and Albanians in general.
“Kosovo and Albania should have taken that step much earlier, but it’s better late than never. I expect that the cooperation between the two countries will continue positively in all areas,” said Demaci.
He said that he felt very good when he learned that the representatives of the two governments agreed to establish a fund for the Presevo valley, adding that “We must show to Serbia that we will never forget our brothers and sisters, and that we will help them within the possibilities that we have. That is commendable.”

OSCE: Key role during 2014
11/01/2014

In his first TV interview since taking his duty as Ambassador of the OSCE in Tirana, Florian Rauning, listed for Top Channel the priorities of 2014.

He underlined that the administrative reforms should be all-inclusive and qualitative, while the OSCE will teach the commissioners of the local elections of 2015.

Muhamed Veliu: Ambassador Rauning, what are the priorities of the OSCE Mission in 2014?

OSCE Ambassador, Florian Rauning: The OSCE persistently keeps being a partner of Albania. Partner means being a sincere partner, but also a friend of the country. This means a closer cooperation with the main institutions, such as the government, the Parliament, the civil society and the opposition. We are continuing this path that we have followed so far, being sincere partners of Albania.

Muhamed Veliu: On what areas will your work focus in 2014?

OSCE Ambassador, Florian Rauning: We will focus on the cooperation with the Albanian Parliament, so that the Parliament Members can be closer to the people, the voters. We will work with the media: media freedom, including the support for the public transmission reform. We will also continue with the legal sector reform, to guarantee a qualitative legal system. We will also follow the territorial-administrative reform.

Muhamed Veliu: Since we mentioned the administrative reform, what is your evaluation for the work done so far by the government, especially since the OSCE has assisted this process through their expert?

OSCE Ambassador, Florian Rauning: It is a very important and basic reform for Albania, hence, the OSCE values the fact that the government has started this necessary process. This is a process or electoral reform not only in the geographical sense, but also in the sense that every actor, every institution, every sector of the society that is affected by this reform should be included in the actions of the reform. The OSCE and other international actors are ready to follow this process.

Muhamed Veliu: There is a discussion now about who will have the main role in completing this reform, the government or the Parliament. According to the OSCE, who should have this role?

OSCE Ambassador, Florian Rauning: This is a good question, but also difficult to answer. As I have previously said, this is a process that should be as inclusive as possible, but certainly, there should be a leader, a motor of this process. How will all actors agree on this, it is another question. Maybe this is the first start, that all actors, all affected sectors should agree on the process structure. We are ready to assist, but we do not impose something to Albania. This is clear.

Muhamed Veliu: Do you think that this time is enough to conclude this reform, until the local elections of 2015?

OSCE Ambassador, Florian Rauning: I think that it is good having deadlines for a project, especially for a project that is made of several steps. On the other hands, in my opinion, quality is more important than the time in which you do it. Quality, transparency and credibility of the process, and the final result. The deadlines are good, but we should not forget the quality of the result. This is the most important, so that all actors can agree with this process by the end.

Muhamed Veliu: After the June 23rd elections, the final OSCE-/ODIHR report has left more thn 30 recommendations. When should the electoral code be reviewed, since there are less than 15 months before the local elections of 2015?

OSCE Ambassador, Florian Rauning: It is true that there are recommendations and I want to greet the Albanian government for saying that they will fully implement the ODIHR recommendations for the electoral reform. We will follow this process as the OSCE and ODIHR have traditionally done in Albania. We will work in two camps: the first camp is improving the electoral process; the second camp is the professionalization of the commissioners and the people who work with the electoral process. For example, together with the Central Election Commission and the Council of Europe, we have a program to establish schools for electoral commissioners. Certainly, we should not lose time and work on this reform for the implementation of the recommendations. The measures that I explained have started and we are working for these projects.

Kosovo, Albania joint govt sitting starts new chapter of cooperation: Kosovo PM

 

11 January 2014 | 16:55 | FOCUS News Agency

Home / Southeast Europe and Balkans

 

Pristina. Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci stated the joint sitting of the governments of Kosovo and Albania, which takes place in the city of Prizren on Saturday, starts a new chapter in the relations between Albania and Kosovo and presents the opportunity for the two countries to materialise their cooperation in different projects, Radio Free Europe reported.

Mr Thaci believes Kosovo and Albania should head together for a common future through EU membership.
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama said that despite the differences between the citizens of Kosovo and Albania had, they belonged to one people and had the same language and traditions.
Mr Thaci and Mr Rama will ink later several agreements on widening and strengthening of bilateral cooperation.

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52 Places to Go in 2014

Witness a city in transformation, glimpse exotic animals, explore the past and enjoy that beach before the crowds.

Kayaking near Porto Palermo, Albania. Mustafah Abdulaziz

4. Albanian Coast, HIMARA REGION

On a rugged shore, Europe at its best.

What if you could combine the rugged beauty you’d find on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast with the ruins of an undiscovered Turkey or Greece, all wrapped in the easygoing nature characteristic of rural Italy — at a fraction of the cost? Turns out you can, on the coast of Albania. The roughly Maryland-size country, between Greece and Montenegro, sits about 45 miles east of Italy on the eastern shores of the Adriatic and has limestone-ringed beaches, ancient ruins like Butrint and waterfront inns where you can stay for less than $50 a night. Rampant development threatened to turn it all to concrete in the years after Communism, but a new government took office in September on promises of keeping the coast authentic. Head to villages like Qeparo, within sight of Corfu, where you can kayak past Cold War submarine tunnels, swim by abandoned forts and watch the tide rise during a dinner of fresh fish at an inn called the Riviera. This is Europe when it was fresh and cheap. — TIM NEVILLE
 

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Balkans:The year ahead

The Economist by T.J. Jan 8th 2014


THIS year promises to be an important year for the western Balkans and here are some of the important stories we expect to cover:
The biggest and flashiest Balkan news event will be the commemoration of the centenary of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28th 1914, which sparked the first world war. The issue is a divisive one in Bosnia as we have noted here in our sister magazine, Intelligent Life. Many Bosniaks and Croats view Gavrilo Princip, the assassin, as a terrorist. Serbs see him as a liberator.
Big showpiece events taking place in Sarajevo in June include a major cycle race featuring former Tour de France stars and a performance of the Vienna Philharmonics in the city’s Austro-Hungarian city library building (pictured), which was burned down at the beginning of the Serbian siege of Sarajevo in 1992. Workmen are now racing to restore it.

In Serbia the big question is whether early elections will be called. Most likely this will happen by the end of this month. The result looks set to change the balance of power in government. Aleksandar Vucic, the deputy prime minister and leader of the largest party in parliament, is likely to become prime minister. However, as many analysts have pointed out, those who have called early elections in recent years have all had nasty shocks. Mr Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party is almost certain to remain the biggest party but it might not do as well as its members calling for an election hope.

In Croatia the mood is one of introspection. In his new year’s message the president, Ivo Josipovic, talked of disappointment since joining the European Union in July. He went as far as to ask whether Croatia had only been wearing a mask to enable it to gain membership. A Social Democrat, he and his government, are facing a resurgent right, but the main challenge is extra-parliamentary. Following the defeat of the government in its opposition of a referendum against gay marriage in December, the use of Serbian Cyrillic in the Vukovar region is now on the agenda. The Catholic Church and militant former soldiers are playing leading roles.
In the wake of last year’s historic agreement between Kosovo and Serbia brokered by the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, much of the first part of the year will be taken up with implementing it. New municipalities in Serbian majority areas need to begin operating and problems are already emerging. According to the agreement an association of Serbian municipalities now needs to be formed and its competences need to be defined.

The really big unknown in Kosovo this year relates to the Special Investigative Task Force of the EU’s police and justice mission. It was set up in the wake of a report by Dick Marty, a Swiss prosecutor for the Council of Europe, which was officially published in January 2011. The report implicated Hashim Thaci, Kosovo’s prime minister in drug smuggling and murder and accused his former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas of harvesting the organs of murdered prisoners in 1999. Mr Thaci has always dismissed the allegations as ridiculous and later this year the SITF should either vindicate or indict him and other important Kosovar politicians. In rather dramatic contrast Mr Thaci and Ivica Dacic, his Serbian counterpart, have been nominated for this year’s Noble Peace Prize by members of the American Congress.


The economy and high unemployment continue to plague the whole region, though the last few months have seen some encouraging indicators. They only serve to show however just how reliant the western Balkan economies are on the fate of the euro zone in terms of demand and remittances, despite much excited talk of Russian and Chinese investment. Indeed Milan Bacevic, a Serbian government minister, has announced that China is to invest €10 trillion ($13.5 trillion) in the Balkans and central and eastern Europe and that Belgrade is to be the centre for its infrastructure projects. Sadly, this figure, which he insisted was correct, and represents a little less than the entire American GDP is unlikely to be right. If it was, that would be the Balkan story of the century, let alone the year.

Tax for oil concessionaries
10/01/2014

“Bankers Petroleum”, the company that has most of the Albanian oil industry under concession, says that they are negotiating with the government about the effects of the new taxes.

The government decided to use excise tax for the oil sub-products that the concessionary companies import for their own needs.

According to the Ministry of Finances, this would bring 35 million USD for 2014, money that would be taken from the concessionaries. But through a press release announced on their website, “Bankers Petroleum” quotes their president saying: “The company is negotiating with Albanian high rank officials, to fully evaluate the impact of the new laws in order to reach an agreement that would compensate the financial effects, a right that comes from the concessionary agreement that we have with Albania”.

Top Channel has learned that the Ministry of Energy is tasked with the negotiations. Official sources from this Ministry confirm the news, but say that no concrete discussion has been held so far. According to these sources, the meetings are expected to be held in the days to come with all companies that operate in the oil industry and that are affected by the new taxes. The budget contribution of the companies that exploit our national assets has been a hot political debate by the Socialists when they were in opposition.

After coming to power, the left government planned a draft that imposed excise on all concessionary imports in all phases of research and exploitation.

Only two days later, the Ministry of Finances modified the draft in Parliament by excluding imports that are in the researching phase. What it remains to be seen now is the result of the new negotiations. Will there be other changes in the law that imposes excise over the concessionary, or the government will keep it unchanged?

Confidential sources from the Ministry of Energy say that one of the concessionary requests is of recognizing the new taxes as deductible spending for calculating the profit.

So far, the companies that exploit oil in Albania have not paid any tax on profit, since they say that they haven’t recovered their investments yet. A few weeks ago, the Minister of Finances declared in Parliament that the budget for 2014 will not benefit any tax on profit from oil, the exports of which were almost 500 million USD last year, or 4% of the Gross Domestic Product.

Petromanas formally announces discovery on Blocks 2-3 in Albania



Thursday, January 09, 2014
TagsAlbaniaEast Europe Discovery Operations UpdateFracking Seismic
 Pursuant to the terms of the Production Sharing Contract for Blocks 2-3, the Company must notify the government whether it considers the discovery to be worthy of appraisal as a potential commercial discovery within 60 days after the notice of discovery.
 The Molisht-1 well is currently drilling at a depth of approximately 2,200 metres.
 The Company's contractors have now completed all data acquisition for the 456 km 2D seismic program.
Petromanas Energy Inc. (TSXV: PMI) announced that based on its previously disclosed well results and initial positive 30 day pressure build-up data from the Shpirag-2 well, it has officially informed the Albanian government of a discovery on Blocks 2-3, onshore Albania in which it holds a 25% working interest and is the operator with Shell holding the remaining 75% interest.

Pursuant to the terms of the Production Sharing Contract for Blocks 2-3, the Company must notify the government whether it considers the discovery to be worthy of appraisal as a potential commercial discovery within 60 days after the notice of discovery. An appraisal plan would also be submitted at that time. The first well in the appraisal program is expected to be Shpirag-3, located approximately three kilometres to the south of the Shpirag-2 well. Drilling at Shpirag-3 is expected to commence following completion of drilling at Molisht-1.

The Company has completed the 30 day pressure build-up on the Shpirag-2 well and pulled the data recorders from the hole. Initial information following the three-day flow test indicates the formation has returned to expected reservoir pressures. All recorded data from the month-long test has been sent for further analysis. The well has been suspended until next steps have been determined.

"We remain pleased with the initial performance of this well and are eager to begin moving ahead with the design of an appraisal program while drilling of the Molisht-1 well continues," said Glenn McNamara, CEO of Petromanas. "Once we have analyzed all of the data from the 30-day build up test we expect to be in a better position to make a determination with respect to next steps for the Shpirag-2 well."

Molisht-1

The Molisht-1 well is currently drilling at a depth of approximately 2,200 metres. Consistent with the Company's experience at Shpirag-2, the well encountered a series of anticipated lost circulation zones in the upper carbonate which have been resolved. These lost circulation zones resulted from extensive fracturing of the upper carbonate sheet. Petromanas expects to drill the well to a total depth of approximately 5,500 metres.

Blocks 2-3 Seismic Program

The Company's contractors have now completed all data acquisition for the 456 km 2D seismic program. Seismic processing and interpretation is now underway and expected to continue throughout 2014. The data from the program will be used to identify additional drilling targets on Blocks 2-3.

Germany's Foreign Minister Steinmeier encourages Greece to hold austerity course

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has encouraged Greece’s coalition government to press on with economic reforms. He also pledged further German support as Athens continues down this difficult path.


 Frank-Walter Steinmeier besucht Athen

Following a meeting with Greece's conservative prime minister, Antonis Samaras (pictured above left), and his socialist foreign minister, Evangelos Venizelos (above right) on Friday, Steinmeier (center) said he had called on both to continue down the path of austerity to bring the country's deficit under control.
“The work that is being done here is not just being done for Greece, but for Europe. I expressed my encouragement for this,” Steinmeier said.
He also expressed his respect for their commitment to fiscal responsibility, despite the fact that this can't be expected to win them votes among many Greeks.
“Both know the political risks that this path brings for their parties. But both are just as convinced that political reform process may not be abandoned,” Steinmeier said, while adding that there were now small signs of improvement in Greece, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.
On Thursday, Venizelos had expressed a similar sentiment.
"We have the largest obstacle behind us," Venizelos said.
Late last month, Prime Minister Samaris announced that Greece would not need further bailout money after its current set of international loans expired later this year.
In 2010, Greece was first awarded a bailout worth 110 billion euros ($149.5 billion) from the troika, followed by 130 billion euros in 2012, as well as a debt write-off for the private sector of more than 100 billion euros.
According to figures from Greece's statistics office Elstat, unemployment reached an all-time high of 27.8 percent in October. Greek politicians have also debated the survival of the current government after EU elections in May.
During Steinmeier's visit to Athens, a new German ambassasador to Greece was named. Peter Schoof‘s appointment still has to be approved by Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet.
The current German ambassador to Greece, Wolfgang Dold, is to return to Berlin in the summer after serving two years in Athens.
In late December, unidentified assailants fired shots at the German ambassador's residence in Athens. No one was injured in the incident. The Greek government later condemned the attack.
pfd/msh (dpa, Reuters)

US calls on Greece to find, return Greek terrorist who vanished while on prison furlough

Published January 08, 2014

Associated Press

WASHINGTON –  The U.S. is calling on the Greek government to find and return to prison a member of a terrorist organization, which is responsible for the deaths of five employees of the U.S. mission in Athens.
Christodoulos Xiros (Chris-toh-DOO'-los SEER-ross), a far-left terrorist gunman serving six life sentences, vanished while on New Year's leave from prison, prompting a nationwide manhunt.
Xiros was convicted in 2003, along with two of his brothers, of belonging to the November 17 terrorist group, which killed 23 people — including foreign diplomats, policemen and businessmen — between 1975 and 2000.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the U.S. is in touch with Greek officials about the case and is calling on the Greek government to find him and return him to prison.

Albania's 2014 budget raises police salaries to improve security

TIRANA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Albania's 2014 budget provides higher salaries for police officers in a bid to improve the country's security and law and order situations.
The 2014 state budget includes a 20-25 percent pay raise for most of the state police officers starting from Jan. 1, the official news agency ATA reported Tuesday.
The budget allocated for state police has increased 14 percent, according to budget figures from the interior ministry.
Official statistics show that salaries of Albania's state police officers were among the lowest compared with its neighboring countries such as Macedonia.
Albanian Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri expressed the wish that the salary increase could translate into greater safety of Albanian citizens.

Greece: 25 Charged Over Bank Business Loans

ATHENS, Greece January 9, 2014

Greek authorities have charged 25 people and arrested three following an investigation into allegedly inadequately secured loans from the former Hellenic Postbank to local businessmen.

Judicial officials said Thursday two former bank officials and the owner of private Alpha TV station have been arrested on criminal charges including fraud and money laundering.

A total 25 people — including former top bank executives — have been charged over the loans, which allegedly resulted in 500 million-euro losses for the Greek bank.

Hellenic Postbank was merged last year with Greece's Eurobank under a program to restructure the financially struggling country's banking sector.

Police said the arrests were made late Wednesday. The media owner was not taken into custody as he was undergoing treatment in a hospital where he remains under guard.

EU's visa mechanism comes into force

Source: Beta

BRUSSELS -- A new European Union (EU) mechanism enabling for urgent reintroduction of travel visas for the Western Balkan countries enters into force on Thursday.

(Beta/AP, file)

So far, no member of the organization has requested to use the mechanism.
The legislation was adopted in December due to the increasing number of fake asylum seekers from the Western Balkans and other abuses of the visa-free regime, which in recent years caused concern in the EU.

According to a "protective clause", the mechanism can be applied at the request of an EU member.

The suspension of the visa free regime "can be applied as a last resort" in the event of a sudden increase in the number of fake asylum seekers, irregular entries into the EU or "a more massive rejection of EU requests for readmission and return of persons who violate the visa-free regime," Beta reported.

According to its sources in Brussels, the European Commission is constantly monitoring the situation, which is so far unchanged, and a noticeable increase in the number of asylum seekers was noted only in Germany.

This came as the country's Supreme Court reinstated a previous system of financial and other benefits for asylum seekers who can stay in the country for up to six months as their requests are being considered.

“Albania deserves the EU stratus”
08/01/2014

1

“Albania deserves the EU status in June”, declared the Greek Deputy Prime Minister, Evangelos Venizellos, in an exclusive interview for the Greek public news agency, only a few hours after the official ceremony in Athens for the Greek presidency of the European Union.

According to Venizello, who is also Foreign Minister, Albania’s integration progress is good and Athens will promote the status for the neighboring country during their presidency.

“There are countries where it can be promoted faster, such as Montenegro. Albania’s performance is also good, and we are in favor of it right now. We will review this again in June, during the Greek presidency”, he declared.

Venizellos underlined that he will contact with all the Balkan countries, by visiting the Balkan capitals as leader of the Council of Foreign Ministers, in order to see if the integration perspective can be easier when thereis a good will from the other side.

“I believe that this semester is a good chance for discussing the perspective of the Balkan countries, by making concrete steps that will give a significance to this European perspective.

The negotiations for Serbia will start on January 21st, according to the Greek leader in the Eu, and this is very important not only for Serbia, but also for Kosovo.

As regards the Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia, Venizellos considered it a problematic case, since the government of the neighboring country is not helping with their stance in fulfilling the criteria that are needed by every country, in respect of the Copenhagen Criteria, International Rights and good neighboring.

Tourism in 2013 dropped with 13%
08/01/2014

According to the Albanian Central Bank, tourism in 2013 marked a record-breaking drop of 13%, while the spending of foreigners in Albania dropped with 18%.

The Albanian Tourism Association says that this is affected by the lack of investment in this sector for the past 10 years, which has increased the spending of Albanians abroad with 3%. In this situation, the Albanian Tourism Association has reacted for the government’s failure to keep the electoral promise of reducing the tourism VAT.

“Taxes in Albanian are 300% higher than in the other countries of the region, and certainly that this affects standards and quality. Tourists cannot receive the same quality of Macedonia with the same price in Albania. VAT goes should go to 5, rather than 15%. Most of the countries have it between 5 to 7%, and many European countries have it at 5%. This is just an undeserved tax that from 0 goes to 20%”, says Zak Topuzi, head of the Hotel-Tourism association.

“By softening taxes, the first regulation would be that of formalizing the market, which produces taxes with real incomes through other sources for the state”, declared Enver Mehmeti, President of the Tourism Association.

According to the Tourism Association, the new tax package not only doesn’t make the tax burden easier for this industry, but it makes it heavier by increasing the tax on profit of big businesses at 50%.

If no measure will be taken for this sector, it will be even more difficult in 2014 and there would be a direct effect in the entire economy”.

EU expects "transparency and impartiality" from Turkey

Source: Beta, DPA, AFP

BRUSSELS -- The EU Commission has expressed concern over the crisis in Turkey with and is seeking a transparent and impartial investigation into the corruption allegations.

(Beta/AP, file)

"The recent steps are a matter of a concern," said a statement from Olivier Bailly, the spokesperson for EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule.
Turkey is an EU-candidate where hundreds of police officers have been sacked in recent days in what appears to be retaliation for a graft probe into the premier's closest allies, AFP reported.

"We urge Turkey, as a candidate country committed to the political criteria of accession, including the application of the rule of law, to take all the necessary measures to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are addressed without discrimination or preference in a transparent and impartial manner," the statement added.

In December, the police in Turkey arrested dozens of people allegedly tied to a high-level corruption scandal, including three former ministers and their sons. The recent removal of police officers and chiefs is seen as a retaliatory move by Erdogan's government.

Pappou Niko's eternal exile

"It was all for nothing , all my struggles, all my privations and I'm alone. I try to figure out the reason for this and each time, I am more and more at a loss."
Nikos Syrmos

Nikos Syrmos.

6 Jan 2014

Dean Kalimniou

My youthful recollection of pappou Niko is of an exceedingly tall old man, possessed of severe eyebrows perpetually pressed into a frown. The lines on his face were so deep that they appeared to have been incised with a scalpel. He never, ever smiled. Clad always in a suit and tie, his round eyes would penetrate your epidermis and bore deep inside you. "Go to him," my mother would say, noticing my apprehension. "He has no grandchildren of his own."
This was not entirely true. As pappou Niko fixed you with his gaze, you knew that instead of looking at you, he was in fact, confronting the image of the infant children he left back in Dervitsiani, when he fled Albania in order to avoid certain execution. Further than that, he was looking at the grandchildren that he had never seen but knew only from the few letters that managed to emerge relatively unscathed from the ravages of the Albanian censors. Here in Melbourne since the late forties, he never remarried and lived alone, desperately despondent at not being separated from his family and despondently attempting to retain some type of connection with the life circumstances compelled him to leave behind. Yet in his solitude in far away Australia, he was constantly surrounded by his adopted family, the large migrant community of Northern Epirots, to whom he was more than just a beloved grandfatherly figure. As a spy, activist and staunch fighter for the freedom of the Greeks of Northern Epirus, he paid the ultimate price for his patriotism. For this, the quiet old suit-clad and towards the end of his tortured life, broken man, was revered.
Born in 1902 in the village of Dervitsiani, Nikos Syrmos had his foretaste of exile early, migrating to Argentina after the death of his parents. The experience of being an orphan, as he confided in his epistolary correspondence to his children later, caused him to value family more than anything else. Returning from Argentina and re-settling in his village, where he married his beloved Kostanto ("Nikova" as she was referred to in the village), his bravery, outspokenness and commitment to public works to improve the life of his fellow villages soon attracted the attention of Vasilis Sahinis, the leader of the Greek minority in Albania, who recruited him to his committee. As a result, Nikos Syrmos was at the forefront of Greek efforts to overturn the Albanian government's 1935 decision to close all Greek schools, in violation of the treaties that welded Northern Epirus to the Albanian state. His activism, in co-ordination with the Northern Epirot community and the Greek state was instrumental in having the World Court overturn the Albanian government's decision, compelling them to re-open the schools and guarantee the Greek minority some basic rights.
These triumphs would be short-lived however, as Italy occupied Albania in 1939 and set about revoking all the rights of the Greek minority in Northern Epirus. In 1940, Nikos Syrmos would welcome the victorious Greek troops into Dervitsiani, only to see them retreat again in the wake of the German invasion a year later. It was at this time, when Albanian officials, collaborating with the Italians, began to actively persecute the Greeks of Northern Epirus, that the first Northern Epirot resistance groups appeared in the area of Delvino, led by two locals and former officers of the Greek army. Soon after, several resistance groups were formed by the local Greek population all over southern Albania. In June 1942 these groups were organized under one leadership and the Northern Epirus Liberation Front was formed. The leading spirit behind the creation of this organisation was Nikos Syrmos' friend and mentor, Vasilis Sahinis, thus placing Nikos in a unique position to follow events as they unfolded and also participate in the liberation movement.
Nikos' chance came when, in December 1942, he took part in the Northern Epirote resistance organised attacks on Italian-controlled frontier posts and gendarmerie stations, particularly in the regions of Zagoria, Pogoni, Delvino, and Agioi Saranda. When not fighting, Nikos, who offered his services to the cause for free, had to fend for his growing family of five children, a particularly difficult undertaking in impoverished, war-torn Albania. Nikos, along with his other fellow villagers, also had to bear the brunt of brutal counter-attacks and persecution by Italian forces, aided by the ultra-nationalist Balli Kombetar, specifically aimed to terrorise and demoralise villages with Greek sympathies. During this time, he participated in the operation that saw Northern Epirot forces secure the village of Politsiani and set up headquarters there. It was a result of this activity, and the fact that at the time, the Northern Epirus Liberation Front seemed to be the largest and most effective resistance group in Southern Albania, that the British decided to send a mission there. Nikos Syrmos was at the meeting and bore witness to this historic event.
As he related to his friends in Melbourne years later, the British Mission proposed that the Northern Epirus Liberation Front, the Albanian Communist Party and EAM, the Greek Communist resistance, should collaborate to form a stronger force against the Axis and Albanian collaborationists. This troubled the leadership of the Northern Epirots, who felt that EAM's internationalist convictions were being exploited by an Albanian Communist Party that was far from internationalist and instead, highly nationalistic. The Northern Epirot leadership felt that should their interests were inimicably opposed to those of the Albanian Communists and that should they prevail in post war Albania, then the rights of the Greeks in Northern Epirus would be compromised. In a quandary as to how to proceed, Vasilis Sahinis sent Nikos Syrmos on a mission into Greece in order to obtain advice about any proposed collaboration.

Greece plays up progress as it takes on delicate EU presidency

By Luke Baker

ATHENS Wed Jan 8, 2014 1

1 of 2. Greece's Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras (R) and Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras listen to questions during a news briefing related to the Greek presidency of the European Union in Athens January 7, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Yorgos Karahalis

(Reuters) - Greece took over the presidency of the European Union on Wednesday and chose the moment to deliver a staunch defense of its efforts to recover from six years of recession and two bailouts that have cost it more than 200 billion euros.
Meeting Brussels-based journalists as Athens took on what is largely a ceremonial EU role for the next six months, Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras were quick to highlight nascent signs of recovery, with forecasts for the economy to grow marginally this year.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras delivered a similar message, while all of them trod carefully around the possibility that Greece will need another loan or else have to write off or renegotiate a portion of its vast debts later this year.
Since it emerged in late 2009 that Greece had fiddled its statistics, the country has received two rescues totaling 240 billion euros - more than its annual output - from the EU and International Monetary Fund, and flirted with leaving the euro.
To try to put the economy back on a stable footing, the government has slashed spending, cut public sector salaries and pensions, raised taxes and begun to sell off state assets, enforcing a dramatic and deeply unpopular internal devaluation.
"No other country during peacetime has achieved as much as Greece has achieved since 2009," Stournaras said when asked what specific steps he had taken to make the economy competitive again after six years of contraction.
"People should this year begin to feel the impact in their pockets and in their everyday lives."
Asked if it was not essential for Greece to write off some portion of the money loaned to it by the EU and IMF to have any chance at a sustained recovery, both Venizelos and Stournaras demurred, while Samaras played up the signs of improvement.
"Greece, after huge sacrifices, is able to say that it is leaving behind the crisis," he told a joint news conference with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Ahead of the arrival of Barroso and the rest of the members of the European Commission, police and paramilitary units sealed off the centre of Athens and demonstrations were banned to prevent any disruptions to the launch of the presidency.
DEBT WRITEDOWN
Because of Greece's enormous debt and low prospect of being able to pay them back in the next 30 years, the expectation is that some form of renegotiation will be required later this year, although it is a subject Greece is reluctant to broach.
Venizelos, a combative former finance minister and Socialist party leader, said no request for a "haircut" or write down in the value of its loans had been made and said he was only interested in how to make the outstanding debt more manageable.
"We want a serious technical discussion about how to make the debt sustainable in the long term," he said, adding that to this point none of the loans had cost European taxpayers a cent because all obligations had been paid in full.
Stournaras said there was room to lower the interest rates on the loans still further - even though they are barely above the cost of financing - as well as making changes to the pay-back schedule and using EU development funds in more imaginative ways to keep Greece solvent and on a recovery path.
"A reduction in the interest rate and a pushing back of the amortization schedule is more effective from the point of view of the financial markets," he said, dismissing suggestions that what Greece ultimately needed was debt relief.
Any new loan would likely come with further strict conditions on spending cuts and tax increases that Greece is determined to avoid, not least to avert further social unrest.
"There can be no more fiscal conditionality," the finance minister said, highlighting the dire impact earlier rounds of spending cuts, state salary reductions and tax increases.
"It's quite illogical to impose any more conditionality. It's totally self-defeating at this stage."
Over the past four years, Greece has forced through a 22 percent reduction in the minimum wage, cut average public sector salaries by nearly a quarter and slashed some pensions by more than 40 percent, delivering a deep "internal devaluation".
While the economy has contracted by almost 25 percent from its peak, the current account deficit has been erased, exports have picked up and growth of 0.6 percent is scheduled this year. Unemployment has stabilized, albeit at a painful 27 percent.
In a sign of increased confidence, Stournaras said it was likely Athens would offer a five-year bond in the second half of 2014, with the funds raised via an investor roadshow.
While that would mark a significant step forwards, it would still fall a long way short of full market access - and socially and politically Greece remains deeply troubled.
Samaras's coalition government is barely holding on to a three-seat majority in parliament. He dropped plans to increase healthcare costs this week and will raise taxes on cigarettes instead, largely to avoid the threat of a parliamentary revolt.
The major event during Greece's presidency will be the European Parliament elections in May, when a surge in support for extreme-left, -right and anti-EU parties is expected.
In Greece, the left-wing Syriza group is forecast to top the polls, potentially disrupting Samaras's delicate coalition.
(Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

US voices concern over convicted November 17 still at large

The US government has expressed its concern regarding convicted November 17 member Christodoulos Xeros’s failure to report in as part of his furlough obligations on Tuesday, local media reported on Wednesday.
According to Mega television channel, speaking to the network's US-based Michalis Ignatiou late on Tuesday a State Department spokesperson noted that the country was deeply concerned that a convicted member of the terrorist group which has murdered five US Embassy staffers in Greece, was at large.
The spokesperson said that the US government was working together with Greek officials regarding the case and asked the Greek government to locate Xeros and send him back to prison.
The State Department official further noted that the two countries were partners in the war against terrorism.
Xeros was granted a nine-day furlough on January 1 but failed to report to police on Tuesday after presenting himself to the authorities regularly on the previous days.
The 55-year-old has been serving multiple life terms at high security Korydallos Prison in Athens.

A1 Report - Xhihad 2014, si perfundojne drejt Sirise fanatiket shqiptare

"Jihad" in 2014, as radical Islamic Albanian finish to Syria


At the height of the fighting between extremists and government opposition in Syria, recently noted "exodus" of Albanians who go there for jihad, but a very serious phenomenon is emerging lately: Take away the women and childrens. News  confirmed for the newspaper "Shqiptarja.com" to the law enforcement sources, which claim that everything is happening at a time when Syria have advanced extremist groups that are challenging even Al - Qaeda .

Scheme departures

The phenomenon is spreading with frightening speed in the doors of Albanian families, where sources say reserved Middle Albania, Korca and North, are the most affected areas. To cover the tracks, heads, which have previously been linked to various Muslim NGOs, organize the escape, disguised by families as volunteers of these organizations, to help the civilian population. This is the justification and just passed through Turkey, men, women and children of surrender "land Hell", from where the exit alive remains a matter of chance. Powerful media world have confirmed that the men go out there struggling to form the largest Islamic state , which will rule the laws of God , while women and children are used as protection of extremist attacks against government forces .

more see:  http://www.shqiptarja.com/Aktualitet/2731/xhihad-2014-si-p-rfundojn--drejt-siris--fanatik-t-shqiptar-t-194587.html 

Greece: Der Spiegel, Samaras "out of touch with reality"

Athens is the beggar of Bruxelles, writes the German magazine,

07 January,

ANSAmed) - ATHENS, JANUARY 7 - The popular German magazine Der Spiegel, lashes out against Greece, specifically targeting the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras as. The magazine - as GreekReporter website wrote - refers to the Greek Prime Minister as a "liar" and "out of touch with reality." Next to the photograph of Samaras are the words, "The imaginary cured." The article is a full frontal attack on Greece and characterizes the country as the beggar of Bruxelles. Der Spiegel claims that Greece's fiscal consolidation has been stalled, and that German official Hans-Joachim Fouchtel has been moved to the position of Director General of International Development Cooperation-Hellenic Aid, due to the incompetence of Greek officials in handling the preparations for the country's European presidency.

The author of the article ponders, "how a member state of the EU and a Eurozone country could be so similar to countries such as Afghanistan or Pakistan and therefore that Greece is not a member state but a failed state." The article goes on to suggest that many Brussels officials are convinced that Greece will need further financial support during the next two years. The total estimated amount will be approximately 8-10 billion euros. "Despite these predictions," continues the article, "Antonis Samaras promises a Greek presidency of hope." Last but not least, Der Spiegel doubts whether Greece will ever be able to recover from the problems that it faces, due to poor administration, ineffective justice and incompetent politicians.

(ANSAmed).

Reuters: U.S. blocks Turkish firm for exporting GE engines


January 7 2014
U.S. acts to block Turkish firm from sending GE engines to Iran

(Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday issued a rare emergency order aimed at blocking the illegal re-export of two large, used U.S.-built commercial jet engines to Iran by a company based in Turkey.

Assistant Commerce Secretary David Mills, who oversees export enforcement, signed the order on Friday after learning that Turkish-based 3K Aviation Consulting & Logistics planned to re-export two engines built by General Electric Co to Iran on Tuesday using Pouya Airline, an Iranian cargo airline.

There has been a warming in U.S.-Iranian ties this year, including a November 24 deal to curb the Iranian nuclear program, but most exports to Iran remain strictly banned under U.S. law.

The order, which will be in effect for 180 days, includes sweeping consequences for 3K Aviation, Pouya Airline and Adaero International Trade, the Illinois-based company that the department said had shipped the used aircraft engines to Turkey.

The order bans all three companies and their key officers from engaging in negotiations, trade, transport or other activities involving any U.S. export-controlled items, not just the aircraft engines in question.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/06/us-usa-turkey-iran-engines-idUSBREA050ZB20140106

Albania: Security and Defense strategy
 
Another project for Albanian National Strategy Army, will change just next months

The Minister of Defense, Mimi Kodheli, presented the new directives for defense in front of the highest Albanian military officials.

Kodheli declared that during this year they will compile a strategic document for the defense, the national security and will review the armed forces structures. There will also be legal reforms.

“First of all, for the compiling of the strategic documents in the security and safety areas, we need to finalize the National Security Strategy, for which the Ministry of Defense is part of the inter-institutional efforts; the Military Strategy and Long-term Development Plan of the Armed Forces; the review of the Armed Forces sutrcture, with the purpose to have a more efficient, functional and able administration, to implement the basic duties of defense for the collective defense and to support the civilian population in emergencies”, Kodheli declared.

The Ministry of Defense expressed her reserves for the work of the year that was left behind.

“2013 marked a full integration of the Armed Forces in the NATo structures, a participation in the operations led by NATO and the European Union; the enlargement of the training processes, the dismantling of excessive ammunition. Despite of the achieved results, we have noted that there are tasks that have failed to complete, such as the development of full operational forces, the main strategic documents of safety and security that is lacking to the defense”, Kodheli declared.

Even during 2014, the dismantling process for the excessive ammunition will continue.

The Canadian Press January 7, 2014 

Bankers Petroleum says it expects minimal impact from Albania's tax changes

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CALGARY - Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (TSX:BNK) says it's in discussions with the government of Albania about tax changes that came into effect Jan. 1.
Hydrocarbon producers in Albania, where Bankers has its main operations, are no longer exempt from a 20 per cent value-added tax.
But the Calgary-based company says legislation passed on Dec. 28 also contains provisions for producers to be fully reimbursed for the tax.
Bankers Petroleum says it expects Albania's new tax regime will have minimal impact on its business.
It says the company's Patos-Marinza oilfield in Albania produced an average of 19,303 barrels of oil per day in the fourth quarter.
Average production from the Albanian field for 2013 was 18,169 barrels of oil per day, up 21 per cent from the previous year.

"Serbia wants peace but won't forget people"

Source: Tanjug

GRAČANICA -- Aleksandar Vučić stated in Gračanica on Tuesday that his message to ethnic Albanians is that Serbs want peace, negotiations and talks.

(Tanjug)

Serbia will never forget its people, especially not the citizens in Kosovo and Metohija, said the deputy prime minister who was in the Orthodox monastery near the Serb enclave in Kosovo on Christmas Day.
Addressing the citizens after the liturgy service, Vučić said that the position of Serbs is not an easy and quoted the example of recent incidents involving destruction of Cyrillic plates in Vukovar and the stoning of Serbs in Đakovica on Monday.

He said that Serbia is reacting with peace and restraint "not because it is weak but because it is strong."

Serbia wishes to reinforce its position in the world and to strengthen its economy so as to ensure prosperity, he said.

Vučić said that Serbia wants to build good relations with everyone and reiterated that Serbia is neither small nor weak and should not be underestimated, adding that Serbia will never forget or abandon its people, especially not its citizens in Kosovo and Metohija.

He noted that unlike others, Serbia is not threatening anyone and it needs peace, welfare and new jobs, which will be the topic of talks with the clergy and Serb heads in Kosovo and Metohija on Tuesday.

The talks will also cover the finalization of construction works at the local hospital and opening the department of the Faculty of Agriculture in Gračanica, as well as the opening of new plants and jobs in other municipalities.

"We will always help our people, but also saying that the best things is to do everything in peace - to have good relations with their Albanian neighbors," said he.

Vučić added that "we will not send you any messages conflict."

"We are people who think about the future of the whole of our country, about economic prosperity, and not to flex our muscles with somebody - we did enough of this in the past," said Vučić.

The socialist government of Edi Rama, threatens rebellion by its members in Vlora

According to the newspaper "SOT" tax and customs administration, continue to be appointed persons who have served the corrupt government of Sali Berisha

SOT: Government "Rama" is holding in coalition "Chameria Community Party", PJIU without leaving the engaged, the most powerful socialist electorate in Albania.

New developments in the Albanian political scene, which may paradoxically called incredible, but have happened. Socialist electorate of one of the areas where Prime Edi Rama, is deputy, the Vlora Region, it rebelled against the same government that has voted.

According to the newspaper "SOT" militant socialist, dismissed from 8 years from Berisha government is not returned in the job, while the current administration accused of corruption, deepening of the financial crisis in Albania, continue to stand.

But the Socialist rebellion of Vlora, in foundation also has another aspect: Premier Edi Rama, has 100 days to govern with Chameria Community Party, PJIU, which was in coalition with Berisha Government, who lost from 1 million votes of Socialists. The inclusion "ad hock" of PJIU with socialists, has risen to dangerous confrontations in Vlora Region, after hundreds of Cameria Community members, continue to be in administration, concludes "SOT" newspaper.

http://www.sot.com.al/politike/administrata-lokale-e-mbushur-me-militant%C3%ABt-e-pd-rebelohet-baza-socialiste-e-vlor%C3%ABs

http://www.sot.com.al/politike/administrata-militant%C3%ABt-e-pd-kontrollojn%C3%AB-doganat-dhe-tatimet

Balkans

Updating: 17:21, 06 January 2014 Monday

(File Photo)

Bosnians react against anniversary of Republika Srpska

Members of 25 associations representing Bosnian war and genocide victims sent post cards with a photo of body remains found in a mass grave to Republika Srpska entity authorities. 

 

World Bulletin / News Desk

Ahead of the 9th anniversary of the Republika Srpska (RS) Bosnian entity, members of 25 associations which represent Bosnian war victims held a press conference aiming to raise public awareness for the crimes and foundations of that entity.
A postcard with a photo of exhumed body remains found in Tomasica, the largest mass grave in Bosnia after World War II discovered at the end of 2013, was prepared for the occassion.
The postcards of the remains unearthed 18 years after the end of the Bosnian war were sent to the addresses of RS authorities ahead of January 9, the Day of Republika Srpska.
"If you mark the Day of Republika Srpska, do not forget that these are its foundations," wrote the post card.
"We wanted to draw the public's attention in the smaller entity (RS) to how these are its real foundations as we mark the day of its establishment. We want to raise awareness, we want them to think whether they should celebrate it, to ask themselves where their neighbors and friends are," said an Association of Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa member.
Stressing that the post cards were addressed to RS authorities at all levels, President of the Association of War Victims and Witnesses of Genocide Murat Tahirovic said, "We expect them to apologize to all victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina."
"Republika Srpska is the creation of genocide... Those who neglect the genocide still celebrate. They celebrate others' distress, the distress of those who were slaughtered, killed, burned alive," noted president of the Association of Woman-Victims of the War Bakira Hasecic.
President of the Association of Parents of Murdered Children in Besieged Sarajevo from 1992 - 1995, Fikret Grabovica, said there is no doubt that RS was founded on crimes.
"This is a chance to remind the youth and international community of what happened in Bosnia. Republika Srpska did not bring good to anyone," added Grabovica.
The press conference was organized by the Association of Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa, which gathered non-governmental organizations and associations whose work is devoted to victims of the Bosnian war (1992-1995) and genocide which occurred in Srebrenica in 1995.
The Tomasica mass grave near Prijedor in northwestern Bosnia was discovered at the end of 2013 and is estimated to hold the body remains of about 1,000 Bosniaks and Croats who were tortured and killed in concentration camps in that part of the country.
Victims of the Bosnian war and Srebrenica genocide are still being excavated from numerous mass graves in the country.
According to the Institute for Missing Persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian families are still searching for bodies of around 6,500 victims of war and genocide in the country.
According to the Dayton Agreement, the international agreement signed on December 14,1995 in Dayton (US) which officially ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country was politically divided into two entities - the Federation and Republika Srpska.