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Turkey's Central Bank Revises Up Year-end Inflation Forecast

Istanbul - Turkey's Central Bank on Thursday revised its year-end inflation forecast upwards.

Annual inflation is projected to hit 42.8% in Turkey by the end of 2022 and 12.9% by the end of 2023, Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu told a meeting held to release the bank’s second quarterly inflation report this year.

The previous expectations were 23.2% for 2022 and 8.2% for 2023.

The bank also predicted that the end-2024 inflation will hit 8.3%.

The annual inflation rate was 61.14% in March and 36.08% in December.

Vucic: Fiat Panda Electric Cars Will Be Produced in Kragujevac

Belgrade - President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday signed an agreement for the production of electric cars in Kragujevac, RTS reported. According to the Danas daily, the cars will be of the Fiat Panda type.

"We have signed an agreement on financing an electric car that will be produced in Kragujevac," said Vucic. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said that the agreement with Serbia is a concrete sign for the successful transformation of the company and its transition to a new technology.

"Today we are starting a new era in investing in our country and in our behavior in the future,"said Vucic.

As the Serbian president explained, the new investment in the Kragujevac car factory will be worth 190 million euros, of which 48 million euros will be allocated from the national budget.

He said that production in Kragujevac would start in the third quarter of 2024.

According to Vucic, the new model of electric car will be intended for the middle class.

Romanian Prime Minister: First Black Sea Natural Gas Drill Expected in Mid-year

Bucharest - Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said that the first Black Sea natural gas drill will be conducted in the middle of this year and that the country will have an extra billion cubic metres per year provided by this investment, which accounts for 10 per cent of the country's annual consumption, AGERPRES reported.

"In the Caragele field the first dill will be in 2024, and in the Neptune Deep field, before the end of 2026-2027; we cannot hope for Black Sea natural gas earlier than late 2026-2027. We have to say that Romania is a lucky country, having this very important resource at the moment," Ciuca told TVR1 national broadcaster on Wednesday.

According to Ciuca, although there is currently enough gas for consumption by the population and industry, an additional amount of about 20% of annual consumption is needed, of which 10% would be provided by the exploitation of Black Sea Oil and Gas.

Albania Will Ask to Be Separated from North Macedonia if Their EU Integration Doesn't Progress Past June

Tirana - Asked about a possibility to elect a common president of Kosovo and Albania, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci would be an excellent candidate, Albanian Daily News reported.

Speaking at a news briefing after a meeting of his Socialist Party, Rama recalled that currently Thaci is on trial for crimes of war in the The Hague Tribunal.

"We can nominate Thaci and he would be an excellent candidate and would back him but currently he is on trial," said Rama.

Speaking of EU integration and the blocked process because of the dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, Rama said that he is not optimistic about the outcome of the negotiations. The Albanian Prime Minister reiterated that if the dispute is not resolved by June Albania will ask to be separated from North Macedonia.

Greece Will Raise Issue about Payment to Gazprom at EU Council

Athens - Greece will raise of the issue of payments to Gazprom at an EU Energy Council on Monday, after Russia demanded payments for natural gas to be made in rubles, Greek Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas told Skai TV.

He added that Greece will pay Gazprom in a way that will not violate sanctions and will ensure the country's energy security. According to Minister Skrekas, Greece will be paying on May 20 for the natural gas it has received the previous month. 

Skrekas said that all measures have been taken to ensure the energy security of the country. Within a month, he stressed, Greece will have a new floating storage facility in Revithoussa, while with the new liquefied gas installation in Alexandroupolis in 2023 the country will be completely independent of Russian gas. Skrekas said the government will continue to support households and businesses, adding that following the migration and health crisis there is an energy crisis as well.