Slovenia, Croatia solve decades-long bank dispute
13/03/2013
An internationally monitored distribution of funds will end the Ljubljanska Banka issue. Also in business news: BiH and Qatar are expected to boost investment and Bulgaria's GDP declined in 2012.
 More than 430,000 Croatians had savings in the bank before Yugoslavia broke up. [Ljubljanska Banka] |
Slovenia and Croatia signed an agreement to resolve their long-standing dispute concerning the savings of more than 430,000 Croats in Slovenia's Ljubljanska Banka after the collapse of former Yugoslavia. The problem was one of the main hurdles to Croatia's EU bid. Under the deal, there will be an internationally-brokered distribution of assets owned by the two countries.
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The European Investment Bank is expected to approve 1 billion euros in loans for five western Balkan countries this year, bank vice president Dario Scannapieco told journalists in Belgrade. He said most of the funds, which are allocated to support the region's EU integration, would go to Serbia, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania. The financing is earmarked for infrastructure and small- and medium-sized enterprise development.
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Businessmen from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Qatar attended a business forum in Doha focused on fields of co-operation and investment opportunities. The event was held as part of an official visit by a delegation led by BiH Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
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Economic relations between Azerbaijan and Croatia were among the top issues on the agenda of talks between Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and his Croatian counterpart Ivo Josipovic in Zagreb. The two leaders discussed possibilities for investment and co-operation, especially in the field of transport and tourism.
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Bulgaria's economic growth slowed to 0.8 percent in 2012, official data showed. In the same period last year, GDP registered an increase of 1.8 percent. Forecasts for this year are for an economic growth of 1.4 to 1.9 percent.
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Turkey will become Europe's strongest economy by 2050, President Abdullah Gul said in an interview with Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, ahead of an official visit to Stockholm. Gul, the first Turkish head of state to the Nordic country, is accompanied by a delegation of more than 100 businessmen.
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Greece and Cyprus rank lowest in the EU in terms of female managers in top positions, according to Eurostat data. In 2011, only a third of managers in the EU were women. In Greece and Cyprus this share was even lower at 23 percent and 15 percent respectively.
(Various sources -- 06/03/13-13/03/13)
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