24.5.2007 by admin.

KFOR troops must stay in the province on the basis of the current UN Resolution 1244, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said in Brussels on Wednesday.

24/05/2007

BRUSSELS, Belgium — KFOR personnel will remain in Kosovo if the UN Security Council does not pass a new resolution on future status, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said in Brussels on Wednesday (May 23rd). The decision followed a meeting between NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and US President George W. Bush earlier this week. Appathurai said that while both officials support the adoption of a new resolution, based on former UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s plan for supervised independence of Kosovo, they agreed that if one is not passed, KFOR must remain in the province on the basis of current UN Resolution 1244.

On Thursday, Serbian media reported that the resolution drafted by the US and EU nations would be submitted to the UN Security Council by the end of this week. Sources say the document does not stipulate independence, but contains wording that paves the way for eventual supervised independence. (B92 - 24/05/07; Telegrafi, RTK, KosovaLive, Tanjug - 23/05/07)

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24.5.2007 by admin.

Romania faces health care crisis

24/05/2007

A high demand for doctors across the EU, coupled with the extremely low wages paid to doctors in Romania, presents a new challenge — the drain of much needed doctors heading westward.

By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest — 24/05/07

Doctors in Western Europe earn almost ten times as much as their Romanian counterparts. [AFP]

More than 50% of Romanian doctors and 75% of medical specialists plan to leave the country and continue their practice in Western Europe, a survey by the Iasi County Medical College shows. Since Romania joined the EU on January 1st, around 1,900 physicians and 1,100 nurses have applied for conformity certificates that will allow them to work in other EU member states. Given the high demand for physicians in Romania, especially in rural areas, the situation is alarming.

The Iasi survey also shows that 61% of the doctors described the country’s healthcare system reform as stationary, 21% thought that the reform will be ineffective, while only 19% believed that the reform will make a difference.

About 48% of doctors say that funding is the main problem with the Romanian medical system, while 40% blame the way in which the health care system is set up. Some doctors cite the lack of medical equipment as the central problem, while others blame corruption within the system.

Among the surveyed doctors, 26% said they earn between 200 and 300 euros per month, 24% said they earn between 150 and 200 euros and 15% said they make over 500 euros a month. Compared to the starting salary of an intern in Germany, which is around 1,800 euros per month, a doctor in Romania earns ten times less than colleagues in Western Europe.

Another incentive is that various medical specialists are in high demand across Europe. Spain has announced that its health care system is short of nearly 3,000 doctors, and the UK needs 400 dentists. As Romania is a new member state, university degrees are accredited within the EU, which in turn allows the current exodus.

EU healthcare is also facing two major issues: the growing number of patients who seek medical treatment abroad, even though it is covered by health insurance in their own country, and a lack of physicians. The Standing Committee of European Medics has said that the EU needs to change its policy concerning the health care system and the migration of the medical professionals, to avoid a bigger crisis.

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24.5.2007 by admin.

International investment, loans secured to rebuild Albanian port

24/05/2007

With a total of 40m euros in investments and loans, Albanian plans to modernise its biggest port. Durres is responsible for almost 65% of the country’s import and export trade.

By Jonilda Koçi for Southeast European Times in Tirana – 24/05/07

The port reconstruction is expected to be completed by 2010. [Getty Images]

To make Albania’s main port of Durres one of the major points of trade, as well as a gateway to the region and beyond, the international community has approved almost 40m euros for the port’s reconstruction.

Last week, Minister of Finance Ridvan Bode and EBRD representative in Tirana Murat Yildiran signed an agreement for a 14m-euro loan. The 15-year-long loan, with a three-year grace period and low interest, is just part of the 40m euros invested by the EU, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Albanian government.

The plan for the port includes building a new passenger terminal and improving other infrastructure. The project has three main components — new investments, rehabilitation and general construction supervision. Expected completion is in October 2010.

“This project brings the total EBRD portfolio to 90m euros for this sector in Albania,” Yildiran said. He added that the EBRD hopes to increase its credit portfolio in the country to 120m euros by the end of the year.

Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi said the new project aims to increase the volume of goods and passengers passing through Durres. It now processes 3m tonnes of goods and 700,000 passengers annually. From January to April, the trade volume at the port increased 14% year-on-year.

Durres is also important to the tourism sector. It is considered Albania’s gate — not only for the arrival and departure of ships carrying goods, but also for passengers — as it is connected daily with ferries to the Italian ports of Bari and Brindisi.

There are five such ports open to international traffic: Durres, Vlora, Saranda, Shengjin and Himara — with an average of about 5m tonnes of cargo a year. Durres is the biggest — handling roughly 90% of the country’s international maritime trade tonnage, and 65% of the country’s total export and import trade.

As the western end of the Pan-European Transport Corridor VIII, Durres has an essential role to play in the economic development of the country and the Western Balkan region, the EIB says.

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