Angela Merkel’s latest visit to the Balkans full of messages
Large drought hits agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Germany’s Angela Merkel has gone to the Western Balkans for the last time as prime minister. Se met with leaders from Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo in Tirana. Merkel’s recent visit to the region received positive comments due to her special interest in the Western Balkans. However, neither Germany nor the EU has offered a real perspective to the region in recent years.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Tirana on 14 September. Merkel later met with Albanian Prime Minister
Edi Rama, Bosnia-Herzegovinian Prime Minister Zoran Tegeltija, Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic,
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic for a working lunch.
Merkel, speaking at a news conference later, expressed support for the Open
Balkan (formerly known as mini
Schengen) initiative, which aims to facilitate the circulation of people and capital in the Western Balkans. “Germany and the European Union should support cooperation at the regional level,” Merkel said, praising infrastructure projects aimed at boosting regional co-operation, and in particular the Peace Highway (DiracTirana-Pristina-Nish highway) project. ALBANIA AND NORTHERN MACEDONIA’S ACCESSION PROCESS BLOCKED DUE TO BULGARIA’S VETO
Merkel, emphasising that it is in Germany’s interest for the Western Balkan countries to become members of the European Union, said that her heart beat for this region. Merkel also said relations between Albania and Germany are at a fairly good level. Albania and North Macedonia are doing their part to start negotiations with the European Union, but the process is blocked by Bulgaria’s veto, according to Merkel.
Merkel, speaking at the Western Balkans Summit in July, said the Western Balkan countries should become members of the EU for “geostrategic reasons” in the future. “There are many reasons, including geostrategic reasons, why the region is part of Europe and why we want it to become an EU member,” Merkel said, stressing that furthering the accession process of the Western Balkan countries is in the EU’s own interests.
Bosna Hersek’te on yıllardır şahit olunan en kurak dönem nedeniyle tarım üretiminde yüzde 60’ın üzerinde kayıp yaşandığı tahmin ediliyor.
Kuraklıktan hayvancılık sektörü de kötü etkilendi. Kuraklık nedeniyle ayçiçeği, mısır ve tahıl üretimi büyük darbe alırken durumdan son dönemde hızlı bir yükseliş eğilimi gösteren gıda fiyatlarını da olumsuz etkilemesi bekleniyor.
Bu yıl ayçiçeği yetiştirilmesinden elde edilen gelir bir önceki seneye göre yüzde 50 azaldı. Bu seneki düşük rekolte nedeniyle ayçiçek yağı fiyatının artması bekleniyor. Sırbistan’da bir ton ayçiçeği 470 Euro değerinde. Bosna Hersek, ayçiçek yağını Sırbistan’dan ithal ettiği için, Sırbistan’daki fiyat artışı Bosna Hersek’e de negatif yansıyor.
Bosna Hersek Semberiya ve Mayevitsa Bölgesel
Tarımcılar Birliği Başkanı Savo Bakayliç, Semberija bölgesinde tarımcıların çoğunlukla ayçiçeği yetiştirdiğini ve kuraklıktan dolayı ayçiçeği rekoltesinin düşük olduğunu belirtti. Bakayliç, sıvı yağ fiyatının şimdiden %200 arttığını ve büyük ihtimalle de artmaya devam edeceğini ekledi. (www.balkannews.com)
More than 60% of agricultural production is estimated to have been lost in Bosnia and Herzegovina due to the driest period in decades.
The livestock sector was also badly affected by the drought. Sunflower, corn, and grain production has been hit hard by the drought and the situation is expected to negatively affect food prices, which have been on rapid rise recently.
Earnings from growing sunflowers this year decreased by 50% compared to the previous year. The price of sunflower oil is expected to increase due to this year’s low harvest. A ton of sunflowers is worth €470 in Serbia. The price increase in Serbia is also reflected negatively in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as Bosnia and Herzegovina imports sunflower oil from Serbia.
Savo Bakajlic, the president of the BiH Regional Association of Farmers of Semberija and Majevica, said that farmers mostly grow sunflowers and the sunflower cultivation is low due to the drought in the Semberija region. The price of oil has already risen by 200% and is likely to continue to rise, he added. (www.balkannews.com)