This is not the time to send back refugees. Some of the refugees had appealed to Tirana to urge Rome to give them visas so they can stay on. The Albanian government wants to restore law and order and create new jobs before having to deal with a large influx of returnees. The Italian authorities, however, may have difficulty finding and deporting some 7,000 refugees whose whereabouts are not known. The Party of Social Democracy in Romania, the Party of Romanian National Unity, and the Greater Romania Party have called for a special session of both houses of the parliament at the end of August, Romanian media reported.
Lawmakers are currently on vacation.
The three parties want to debate the government's amended memorandum with the IMF, its decision to liquidate loss- making enterprises, and the ordinances amending the Education Law and allowing bilingual signs in localities where national minorities make up at least 20 percent of the population. The government said the steep hike was unjustified and due to speculation. It warned retail traders that inspections will be carried out to ensure profits from the sale of edible oil are registered on tax forms because compensation for the needy is to come from budget revenues. Finance Minister Mircea Ciumara said the government intends to temporarily freeze the prices of edible oil and other basic foods. The number of those enterprises was recently reduced from 17 to 16 because one enterprise turned out to be profitable.