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Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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Albania: The forgotten kid of EuropeIs it time to call for the investors to go to Albania? Some years have elapsed since the public disturbances in 1997 but the situation in this country is far from becoming attractive for the foreign investors. Speaking about the numbers, the major project to this date involving US private participation* is the contract to modernize Albania's air control system. There are some changes in the right direction, which may be useful in the mid-term real estate market development. For example 2 and a half years ago the Internet in Albania made its first steps. Then we explained why the foreign investors couldn't rely on this form of communication: only about 20,000 phone lines existed at that time in the country of 3,5 million. Now these lines are more than 120,000. The Internet users in Albania are 12,000 with 10 local Internet providers. If you want to use the Net to have a general idea about Albania, the big problem will be the speed of the Internet connections. To download an average page using dial-up connection you have to wait up to several minutes. What you get as information doesn't reward your patience. Most real estate companies don't include any listings or pictures; those that have some don't mention at all the prices or the rents or the region. The only thing that can be used as information is probably the e-mail address of the owner. When contacted, these agents aren't disposed to give exact up-to-date market statistics. Some confess that the prices are roughly the same as 2 years ago in dollar terms so with some uncertainty we can use our previous data. Without detailed Net listing the personal contact using e-mail and/or phone remains the best way of getting at least some information from abroad. But don't laugh! Just 5 years ago the main way of communication in Albania was to drive between the cities with 15-20 mph, because two-thirds of the highways were unpaved. So the progress is real when it comes to link people. The technology progress in Albania in the eyes of Albanians may seem quite real but the country is far from the European Union standards in terms of legislature and of its implementation. In December 2002 this country and the EU decided to start talks on the stabilization agreement, which would pave the way for a free-trade area. The stabilization agreement is seen as a first step toward eventual membership in the EU. Brussels pointed out that Albania would have to make progress in ensuring property rights, in the fight against corruption and in the functioning of the judiciary. Until all these things happen, the best investors strategy will be to wait and see.
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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Albania.
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