Fishing enterprises of Vilkovo (Odessa region) cannot start the season of catching Danube herring because of delayed approval of limits by the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, said the chairman of the Danube Fishing Association Larisa Shchelokova to the publication “Yug Segodnya”.
The head of the association noted that despite the lots for fishing, which were drawn in December 2025, and permits from the State Fishery Agency, which were received in January this year, the actual entry into the water is impossible without the approval of the Ministry of Economy for the Danube Biosphere Reserve. The process is hampered by lengthy correspondence from Ukrposhta and new requirements to provide catch statistics for the last 10 years.
“This is some kind of disaster. The ministry sends replies, demanding statistics that no one keeps for so long. All correspondence takes place exclusively “Ukrposhta”, letters lie unregistered for weeks, and the countdown of the term of consideration begins only after that”, – said Shchelokova.
She added that after receiving the ministerial limits, fishermen have to pass another stage – obtaining permits from the Department of Ecology of the Odessa Regional Military Administration (OMA), where the period of consideration of documents also reaches about a month.
According to the Association’s forecasts, under such conditions, it is possible to go fishing not earlier than the end of March, which actually means the loss of half of the season, which lasts until mid-April.
Now 11 enterprises (about 200 boats and 400 fishermen) are ready to work in Vilkovo. At the same time, Romanian colleagues on the same territory of the reserve have already started fishing without any administrative obstacles.
The Danube Fishermen’s Association appealed for help to the Izmail District Military Administration, but as of the end of February it had not received a response.
The UAE has simplified the process of obtaining a “golden visa” for real estate investors: the key criterion remains the cost of the property from 2 million dirhams, while in Dubai it is possible to apply on the basis of a mortgage purchase if there is a letter from the bank and confirmation of payments, according to the description of the Dubai Land Department (DLD) service for applying for a 10-year investor residence visa.
According to the DLD’s terms and conditions, the applicant must own a property (or several properties) with a total value of at least AED 2 million, and the property may be mortgaged – a letter from the bank stating that there are no objections is required, as well as an indication of the amount paid and the outstanding balance.
The changes came into effect on February 20, 2026, and expand the pool of applicants to include buyers using mortgages and installment plans, as well as buyers of off-plan properties.
Ukraine is not mentioned in the CBRE European Investor Intentions Survey 2026 report and is not included in the list of markets that survey participants consider most attractive for cross-border investments in European real estate in 2026.
According to the report, investors associate the highest expectations for aggregate returns in 2026 with Spain, the UK, and Poland, while Italy, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, and Sweden also made it into the top ten.
CBRE notes an overall increase in activity: 89% of respondents expect their purchasing activity in 2026 to remain the same or increase compared to 2025.
Spain for the first time came out on the first place in Europe on the investment attractiveness of real estate investment, according to CBRE European Investor Intentions Survey 2026.
According to CBRE materials, in the survey (cross-boarder responses, without taking into account the choice of “home” market) Spain became the leader of expectations for total real estate returns in 2026 – “just under 50%” of respondents named it as the market with the highest expectations.
The top 10 countries in terms of expectations for aggregate returns in 2026 included Spain, the UK, Poland, Italy, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Sweden.
In the ranking of the most attractive cities for cross-border investment, London retained the first place.
Next in the top five were Madrid (2nd), Warsaw (3rd), Barcelona (4th) and Milan (5th).
CBRE notes an improvement in investor sentiment: 89% of respondents expect their buying activity in 2026 to increase or remain at the same level as in 2025. Living (residential real estate) remains the most preferred segment for the second year in a row, with logistics maintaining a strong position and interest in retail and offices growing year on year.
CBRE is a global commercial real estate and consulting firm; the European Investor Intentions Survey 2026 is based on responses from nearly 700 investors and outlines expectations for Europe’s real estate markets and sectors over the next year.
The CBRE European Investor Intentions Survey 2026 report does not mention Ukraine.
In the Medium and Long-Term Market section of the UEEX, trading in the resource continued in February and March 2026. A total of 9 companies formed positions for the sale or purchase of natural gas: Ukrnafta, MC Ukrnaftoburinnya, Ukrzaliznytsia, Tepla, JV BNK, etc. The section sold 1.58 mcm of natural gas. Natural gas was sold exclusively for delivery to the GTS in February and March. The prices of the sold items were in the range of UAH 19718-21150 per thousand cubic meters excluding VAT.
On the short-term natural gas market of the UEEX, participants placed bids on the intraday and day-ahead markets. In total, 36 deals were concluded with a total volume of 826 thousand cubic meters.
The gas markets started the week with a decline amid a sharp improvement in temperature forecasts for Europe and the UK by the end of February. In addition to the growth of wind power generation, this should limit the demand for gas in the electricity sector.
Geopolitical risk premiums were optimistic on Wednesday afternoon, when Iran temporarily closed part of the Strait of Hormuz, apparently in response to the increased US military presence in the Arabian Sea. Iranian news agencies reported that parts of the strait were closed for several hours (for the safety of navigation) to allow the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to conduct military exercises. As a result, gas prices strengthened across the curve in the last session on Thursday, with the Dutch M+1 contract rising by 16% in intraday trade, supported by renewed tensions between the US and Iran, which further increased geopolitical risk and contributed to the rapid conclusion of contracts. The price increase became gradually more muted further down the curve, and the impact largely disappeared starting with contracts for summer 2027. Possible delays in LNG deliveries, the development of trade agreements, and the expansion of the global economy should not be dismissed as factors that contribute to growth in the long run.
Warmer temperatures next week will support stock levels in EU gas storage facilities, which are currently 33% full, compared to the 5-year average of ~49%. The key countries in terms of storage capacity – Germany, France and the Netherlands – are also depleted at 23%, 23.6% and 14.3% respectively, with the Netherlands facing potentially complete depletion by the end of winter.
Future growth in U.S. LNG supplies continues to ease concerns. Golden Pass (US) is close to starting LNG production, having received 300 million cubic feet of gas on Wednesday, February 18; the market is pricing in the possibility of first shipments in early March. Importantly, this is one of the largest export terminals in the US, so every step towards commissioning has a significant impact on expectations of the LNG balance for Europe.
Imports of natural gas from the European direction averaged about 25.3 mcm per day and were unchanged from the previous week. Imports were present from all neighboring European countries. The main imports were from Poland. Exports from the customs warehouse amounted to about 1.3 mcm per day, in the direction of Moldova. Ukraine’s storage facilities contained 9.78 (-2.2%) bcm of natural gas. Withdrawals amounted to about 45 million cubic meters per day.
