RUSSIA Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Friday gave his strongest indication yet that he may run again for the presidency at the next election in 2012. Ever since Putin’s presidential term expired last year and he made way for his chosen successor Dmitry Medvedev, there has been speculation the move was …
Read More »Bulgaria hails EU decision to unblock farming aid
BULGARIA Bulgarian officials on Friday hailed an EU decision to release millions of euros in farming aid to Sofia that had been frozen since last year over fraud concerns, AFP commented. On Thursday, the European Commission authorised payments of 109.6 million euros (160 million dollars), blocked since last July, under …
Read More »Turkey’s possible IMF agreement unrelated to upcoming IMF/WB meetings
TURKEY Contrary to the all-too-common statements in the press, Turkey and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are no more likely to sign an agreement on the sidelines of the upcoming IMF World Bank Annual Meetings in İstanbul than they were at any time before or after the summit, said Caroline …
Read More »Macedonian media about Bulgaria: Brussels air calms down Boyko Borisov
MACEDONIA Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov assumed a calmer tone after his first statement about the tragedy in Ohrid, Macedonian Dnevnik daily writes on Friday. “We have wonderful relations with your prime minster. Yesterday, your foreign minister, together his Bulgarian counterpart, attended the ceremony of paying last respect to the …
Read More »PASOK to win elections with parliamentary majority, polls state
GREECE There is 5.5% distance between the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and the ruling New Democracy. According to the polls, organized on September 7-8 among 1,001 people, PASOK wins 41% support, while the New Democracy – 35.5%, which guarantees a majority of 151 MPs for the socialist party, while the …
Read More »No secret agreements on Russia – Bulgaria energy projects
RUSSIA Russia and Bulgaria have never had secret agreements on the energy projects, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said. “If legitimate decisions passed by the previous government are rejected every time, then how can we possibly work with this country! All projects have been openly discussed in Europe. We passed …
Read More »Another delay of Burgas-Alexandoupolis expected
GREECE Greek socialist leader George Papandreou attacked the ruling cabinet over the three-way intergovernmental agreement for the construction of the Burgas-Alexandoupolis oil pipeline. According to Papandreou, the agreement services only the interests of the Russian part and made it clear that it is possible to renegotiate the contract conditions if …
Read More »Bulgarian PM tones down towards Macedonia
BULGARIA Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov assumed a calmer tone after his first statement about the tragedy in Ohrid. “We have wonderful relations with your prime minster. Yesterday, your foreign minister, together his Bulgarian counterpart, attended the ceremony of paying last respect to the victims. The 15 Bulgarian tourists died …
Read More »CC rejects request of Parliament’s representative to stop examination of Communists’ contestation
MOLDOVA The Constitutional Court (CC) did not agree to stop considering the application filed by the PCRM, as requested by the Parliament’s representative. The party disputes the legality of the decisions made by the Alliance for European Integration on August 28, in the absence of the Communist MPs, Info-Prim Neo …
Read More »Constitutional Court has no reason to declare Ghimpu’s election as unlawful
MOLDOVA Local political scientists and constitutional law experts seem to be unanimous in the opinion that the Moldovan Constitutional Court has no reason for regarding the election of Mihai Ghimpu speaker of parliament as unlawful. Former Constitutional Court Judge Nicolae Osmochescu stated on the ProTV-Chisinau channel last night that even …
Read More »