Bulgaria

Bulgaria ranks 60th in the latest Index of Economic Freedom which was released on Monday.

The index is published annually by The Wall Street Journal and the Washington-based Heritage Foundation think-tank.

The overall score of Bulgaria is 65.9, the country recording a decrease of 0.9 point compared to the previous edition of the index.

Lawmakers remain divided as Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva is expected to be the government's proposal to take over as Education Minister.

Last week Prime Minister Boyko Borisov asked incumbent Todor Tanev to step down, citing "recurring problems at the ministry and the sector."

The Council of Europe might choose to drop the post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria on the observation of human rights, the newly elected head of CoE's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has said.

In his first press briefing after the election, Pedro Agramunt said he would "closely follow" the issue, according to the Bulgarian National Radio.

Saipem, the Italian pipe-laying company that was to take part in the construction of South Stream, has filed an arbitration claim against Gazprom, a Russian business daily reports citing court documents.

The EUR 759 M claim has been lodged with Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, RBC writes, adding the claim was submitted in November of last year.

The 2015 vignette stickers for vehicles are no longer valid in Bulgaria as of Monday, February 01, authorities say.

Vignette stickers are mandatory for drivers using Bulgaria's motorways. They can be puchased from gas stations, post offices, retail chains, border crossings, and elsewhere.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev will be on a five-day official visit to Brazil and Argentina from Monday to Friday.

Like nobody else in Bulgaria MP Delyan Peevski "embodies the oligarchic system of clientelism," Der Spiegel says in a recent article.

Peevski is "the most flamboyant" Bulgarian politician, with supporters calling him "a child prodigy" and critics tying his success to close relations with the "political mafia," Der Spiegel writes [DE].

Analysis of data released by the EU statistics body Eurostat shows that in four years, from the start of 2010 to the end of 2013, 58,713 Macedonian citizens obtained permission to stay in or become citizens of EU countries.

The number is more than equivalent to the population of the fifth largest town in Macedonia, Tetovo.

Kosovo's national backetball team is hunting for top players as it prepares to take part in qualifications for Eurobasket for the first time.

The team will compete in Group E along with Slovenia, Ukraine and Bulgaria and will fight for the first two places in the group that will be sent to the European Championship.

The EU Parliament is set to discuss migration and to explore options to preserve the Schengen area amidst tensions among member states over the influx of migrants.