Czech Republic

The latest figures of Eurostat released on Tuesday show that Bulgaria's unemployment rate was below the EU average in the last month of 2015.

In December last year, Bulgaria registered an unemployment rate of 8.8 %, with the EU average being 9 %.

Bulgaria's unemployment rate retained its level from November 2015, decreasing by 1.4 % compared to the same month in 2014.

The unemployment rate in the euro zone and EU fell in December for the 15th month running to its lowest level in a little more than four years, according to data published by European statistics agency Eurostat.

In December 2015, unemployment rate in euro zone fell to 10.4%, while unemployment rate in EU fell to 9%.

For the first time in history, Bulgaria hosts a tournament from the ATP World Tour.

The first edition of Garanti Koza Sofia Open began on Monday and will last until Sunday, with the Arena Armeec hall being the venue for the matches.

The draw took place on Saturday, qualifications followed on Saturday and Sunday and the matches from the first round began on Monday.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has said that the closure of borders to refugees "could easily renew old bloody conflicts in the Balkans."

At a press conference during his visit to Sofia on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the EU to offer to Bulgaria membership to the Schengen Area.

Orban assured that Bulgaria is capable of guarding its borders not only against smugglers, but also against migrants.

The Hungarian prime minister said that double standards were applied towards Bulgaria.

Bulgaria has been a main source of people forcefully taken to Western Europe between 2011 and 2014, a report unveiled by the Council of Europe says, cited by Dnevnik.bg.

In December 2015, Bulgarians completed 309 010 trips abroad, which represented an increase of 15.4 % compared to the same month in 2014.

This is seen by the latest figures of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) released on Wednesday.

The Visegrad group of central European countries will hold a summit on Feb. 15 to discuss the migration crisis, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka tweeted on Jan. 26, Reuters reported. 

The meeting of Czech, Polish, Hungarian and Slovak prime ministers will take place ahead of a Feb. 18-19 summit of European Union leaders at which the crisis will be assessed. 

Bulgaria has climbed 9 spots over the past year in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index in 2015 compared to the year before.

Bulgaria absorbed 85 % of the EU funds available under the 2007-2013 programme period.

Bulgaria's absorption rate was below the average for the EU, which stood at 88.9 %, with the country ranking 22nd in this respect.