Slovakia

Last year, 228,000 citizens of the Western Balkans moved to European Union countries. This is shown by data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), Macedonian news agency Makfax reports.

The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance - Rosselkhoznadzor has introduced a ban on the delivery of live pigs and pork from Bulgaria and Slovakia to Russia. The measures are taken due to the African swine fever (ASF) disease, TASS reported. The restrictions are temporary but have been in force since 9 August

Eurostat data show that almost 44,7% of the territory of Bulgaria is covered with forests.

In the 2012-2015 period the forest area in Bulgaria has increased by 2,6%, BNR reported. With these numbers Bulgaria ranks 9th in the EU in forest territories. 

The share of passenger cars with diesel engines in Bulgaria increased steadily in the first half of the year, according to the registration data of the Road Police. In just six months, the difference between the cars of the two main types of fuel decreased by 49 184 units.

Of the 512 million people living in the EU in 2018, 7.8% are with nationality different from their than their country of residence: 3.4% are with nationality from another EU Member State and 4.4% are from non-EU country. These shares vary from one Member State to another.

Electric vehicles in Europe will increase dramatically in the coming years. 214 electric vehicle models will be available in the European markets in 2021, up from about 60 in 2018. It is expected that by 2025 there will be over 330 available electric vehicle models .

The government on Thursday introduced an amendment that will allow the Agriculture Ministry to hire an additional 50 veterinaries in order to speed up inspections at pig farms across the country for African swine fever.

And when, in February 2018, the country was convulsed by the first murder of a journalist in independent Slovakia, protesters again came out in defence of independent journalism and against the cosy ties between business, crime and politics that made the killing possible.

Real estate developer CTP has entered the Bulgarian market with plans to reach 100,000 square meters of leased space by the end of 2021. Bulgaria is CTP's seventh market in the Central European region (alongside the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, and Poland) extending the company's geographical footprint from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, reports Emerging Europe. 

Katalin Kevehazi, President of the Budapest-based JOL-LET (Well-Being) Foundation and a prominent expert on women in the labour market, said the plan's support for traditional nuclear families has a political dimension beyond fertility rates.