Christian Democratic Union

Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party has elected Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany's most populous state, as its new leader- sending a signal of continuity months before an election in which voters will decide who becomes the new chancellor.

On Saturday, 1,001 delegates of the Christian Democratic Union will elect their new leader.

On 20 May 1990, 30 years ago, the first presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Romania, after the fall of the communist regime and after the December 1989 Revolution. Presidential and parliamentary elections were held on the basis of Decree-Law No.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's heir apparent shook up German politics on Feb. 10 by declaring she would step down as the governing party's leader and not run for chancellor, fueling uncertainty in the country seen as Europe's anchor of stability amid Brexit and pressure from the far right.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, announced today that she will not run for chancellor. She will also step down from her position heading the party, German media report.

€ 13 billion and € 500 million is Germany's budget surplus for 2019, the Berlin Finance Ministry announced, news agencies said.

The unexpectedly large positive balance is due to higher tax revenues, lower interest rates on public debt and delays in infrastructure projects.

Kosovo's outgoing foreign minister, Behgjet Pacolli, has warned the Council of Europe it will refuse to cooperate with Russian senator Aleksei Kondratev if he is appointed as the rights body's Parliamentary Assembly rapporteur for talks between Belgrade and Pristina.

Reports in Kosovo say Kondratev is in line for the job, drawing swift condemnation from Pacolli via Twitter.

Romania needs a diplomat to restore its international prestige and to create consensus within the society, says Theodor Paleologu, the People's Movement Party (PMP) candidate for presidential elections, in an interview with AGERPRES. He criticizes the fact that the electoral debate on the candidates' projects for the highest office in the state is "jammed " by a government crisis.

Conservative New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis (second from right) is seen at the Munich Security Conference, which started Friday and is to run through Sunday, with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde (left) and the leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to embark on a two-day visit to Athens on January 10.