European Commission

The European Commission will boost competitiveness by investing almost €16 billion in research and innovation in the next two years under Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation funding scheme.

The European Commission adopted on Monday an Operational Programme worth EUR 102 M to boost the competitiveness of Bulgarian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through increased access to finance.

The funds will be allocated from the European Regional Development Fund, the press service of the European Commission informs.

Bulgaria has the eighth highest EU funds absorption rate and for the first time the country ranks among the top ten in this respect.

This was announced by European Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva on Sunday, private bTV station informs.

Since there is still time until the end of the year, she expressed hope that Bulgaria could climb further in the ranking.

A marked rise in the number of laws passed  in urgent procedure in Serbia and without debate - often under the excuse of EU membership talks - is raising questions about transparency and the quality of legislation.

Gazprom has declined to provide Turkey with an additional 3 billion cubic meters of gas via the existing Blue Stream pipeline, chief executive Alexei Miller said on Oct. 8, as reported by Reuters.

Montenegro has expanded the list of countries against which it has an arms embargo, allying itself further with the EU, which it hope to join.

A government document, which BIRN has seen, shows that the list of countries against which the sanctions have been imposed to include Belarus, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Egypt, Somalia and Zimbabwe.

Turkey will cooperate with Japan on implementing cutting-edge 5G technology during President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an's two-day-visit to the country, officials have said.

According to information from Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), a joint declaration has been signed between the agency and Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.

Turkey is giving a European Union plan to assist the country in hosting over two million Syrian refugees only a lukewarm reception, indicating funding needs to be drastically increased and lamenting shortfalls in help over previous years.
 

On Friday 9 October, Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Luxembourg Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn will travel to Italy accompanied by Interior Minister Angelino Alfano for a concrete demonstration of the roll out of the European Union’s comprehensive response to the refugee crisis.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann cast doubt on the workability of the so-called migrant hotspots European leaders plan to create by the end of next month in Greece and Italy to help manage large numbers of refugees.