European Parliament

BELGRADE - Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Serbia Eduard Kukan agreed on Friday that regional cooperation and close relations between the countries of the Western Balkans were an important condition for Serbia's EU integration.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic met on Friday with head of a European Parliament delegation and committee for stabilisation and association Eduard Kukan to discuss Serbia's cooperationn with the European Parliament.

STRASBOURG - The European Parliament (EP) adopted at a meeting in Strasbourg Thursday a resolution urging for stepping up sanctions against Russia and cancelling contracts for the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline.

Kristalina Georgieva, the nominee to become EU Commission Vice President for Budget and Human Resources, will be questioned at the European Parliament on October 2, the EP press office has announced.

Georgieva will be facing questions from three EP committees, namely those responsible for budgets, budgetary controls and legal affairs.

The European Parliament has called on Brussels to attach more strings to the South Stream pipeline project.

A majority of MEPs believes new criteria should be introduced, helping Russia to avoid further sanctions, and agreements in the field of energy which are currently in force should be reversed.

Romania's European Commissioner-designate Corina Cretu, nominated for the Regional Policy portfolio, will be heard on October 1 by the specialized committees of the European Parliament, EurActiv informed on Wednesday.

Bulgaria on Wednesday welcomed the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement which it expects will help Kiev build strong political and economic ties with the bloc.

Three committees at the European Parliament are to take part in the interrogation of Kristalina Georgieva in end-September.

Georgieva and all other commissioner candidates are to be heard at the sessions scheduled between September 29 and October 7 at the European Parliament.

A delegation representing 393 Finance Ministry cleaners who were placed in a civil service mobility scheme last year, were in the second day of a three-day visit to Strasbourg on Tuesday, where they are holding meetings with unionists and members of the European Parliament.

The European Parliament has given the green light to an Association Agreement with Ukraine setting up a free trade area after 2016.

While the agreement was being debated in Strasbourg, lawmakers in Ukraine also held discussions on the document, with both institutions having planned to pass it simultaneously.