European party

Ursula von der Leyen, the current President of the European Commission, has declared her intention to seek a second term in office. The announcement came during a meeting of her political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in Berlin. Von der Leyen emphasized that she enjoys the backing of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

"Prime Minister Viktor Orban discussed the creation of a new European political grouping in a video conference with Matteo Salvini, leader of the Italian Lega party, and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, vice-president of the Law and Justice party (PiS)," Bertalan Havasi, the prime minister's press chief, announced on Wednesday.

"Good evening, I'm Mateo": it is unusual for a former prime minister to introduce himself to you with his given name. But 46-year-old Matteo Renzi (in addition to the well-known Mediterranean relaxed demeanor) has this comfort of a person who managed to reach the top very young.

Mariya Gabriel is one of twelve candidates for the post of Vice-President of the European People's Party, 24 Hours reported.

She is highly trusted by European leaders and is expected to become one of the ten Vice-Presidents. In addition, her Austrian counterpart, Johannes Hahn is also running for the post.

Chairman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) Calin Popescu-Tariceanu says that he will run for President in order to battle Klaus Iohannis on equal footing, arguing that Romania's fate must be in the hands of highly seasoned, competent politicians, and "not of lab creations teleported to Cotroceni".

Winners and Losers

The long-relished and long-dreaded European Parliamentary elections are over and the composition of the new European Parliament is at long last known. The result is a mixed bag. The various anti-Europeans and populists were kept at bay, but the mainstream pro-European parties can also hardly be pleased with the outcome.

Sofia is the cheapest city in Europe to enjoy a beer where the average price of a pint in the Bulgarian capital is available for £1.14 (US$1.47), almost eight times less than in the costliest city.

On the eve of International Women's day, Bulgaria's government on Wednesday voted to withdraw its January 3 decision to send the Council of Europe's convention on preventing and combating violence against women, known as the Istanbul Convention, to parliament for ratification.

An allegory by Christos Michaelides, the chairman of the Greek Cyprus? top business body, who told Hürriyet Daily News that the divided island can become to Turkey what Hong Kong is to China if peace is achieved, has sparked controversy and criticism. 

The Cypriot Parliament has adopted a government budget that envisions an increase in spending of only 0.6 percent.

The budget forecasts state revenue of 5.928 billion euros compared with 5.952 billion euros in 2014, with spending of 6.660 billion euros.

The House of Representatives approved the tight spending plan late Tuesday by a vote of 29-26.