European Union

Greece has topped the European Union chart in activating investments in the context of the European Fund for Strategic Investments, dubbed the Juncker Plan, in proportion to its gross domestic product, according to data presented by the European Commission on Tuesday.

Special AGERPRES correspondent, Florin Stefan, reports: Romania should send its European Commissioner proposal by the beginning of next week, at the latest, in order for the European Parliament to be able to stick to its timetable and vote for the new European Commission at its session in November, Dacian Ciolos stated on Tuesday in Strasbourg.

Despite disappointment with the decision of certain European leaders not to start European Union accession talks with North Macedonia, the country's political forces appear to have kept their eye on that goal, which means they still have to fulfill the commitments they have made.

Acting Justice Minister Ana Birchall said on Tuesday that she will convene the committee dealing with the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) in an urgent meeting to devise an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the European Commission report on Romania's progress under CVM, showing that one explicit aim in the report is the disbandment of the Specia

The European Commission announced on Tuesday that Croatia has "taken the measures needed to ensure that the necessary conditions for the full application of the Schengen rules and standards are met".

Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk have made statements on Brexit's conclusions at last week's European Council, the European Union reported. They were also joined by Manfred Weber, with statements on Turkey and its Syrian operation. The issue of rejection of negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania was also addressed.

The European Commission will release today the monitoring report on Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

The Greek crisis, the refugee crisis and Brexit were some of the major challenges that the European Commission has had to deal with, outgoing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday, in his final speech to the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg.

Krstic emphasizes that even five EU Member States do not recognize Kosovo's independence, nor does he expect a change in the format of the talks - organizing an international conference to address the Kosovo problem, for instance.

The provision included in the Prespes agreement that North Macedonia's name will be erga omnes - namely, to be used both domestically and internationally - could be undermined if the neighboring country's accession bid to the European Union is indefinitely postponed, according to legal experts.