European Union

The opportunities for joint projects were discussed at a meeting today with representatives of the International Bank for Economic Cooperation and Dr. Boyko Takov, Executive Director of Bulgarian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Promotion Agency. The talks were attended by Mr. Boyko Kotsev, member of IBEC Managing Board, Dr. Ivan Hristov, Deputy Managing Director of IBEC and Mr.

Premier Viorica Dancila is paying a working visit on Thursday in Brussels to address several current topics on the European agenda with European high officials, the Government says in a release.

Greek Defense Minister Evangelos Apostolakis explained Athens' opposition to Turkey's drilling plans off Cyprus during a meeting with Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar on the sidelines of talks between NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday.

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos on Wednesday briefed party representatives on the measures the European Union is considering taking against Turkey, should the latter continue with its drilling plans in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EZZ), the ministry said.

President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday had phone calls with the Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, with the Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Nastase and with his Moldovan counterpart Igor Dodon, the Presidential Administration informs.

The repeated provocations by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan especially in Cyprus' EEZ will obviously continue.

Pressured by domestic problems, not the least of which is the loss of the Istanbul mayoralty which was the first major defeat in his career, he is resorting to nationalist salvos and provocations to rally his political base.

The June 22 event was the city's second-ever Equality Parade celebrating LGBT rights — and organisers had expected counter-protests. But they said the real battle was to be allowed to stage the parade at all.

The European Commission has appointed Bulgarian Ognyan Zlatev as Head of the EC Representation in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb, it was reported from Brussels. Zlatev previously worked on the same position in Sofia.

The EC points out that he is a highly-qualified communications expert with nearly 30 years of professional experience.

The leader of a Turkish opposition party, Devlet Bahceli, on Wednesday warned Athens that it is "playing with fire" after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras warned that Ankara's relations with the European Union will be severely disrupted if it "violates international law [and] the sovereign rights of Greece and Cyprus."

Greece's National Council for Foreign Policy was convening on Wednesday to discuss Turkey's activities off the coast of Cyprus and its refusal to heed warnings of sanctions from the European Union.