Social Democratic Party

German lawmakers will decide Friday whether to legalize same-sex marriage, according to CNN affiliate NTV. The snap vote comes after Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that she would like to see parliament move towards a "vote of conscience" on the issue.

Romania's ruling Social Democratic Party is set to announce a new government on Wednesday after a two-week-long political crisis that raised questions over stability and threatened the economy.  

Talks with EU on key reforms, trials of politicians and the likely raising of new charges against former officials will make for a packed agenda in Macedonia this week.

Social Democrat chief Martin Schulz lashed out June 25 at Chancellor Angela Merkel, accusing her of "arrogance" as he sought to reverse his party's plunging popularity.

At a special congress to decide his party's campaign program for Sept. 24 elections, Schulz accused Merkel and her conservative CDU party of "systematically refusing debate on the future of the country."

Romania's prime minister and his government have been ousted in a no-confidence vote submitted by ruling party members.

A total of 241 politicians approved the motion on Wednesday, more than the 233 votes required.

The governing Social Democratic Party filed the motion to oust Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, saying that he had failed to implement the party's political agenda.

Romania's parliament is set to vote on Wednesday on a no-confidence motion on the government led by the ruling Social Democratic Party, PSD - a motion launched by the PSD itself.

The vote comes after the PSD's failed negotiations with the country's ethnic Hungarian party, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, UDMR, sparked nationalist reactions from some politicians.

Romania has made progress in defending rule of law and in fighting corruption, and any sudden step back would raise questions in Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday in a joint press conference in Berlin with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Romania's government faces a turning point this weekend after the ruling Social Democratic Party, PSD leader announced he is working on an evaluation report on the activity of the current cabinet, raising concerns that there could be a reshuffle or a whole new team of ministers.

Zoran Zaev revealed the composition of his cabinet late Sunday, which parliament is expected to approved this week. Speaker of Parliament Talat Xhaferi has set the date for the session to start on Tuesday.

The key posts are to be shared between Zaev's Social Democratic Party, SDSM, and Macedonia's main ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI.

Croatia's local elections on Sunday confirmed the strength of the governing centre-right Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, in the counties, but underlined its lack of strength in the major cities of Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek.

The HDZ won in 11 out of Croatia's 20 counties, while its traditional opponent, the opposition Social Democratic Party, SDP, managed to win in only five.