Frans Timmermans

The European Commission has warned 19 EU member-states against failure to implement rules on handling waves of asylum seekers now flooding Europe.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans issued the warning as EU leaders gathered in Brussels for an emergency summit on the refugee/migrant crisis on Wednesday.

European Commission Vice-president Frans Timmermans and Migration & Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos met with Greek leadership on Thursday to focus directly on the migration crisis that has drastically affected several Greek isles and even replaced the “Greece-euro issue” as the main worry in Europe.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov pointed to EU Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans the political will of the government to fight corruption in the country.

Judicial reform and the measures taken by the institutions in ensuring its irreversibility were among the topics of discussion at the working meeting between Borisov and Timmermans.

In a move designed to ease pressure on Greece and other Mediterranean countries, the European Union on Wednesday presented a plan aimed at a more fair distribution of immigrants among its member states.

The European Union forged ahead Wednesday with a plan to ease pressure on nations dealing with an influx of Mediterranean migrants by requiring other countries to share the burden, despite some strong opposition.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Tuesday said that Romania has the support of the European Commission and the European Parliament concerning the accession to the Schengen area, however it still has to persuade "one or two member states" which "still have reserves" in this regard.

Photo credit: (c) Angelo BREZOIANU / AGERPRES PHOTO

Romania and Bulgaria should be treated like all the other 26 member states of the European Union as regards the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) on the Judiciary, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Tuesday in Strasbourg.

Foreign Affairs Ministry's (MAE) Secretary of State for European Affairs George Ciamba will participate in the General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting in Brussels, on Tuesday, aimed at discussions, among others, concerning the preparation of the European Council meeting of March 19-20, informs a press release MAE remitted to AGERPRES on Monday.

A joint statement by EC VP Frans Timmermans, EU High-Representative VP Federica Mogherini, EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU International Cooperation/Development Commissioner Neven Mimica, EU Employment/Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, EU Humanitarian Aid/Crisis Management Commissioner Christos Stylianides and EU Justice/Consumers/Gender Equality Commissioner Ver

A senior European commissioner warned Feb. 2 about rising levels of  extremism and intolerance across the 28-nation bloc, targeting Jews, Muslims, homosexuals and even women.