European Union

Prime Minister Milanovic on Thursday said that Croatia would apply join the Schengen zone on July 1, 2015, two years after joining the European club.

"One year ago, I said that one of our cabinet's major goals would be to make Croatia fit to formally apply for membership of the Schengen zone in the shortest possible time after joining the EU, that is, two years," Milanovic said.

In April 2014, demand for new passenger cars in the EU increased for the 8th consecutive month, with a rise of 4.6% in registrations.

In April 2014, new passenger car registrations increased by 7.4%, totaling 4,336,013 units, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

Jean-Claude Juncker, the center-right candidate for European Commission president and former Eurogroup chairman declared on Friday that SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, his leftist rival for the top EC post, would not make a good Greek Prime Minister as he would not cooperate effectively with the commission.

Serbia guided by EU ambition - and national interests

BELGRADE -- In addition to its desire to join the EU, Serbia will "also be guided by its national interests" when it votes in international institutions, says Ivica Dačić.

EU prepares assistance for Serbia

BRUSSELS -- The EU has activated its civil defense mechanism after Serbia and Bosnia requested assistance due to the massive floods that hit large parts of both countries.

This was announced by the European Commission said on Friday.

The five EU Commission President candidates clashed Thursday evening in a televised debate in the European Parliament chamber in Brussels.

It was their last meeting ahead of the upcoming European elections next week and also the first in which Greek leftist coalition SYRIZA's leader Alexis Tsipras, the European Left Party nominee, took part.

EU pledges to assist Serbia's accession process

The government will tackle three fundamental accession tasks: reforms, economic measures and normalising relations with Pristina.

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton (left) meets Serbia Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade. [AFP]

By Evgenia Tzortzi

The local insurance market is bracing for a challenging summer as the Bank of Greece has decided to force all of the sector’s companies to take part in stress tests to be conducted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) this fall.

Trade between the European Union and Russia has declined considerably over the first three months of 2014, according to Eurostat figures.

EU imports from Russia have decreased by over 9% in the first quarter, compared to the same period in 2013, Euractiv reported. The official figures will be published on May 16 by Eurostat.

On several occasions during the course of the crisis Greece found itself very close to exiting the euro. This has been confirmed by an increasing number of publications abroad, as well as testimonies from the protagonists of the Greek and European crises.