Foreign relations of the European Union

The package of annual reports on progress of the EU candidate states will be presented at the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

This was announced by the EP press office on Monday.

Kosovo's hopes of joining the European Union received a boost on Tuesday with the signing of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the 28-nation bloc.

Turkey and European Union have agreed to a "draft" agreement on migrants which will be implemented only after Ankara's political demands are met by Brussels, Turkish officials said.  

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has put forward amendments to the law which sets out requirements for foreign nationals who wish to start a business in the country.

Changes will include conditions under which long-term business visas will be issued to foreign nationals.

The European Commission is launching the Capital Markets Union Action Plan today to help build a true single market for capital across the 28 EU Member States.

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu said after meetings with top European Union officials in Brussels that the EU is concerned about poll security, media freedom, migrants, and terrorist acts in Turkey. 

According to a report published Friday, the EU could lose up to 3 million jobs, if China transforms into a ‘market economy’. The report found that if this eventuates, costs for EU industrial goods would rise by 25 to 50% within the next 3 years, resulting in a decline of EU GDP by 1 to 2%.

Romania's Supreme Defence Council is to decide next week how many refugees the country can accomodate, but the number cannot exceed the current capacity of some 1,500 places in six reception centres, Prime Minister Ponta announced on Monday.

With the lifting of barriers in land transportation between EU member countries and Turkey, the bilateral trade volume has the potential to increase by 3.5 billion euros, creating 39,000 new jobs, according to a fresh study by the European Commission, the Turkish Transporters' Association (UND) stated today. 

The visa regime for short-term stay of up to 90 days in Bulgaria for Russian nationals will remain in place.

On Wednesday Bulgaria's parliamentary economic policy and tourism committee voted down a proposal of nationalist party Ataka to lift the visa requirements for Russian nationals due to the projected decrease in the number of tourists from that country in the summer season.