Herman Van Rompuy

European Council President Donald Tusk announced that an agreement has been reached on the allocation of senior positions in the EU.

,,Europe is not on the verge of collapse and we are not witnessing the beginning of the end of the Union, in any case'', said former Belgian Prime Minister and former President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy during the conference "Bulgarian Politics in Euro-Atlantic Reality "at the House of Europe, reported BTA.

Former European Council President Herman Van Rompuy is this year's holder of the annual award for pro-European policy of Bulgarian TV station Evropa (Europe).

 Part II of an analysis of the German chancellor?s relationship with Athens looks at how the decision for a massive restructuring was reached

By Yannis Palaiologos

Region, Turkey optimistic about new EU leaders

Fresh sanctions targeting key sectors of Russia's economy are to be introduced on Friday, with the EU adding it could lift them in case of a continuous deescalation in Ukraine.

New measures will see the current blacklist expanded by 24 more Russian officials and rebel leaders, who will be imposed visa bans and asset freezes.

EU Council President Herman van Rompuy has announced the bloc put off for "a few days" the enforcement of new measures against Russia.

He tied the sanctions to the situation in Ukraine's Donbass region, where pro-Russian rebels signed last week a truce agreement with the government in Kiev.

The European Union is to introduce a new round of sanctions against Russia.

Her comments come after European sources told Interfax agency the bloc was determined to go with the measures against Russia.

Sanctions will be in force from Tursday depend on the situation in Ukraine and will therefore be "reversible", the BBC quotes the official as saying.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced Moscow could restrict the movement of foreign flights in its airspace if new sector sanctions are introduced against the country.

"If there are sanctions related to energy [or] further restrictions to our financial sector, we have to respond asymmetrically," Russian agency ITAR-TASS quoted Medvedev as saying.

Leaders of EU member states are due to pick the next European Council President and the union's top diplomat at a Brussels summit starting Wednesday.