Member states of the Council of Europe

Bulgaria will demand measures in support of all dairy producers in the EU at the official meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council to be held on 26 January.

This course of action was approved on Wednesday by the Bulgarian government.

BELGRADE - Positive economic growth is expected this year throughout the region, with the exception of Serbia, whose gross domestic product is projected to drop by 0.5%, according to the World Bank's latest South East Europe Regular Economic Report.

BUDAPEST, Jan 20 (Tanjug) - Officials of the Serbian and Hungarian ministries of agriculture have agreed to set up expert working groups to work on boosting agricultural production, soil protection and food safety, as well as on ways to maximise the use of EU funds, Serbian Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Snezana Bogosavljevic Boskovic said on Tuesday.

Spain's ambassador to Turkey has refuted media reports suggesting that his country has suspended its activities in the "Alliance of Civilizations" jointly launched by Ankara and Madrid. 

Bulgaria's Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova announced on Friday that the division of the country into 9 tourist regions will take place until the end of January.

Angelkova said that the topic will be discussed in detail at the next meeting of the National Tourism Council which will take place next week, electronic daily Dnevnik reports.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has reiterated Bulgaria's support for the Euro-Atlantic integration of Macedonia.

Responding to a question of former Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin, Borisov stressed that the policy of the Bulgarian government on Macedonia was consistent and had remained unchanged.

The construction of a gas pipeline from Greece via Macedonia and Serbia to Hungary would be an alternative to the cancelled South Stream project, according to Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's Foreign Minister.

Bosnia's parliament on Thursday will debate a resolution calling on the government to reject a proposed agreement with Montenegro aimed at determining the border.

The initiative, proposed by parliamentarian Denis Becirovic in November, says it is unacceptable for Bosnia to allow Montenegro to keep a part of the strategically important Bay of Kotor, close to the town of Herceg Novi.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, is due on Wednesday in Bucharest as part of a European tour that includes another three countries apart from Romania.

Nuland will meet top officials and members of the business community and civil society to discuss bilateral and regional issues, according to a US Department of State statement.

Leaders of all parliamentary parties on Tuesday are to sign a political agreement ensuing that at least 2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, GDP, will go on the defence budget by 2017.

The move follows the initiative of Romania's new President, Klaus Iohan, who has set increased defence spending as a priority.