Member states of the European Union

Detlef Lingemann, the German Ambassador to the Czech Republic, is the successor to outgoing Matthias Hoepfner, who represented the country in Bulgaria, reports say.

The information came from the website Dnevnik.bg, which quoted Germany's Foreign Ministry as confirming his appointment.

Greece's population dropped from 11.06 million on January 1, 2013, to 10.99 million at the start of this year, estimates released by Eurostat on Thursday have shown.

Greece’s largest toy seller Jumbo saw an 8 percent rise in sales for its fiscal year, helped by a robust performance in Cyprus and Bulgaria, the company said on Tuesday.

The rise beat Jumbo’s guidance for annual sales growth of 4-6 percent, the company said in a corporate update.

The report published this week examined two decades of trade and foreign relations between Athens and its Balkan neighbours and found that the economic crisis and crippling recession that hit Greece since the 2008 debt crisis severely hurt its neighbours’ chances for a speedy accession in the EU.

Bulgaria remains relatively stable in terms of the most desired second homes purchase destinations for British citizens.

In end-June, Bulgaria occupies the 11th place in the ranking of the online portal TheMoveChannel.com after the country has managed to reach 10th place twice in 2014, Investor.bg reports.

The most popular tourist destinations among EU citizens are Spain, France and Italy, according to a new report on the travels of Europeans in 2012.

According to the released data, 85% of all trips were in Europe, Bulgaria's Nova TV informs. The report states that citizens of EU countries prefer to go around Europe, as most of the vacations were spent in neighboring countries.

Violonist Alexandru Tomescu on Wednesday will be decorated with the Order of the Star of Italy, the Knight Class, for special merits in promoting the Italian culture.

Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean said on Wednesday that Romania will be "very committed" in supporting the priorities of Italy's EU Presidency, adding that Bucharest shares the objective of a "stronger, more integrated" Europe.

In May 2014, the number of the trips of Bulgarian residents abroad was 427.5 thousand or by 18.1% above the registered in May 2013, the National Statistical Institute informs.

The European Commission has approved Bulgaria's map for granting state aid between 2014 and 2020 within the framework of the new regional aid guidelines adopted in June 2013.