Member states of NATO

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic has highlighted the significance of Turkey's vital regional position in energy transmission lines.

"I cannot highlight enough Turkey's vital position in energy transmission lines," Kitarovic said, speaking at the opening panel of the 7th Atlantic Council Energy and Economic Summit in Istanbul.

Both Turkey and Greece are "sufferers" of the Syrian crisis, not the "responsible," Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu said on Nov. 18, referring to hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants travelling to Europe from Turkey through the Greek islands.

Turkish authorities prevented 87 refugees from crossing into Greece and Bulgaria near the border city of Edirne on Monday, dailysabah.com reported.

The refugees from Iran, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia have opted for the land route across Turkey's northwestern border in their attempt to reach Europe as weather conditions in the Aegean Sea are worseninig.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attended the European Union Council on refugee issues on Thursday. Following the conclusio of the summit, he expressed satisfaction concerning developments but complained concerning the pace of these.

“The European Union is proceeding at a turtle’s pace,” he said, adding, however, that “decisions are in the right direction.”

Poland and Lithuania have signed the grant agreement on the first gas pipeline connecting the two countries, the European Commission announced on Thursday.

The project GIPL (Gas Interconnector Poland - Lithuania) will "end the long lasting isolation of the Baltic Sea region and bring the energy needed for a new economic dynamism to the region," the Commission said on its website.

Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev and his Albanian counterpart Bujar Nishani, who arrives in Sofia Tuesday, will discuss cooperation in the spheres of trade, economy and culture, the EU integration of the countries of the Western Balkans, and the increased migratory pressure on Europe.

Nishani arrives in Bulgaria at the invitation of Plevneliev.

The cabinet approved on Wednesday a draft document to upgrade the Bulgarian Armed Forces' capabilities.

A statement by the government reads that the so-called Program for Development of Defense Capabilities of the Bulgarian Armed Forces 2020 will be submitted to Parliament for consideration.

Hungary last night began building a fence on its border with Croatia "to stem a flow of migrants," Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, according to Reuters.

He told public radio on Friday that "hundreds of soldiers and police have been deployed on the frontier."

Some 4000 migrants have crossed into Croatia over the past 24 hours, the country's public broadcaster HRT has said.

Government data cited in the report suggests that, as of Thursday morning, more than 5650 people have found their way into Croatia since Hungary moved to close its border with Serbia. Another 4000 are expected in the next few days.

The Turkish government has again raised the issue of the sea borders in the Aegean, disputing the current status in the Aegean, via a statement released by its foreign ministry representative.