Multi-speed Europe

EU ‘not happy’ with recent nepotism cases in Greek gov’t

Despite the fact that EU said that recent negotiations between Greek government and representatives of the Institutions “went well”, a senior eurozone official said some differences still exist on the insurance, the 2016 fiscal figures and the years after, the reform of the public administration and the privatisation fund.

Protecting EU borders not turning out well, says Merkel referring to Greece

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Saturday for better protection at the extrenal borders of European Union so as to maintain the Schengen zone.

“We need to protect our external borders because we want to keep Schengen,” Mrs. Merkel said in her weekly podcast adding that if EU fails to protect its external borders, the free movement of people would be jeopardized.

EU Commission: Gov’t has agreed on new measures for 2016-2017

The European Commission calls Greece to accelerate the implementation of the reforms agreed in the framework of the ESM program noting that this the only way to achieve the recovery of economy.

EU also asks for additional fiscal measures for 2016 and 2017 in order Greek government to achieve the objectives set for the primary surplus.

Greece’s exit from Schengen was not raised or discussed, Commissioner Avramopoulos says

The issue of ‘evicting’ any member-state from the Schengen area was neither raised nor discussed, European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said on Friday speaking at the Economist’s ‘The World in 2016 Gala Dinner’ in Athens.

Hungarian PM Urges EU to Offer Schengen Membership to Bulgaria

At a press conference during his visit to Sofia on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the EU to offer to Bulgaria membership to the Schengen Area.

Orban assured that Bulgaria is capable of guarding its borders not only against smugglers, but also against migrants.

The Hungarian prime minister said that double standards were applied towards Bulgaria.

"We Want to Enter Schengen,"  Bulgarian President Tells Corriere della Sera

Bulgaria wants to enter the Schengen Area which is one of the best achievements of the European Union, the country's President Rosen Plevneliev has said in an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Plevneliev was on a working visit to Italy on 27-28 January

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