Organizations

A top NATO official on April 12 praised Turkey's hospitality towards refugees and hard work in the Middle East.       

Greece is looking to strike a deal this weekend to repay early about half of the loans it received from the International Monetary Fund, in a bid to lower the euro zone member's burden of debt servicing, a senior official said on Friday.

Hahn should talk to Thaci about the abolition of taxes on goods from Serbia, Tanjug learned from the European Commission.

During a one-day visit to Brussels, Thaci will also meet with European Council President Donald Tusk.

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis will open next Wednesday an international conference called "Strengthening NATO's Eastern Flank: Challenges and Strategies for Baltic-Black Sea Coherence," to be hosted by the Cotroceni Presidential Palace.

A decision on the EU budget will hopefully be made in October, and for this reason today's meeting is extremely important to reaffirm the wish of ministers responsible for implementing European funds to urgently reach an agreement on the budget, Minister of European Funds Rovana Plumb told a Friday's press conference occasioned by the informal meeting of the ministers managing the European fund

Lawmakers, bureaucrats, military representatives and foreign mission chiefs from NATO member states will meet in Turkey's southern province of Antalya on April 12-14.         

Bulgaria's place in NATO, the challenges facing the Alliance and the achievements of the military alliance are the main topics that ministers, presidents, military and ambassadors are discussing at an international conference in Sofia. The forum is organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Diplomatic Institute and the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria.

A debate on the provisions of a draft bill that would pave the way for the legalization of illegally built structures on Greek shores continued in the Parliament's production and trade committee on Thursday, with the government facing stiff opposition from NGOs and experts.
Criticism focused on the possible legalisation of illegal construction by large businesses and hotels.

The Greek primary budget surplus will remain unchanged at 3.5 percent of gross domestic product up to 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund, which has reiterated its forecast that Greece will stick to its agreement with the eurozone.

The decision for the early repayment of part of the International Monetary Fund loans to Greece is expected to feature in talks Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos will have in Washington on Friday with the Fund's Managing Director Christine Lagarde, as well as the head of the IMF's European Department, Poul Thomsen.