Political philosophy

Despite statements from the Belgrade government that resolving the killing of the former premier would be a condition laid down in the rule-of-law section of Serbia’s EU accession negotiations, the European Commission said on Wednesday that individual cases will not be used as benchmarks.

Bulgaria could still have to catch up with average European levels of economic and social development after 2020, a report by the National Audit Office argues.

Lack of priorities in distributing EU funds between 2014-2020 might be one of the reasons leading Bulgaria to lag behind, according to the document's conclusions, quoted by Investor.bg.

The European Parliament voted Tuesday to make "Made-in" labelling mandatory for non-food products sold on the single market.

The EP voted on plans to tighten up product safety requirements and market surveillance rules so as to strengthen consumer protection in the EU.

ROME - Serbia's outgoing Defence Minister Nebojsa Rodic on Monday paid an official visit to Rome, where he met with Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti to discuss ways to improve cooperation.

Bulgarian websites for tourist services are among those who do not violate the EU directives, reports Bulgaria's wire service BTA, quoting the EC. 

A recent EU inspection found that the Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romanian and Norwegian websites for tourist bookings are the only European sites for such services who are in full compliance with   EU regulations. 

With an eye on the EU, Serbia reforming its schools

The European Commission is urging Serbia to harmonise its labour market and education system to ensure that citizens will be able to find jobs.

Serbia’s education system will be reformed to meet EU standards. [AFP]

A firm owned by Golden Dawn MP Ilias Panayiotaros sold 25,000 euros’ worth of hygiene products to the nongovernmental organization Doctors of the World and received part of its payment from the European Refugee Fund, it was revealed in Parliament on Friday.

BELGRADE - Serbia faces key reforms that are important for the future of the accession talks with the EU, head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport said on Friday, stressing that the next government was expected to conduct the reforms efficiently.

Exports to the EU dwindled by 2.6% on a yearly basis in January and was estimated at BGN 2 B.

Statistics on trade with non-EU countries yield worse results, with a 14.2% decrease in exports for January and February, the website Expert.bg reports, citing official data.

The European Commission has published Thursday for the first time a scoreboard on transport in the EU.