Politics of the European Union

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov will take part in the extraordinary meeting of the European Council, which will be held on February 20 and 21 in Brussels, the government press service announced.

This decision should be made at the latest for the EU-Western Balkans summit scheduled for May, it is announced in Brussels.
EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell will brief the Foreign Ministers on Monday, February 17th, on his visits to Belgrade and Pristina.

As the clock ticks until the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, BIRN brings some key facts about Brexit's likely effect on the three EU member states in the region, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.

Borrell pointed this out in a telephone interview with Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaci earlier this month.

Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Giorgos Koumoutsakos and the executive director of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Nina Gregori, on Tuesday signed an agreement paving the way for the agency to acquire a branch in Greece as part of its efforts to bolster support for the country as it struggles to manage rising numbers of refugees and migrants.

Romania has signalled its growing frustration with the CVM - a system of checks on its adherence to the rule of law - by demanding that similar monitoring be extended to the rest of the European Union.

European Union countries have agreed to "refocus" the mission of the bloc's anti-migrant smuggler naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea so that it concentrates on upholding the UN arms embargo against Libya, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva will participate today in Brussels at the Foreign Affairs Council, called extraordinary because of the escalation of tensions in Iraq and Libya. This was reported by the MFA.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban continues his three-day visit to Brussels on Wednesday. Prime Minister Ludovic Orban is meeting on Wednesday with European Parliament President David Sassoli and afterwards the two officials are to hold a joint press conference.

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) will boost its operational deployments this year, with up to 550 personnel deployed in Greece, 150 in Italy, 120 in Cyprus and 60 in Malta, the agency said in a press release Tuesday.