Public sphere

Albanian media report on corruption on a daily basis but the vast majority of this coverage is centred on press conferences by government institutions and exchanges of accusations between local political parties, says the new monitoring report published by BIRN Albania.

Watch out Turkish politics watchers, you're in for a bumpy ride: Opinion pollsters have opened the hunting season and they're out to hijack your Twitter feed.

The European Union has given Greece up to April 20 to present a list of reforms which, if found acceptable, would unlock the final tranche of aid funds promised under a multi-billion-euro bailout, a German newspaper reported.

The change of the political class could not take place without transparency in the administration of the money received by the political parties, says president Klaus Iohannis.

Photo: (c) Angelo BREZOIANU / AGERPRES Photo

Romania's centre-left government under Victor Ponta on Tuesday unveiled plans to cut VAT from 24 to 9 per cent for all food products, as well as on non-alcoholic beverages and catering services. The measure will come into force from June 1.

Government sources have provided clarifications on Thursday with regard to the Finance Ministry's reform list which was leaked this morning, focusing mainly on the issue of the Primary Surplus target.

Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis said on Wednesday he is in favor of public-private partnerships with more than one stakeholder for the privatization of the country?s infrastructure.

The Government's initiative of rewriting the Tax Code is justified and welcome, given the many modifications brought to this document over the years; nevertheless, major cuts to taxes and duties are not sustainable, the Fiscal Council says in its opinion on the Tax Code revision project.

Photo credit: (c) Cristian NISTOR / AGERPRES FLOW

Canadian Police arrested at least 80 people after an anti-austerity demonstration in Montreal.

Shops and businesses were closed along the protest route.

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev has presented changes to public procurement legislation aimed at streamlining the process and transposing EU rules into domestic law.