Republics

Children at Greek primary schools are to receive training on driver etiquette and road safety from this year, the Education Ministry has announced.

The lessons will be offered to children in the 3rd and 4th grades, said Deputy Education Minister Alexandros Dermetzopoulos. They will include visual material and practical teaching that will take place in schoolyards.

Around 1,500 homeless, mainly Roma refugees from Kosovo in Podgorica's Konik camp have been moved to temporary homes in more than 100 containers, the government announced on Wednesday.

The containers are a mid-term solution for people who lost their homes and belongings when a fire broke out in the camp in July 2012.  Since then, they have been living in tents and shacks.

South Stream Bulgaria has announced it will suspended all public procurement activities and will not sign contracts related to the South Stream gas pipeline.

In a message to the media quoted by the website Dnevnik.bg, the Bulgarian-Russian joint venture has cited a recommendation from the European Commission to be behind the move.

Bulgaria's Deputy caretaker Regional Development Minister has listed the benefits of enhancing connectedness with Serbia in the spheres of economy, energy, transport and culture.

Yordanka Chobanova attended Monday the opening of the closing meeting under the 2007-2013 Bulgaria-Serbia cross-border cooperation program.

Romania's Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean said on Tuesday that as regards the situation in the eastern region and the latest developments in Ukraine, Romania's role, as a EU and NATO member state, is praised by its European and Euro-Atlantic partners.

State Secretary for Strategic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), Bogdan Aurescu, has visited, on Tuesday, at the invitation of the Canadian side, the 71st Airbase in Campia Turzii (western Romania), the military airmen and the CF-18 military aircraft stationed in Romania, the visit being attended also by Canada's ambassador to Bucharest Joanne Lemay.

Montenegro's government on Monday announced that the country will allow same-sex marriages in the near future.

Jovan Kojicic, Human Rights Adviser to the Prime Minister, said Montenegro was drawing up the legal framework to permit same-sex partners to legalize their relationships soon.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta at the Government meeting on Tuesday announced he will pay a visit to the Republic of Moldova next week and requested the check-up of all the support projects that Romania carries out for this country.

Bulgaria's energy board is to be structured by the end of next week, according to Ekaterina Zaharieva, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister.

Some 80% of young Bulgarian doctors and medical graduates seek job opportunities abroad, according to the alarming results of a patient organizations survey.