Austria

Here’s the sports coverage for today, Sunday 13 October, starring of course the Nations League.

The matches are many, but the match between Greece and Ireland at the “C. Karaiskakis”, after the victory against England.

The main focus of the match is on the “G.Karaiskakis”.

Bulgaria remains the EU's poorest country, with a minimum wage that feels out of reach compared to central European standards, according to Dariknews.bg. While a minimum wage above 1,500 euros may seem unrealistic for many Bulgarians, in the heart of Europe, these figures are quite common.

The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union plans to include the topic of lifting land border checks for Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen area on the agenda for the European interior ministers' meeting in December.

Acting Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov stated today in Luxembourg that Bulgaria has received substantial support for full Schengen membership during a meeting of the EU Council.

Austria remains unwilling to lift its veto on removing border controls for Bulgaria and Romania at land borders, as stated by Acting Interior Minister Gerhard Karner ahead of an EU interior ministers' meeting in Luxembourg. The meeting will review the progress of both countries' bids.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban emphasized the importance of securing full Schengen membership for Bulgaria and Romania during his address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He described the complexities of Hungary's presidency of the EU Council, stating that it is characterized more by political considerations than by bureaucratic processes.

European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg, urging the abolition of land border controls for Bulgaria and Romania by the end of 2024. She emphasized that both countries had fulfilled all necessary requirements to join the Schengen area, highlighting the importance of free movement for EU citizens.

Thousands of people protested in Austria's capital Vienna against a possible return to power for the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which topped national elections on Sept. 29.

The FPOe won almost 29 percent of the vote in the last week's general election, ahead of the conservative People's Party (OeVP) with just over 26 percent.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) had ruled Friday that gender and nationality alone were sufficient for a country to grant asylum to women from Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban have sharply curtailed women's rights.

Funding of the Evros fence at the Greek-Turkish borders with European funds is now being called for by the German Christian Democrats.

The change of stance came through the mouth of Alexander Throm, who is the lead MP on home affairs.