France

One in 10 smoked cigarettes in the EU in 2013 was illegal, shows a survey of KPMG, quoted by Mediapool.bg.

In it took part the tobacco giants British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco and Philip Morris International. 

Germany's Angela Merkel signalled her readiness on Wednesday to give EU states more flexibility within current budget rules to promote growth and job creation, but made clear she will push her choice of European Commission chief over British objections.
   

NATO won't offer Montenegro membership this year

BRUSSELS -- Montenegro and Georgia will not be invited to join NATO this year, Secretary General of Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday.

Iran said on Tuesday it expected to sign a deal with Russia in late August on the building of two new 1,000-megawatt nuclear  reactors in the Islamic Republic, potentially boosting its case that it is refining uranium for civilian energy, not atom bombs.
   

Bulgaria had the biggest grey economy in Europe in 2012, at 31.9% of the GDP, according to a survey of France's Economic and Social Council.

Portugal's Helena Costa said on Tuesday she had decided against taking up the coaching position at French side Clermont for "purely personal" reasons.
      
The 36-year-old Costa made global headlines as the first woman to take charge of a men's professional team in a leading European nation after being named in May to coach Clermont, who play in France's second tier.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan is likely to wait until the July 3 deadline to announce his decision on whether to be a candidate for the presidency, the first round of voting for which will be held on Aug. 10.

July 3 is the last day to submit the names of the candidates to the Supreme Election Board (YSK) in order to be eligible for the elections.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated his claim once again in France, the one he repeats every day, the “graft operations of Dec. 17 and 25, 2013 were coup attempts against the government.”

However, he can never explain what kind of a coup attempt this is.

Drug bust shows Montenegro's efforts against organised crime, experts say

BRUSSELS - The donor conference, which is to raise funds for flood victims in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), will be held in Brussels on July 16, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said on Monday.

EU and its member states feel solidarity with victims of recent extreme floods in southeastern Europe, Fuele said in a video link posted on the European Commission's website.