European Parliament

BELGRADE - Germany will continue to support Serbia on its path towards the European Union if it meets the requirements of the negotiation framework, said director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for Serbia Henri Bohnet.

Stavros Theodorakis, leader of the recently established To Potami party, denied over the weekend that Thrace-based Roma activist Sabiha Suleiman (photo) was to be incorporated into the centrist, pro-Europe party’s candidate list for the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Former Prime Minister George Papandreou angered PASOK colleagues on Friday by agreeing to sit on the same panel at a book launch as Democratic Left leader (DIMAR) Fotis Kouvelis a month before European Parliament elections.

SYRIZA has delayed until next week a meeting of its political secretariat to decide the last of its 42 candidates for the May 25 European Parliament elections after awarding the penultimate spot to veteran leftists and World War Two hero Manolis Glezos.

Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev urged political parties to engage in a constructive dialogue during the European elections campaign, which began on Friday.

Pre-election campaign begins on Friday in Bulgaria for May 25's vote which will send 17 MEPs to the European Parliament.

Fifteen parties and six coalitions have entered the race, but four independents candidates will also run, according to the website of Bulgaria's Central Electoral Commission (CEC).

From EurActiv

Bulgarian Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev met with the EU's Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger Thursday (24 April) to discuss the future of the Gazprom-sponsored South Stream gas pipeline. But the two sides offered a widely diverging interpretation of the exchange.

Manonlis Glezos, a veteran SYRIZA MP and World War Two hero, said on Friday that he is standing in European Parliament elections next month out of duty despite his age of 91.

Genady Kondarev works as an expert in EU Funds oversight for Za Zemiata, a non-profit, non-governmental Bulgarian environmental organization which is part of CEE Bankwatch Network.

He is among the founders of the Greens (Zelenite) and holds his membership, even though he does not take part in its governing structures.