Christian Wigand

Brussels – The European Commission said on Tuesday it would keep monitoring closely the situation of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) following the signing of the contract on the STA public service for the last two months of the year. The Slovenian authorities must ensure that the independence of the agency is fully preserved, it added.

Bulgaria should make a serious attempt to issue final convictions for high-echelon corruption, European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said.

The European Commission will continue to closely monitor work in this regard in the context of the annual reports on the rule of law, he added.

The European Council on Thursday advised member states to relax entry restrictions for non-essential travellers from non-EU countries who have been fully immunized against COVID-19 with a vaccine authorized by Brussels.

Ljubljana – Dutch MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld (D66/Renew) believes there is sufficient ground for the European Parliament’s Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group, which she heads, to start monitoring the situation in Slovenia.

Brussels – State aid rules enable member states to grant state aid to press agencies as compensation for services of general economic interest, an European Commission spokesperson said on Monday. Under certain conditions, compensation may be granted without prior approval by the Commission.

The European Commission has neither confirmed nor denied information from Bulgarian officials about a pending freeze of payments under a science and education program.

The European Commission's report on reform in justice and internal affairs undertaken by Bulgaria is to be unveiled on the last Wednesday of January, a Commission spokesperson has announced.