Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds

Two parliamentary committees - the Foreign Policy Committee and the European Affairs and Oversight Committee of the European Funds - will review the ratification of the Treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia on Wednesday 17 January.

Bulgarian government ministers will present the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU in their respective areas of responsibility at hearings in the European Parliament committees. The hearings, which will take place during the first and third weeks of January, are a standard procedure at the start of each Presidency.

The Council of Ministers adopted on 12 July the first draft of a national programme for the Bulgarian EU Presidency, reported BNT.

Bulgaria will send three main messages during its Presidency of the Council of the EU: consensus, competitiveness and cohesion.

European Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva announced on Wednesday that Bulgaria ranks fifth in the absorption of EU funds.

Georgieva said this during the opening of the exhibition "Varna - The Oldest Gold Treasure" in the building of the European Parliament in Brussels, which shows 7000-year-old golden objects discovered in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria has the eighth highest EU funds absorption rate and for the first time the country ranks among the top ten in this respect.

This was announced by European Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva on Sunday, private bTV station informs.

Since there is still time until the end of the year, she expressed hope that Bulgaria could climb further in the ranking.

Germany is to send experts who are going to advise Bulgaria on issues such as judicial reform, energy projects and absorption of European Union (EU) funds.

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