International relations

The Prime Ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia,Plamen Oresharski, Victor Ponta and Ivica Dacic will hold a trilateral meeting in Bulgaria's Danube city of Ruse on Friday.

A lunch has been scheduled after the meeting.

Transit permits expected to help Turkey and Bulgaria

A new liberalised transit permit regime between Bulgaria and Turkey should help businesses and develop the economy in both countries, officials and business owners say.

New liberalised traffic rules between Bulgaria and Turkey are expected to take effect in April. [Gabriel Petrescu/SETimes]

BELGRADE - The deadline for international observers applying to monitor the upcoming early parliamentary elections in Serbia expires on Thursday, while domestic observes have four more days to submit their applications to the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK).

“Albania’s future is in the EU… but the political parties need to work together and efficiently,” Stefan Fule said in a joint press conference with Albania's centre-left Prime Minister, Edi Rama, on Thursday.

“The culture of confrontation does not help Albania’s EU integration process,” he added, referring to the country's history of fierce political disputes.

The United States will send 6 additional fighter jets to Lithuania in order to reassure its Eastern European allies over increased fears from Russia's incursion in Ukraine.

The planes, which are currently at Lakenheath air base in Britain, will be positioned in the air base in Siauliai, Lithuania, US Defense officials said quoted by the LA Times.

Slobodan Milosevic was behind a joint criminal enterprise to force Croats from Serb-controlled areas of Yugoslavia, Zagreb argued in its genocide case against Belgrade at the International Court of Justice.

The Montenegrin Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, will meet US Vice-President Joseph Biden during a three-day visit to Washington in March, focusing on the country’s NATO ambitions.

According to the media, Djukanovic and Biden will discuss Montenegro’s aspirations to become a full member of the Atlantic Alliance at the upcoming summit scheduled for September in Wales in the UK.

Romania and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed on a USD 4 B loan to Bucharest.

The credit package deal was struck after President Traian Basescu gave his approval, as Bulgarian website Investor.bg reports.

Basescu has long resisted the agreement as it forces Romania to impose an excise tax for fuels at EUR 0.07 per liter.

Bulgaria ranks first in EU terms of stroke mortality rates, according to the Health Strategy 2014-2020.

Some 160 out of 100,000 Bulgarians die of stroke, compared to the average EU mortality of 51 people, Bulgarian Pressa reports.

TUNIS - There are no open issues between Serbia and Tunisia, but efforts must be made to ensure that the economic cooperation of the two countries is on par with their excellent political relations, which is now not the case, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on Wednesday.