Liberal democracies

VIENNA - Austria's Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday he looked forward to Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic's visit to Vienna on Wednesday, stressing that it was very significant that Vucic's agenda included meetings with Austrian companies, and not just politicians.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta says that Italy is a positive example of how the peoples of Europe can live together and respect each other.

A major military exercise was conducted last week. During the exercise, which the prime minister also watched, Chief of General Staff Necdet Özel delivered a speech:

BELGRADE - Zorana Mihajlovic, Serbia's deputy prime minister and minister of construction and infrastructure, said on Monday that, in 10 days' time, authorities will get a final and clear picture of the damage that local self-governments sustained during the recent severe flash floods, noting that the repair of the critical infrastructure and return of the people to their homes before winter co

BELGRADE - Slovenian investments in Serbia reached EUR 1.4 billion, president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) Zeljko Sertic said on Friday, and invited Slovenian companies to continue investing in the country, pointing in particular to the benefits of Serbia's Free Trade Agreement with the Russian Federation.

A European Commission report on the quality of bathing waters in the bloc in 2013 published on Tuesday showed that 93 percent of Greek beaches have excellent water quality, ranking the Mediterranean destination fifth behind Cyprus and Luxembourg (100 percent), Malta (99 percent excellent) and Croatia (95 percent).

In April the Bulgarians' travels increased moderately by 4.6%, compared to April 2013, shows the data of the National Statistics Institute (NSI).

For comparison, in the entire Q1 2014, they increased by 25%, year-on-year. 

AGERPRES correspondent Ivan Radev reports: The turnout at the polling station opened at the Romanian Embassy in Sofia - the only where Romanian nationals on the territory of Bulgaria can exercise their right to vote in the 2014 European elections - remains low.

Bulgaria ranks 56-th among 60 countries in the World Competitiveness Ranking 2014, issued by the Swiss Institute for Management Development. 

The country has risen by one spot from the 57-th position in 2013, when was the lowest point since 2066, but is far from the best position – 38-th in 2009. 

BELGRADE - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stated on Wednesday that Serbia will have a four-pronged approach to the country's recovery and damage repair including the electric power system, road infrastructure, repair of houses and encouraging economic growth.

Vucic told a news briefing that the Serbian electric power system suffered the greatest damage in the floods.