Liberal democracies

The northern part of Bulgaria's Black Sea coast was once again preferred by Romanian tourists for their Easter holiday.

Balchik, a city north of Bulgaria's "sea capital" Varna, was among the top destinations for Romanians, and the summer season for most hotels there had an early start.

BELGRADE - Greek Ambassador to Serbia Konstantinos Ikonomidis opened in Army Hall in Belgrade the exhibition of paintings entitled 'Greece in the consciences and hearts of Serbian painters' authored by art historian Nikola Kusovac which was organised as homage to the country with which Serbia has nurtured close ties for centuries now.

EC: GDP higher than expected in most candidate countries

BRUSSELS -- The European Commission has stated that the increase of GDP in Serbia and other EU member candidates was higher than expected - except in Albania.

In that country, a decline has been observed, the Beta news agency quoted the latest economic analysis of the European Commission.

Vacations in Bulgaria are still most preferred by Romanians, writes the Romanian daily Adevarul. 

The main attractions are the cheap, traditional and pleasant holidays. “This is why the trend to go to the all inclusive paradise – the Bulgarian coast – continues this year,” says the newspaper. 

KRAGUJEVAC - Serbia triumphed against Russia 14-7 (3-1, 4-2, 3-3, 4-1) in the Men's Water Polo World League 2014 Europe Group A Round 6 preliminaries in Kragujevac late on Tuesday and secured their spot in the Super Final that will be played in Dubai on June 16-21.

Some 253 thousand Bulgarians are unemployed, and are not actively seeking for a job, according to Eurostat latest data on potential additional labor force in the EU.

Only Serbia and Montenegro could join EU "as package"

VIENNA -- Belgrade is against a joint EU entry of all Western Balkan countries "as a package," says Serbia's chief negotiator in EU talks, Tanja Miščević.

"The only such package possible is one that would include Montenegro besides Serbia," she said on Friday.

VIENNA - Belgrade is against a joint EU entry of all Western Balkan countries as a package, and the only such package possible is one that would include Montenegro besides Serbia, Serbia's chief EU negotiator Tanja Miscevic said on Friday.

The most beautiful women in the world live in Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Russia, and Colombia, according to a recent survey.

Bulgarian women are among the leaders in the Targetmap.com rating divided into five categories according to female attractiveness with 15 out of 17 points. Central and Western Europeans as well as Americans have been voted less attractive.

Greece's largest toy seller Jumbo reported a 7.6 percent rise in sales for the nine months to March on Wednesday thanks to double-digit growth in Cyprus and Bulgaria.

The figure is higher than the company's outlook for an increase in sales of between four and six percent in the 12 months to June 2014.