Member states of the European Union

German tourists are apparently ignoring whatever political debate over a recent Greek deal with eurozone creditors — as well as Bild’s “yellow sheets” — and looking ahead to the summer, with Greece the fifth favorite destination if judged by pre-bookings.

The data was announced by DW in an article previewing next month’s influential ITB tourism exhibition in Berlin.

Cultural artefacts and sites were stated to be the most common associations tourists have with Bulgaria.

Bulgaria and Romania are to attract tourists from the more distant Asian countries through the development of a common tourist product.

This was announced by Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova on Tuesday, BGNES news agency reports.

Angelkova also revealed that the two countries plan to open a joint tourist office until the end of the year.

By George Georgiopoulos & Alistair Macdonald

Greece's left-wing government insisted on Saturday it had avoided being "strangled" by the eurozone, which agreed in principle to extend a financial rescue deal as nervous savers pulled huge sums from Greek banks.

Romania is Bulgaria's third largest trading partner inside the European Union and the fourth worldwide, Republic of Bulgaria President Rosen Plevneliev declared on Friday at a meeting with chairman of Romania's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR) Mihai Daraban.

Photo credit: (c) Liviu SOVA / AGERPRES STREAM

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis issued a joint call on Friday for NATO to increase its presence in the member countries on the eastern flank.

Iohannis expressed the two countries' support for consolidation of the collective defence and reaction capacity of the Alliance in view of the security challenges in the region, AGERPRES reports.

President Rosen Plevneliev commended the Romanian judicial system and the country's efforts in tackling corruption at the highest levels, admitting that Bulgaria was lagging behind in this respect.

EZ ministers meet at the Eurozone shortly after 4 p.m. on Friday to discuss Greece's future. Germany's rejection of the Greek offer for a 6-month extension to the bailout deal and the current negotiations have brought talk of a Grexit to the fore. Twitter uses with a sense of humor and a knack for graphic arts gave their own suggestions to what a new drachma currency should look like.

Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev is due to meet with Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis on a Friday visit to Bucharest.

Plevneliev is the first head of state to do this since Iohannis was sworn in following his unexpected victory against PM Victor Ponta in November.

The euro weakened Tuesday after the showdown debt talks between Greece and its creditors collapsed, raising the prospect the country will be dumped out of the eurozone.

However, many equity markets were unfazed by the trouble in Europe as trade begins to wind down in several Asian bourses before the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of the week.