Moratorium

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Friday said he expects a moratorium with Greece in military and airforce exercises in the Aegean Sea between June 15 and September 15, to accommodate tourism, as relations continued to thaw following the deadly earthquakes in Turkey last February.

"One of the biggest issues right now is the price of electricity and gas. The new measures will already be included in detail," Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said at the beginning of the Council of Ministers session.

What was supposed to be a two-year moratorium in 2001 has turned into an indefinite ban on the adoption of Romanian children by foreigners, denying many the chance of a better future.

Parliament imposed Thursday a moratorium on some decisions by the outgoing administration in the period until the formation of a new government or the appointment of a caretaker government. The decision was taken unanimously by the attending 151 MPs in the 240-member legislature. The formerly ruling GERB did not participate in the vote.

Albanian is preparing to impose a new ban on shooting of animals and birds for another five years.

The Ministry of Environment told BIRN that the new draft law is on its way and is expected to pass parliament in July and take effect early in the autumn.

For the third time in less than a month, Bulgarian timber companies will stage a protest against the 3-month moratorium on exports.

Industry representatives insist that despite the promise of MPs to revoke the ban, the authorities are refusing to engage in dialogue with them, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.