Parliament of Singapore

By Giorgos Lialios

A draft law by the Tourism Development Ministry, discussed on Monday by a special parliamentary committee, will speed up the licensing process for tourism accommodation units, setting a limit of 50 days from the day the application is submitted.

The appointment of Yannis Stournaras as new governor of the Bank of Greece was expected to be approved Wednesday following a hearing before the Parliament's public utilities committee.

Stournaras successor at Greece's Finance Ministry, Gikas Hardouvelis, was expected to attend the session.

The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) will adjudicate on July 9 the Prime Minister's notification regarding the constitutional conflict between the Government and the President regarding the Romanian state's representative in the European Council.

At a joint meeting on Monday, the standing bureaus of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate approved a proposal put forth by Senate Chairman Calin Popescu-Tariceanu that Parliament adopt a joint declaration calling on President Traian Basescu for honorary resignation.

A parliamentary investigation panel to be established to probe corruption claims about four former ministers is likely to be postponed until next year, as the government seeks to prevent it from becoming an issue ahead of the crucial presidential elections in August.

A prosecutor submitted the case file regarding the controversial procurement of four German submarines to Parliament on Wednesday. The file was based on minutes recorded during a parliamentary plenary session and submitted to prosecutors by SYRIZA MP Zoi Constantopoulou.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Minister of Culture and Information Ivan Tasovac on Wednesday backed the establishment of a parliamentary television channel that would contribute to keeping the citizens well-informed, but noted that the technical capabilities and the funding required are in doubt.

At least two opposition MPs in Macedonia say they may return to parliament, defying the opposition’s decision to collectively resign following the April elections, which they deem fraudulent.

Solza Grceva, from the main opposition Socal Democratic Party, SDSM, has until Thursday - when parliament will verify the resignations of the opposition MPs - to decide whether to return.

Bulgarian teachers are joining in an EU-wide petition for increasing education spending to 5% of each country's GDP.

In order to be successful, the petition needs to gather 1 million votes by August 6. Currently, there are around 600,000, according to Dariknews.

Details around the South Stream gas pipeline project and the fifth no-confidence motion tabled against the government are to top the agenda at Friday's session in Parliament.