Presidency of Barack Obama

Bulgaria expects the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to help boost trade with the US, according to Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski.

Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski has said that Bulgaria will not sign the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) unless the US lifts visa requirements.

Chuck Hagel is to resign as US Defense Secretary, according to reports of US media outlets.

Information from the New York Times suggests a shift in Washington's military strategy against the Sunni extremists from Islamic State (IS) will result in Hagel's decision to step down, which has been taken "under pressure".

Reportedly, he has already submitted his resignation.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has resigned, U.S. officials said on Nov. 25, ending nearly two years in the Pentagon's top job after a bruising mid-term election that undermined President Barack Obama's Democrats in Congress.
   

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu made some important remarks to senior Turkish reporters and editors accompanying him at the G-20 Summit in Brisbane. He is sticking to a fervently anti-al-Assad policy in Syria and is hopeful of pulling U.S. President Barack Obama to his side.      
  

The U.S. Congress will vote in coming days on approving construction of the much-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project Republicans claim is step one in their plan for enhanced U.S. energy production.

The midterm Congressional Elections in the U.S. on Nov. 4 marked a setback for the Obama Administration, as Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 2006.

A statement issued by Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkır last week that said Turkey might freeze its Customs Union deal with the European Union if the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) does not include Turkey was quite important, showing the government’s determination toward this end.

At this stage of negotiations, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement is not useful neither for Europe, nor for Bulgaria, said Ivaylo Kalfin, Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Demographic and Social Policy and Minister Of Social Policy.

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Republicans won control of the U.S. Senate and bolstered their majority in the House of Representatives as Americans delivered a stinging rebuke to President Barack Obama in elections Nov. 4. Obama now faces the final two years of his presidency contending with a Congress fully controlled by a party that firmly opposes his policies.