VISA requirements with the EU abolished for Serbia and F.Y.R.O.M.

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov congratulated his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski and President of Serbia Boris Tadic of the abolition of the visa requirements with the EU for citizens of both countries on 19 December this year.

In telephone conversations with both leaders, the Prime Minister discussed issues of bilateral relations of Bulgaria with Macedonia and Serbia. He wished success to the two countries on their path towards integration with the European structures and welcomed the formal request of Serbia for EU membership.

The Prime Minister greeted the two leaders for the forthcoming Christmas and New Year holidays and through them sent a message of health and welfare of the Macedonian and Serbian nations.

Find out more: http://www.government.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?s=001&p=0234&n=16&g=

EU and Azerbaijan sign strategic gas deal

The President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on have signed a Joint Declaration on gas delivery for Europe in Baku, the European Union (EU) said.

In the declaration, Azerbaijan commits to supplying substantial volumes of gas over the long term to the EU, while Europe provides access to its market for them. This Joint Declaration is an important step in the realization of the Southern Gas Corridor and the diversification of Europe's energy supplies.

EU condems the Shepherd Hotel demolition in East Jerusalem

Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Vice President of the European Commission made today the following statement:

"I strongly condemn this morning's demolition of the Shepherd Hotel and the planned construction
of a new illegal settlement. I reiterate that settlements are illegal under international law,
undermine trust between the parties and constitute an obstacle to peace. Furthermore, we recall
that East Jerusalem is part of occupied Palestinian territory; the EU does not recognise the
annexation by Israel. We are also concerned by the recent upsurge of violence in the Occupied Palestinian territory, and deeply regret the loss of life. We call on all parties to exercise restraint, and for a halt to all violence.”

Euro area unemployment remains at 10.1 percent in November

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on Friday announced that the unemployment rate in the Euro area remained at 10.1 percent in November 2010.

The rate in Euro area 1 (EA16) is exactly the same as registered in October 2010. The EU27 area registered a 9.6 percent of unemployment which was also the same as the previous month.

EA16 consisted of 16 Member States up to December 31st. These were Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. From January 1st, the EUro area (now dubbed EA17) also includes Estonia.

European Council extends visa ban list on Côte D'Ivoire's Gbagbo allies

BRUSSELS - The European Council on New Year's Eve extended the visa ban list against a group of people who are known allies of Côte D'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo, who is refusing to step aside after losing elections last month.

The Council issued a travel restriction to 59 individuals who are obstructing the peace process in the West African country as they have rejected the democratic election of former Prime Minster Alassane Ouattara as the new President of Côte D'Ivoire.

Strong explosion damages Greek courthouse, no injuries reported

ATHENS, GREECE - A strong explosion outside a Greek courthouse in Athens damaged the building and several parked vehicles near the area, but no casualties or injuries were reported, local media reported Thursday.

The explosion, which occurred shortly after 8 a.m. local time, was located outside the Athens' Court of First Instance at the Ambelokipi area, Athens News reported. The loud explosion came from a bomb placed on a parked motorcycle and was heard several miles away.

Before the explosion, a local TV station received an anonymous call, informing them that a bomb would explode in around 40 minutes. The caller even gave the license plate number of the motorcycle, which had been reported stolen the previous day.

Local authorities took prompt actions and evacuated the building on time before the blast. Government and political leaders condemned the bombing.

A couple hours after the explosion, another caller warned of an additional bomb near the tax offices of Kallithea. Police once again evacuated the area, but no bombs were found.

No group or organization has claimed responsibility of the bombing.

Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved.

Will the Euro Zone survive the debt crisis?

Leading German economists Peter Bofinger and Stefan Homburg are split over the euro's chances of survival. In a discussion moderated by SPIEGEL, they talked about the wisdom of introducing a euro bond and what would happen if Germany left the common currency.

Read the interview from SPIEGEL ONLINE

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