The murder of a journalist in broad daylight in Sofia raised many questions. One is: has the EU lost its “stick” to pressure the latest newcomers to the EU? When Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU on 1 January 2007, shortcomings remained regarding judicial reform and the fight against corruption - and in the case [...]

The Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov has embraced the move by extremist leader Volen Siderov, leader of Ataka, a xenophobic party, to hold a referendum for banning a short TV news programme in Turkish language on the Bulgarian national TV [more].
My question is: is Borissov, whose party GERB is EPP-affiliated, entering in coalition with Ataka, [...]

Prominent MEP Eduard Kukan, chair of the Parliament delegation for relations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo, gives advice to those willing to listen.
Kukan has been the foreign minister of his country, Slovakia, during half of the time of its existence, following its split from former Czechoslovakia.

East European leaders may be bargaining for a fairer deal on climate funding, however the impression remains that they are less interested in the subject, compared to their colleagues from ‘older Europe’.
I was discussing this with my friend Jan Vitasek, a Czech journalist, yesterday night in the Council meeting, while EU leaders were having dinner. [...]

This is the question I asked to Turkish chief negotiator Egemen Bagis yesterday in Brussels, after he declined to disclose what are Turkey’s aspirations. He didn’t say it was bad (maybe because before that I had asked him if it was possible for Turkey to wait another 45 years).
Anyway - it’s a good subject to [...]

I’m not very optimistic these days. Either the Irish will say no (níl) to the Lisbon Treaty, which I think they will be wise enough not to do this time, or the Czech ‘no’ (ne) camp around Klaus will keep the ratification on ice for several months, waiting for the British Tories to come on [...]

The Commission is transparent enough to make obvious the huge East-West gap in the EU administration highest posts’ distribution.

The data are appalling.

At the highest level of the administration, AD16, there are 37 civil servants from across the EU, of which zero East Europeans. At the next level AD15, there are 235 civil servants, [...]

My compartiot and good friend Irina Bokova was elected yesterday night Director General of UNESCO. You can find details here.
I have worked under Bokova in the mid nineties, when she was deputy foreign minister, responsible for European integration, while I was a diplomat in Brussels, accredited to the European Communities. I think Bokova made a [...]

I don’t believe that ‘Europe’ comes from the name of a Phoenician princess, abducted by Zeus, who assumed the form of a bull. Sculptures inspired by this legend, in front of EU institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg, fail to impress me.
Instead, I know that Europa was a dioecesis of the Thracian province of the Roman [...]