Bulgaria to hold elections for National Assembly, European Parliament on June 9 2024-04-09

SOFIA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria will hold elections for the National Assembly and the European Parliament on June 9, according to decrees signed by President Rumen Radev on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Radev appointed a caretaker government led by Dimitar Glavchev until June 9. Glavchev, 60, is currently president of the Bulgarian National Audit Office. In 2017, he shortly served as speaker of the National Assembly. The European Parli...

Chinese company to produce Slovakia's flying cars 2024-04-05

BRATISLAVA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese company is set to manufacture certified flying cars developed by Slovak company Klein Vision. On Thursday, Klein Vision announced that it sold its flying cars' production and sales authorization for the Chinese market to Hebei Jianxin Flying Car Technology, a company based in Cangzhou, north China's Hebei Province, in March this year. "We are pleased to announce the sale of the license for our certified flyin...

Slovenia's economy expected to grow 0.9 pct in first quarter 2024-04-04

LJUBLJANA, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia's economy is expected to expand by 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2024, the central bank said Thursday. Although the economy slowed down from last quarter's growth of 1.1 percent, it is 0.6 percent higher than the same period of 2023. "Economic conditions in Slovenia have remained favourable in the first quarter according to available data," the Bank of Slovenia said. The labor market remains ...

Albania GDP slows down in 2023: INSTAT 2024-04-03

TIRANA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Albania's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 3.44 percent in 2023, down 1.42 percent from 2022, the National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said on Tuesday. In the fourth quarter of last year, the country's economy expanded by 3.80 percent year on year while the third quarter grew by 3.83 percent. According to INSTAT, positive contributions to GDP growth came from such sectors as construction, real estate, public ...

Romania lifts air, maritime border controls upon Schengen membership 2024-03-31

BUCHAREST, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Romanians traveling to Schengen countries will no longer undergo air and maritime border checks from Sunday as the country has joined the passport-free travel area. The European Council greenlighted at the end of last year the partial entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen zone, which encompasses most European Union (EU) countries. The Council will need to take a decision to establish a date for the lifting of...

Greece to raise minimum wage 2024-03-29

ATHENS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Greece is to raise its minimum monthly wage from 780 euros (842 U.S. dollars) to 830 euros (895 dollars) as of April 1, the fourth such increase over the past five years. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who made the announcement at a cabinet meeting Friday, said the minimum wage has increased by 27.7 percent from 586 euros since 2019. He also noted that the government aims to elevate the minimum wage to 950 euro...