Celina Ali Islamabad: In view of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, the European Union this week activated its emergency aid reserve to avoid a risk of famine in the country. This will bring the total EU response to nearly €150 million in humanitarian aid for this crisis in 2024. This funding will support partners […]
Read MoreSofia: Bulgaria’s centre-right GERB party won 68 seats in the 240-seat parliament this week and will need at least two coalition partners to form the cabinet, state election commission results showed. The Movement for Rights and Freedom (MRF), mainly representing Bulgaria’s large ethnic Turkish minority, won 47 seats while pro-Western bloc We Continue the Change […]
Read MoreCrispian Balmer Bari: Since taking office in 2022, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has proved a pragmatic partner on major international issues, assuaging fears she would be a dogmatic conservative unwilling to compromise. But at the Group of Seven summit that she hosted in southern Italy this week, Meloni showed she had some red lines […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: Ambassador of Portugal to Pakistan Fredrico Silva this week celebrated Portugal National Day and hosted a grand reception. The Portuguese Embassy in Pakistan led by Ambassador Fredrico Silva honoured the country’s rich history and cultural heritage. The event was attended by notable dignitaries, including the Federal Minister for Housing and Works, Mian […]
Read MoreShkurta Januzi Brussels: The easiest Schengen visas to obtain for summer 2024 are those issued by Iceland, Switzerland, Latvia and Italy. These countries have a lower rejection rate, thus lowering the chances for an applicant to receive a negative response in their application. Malta, Estonia, and Belgium are the world’s worst countries to apply for […]
Read MoreNewswire Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron this week announced he was dissolving parliament and called snap legislative elections after the far-right trounced his centrist alliance in EU polls. The first round of elections for the lower house National Assembly will take place on June 30, with the second round on July 7, Macron announced in […]
Read MoreSofia: The remains of Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the first king of Bulgaria following five centuries of Ottoman rule, were repatriated from Germany this week to be interred in a family mausoleum, 76 years after his death. “The due homage will be paid to a head of state… who, despite contradictory interpretations of certain moments of his […]
Read MoreIskra Kirova Brussels: The European Commission decided to close the article 7 procedure against Poland this week, despite Poland’s newly elected government not having implemented all needed reforms. Article 7 is the EU’s primary treaty-based mechanism to hold accountable EU member states that undermine the bloc’s values, including by violating the rule of law. Article […]
Read MoreNewswire Lisbon: The number of foreign tourists visiting Portugal surpassed 2.8 million from January through March, making it the best first quarter on record despite high global inflation and interest rates, data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) showed this week. Measuring only foreigners staying in Portuguese hotels, the number by far topped 1.8 million […]
Read MoreXi’an: A train fully loaded with diverse goods departed from Xi’an, the capital city of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province this week, bound for Malaszewicze, Poland, marking a significant milestone as the total number of China-Europe freight train trips has surpassed 90,000. To date, China-Europe freight trains have transported more than 8.7 million twenty-foot equivalent unit […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: Pakistan and Bulgaria have always enjoyed amicable ties defined by mutual respect and a convergence of views on global and regional developments. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 15th June 1965. Bulgaria opened its Embassy in Islamabad in 1968. Sofia was concurrently accredited to our mission based in Belgrade […]
Read MoreNewswire Brussels: The next European Commission and Parliament are likely to place security and competitiveness at the centre of their quest for a more geopolitical Europe. With concerns about the costs of the green transition, growing trade tensions between the US and China, and uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the US presidential election and Russia’s […]
Read MoreLisbon: Portugal’s extensive coastline is dotted with a plethora of delightful towns and villages. If you travel from the north to the south, you will first pass through villages similar to those found in Galicia in Spain, with stone houses. As you head south, the villages become lighter, whiter and even more colourful, and you’ll […]
Read MoreAthens: With a deluge of foreign visitors fuelling seemingly non-stop development on the once pristine Greek islands, local residents and officials are beginning to fight back, moving to curb a wave of construction that has started to cause water shortages and is altering cultural identity. Tourism is crucial in Greece, accounting for one-fifth of the […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: The embassies of Portugal and Brazil in Pakistan this week hosted an impressive reception here to celebrate and promote the rich heritage of the Portuguese language and its cultural impact. The event was supported by Instituto Guimaraes Rosa and Instituto Camoes as the World Portuguese Language Day is being celebrated across the […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: Ambassador of Bulgaria to Pakistan Irena Gancheva is working tirelessly to bring her country and Pakistan even closer. Ambassador of Bulgaria to Pakistan, Ms. Irena Gancheva expressed her commitment to strengthen Pak-Bulgaria bilateral relations through a program of cooperation in the field of culture and much more! In today’s interconnected world, faced […]
Read MorePortugal: Travel and tourism sector set for record-busting 2024 Newswire Lisbon: Portugal’s travel and tourism sector is set for a record-busting 2024, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which has called the outlook for the southwestern European nation “exceptionally promising.” The global forum’s most recent Economic Impact Report, compiled in conjunction with […]
Read MoreLahore: European Union Ambassador to Pakistan Riina Koinka this week visited an art gallery inaugurated at the Nasser Bagh by the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), where she viewed an ongoing exhibition. Dr Riina Koinka, who was in Lahore, received an invitation to visit The Barracks, situated within a historically significant but deteriorated bunker previously […]
Read MoreNewswire Paris: For the fifth straight year, France has trumped Germany and the UK to become Europe’s foreign investment hub. Overseas funding was used to finance 1,194 projects in France last year, according to a new attractiveness survey published by Ernst & Young (EY). This represents an annual decline of 5%, but still allows France […]
Read MoreDadu: A delegation led by the Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan, Dr Riina Kionka, conducted a one-day field mission to Dadu, Sindh, to assess the impact and scale of support provided by the European Union (EU) to flood-affected communities. Dadu was among the hardest hit districts during the devastating floods of 2022. In […]
Read MoreNewswire Portugal, Brazil embassies join hands with Pakistani institutions Ambassador Frederico Silva and Ambassador Olyntho Vieira co-author joint message Islamabad: The Embassies of Brazil and Portugal, in collaboration with Pakistani institutions have prepared plan to celebrate the 2024 World Day of the Portuguese Language and Lusophone Cultures in Islamabad and Lahore. Ambassador of Portugal to […]
Read MoreCelina Ali On 24 April, EU and Member States representatives, and young people who were born in 2004, celebrated 20 years of EU enlargement. President von der Leyen highlighted the many benefits that EU membership brought to the then-new Member States, while also underlining the many advantages that the Union itself drew from this enlargement. […]
Read MoreParis: French President Emmanuel Macron said he was willing to discuss using French nuclear warheads as part of a “credible European defense” against threats from Russia. “I am in favor of opening this debate, which has to include missile defense, long-range weapons firing, nuclear weapons for those who have it or who have American nuclear […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: Ambassador of the European Union Riina Kionka Thursday paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif this week and discussed matters related to mutual concern. The prime minister thanked the EU leaders for their congratulatory messages on his re-election and said he looked forward to working closely with the EU. […]
Read MoreAthens: Greece’s Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana have announced their ‘amicable’ separation after 14 years of marriage just weeks after appearing together at a memorial service for the prince’s father, King Constantine. The 54-year-old Prince is the son of Constantine II of Greece – the last king of Greece after it abolished its monarchy in […]
Read MoreBrussels: With the EU warning against citizenship by investment schemes, Spain’s government is looking to pull the plug on golden visas. Getting the right to live and work in another country can be a long and difficult process. But that’s not always the case for those with money to spend. Golden visas offer the opportunity […]
Read MoreTheo Farrant Lisbon: Deemed the oldest book dedicated entirely to chocolate, “Un Discurso del Chocolate” is going under the hammer in Portugal at a starting price of €2000. A rare 400-year-old book titled “Un Discurso del Chocolate”, regarded as the oldest known book solely dedicated to chocolate, is hitting the auction block in Portugal. This […]
Read MoreNewswire Brussels: The European Union’s antitrust regulators have announced the termination of a two-year-long investigation into a group of fashion designers, citing “priority reasons,” the European Commission revealed this week. The competition watchdog had initiated the investigation in May 2022, conducting raids on several fashion companies amid concerns of potential participation in a cartel to […]
Read MoreNewswire Brussels: Ambassador of Pakistan to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union Amna Baloch this week called on European Union’s Special Envoy on Human Rights Olof Skoog in Brussels and discussed matters of mutual concern. In the meeting, they also discussed ongoing engagement tracks and agreed to strengthen Pakistan-EU relations.
Read MoreFani Mari Athens: There’s an Ancient Greek saying that derives from Latin and roughly translates to “healthy mind in a healthy body”. I think that truly embodies the country’s connection to wellness. Asclepius, the god of medicine, believed in seeing each patient as a person, not as their condition, which is the ultimate holistic medical […]
Read MoreBrussels: Bulgaria and Romania became Schengen members on March 31: the Schengen rules will now apply in both Member States including on issuing Schengen visas and controls at the internal air and sea borders will be lifted. The European Commission strongly welcomed this achievement, which follows the historic Council decision of December 2023. The Schengen […]
Read MoreMiranda Bryant Stockholm: Denmark has pledged to put up more statues of women, with the country’s culture minister saying the capital has “more statues of mythical beasts and horses”. According to the Danish government, only 31 of 321 statues and busts in Danish cities are of women. Of the 101 named statues in Copenhagen, only […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: European Union (EU) Ambassador Riina Kionka this week called on Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and felicitated him for assuming the portfolio of the Ministry of Commerce. Jam Kamal Khan appreciated the EU GSP Plus scheme which is beneficial for Pakistan’s exports to the blok. During the meeting, minister […]
Read MoreNewswire Islamabad: Pakistan’s exports to European countries have begun to dip in the current fiscal year despite a GSP+ status that allows duty-free entrance into European markets for the majority of its products. In absolute terms, Pakistan’s exports to European countries dipped year-on-year by 6.89 per cent in the first eight months of the current […]
Read MoreWilliam Keegan Brussels: It was Dr Johnson, not Boris Johnson, who declared “patriotism is a last refuge of the scoundrel”. Some years have passed since Johnson, Shirley Williams and I were guests of an institute outside Moscow. We were there to explain what we hoped were the wonders of western democracy – the freedom, the […]
Read MoreCelina Ali Islamabad: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb this week apprised the European Union (EU) Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Riina Kionka about the important reform priorities of the government. Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan Dr Riina Kionka called on Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb,. The finance minister […]
Read MoreNewswire Chisinau: The past two years have been the hardest and most tumultuous for European Union candidate Moldova in more than three decades as it faces threats from Russia in multiple spheres of public life, the country’s foreign minister says. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, its neighbor Moldova has faced a litany of crises […]
Read MoreKyiv: Ukraine will receive €6 billion from the European Union via its four-year Ukraine facility in the next two months, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this week. The government expects to receive €4.5 billion in March and another €1.5 billion in April, Shmyhal told a government meeting. “This year, we aim to receive about €16 […]
Read MoreBrussels: In 2023, EU+ countries received 1.14 million applications for international protection, reaching a 7-year high. Syrians continued to lodge the most applications, with Afghans remaining the second largest applicant group, albeit with significantly fewer applications than the previous year. An increase in Palestinian applications was also noted towards the end of the year. Analysis […]
Read MoreBrussels: In 2022, 989 000 people acquired the citizenship of the EU country where they lived, an increase of around 20% (+163 100 people) compared with 2021. Most of the new citizenships (in absolute numbers) were granted by Italy (213 700; 22% of the EU total). Spain (181 800; 18% of the EU total) and […]
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