Caught by surprise by the European Commission’s decision on Tuesday (25 November) to strip Bulgaria of €220 million in EU money over persistent corruption concerns, the country’s politicians voiced their frustration and disappointment. Далі

Georgia may have staged the shooting of a convoy carrying the Polish and Georgian presidents, say leaked Polish security service reports. Далі

Warning of the risk of a vicious cycle of recessions crashing upon Europe’s shores if nations did not act swiftly, the European Commission on Wednesday called upon the EU’s member states to back a €200 billion stimulus package that involves a mix of increased public spending on green initiatives, tax cuts and soft loans for industry. Далі

On the 21st of November representatives of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers delivered an overall deal on the 2009 budget. Далі

Overall growth in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Central Asia will halve next year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), helping build market economies in the region, has said. Далі

Bulgaria has irreversibly lost €220 million of pre-accession EU funding over its persistent failure to tackle corruption, the European Commission announced on Tuesday (25 November). Brussels in July suspended close to €800 million in aid to Bulgaria over corruption and fraud concerns, out of which €560 million under the PHARE pre-accession programme aimed at improving the country’s infrastructure and institutions. Далі

The European Union’s chief diplomat and NATO’s secretary general have voiced concern over the alleged shooting of a convoy carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili on Sunday (23 November), stopping short of blaming Russia for the incident. Далі

The European Commission today adopted a Communication on “The European Union and the Arctic Region” which highlights the effects of climate change and human activities in the Arctic, according to Európai bizottság. Далі

The Swedish parliament ratified the European Union reform treaty late Thursday after a nine-hour debate, according to Monsters and Critics.com. The Lisbon Treaty was approved by 243 legislators while 39 voted against. Thirteen members of the 349-seat legislature abstained while 54 members did not attend the vote. Далі

Athens on Tuesday (18 November) strongly criticised Skopje’s decision to file a complaint against Greece with the International Court of Justice (IJC), and accused it of hindering the process of finding a solution to the “name issue” that has been poisoning relations for 17 years. Далі