The people on the Balkans have developed a multicultural model, and this is a value which we can share with the EU communities. It is fair to say that Bulgaria has seized a leading role in the EU accession process of the other Balkan countries, Marjan Gjorchev, ambassador of North Macedonia to Bulgaria says in an interview to Europost.

The political landscape is changing. ALDE will most likely disappear and will be replaced by a new group with other allies, and that group will be called differently, with ALDE being its backbone. Macron most likely will join, but I think that with these parties we should discuss programme issues, in order to be sure we have sufficient coherence between us. Let's take EFDD, it is not a political group because the Brits are very different from the Italians, they have nothing in common. I am not making any direct comparison but I would like to avoid this new political group being heterogeneous. We can disagree on some items, but we need to have a glue on the topical issues, says Pavel Telicka, MEP from ALDE, Vice-President of the European Parliament.

The fundamental transformation that is taking place is very worrying for consumers. Because we are educated as consumers on the basis of our freedom of choice, relying on the information that you receive and the freedom of self-determination. We want to live the lives that we have decided to live. But we cannot really have access anymore to the information, we will be locked into a bubble where the algorithms have pushed us. This also means that we will end up not having consumer choice because we can only choose among certain things that are offered to us, says Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC.

Unfortunately, Europe is busy with making populist and nationalistic statements instead of waging a real battle with the issues which serve as a trigger for terrorism, Ruslan Trad, journalist and Middle East analyst, says in an interview to Europost.

The Romanian Presidency of the EU Council will focus on four pillars of action: Europe of convergence, a safer Europe, Europe as a stronger global actor and Europe of common values. Given the current challenges in the international context, the Romanian Presidency will pay special attention to the European elections as well, and the country will promote the European common answer for migration management, ambassador of Romania to Bulgaria says in an interview to Europost.

One of the strengths of the F-16 is that it has 12,000 hours of lifespan and the fact that it does not need to leave Bulgaria for maintenance. So, it is going to be maintained in Bulgaria by Bulgarians. To that point, as we look for industrial participation opportunities, we will look for opportunities to expand the ability to help maintain other components on the F-16 for the F-16s here in the European operational theatre, James Robinson, executive at Lockheed Martin, says in an interview to Telegraf.

The vote of European citizens will show what Europe we all want to live in, what route we want to follow. We should not miss the point that all regulations and directives coming from the EU are legal acts adopted and approved by the European Commission and the MEPs. When we cast our votes, we must know that who will represent us in the European Parliament depends on our decisions, said Head of the European Commission's Representation in Bulgaria.

Nowadays, millions of people in Europe do not like the system which the political establishment imposed on them. There is a serious rift within the European society, and despite the fact that the recent Eurobarometer polls show rise in credibility to the EU in 2018, many people still do not believe that the EU and its institutions are capable of solving their problems. What we need is a closer tie between the European citizens and the EU institutions and to ALDE this is No.1 priority, says Ilhan Kyuchyuk, MEP and Vice-President of ALDE.

The two top challenges for our business community for 2019 will be the cost of labour and skills shortages. This is a bigger problem than exports, access to finance, and Brexit. It is really becoming quite an urgent issue to address, and it is not only in countries where there is very low unemployment, but also in countries where there is high unemployment. So it is not simply supply and demand, it's about the mismatch between the skills which are required and the skills which are on offer from the workforce, says Ben Butters, Policy Director at EUROCHAMBRES. 

We must act with urgency and efficiency. This means enhanced coordination between Member States, clear fulfilment of commitments made in the Code of Practice against Disinformation signed by the online platforms, concrete initiatives for improving media literacy and stepping up efforts to create an independent network of fact-checkers, says Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society.