Bulgaria's Cardiovascular Crisis: Deputy PM Urges Action
Bulgaria is grappling with a staggering burden of cardiovascular diseases, with more than 6 million new cases and over 1.8 million deaths reported annually
HOT: » Assessing the Legacy of Bulgaria's "Denkov" Cabinet: Achievements, Failures, and What Comes Next
European Union officials have struck a provisional deal on new financial rules, including capping bank bonuses.
Under the agreement, bonuses will be capped at a year's salary, but can rise to two year's pay if there is explicit approval from shareholders.
Top bankers and financial traders can earn bonuses multiple times their base salaries. But there has been public outrage over bonuses following the huge bail-outs of banks.
The agreement was reached during eight hours of intense talks in Brussels between members of the European parliament, the European Commission and representatives of the bloc's 27 governments.
Othmar Karas, the European Parliament's chief negotiator, said: "For the first time in the history of EU financial market regulation, we will cap bankers' bonuses.
"The essence is that from 2014, European banks will have to set aside more money to be more stable and concentrate on their core business, namely financing the real economy, that of small and medium-sized enterprises and jobs."
But Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, in London, said the cap would backfire. He told the BBC: "It will drive up fixed salaries to compensate. Businesses that do not need to be inside the European Union will leave. And when banks invest in future divisions, it will be outside the EU."
The deal paves the way for Basel III, an overhaul of banking rules.
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France has announced plans to expedite the production and delivery of essential military equipment to support Ukrainian forces
In a sobering assessment of the current geopolitical landscape, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has sounded the alarm, cautioning that Europe is entering a "pre-war era"
Israeli airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of thirty-eight individuals in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo
Russian forces have carried out targeted attacks on critical infrastructure sites in central Ukraine, causing widespread alarm and disruption
Ukrainian military intelligence has accused Russian intelligence services of having prior knowledge about the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow
Israeli military operations against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza City's Shifa Hospital and Khan Yunis continued, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
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