An agreement that will open the way for Bulgarian air carriers to fly to the United States is one of the key outcomes of the visit to the US by Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev.

In the issue of The Sofia Echo published on June 20, Rene Beekman outlines the meaning of the agreement and the issues that will influence how it will work.

Whatever successes it produced, Stanishev’s visit to the US was overshadowed in part by criticism unleashed against Bulgaria’s ruling coalition by President Georgi Purvanov. In the newspaper, Petar Kostadinov examines the exchanges between two of the most senior figures in the Bulgarian Socialist Party and what they could mean for Bulgaria’s political future.

In South-Eastern Europe, one of the top stories in recent days was the coming into effect of Kosovo’s post-independence constitution. Spasena Baramova has the story.

In the newspaper’s business section, Elena Koinova relates what was said at an American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria conference on EU-US economic relations, and explains the controversy surrounding what is disclosed and what is not in the financial statements of Bulgarian public companies.

This week’s newspaper includes a special eight-page feature, The Black Sea Echo, with news on the property market, tourism, sports and what’s new this summer on the entertainment front along the coastline.

The Sofia Echo’s features section includes this week’s selection of our columnists, Pavel Ivanov’s review of Sex and the City, as well as our regular venue and restaurant reviews and guide to what’s on at theatres, galleries and cultural institutions.

In the sports section, there is news on the One Life Charity football match and Alex Bivol’s take on the Euro 2008 drama.

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