Latest news with #Bulgaria
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MSCI Announces the Results of the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review
NEW YORK, June 19, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, announced today the results of the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review. The detailed report, covering market accessibility assessments for 86 markets, has been made available on Bulgaria is not included in the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review report released today. Information for this market will be made available on June 24, 2025, concurrent with the MSCI 2025 Annual Market Classification Review announcement. As a reminder, Bulgaria is under review for potential reclassification from Standalone Market status to Frontier Market status. Key takeaways: There were more improvements than deteriorations in market accessibility ratings. A significant portion of those improvements are attributed to developments in Market Infrastructure across Emerging and Frontier Markets. The MSCI Global Market Accessibility Review aims to assess and track the evolution of accessibility in individual markets, and to inform market authorities about areas that global institutional investors perceive as not meeting international standards and would welcome improvements. Consistent with prior years, the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review provides a detailed assessment of market accessibility for each equity market included in the MSCI Indexes and evaluates the following five market accessibility criteria: Openness to foreign ownership Ease of capital inflows/outflows Efficiency of the operational framework Availability of investment instruments Stability of the institutional framework These five criteria reflect areas that international institutional investors generally place strong emphasis on when evaluating investment accessibility of a market, including equal treatment of investors, free flow of capital, cost of investment, unrestrictive use of stock market data, and market-specific risk. MSCI uses 18 distinct accessibility measures to assess these five criteria, described in detail in the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review report. Market accessibility, along with economic development and size and liquidity, determine classification of markets into Developed, Emerging, Frontier and Standalone Markets. The classification of markets is a key input in the process of index construction as it determines the composition of the investment opportunity sets to be represented. The results of the MSCI 2025 Annual Market Classification Review will be announced on June 24, 2025. More information on the MSCI Market Classification Framework is available at -Ends- About MSCI MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 50 years of expertise in research, data and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process. The process for submitting a formal index complaint can be found on the index regulation page of MSCI's website at: This document and all of the information contained in it, including without limitation all text, data, graphs, charts (collectively, the "Information") is the property of MSCI Inc. or its subsidiaries (collectively, "MSCI"), or MSCI's licensors, direct or indirect suppliers or any third party involved in making or compiling any Information (collectively, with MSCI, the "Information Providers") and is provided for informational purposes only. The Information may not be modified, reverse-engineered, reproduced or redisseminated in whole or in part without prior written permission from MSCI. All rights in the Information are reserved by MSCI and/or its Information Providers. The Information may not be used to create derivative works or to verify or correct other data or information. For example (but without limitation), the Information may not be used to create indexes, databases, risk models, analytics, software, or in connection with the issuing, offering, sponsoring, managing or marketing of any securities, portfolios, financial products or other investment vehicles utilizing or based on, linked to, tracking or otherwise derived from the Information or any other MSCI data, information, products or services. The user of the Information assumes the entire risk of any use it may make or permit to be made of the Information. NONE OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS MAKES ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION (OR THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE USE THEREOF), AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH INFORMATION PROVIDER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE INFORMATION. Without limiting any of the foregoing and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall any Information Provider have any liability regarding any of the Information for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential (including lost profits) or any other damages even if notified of the possibility of such damages. The foregoing shall not exclude or limit any liability that may not by applicable law be excluded or limited, including without limitation (as applicable), any liability for death or personal injury to the extent that such injury results from the negligence or willful default of itself, its servants, agents or sub-contractors. Information containing any historical information, data or analysis should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance, analysis, forecast or prediction. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The Information may include "Signals," defined as quantitative attributes or the product of methods or formulas that describe or are derived from calculations using historical data. Neither these Signals nor any description of historical data are intended to provide investment advice or a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any investment decision or asset allocation and should not be relied upon as such. Signals are inherently backward-looking because of their use of historical data, and they are not intended to predict the future. The relevance, correlations and accuracy of Signals frequently will change materially. The Information should not be relied on and is not a substitute for the skill, judgment and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions. All Information is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group of persons. None of the Information constitutes an offer to sell (or a solicitation of an offer to buy), any security, financial product or other investment vehicle or any trading strategy. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Exposure to an asset class or trading strategy or other category represented by an index is only available through third party investable instruments (if any) based on that index. MSCI does not issue, sponsor, endorse, market, offer, review or otherwise express any opinion regarding any fund, ETF, derivative or other security, investment, financial product or trading strategy that is based on, linked to or seeks to provide an investment return related to the performance of any MSCI index (collectively, "Index Linked Investments"). MSCI makes no assurance that any Index Linked Investments will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. MSCI Inc. is not an investment adviser or fiduciary and MSCI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in any Index Linked Investments. Index returns do not represent the results of actual trading of investible assets/securities. MSCI maintains and calculates indexes, but does not manage actual assets. The calculation of indexes and index returns may deviate from the stated methodology. Index returns do not reflect payment of any sales charges or fees an investor may pay to purchase the securities underlying the index or Index Linked Investments. The imposition of these fees and charges would cause the performance of an Index Linked Investment to be different than the MSCI index performance. The Information may contain back tested data. Back-tested performance is not actual performance, but is hypothetical. There are frequently material differences between back tested performance results and actual results subsequently achieved by any investment strategy. Constituents of MSCI equity indexes are listed companies, which are included in or excluded from the indexes according to the application of the relevant index methodologies. Accordingly, constituents in MSCI equity indexes may include MSCI Inc., clients of MSCI or suppliers to MSCI. Inclusion of a security within an MSCI index is not a recommendation by MSCI to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice. Data and information produced by various affiliates of MSCI Inc., including MSCI ESG Research LLC and Barra LLC, may be used in calculating certain MSCI indexes. More information can be found in the relevant index methodologies on MSCI receives compensation in connection with licensing its indexes to third parties. MSCI Inc.'s revenue includes fees based on assets in Index Linked Investments. Information can be found in MSCI Inc.'s company filings on the Investor Relations section of MSCI ESG Research LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and a subsidiary of MSCI Inc. Neither MSCI nor any of its products or services recommends, endorses, approves or otherwise expresses any opinion regarding any issuer, securities, financial products or instruments or trading strategies and MSCI's products or services are not a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such, provided that applicable products or services from MSCI ESG Research may constitute investment advice. MSCI ESG Research materials, including materials utilized in any MSCI ESG Indexes or other products, have not been submitted to, nor received approval from, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any other regulatory body. MSCI ESG and climate ratings, research and data are produced by MSCI ESG Research LLC, a subsidiary of MSCI Inc. MSCI ESG Indexes, Analytics and Real Estate are products of MSCI Inc. that utilize information from MSCI ESG Research LLC. MSCI Indexes are administered by MSCI Limited (UK) and MSCI Deutschland GmbH. Please note that the issuers mentioned in MSCI ESG Research materials sometimes have commercial relationships with MSCI ESG Research and/or MSCI Inc. (collectively, "MSCI") and that these relationships create potential conflicts of interest. In some cases, the issuers or their affiliates purchase research or other products or services from one or more MSCI affiliates. In other cases, MSCI ESG Research rates financial products such as mutual funds or ETFs that are managed by MSCI's clients or their affiliates, or are based on MSCI Inc. Indexes. In addition, constituents in MSCI Inc. equity indexes include companies that subscribe to MSCI products or services. In some cases, MSCI clients pay fees based in whole or part on the assets they manage. MSCI ESG Research has taken a number of steps to mitigate potential conflicts of interest and safeguard the integrity and independence of its research and ratings. More information about these conflict mitigation measures is available in our Form ADV, available at Any use of or access to products, services or information of MSCI requires a license from MSCI. MSCI, Barra, RiskMetrics, IPD and other MSCI brands and product names are the trademarks, service marks, or registered trademarks of MSCI or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) was developed by and is the exclusive property of MSCI and S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS)" is a service mark of MSCI and S&P Dow Jones Indices. MIFID2/MIFIR notice: MSCI ESG Research LLC does not distribute or act as an intermediary for financial instruments or structured deposits, nor does it deal on its own account, provide execution services for others or manage client accounts. No MSCI ESG Research product or service supports, promotes or is intended to support or promote any such activity. MSCI ESG Research is an independent provider of ESG data. Privacy notice: For information about how MSCI collects and uses personal data, please refer to our Privacy Notice at View source version on Contacts Media Inquiries PR@ Melanie Blanco +1 212 981 1049Konstantinos Makrygiannis +44 77 6893 0056Tina Tan +852 2844 9320MSCI Global Client Service EMEA Client Service + 44 20 7618 2222Americas Client Service +1 888 588 4567Asia Pacific Client Service + 852 2844 9333 Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MSCI Announces the Results of the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review
NEW YORK, June 19, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, announced today the results of the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review. The detailed report, covering market accessibility assessments for 86 markets, has been made available on Bulgaria is not included in the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review report released today. Information for this market will be made available on June 24, 2025, concurrent with the MSCI 2025 Annual Market Classification Review announcement. As a reminder, Bulgaria is under review for potential reclassification from Standalone Market status to Frontier Market status. Key takeaways: There were more improvements than deteriorations in market accessibility ratings. A significant portion of those improvements are attributed to developments in Market Infrastructure across Emerging and Frontier Markets. The MSCI Global Market Accessibility Review aims to assess and track the evolution of accessibility in individual markets, and to inform market authorities about areas that global institutional investors perceive as not meeting international standards and would welcome improvements. Consistent with prior years, the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review provides a detailed assessment of market accessibility for each equity market included in the MSCI Indexes and evaluates the following five market accessibility criteria: Openness to foreign ownership Ease of capital inflows/outflows Efficiency of the operational framework Availability of investment instruments Stability of the institutional framework These five criteria reflect areas that international institutional investors generally place strong emphasis on when evaluating investment accessibility of a market, including equal treatment of investors, free flow of capital, cost of investment, unrestrictive use of stock market data, and market-specific risk. MSCI uses 18 distinct accessibility measures to assess these five criteria, described in detail in the MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review report. Market accessibility, along with economic development and size and liquidity, determine classification of markets into Developed, Emerging, Frontier and Standalone Markets. The classification of markets is a key input in the process of index construction as it determines the composition of the investment opportunity sets to be represented. The results of the MSCI 2025 Annual Market Classification Review will be announced on June 24, 2025. More information on the MSCI Market Classification Framework is available at -Ends- About MSCI MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 50 years of expertise in research, data and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process. The process for submitting a formal index complaint can be found on the index regulation page of MSCI's website at: This document and all of the information contained in it, including without limitation all text, data, graphs, charts (collectively, the "Information") is the property of MSCI Inc. or its subsidiaries (collectively, "MSCI"), or MSCI's licensors, direct or indirect suppliers or any third party involved in making or compiling any Information (collectively, with MSCI, the "Information Providers") and is provided for informational purposes only. The Information may not be modified, reverse-engineered, reproduced or redisseminated in whole or in part without prior written permission from MSCI. All rights in the Information are reserved by MSCI and/or its Information Providers. The Information may not be used to create derivative works or to verify or correct other data or information. For example (but without limitation), the Information may not be used to create indexes, databases, risk models, analytics, software, or in connection with the issuing, offering, sponsoring, managing or marketing of any securities, portfolios, financial products or other investment vehicles utilizing or based on, linked to, tracking or otherwise derived from the Information or any other MSCI data, information, products or services. The user of the Information assumes the entire risk of any use it may make or permit to be made of the Information. NONE OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS MAKES ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION (OR THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE USE THEREOF), AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH INFORMATION PROVIDER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE INFORMATION. Without limiting any of the foregoing and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall any Information Provider have any liability regarding any of the Information for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential (including lost profits) or any other damages even if notified of the possibility of such damages. The foregoing shall not exclude or limit any liability that may not by applicable law be excluded or limited, including without limitation (as applicable), any liability for death or personal injury to the extent that such injury results from the negligence or willful default of itself, its servants, agents or sub-contractors. Information containing any historical information, data or analysis should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance, analysis, forecast or prediction. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The Information may include "Signals," defined as quantitative attributes or the product of methods or formulas that describe or are derived from calculations using historical data. Neither these Signals nor any description of historical data are intended to provide investment advice or a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any investment decision or asset allocation and should not be relied upon as such. Signals are inherently backward-looking because of their use of historical data, and they are not intended to predict the future. The relevance, correlations and accuracy of Signals frequently will change materially. The Information should not be relied on and is not a substitute for the skill, judgment and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions. All Information is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group of persons. None of the Information constitutes an offer to sell (or a solicitation of an offer to buy), any security, financial product or other investment vehicle or any trading strategy. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Exposure to an asset class or trading strategy or other category represented by an index is only available through third party investable instruments (if any) based on that index. MSCI does not issue, sponsor, endorse, market, offer, review or otherwise express any opinion regarding any fund, ETF, derivative or other security, investment, financial product or trading strategy that is based on, linked to or seeks to provide an investment return related to the performance of any MSCI index (collectively, "Index Linked Investments"). MSCI makes no assurance that any Index Linked Investments will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. MSCI Inc. is not an investment adviser or fiduciary and MSCI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in any Index Linked Investments. Index returns do not represent the results of actual trading of investible assets/securities. MSCI maintains and calculates indexes, but does not manage actual assets. The calculation of indexes and index returns may deviate from the stated methodology. Index returns do not reflect payment of any sales charges or fees an investor may pay to purchase the securities underlying the index or Index Linked Investments. The imposition of these fees and charges would cause the performance of an Index Linked Investment to be different than the MSCI index performance. The Information may contain back tested data. Back-tested performance is not actual performance, but is hypothetical. There are frequently material differences between back tested performance results and actual results subsequently achieved by any investment strategy. Constituents of MSCI equity indexes are listed companies, which are included in or excluded from the indexes according to the application of the relevant index methodologies. Accordingly, constituents in MSCI equity indexes may include MSCI Inc., clients of MSCI or suppliers to MSCI. Inclusion of a security within an MSCI index is not a recommendation by MSCI to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice. Data and information produced by various affiliates of MSCI Inc., including MSCI ESG Research LLC and Barra LLC, may be used in calculating certain MSCI indexes. More information can be found in the relevant index methodologies on MSCI receives compensation in connection with licensing its indexes to third parties. MSCI Inc.'s revenue includes fees based on assets in Index Linked Investments. Information can be found in MSCI Inc.'s company filings on the Investor Relations section of MSCI ESG Research LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and a subsidiary of MSCI Inc. Neither MSCI nor any of its products or services recommends, endorses, approves or otherwise expresses any opinion regarding any issuer, securities, financial products or instruments or trading strategies and MSCI's products or services are not a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such, provided that applicable products or services from MSCI ESG Research may constitute investment advice. MSCI ESG Research materials, including materials utilized in any MSCI ESG Indexes or other products, have not been submitted to, nor received approval from, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any other regulatory body. MSCI ESG and climate ratings, research and data are produced by MSCI ESG Research LLC, a subsidiary of MSCI Inc. MSCI ESG Indexes, Analytics and Real Estate are products of MSCI Inc. that utilize information from MSCI ESG Research LLC. MSCI Indexes are administered by MSCI Limited (UK) and MSCI Deutschland GmbH. Please note that the issuers mentioned in MSCI ESG Research materials sometimes have commercial relationships with MSCI ESG Research and/or MSCI Inc. (collectively, "MSCI") and that these relationships create potential conflicts of interest. In some cases, the issuers or their affiliates purchase research or other products or services from one or more MSCI affiliates. In other cases, MSCI ESG Research rates financial products such as mutual funds or ETFs that are managed by MSCI's clients or their affiliates, or are based on MSCI Inc. Indexes. In addition, constituents in MSCI Inc. equity indexes include companies that subscribe to MSCI products or services. In some cases, MSCI clients pay fees based in whole or part on the assets they manage. MSCI ESG Research has taken a number of steps to mitigate potential conflicts of interest and safeguard the integrity and independence of its research and ratings. More information about these conflict mitigation measures is available in our Form ADV, available at Any use of or access to products, services or information of MSCI requires a license from MSCI. MSCI, Barra, RiskMetrics, IPD and other MSCI brands and product names are the trademarks, service marks, or registered trademarks of MSCI or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) was developed by and is the exclusive property of MSCI and S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS)" is a service mark of MSCI and S&P Dow Jones Indices. MIFID2/MIFIR notice: MSCI ESG Research LLC does not distribute or act as an intermediary for financial instruments or structured deposits, nor does it deal on its own account, provide execution services for others or manage client accounts. No MSCI ESG Research product or service supports, promotes or is intended to support or promote any such activity. MSCI ESG Research is an independent provider of ESG data. Privacy notice: For information about how MSCI collects and uses personal data, please refer to our Privacy Notice at View source version on Contacts Media Inquiries PR@ Melanie Blanco +1 212 981 1049Konstantinos Makrygiannis +44 77 6893 0056Tina Tan +852 2844 9320MSCI Global Client Service EMEA Client Service + 44 20 7618 2222Americas Client Service +1 888 588 4567Asia Pacific Client Service + 852 2844 9333 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
17 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Euro zone finance ministers recommend Bulgaria adopt euro in 2026
BRUSSELS, June 19 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers recommended on Thursday that Bulgaria become the 21st member of the euro zone starting January 1, 2026, backing earlier positive assessments of the country's readiness from the European Commission and the European Central Bank. "The Eurogroup agreed today that Bulgaria fulfils all the necessary conditions to adopt the euro," Paschal Donohoe, who chairs meetings of euro zone finance ministers, told a press conference. The recommendation will now be formally adopted by all 27 EU finance ministers on Friday and then by EU leaders on June 26. The exchange rate at which the Bulgarian lev will be converted into euro will be set by EU finance ministers at their meeting in early July, giving Bulgaria six months to prepare the technical transition for the start of the year. Bulgaria has been striving to switch its lev to the euro since it joined the European Union in 2007. But after such a long wait, many Bulgarians have lost their initial enthusiasm, with 50% now sceptical about the euro, according to a Eurobarometer poll in May. Some Bulgarians fear the currency switch will drive up prices. To get the positive recommendation, Bulgaria had to meet the inflation criterion, which says that the euro candidate cannot have consumer inflation higher than 1.5 percentage points above the three best EU performers. In April, the best performers were France with 0.9%, Cyprus with 1.4% and Denmark with 1.5%, which put Bulgaria with its 2.8% just within the limit. The euro candidate country also cannot be under the EU's disciplinary budget procedure for running a deficit in excess of 3% of GDP. Bulgaria meets this criterion with a budget deficit of 3% in 2024 and 2.8% expected in 2025. The country's public debt of 24.1% of GDP in 2024 and 25.1% expected in 2025 is well below the maximum level of 60%, and its long-term interest rate on bonds is well within the two-percentage-point margin above the rate at which the three best inflation performers borrow. Finally, Bulgaria had to prove it had a stable exchange rate by staying within a 15% margin on either side of a central parity rate in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II. This was easily done because Bulgaria has been running a currency board that fixed the lev to the euro at 1.95583 since the start of the euro currency in 1999. Bulgaria's euro adoption will come three years after the last euro zone expansion, when Croatia joined the single currency grouping at the start of 2023. The accession of Bulgaria into the euro zone will leave only six of the 27 EU countries outside the single currency area: Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Denmark. None of them have any immediate plans to adopt the euro either for political reasons or because they do not meet the required economic criteria.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Eurozone finance ministers give green light for Bulgaria to use euro
Eurozone countries on Thursday gave Bulgaria the green light to use the euro, with Sofia set to introduce the common currency in January 2026. Bulgaria is set to become the 21st EU member state to use the euro after finance ministers of eurozone countries gave their approval to the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB). The commission backed the move earlier this month, concluding that Bulgaria fulfils the necessary requirements to join the monetary union. The criteria for joining include price stability, sound public finances and stable exchange rates. Bulgaria has been a member of the EU since 2007 and had previously planned to replace its national currency, the lev, with the euro in 2024, but the adoption was postponed due to a comparatively high inflation rate of 9.5% at the time. The commission recently said it expects an inflation rate of 3.6% for Bulgaria in the current year and 1.8% in 2026. In Bulgaria, the possible introduction of the euro has been accompanied by fierce protests. According to an opinion poll conducted by the Bulgarian Mjara institute in May, more than half of adults (54.9%) are against the introduction of the euro in 2026, while 34.4% are in favour of joining. The next step is for the finance ministers of all EU countries to approve the plans before EU leaders discuss Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone at the end of June. Finally, after consulting the European Parliament and the ECB, the member states must adopt the necessary legal acts at finance minister level.
CTV News
20 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Foreigners evacuated by air, land and sea as Israel-Iran conflict worsens
Israelis go through security checks at the departures terminal at Cyprus' main port in Limassol where they'll board the Israeli cruise ship Crown Iris to take them back to their homeland, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) ISLAMABAD — Countries are evacuating their nationals from Israel and Iran by air, land and sea as conflict rages between the bitter rivals. Days of attacks and reprisals by the two enemies have shuttered airspace across the Middle East, severely disrupting commercial flights and leaving people unable to get in or out of the region easily. Some governments are using land borders to get their citizens out by road to countries where airports remain open. Thousands of foreigners have already left since the conflict started last Friday when Israel launched surprise missile strikes on Iran. Bulgaria Bulgaria has moved all its diplomats from Tehran to the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, the Balkan country's prime minister said Thursday. 'We are not closing the embassy, but moving it to Baku until the danger passes,' said Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov. A group of 89 Bulgarians was evacuated from Israel by plane to Sofia, along with 59 nationals from Slovenia, the U.S., Belgium, Albania, Kosovo and Romania. They left from the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, where they had been transferred by bus across the border from Israel. He said the government had urged all Bulgarians willing to join the convoy to do so. They set off in 11 vehicles on Wednesday morning. 'There were alternatives. They could travel via Turkey, but eventually we decided that they should go via Azerbaijan,' Zhelyazkov added. China China said it has evacuated more than 1,600 nationals from Iran and 'several hundred others' from Israel. Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing would continue to do its 'utmost to assist in the safe transfer and evacuation of Chinese citizens.' Aell Huang, who was in the Iranian city of Isfahan, said he didn't feel safe during the conflict. 'I heard explosions from time to time. Civilians got hurt too. I got more prepared mentally once I saw the embassy's warning.' He and some friends hired a car and headed to Azerbaijan, waiting at border control for almost 12 hours, where he saw as many as 60 other Chinese nationals. The Chinese Embassy said it would organize group evacuations by bus from Israel starting Friday. A notice posted on the embassy's WeChat social media account said citizens would be taken out through the Taba border crossing to Egypt. It asked them to register online and said they would be notified of the evacuation time. People carrying Chinese, Hong Kong, and Macao passports were eligible, the notice said. European Union The European Union has helped evacuate some 400 people from Israel via Jordan and Egypt as part of its efforts to coordinate an emergency response within the 27-nation bloc. 'Member states coordinate the list and we co-finance these flights up to 75 per cent of the transport costs,' European Commission spokesperson Eva Hrncirova told a regular press conference in Brussels on Wednesday. Hrncirova said the E.U. was fielding requests by Slovakia, Lithuania, Greece, and Poland for assistance with Middle East evacuations. France French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Thursday it was helping nationals who want to leave Iran and Israel to do so through neighboring countries where commercial flights were still available. Barrot said people in Iran could travel to Armenia and Turkey without a visa. Those unable to reach the border on their own would be 'transported by convoy by the end of the week' so they could take commercial flights to France. French nationals wanting to leave Israel can go via Jordan and Egypt. From Friday morning, some buses will carry passengers from the Israeli border to Amman and Sharm el-Sheikh airports. Germany Germany flew 171 people out of Amman on a special flight on Wednesday. A further 174 people returned on Thursday and another flight is planned this weekend. Passenger Daniel Halav, who was stuck in Tel Aviv, said he had 'never been so glad to be home' after landing in Frankfurt, the German news agency dpa reported. But, he said, 'we had to take care of ourselves of how we got to Amman. From my point of view, we were left a bit alone there.' The German Foreign Ministry said officials had decided against organizing convoys to get people to Amman, arguing this move could have created a security risk and that those wishing to leave were scattered across Israel. Greece Greece's Foreign Ministry said 141 Greeks and other nationals have been evacuated from Israel via Egypt. The group included citizens from Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. They were flown to Athens early Wednesday from Sharm el-Sheikh aboard two military transport planes. India India said it evacuated 110 students by road from northern Iran to the Armenian capital, Yerevan. They left on a special flight on June 18. The Indian Embassy in Iran has been helping nationals to move from areas experiencing increased hostilities to relatively safer areas within the country, subsequently evacuating them, according to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. Israel As of Thursday, some 22,000 holidaymakers had asked the Israeli Tourism Ministry to help them leave the country. There are around 38,000 tourists in Israel. The Transport Ministry said thousands of Israelis have returned daily in the past few days, with 21 planes bringing back nationals stranded abroad since the start of the aerial campaign against Iran. The Population, Immigration, and Border Authority said 38,250 Israelis entered the country between June 13 and 19, and 21,456 left during the same period. The majority of arrivals and departures were by land. Middle East and North Africa Oman said Thursday it had evacuated 245 of its citizens and nationals from other countries via the Iranian coastal city of Bandar Abbas. Ten buses transported Omani citizens from Iran's north into Turkey. A further three buses crossed into Iraq. Indonesia The Indonesian government on Thursday decided to evacuate its nationals from Iran. 'Our citizens are at risk,' Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sugiono said. 'Over the past two days, Israel's attacks have grown more intense, not only targeting the military, but also civilians.' He said about 386 Indonesians, mostly students, were in Iran, primarily in the city of Qom. The ministry earlier said some 194 Indonesians were in Israel, mostly student interns in the southern city of Rafah. Sugiono did not give a timeframe for evacuations, but said Iran has promised to help with the process. Japan Japan is sending two military aircraft to Djibouti to stand by for the possible airlifting of Japanese nationals from Iran. Defence Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters he had issued an order to send two C-2 transport aircraft, along with 120 armed forces personnel, to the Horn of Africa nation, where Japan has a military base. An advance team of servicemembers left Japan earlier Thursday. Chief of the Self-Defence Forces Joint Staff Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida said the C-2 dispatch was to secure multiple options for evacuation when necessary. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the embassy in Iran was preparing to evacuate an unspecified number of Japanese nationals by bus. Some 280 Japanese are in Iran, and 1,000 are in Israel. Poland Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys said a group would depart from Amman by military aircraft on Thursday, following road transportation from Israel to the Jordanian border. Some 160 Poles arrived in Warsaw on Wednesday morning from Israel via Egypt, the Polish news agency PAP reported. The deputy minister said while there were no plans to evacuate citizens from Iran, Warsaw was helping with the departure of non-essential personnel from the embassy in Tehran. The staff, along with seven Polish citizens, left the Iranian capital on Wednesday morning for the Azerbaijan border. South Korea South Korea's Foreign Ministry says 18 South Korean nationals and two Iranian family members were evacuated from Iran and arrived in Turkmenistan late Wednesday by land. The ministry described the evacuation as a preemptive move to protect citizens as the closure of airspace would have otherwise made it difficult for them to leave. It urged South Koreans in Iran and Israel to promptly depart in line with embassy instructions and advised travelers to cancel or postpone trips to the region. Twenty-five nationals and one Israeli family member were escorted out of Israel by embassy staff and arrived in Jordan on Thursday morning. Thailand Thai nationals have been advised to leave Tehran at the earliest opportunity and avoid traveling to affected areas, although there is no immediate plan for an evacuation from Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said Wednesday. He said there are about 350 Thais in Iran and only five had expressed a wish to return to Thailand. The embassy in Tehran has set up a temporary shelter for Thais in Amol and has temporarily relocated its office to Kordan to ensure the safety of those needing to travel for the services. The embassy has also prepared the land routes for Thais to travel to Iran's neighbors, Nikorndej said. U.S. The State Department is planning to evacuate Americans from Israel by air and on cruise ships, according to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Huckabee said Americans interested in leaving Israel should enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program for updates. There are some 700,000 Americans, many of them dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, in Israel and thousands more in other Mideast countries, including Iran. Associated Press writers from around the world contributed to this report.
