Celebrations and official ceremonies in Bulgaria and Romania Dec. 31 marked the accession of the two countries into the European Union. Addressing a crowd, Romanian President Traian Basescu described the EU as "the road of our future." Meanwhile, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov described his country's accession as a "heavenly moment." The entrance of the two countries brings the number of member countries to 27.

GERMANY

In a public address Dec. 31, Chancellor Angela Merkel marked the beginning of Germany's six-month term in the rotating EU presidency by vowing to revive flagging efforts toward an EU constitution. She also pledged to strengthen ties with Russia and Central Asia.

SPAIN

The Basque separatist group ETA has claimed responsibility for a Dec. 30 car bombing in a garage at the Madrid airport. Two men, Ecuadorian nationals believed to have been sleeping in the garage when the bomb exploded, are missing and presumed dead. The bombing shattered a nine-month cease-fire between the Spanish government and ETA. If the two deaths are confirmed, they would be the first attributed to ETA since 2003.

BELARUS

Russia and Belarus reached a deal over gas Dec. 31 after Russian company Gazprom threatened to cut off supplies if Belarus didn't accept large price increases. The deal will more than double the cost of gas from $47 (990 Kč) per 1,000 cubic meters (35,000 cubic feet) of gas to $105. Belarus had threatened to disrupt Russian gas shipments to Western Europe that pass through its territory.

SLOVAKIA

The Dec. 31 shutdown of a reactor at the Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear facility in western Slovakia will end the country's electrical self-sufficiency, a spokesman for the Economic Ministry told reporters. The second reactor at the site is expected to close in 2008. The closures were part of Slovakia's agreement for joining the EU in 2004. The twin reactors provided approximately 20 percent of the country's electrical needs.

FRANCE

More than 300 cars were set on fire around France on New Year's Eve, mostly by young people, French police said Jan. 1. A total of 258 arrests were made around the country. There were no major clashes between officers and youths, police said.

AUSTRIA

Interior Minister Liese Prokop died suddenly Dec. 31 after reportedly suffering a ruptured aorta. Prokop, 65, died on the way to hospital, a government spokesperson said. She was Austria's first female interior minister and first made a name for herself after winning a silver medal in the pentathlon at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

NETHERLANDS

Brothel owners in Amsterdam have challenged the city's decision to close 33 brothels, the city said Dec. 29. The closures would shut down one-third of the capital's famous red-light district. The council says the brothels are a front for criminal activity, including money laundering and human trafficking. The owners say closures would endanger women by forcing prostitution, legalized in the Netherlands five years ago, underground.

UK