Bulgaria's finance minister, who was initially targeting rapid accession to the euro zone, has confirmed the country is in no hurry to adopt the single currency.
"We will not make any move toward the switchover in the next two years," Simeon Djankov told reporters in Vienna on Thursday.
The statement is in line with the opinion of local analysts, who have tried to tone down the cabinet's enthusiasm for adopting rapidly the common European currency, saying it makes more sense for the...
Bulgaria's Currency Board Is Super Stable
(Sofia, Jan 12) - "The currency board functioning in Bulgaria is super-stable," the monthly analysis of Raiffeissen Bank Bulgaria reads.
The experts have calculated that at the end of November 2012 the currency board's reserves amount to 15.1 billion euro, which is an increase by 2.2 million euro from a month ago.
The board's reserves have increased by 1.9 billion euro (14.4%) year-on-year, which is a surplus of about 89% to the minimum...
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has revised upwards its forecast for Bulgaria's economic growth in 2013 from 1.7% to 1.9%.
The bank cut its forecast for economic growth in October last year from 2.5% in the previous report published in May to 1.7%, citing slumping exports.
"Recovery is expected to continue to be modest in Bulgaria into 2012, due mainly to sluggish export demand. Growth in 2012 is likely to have ended up at around 1% only, with a modest forecast...
A total of 21% of the eligible voters cast their votes in Bulgaria's nuclear energy referendum on Sunday, according to data from the 100% completed parallel vote count by polling agency Alpha Research.
The agency said this meant about 1.4 million voters cast their votes in Bulgaria on Sunday; of those, 61% voted in favor of the construction of a second nuclear power plant, and 39% voted against.
The Bulgarian citizens were supposed to answer "yes" or "no" to the following question:...
PES and Bulgarian Socialist Party chair Sergey Stanishev should resign over the outcome of Sunday's referendum on nuclear energy in Bulgaria, stated Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov.
As results from exit polls come in, political leaders have engaged in a heated battle of interpretations on the outcome.
Some 60% of ballots cast answered positively to the referendum question - whether Bulgaria needs a new NPP - the position supported by the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
The turnout is...
The Bulgarian government should impose a moratorium on the Belene NPP project until an overall energy strategy is drafted, according to Meglena Kuneva, former EU Commissioner and leader of the Bulgaria for Citizens party.
She says that the fact that the center-right ruling party GERB and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) have reached consensus on the matter raises suspicion.
Kuneva suggests that the actual goal of the referendum is to tie the next government down to a...
The right-wing Blue Coalition has requested from Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, to ask the Constitutional Court to elaborate on the upcoming referendum on the fate of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project.
The Blues insist the Court must have a say in explaining the law before the Parliament passes the decision, the Bulgarian online news agency Dnevnik reports.
According to the law, the Constitutional Court must act on the request of at least...
The upcoming referendum on the fate of Bulgaria's Belene Nuclear Power project is a provocation made by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), according to the right-wing Blue Coalition.
"In our opinion, the referendum is a deliberate provocation made by BSP," Blue Coalition co-chair Martin Dimitrov told reporters on Friday. According to Dimitrov, the left wingers are fully aware that the question they have posed for the referendum is anti-constitutional.
As the Blue Coalition has pointed...
Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev is holding Friday political consultations for the upcoming referendum on the fate of the project to build a second Nuclear Power Plant in the Danube town of Belene.
Plevneliev is convinced that the referendum is a test for democracy and must be held.
The consultations will include parliamentary represented political parties in an attempt to reach consensus on the wording of the question to be asked.
They will be held in the Presidential building,...
The upcoming referendum on the fate of Bulgaria's Belene nuclear power plant will prove that the project is pointless, according to Interior Minister Tsvetan Tstevatov.
On Friday, Tsvetanov reiterated that the former socialist-led three-way coalition would have fulfilled the project if it was favorable for Bulgaria.
"They had the executive power, they had the legislative power, they had the presidential power...but they knew what the dangers were," he told reporters, referring to the...
The vote in the January 27, 2013, national referendum on development of atomic energy in Bulgaria will be organized in the same manner as any election.
The spokesperson of the Central Electoral Commission, CEC, Bisser Troyanov, explained at a press conference that the referendum will be held in adherence to the Election Code since the Act for Direct Participation of Citizens in the Rule of the State and in Local Rule was too "scarce" without any detailed regulations.
The voters will...
Bulgaria will "logically" go for building a seventh reactor at its existing NPP in Kozloduy, Bulgarian Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev commented Sunday on the results of the nation's referendum on the construction of a second nuclear plant.
Bulgaria's referendum, which had a voter turnout of only 22%, with 61% voting in favor of the construction of a second nuclear power plant in Bulgaria, while 39% voted against, implicitly referred to the project for the construction of the 2000-MW Belene...
Valentin Nikolov, CEO of the Kozloduy NPP, has said that a seventh unit at the plant could be functional by 2020 or 2022.
In a Monday interview for Nova TV, he suggested that the project for building a seventh unit at the nuclear power plant in Kozloduy had already attracted serious investor interest but he did not disclose details.
He suggested that there was already investor interest in the project but did not disclose details.
"In 20 years' time, when the exploitation deadline of...
Bulgaria's Education Minister, Sergey Ignatov, has resigned from the post.
Ignatov has submitted his resignation on the request of Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, the Cabinet's press office informs Monday.
The news broke just hours after the resignation of the manager of Bulgaria's embattled and scandal-ridden Scientific Research Fund, Hristo Petrov.
Petrov's resignation was also immediately accepted by Borisov.
The manager deposited his resignation after it emerged that a probe of...
Bulgaria's new Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov will make his first visit to Brussels accompanied by Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and Justice Minister Diana Kovacheva.
Tsatsarov will meet with EC Secretary-General Catherine Day and OLAF Director General Giovanni Kessler on January 29, according to the press office of Bulgaria's prosecuting authority.
Meanwhile, Tsvetanov will take part in a high-level international conference on countering violent extremism organized by Home...
Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, is proposing to the Cabinet to dismiss from the post the Chairman of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation, DKEVR, Angel Semerdzhiev.
The proposal is connected with the delay and lack of a number of administrative acts from the Electricity and Gas Directives, requested by the European Commission.
It was reported last Thursday that EC is referring Bulgaria, Estonia and the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice of the European Union...
Valentin Nikolov, CEO of the Kozloduy NPP, has said that a seventh unit at the plant could be functional by 2020 or 2022.
In a Monday interview for Nova TV, he suggested that the project for building a seventh unit at the nuclear power plant in Kozloduy had already attracted serious investor interest but he did not disclose details.
He suggested that there was already investor interest in the project but did not disclose details.
"In 20 years' time, when the exploitation deadline of...
A controversial referendum on whether to build a new nuclear power plant in Bulgaria appears to have been invalidated by low turnout.
An exit poll put turnout at around 20% - far below the 60% required for the poll, which was called on the basis of an opposition petition.
The opposition Socialists want the centre-right government to reverse its decision not to build the plant.
The poll has been seen as a barometer for elections later this year.
It was also important as a measure of...
Bulgaria's next referendum should be on an important environmental topic, according to Finance Minister Simeon Djankov.
In a Monday interview for Nova TV, he suggested that the next referendum could involve the statute of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
Djankov informed that he had abstained from voting at the January 27 nuclear referendum because the issue required expert knowledge and could not be sold through a plebiscite.
He claimed that the only good thing about Sunday's referendum...
Bulgaria's Parliament has adopted at first reading amendments to the Energy Efficiency Act.
The amendments initiated by the government were passed Friday with 79 votes in favor, 3 against, and 14 abstainees, according to reports of the Focus news agency.
The amendments envisage drafting a national plan for increasing the number of nearly zero-energy buildings and the introduction of energy performance certificates of buildings and building components.
During the discussion of the bill,...
Another euro-pegged government defending an overvalued exchange rate bites the dust, a reminder that the underlying economic and social disaster across the Europe's Arc of Depression is still getting worse.
Bulgarian prime minister Boiko Borisov resigned Wednesday morning after days of mass protests against austerity across the country.
"I will not participate in a government under which police are beating people. Every drop of blood is a shame for us," he said. "Our power was handed to...
Around 500 members of the Anti-mafia civic association are protesting in front of the President's Office in Sofia, prior to the anticipated official statement of Rosen Plevneliev on the situation in the country in the aftermath of the collective resignation of the government.
According to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), the people are voicing their discontent with the judiciary, saying that the head of state is currently the only guarantor of statehood in the...
The European Union's Agriculture Ministers have gathered in Brussels for talks that are focused on the growing horsemeat scandal in Europe.
Authorities across Europe have started doing random DNA checks after traces of horse meat recently turned up in frozen supermarket meals such as burgers and lasagna.
The scandal erupted last month when horsemeat was found in some beef meals and burgers in the UK and Ireland.
Since then, supermarkets across Europe have had to withdraw affected...
The Bulgarian Parliament will hold an emergency sitting Tuesday to decide on the fate of the project to build a second Nuclear Power Plant in the Danube town of Belene.
The reason for the above are the results of the January 27 referendum on the development of nuclear energy in Bulgaria through the construction of a new nuclear power plant, which showed that the issue would be conclusively decided by Bulgaria's Parliament.
Under the law, the recent referendum results impose for the Belene...
Clashes with the police marked Sunday the protest rally in Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Varna.
Bulgarians across the country staged once again demonstrations against high utility bills, monopolies, poverty, economic stagnation, corruption, and the political model of ruling the country after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989.
The rallies, however, did not bring together as many people as previous weekend marches.
The largest one was once again held in Varna where 2 000 (compared...
The Bulgarian government will within 10 days appoint an international auditor to review the country's energy sector, stated caretaker Minister of Regional Development Ekaterina Zaharieva.
"We need a full financial analysis of everyone in the energy sector. We will work in full cooperation with the European Commissions, so that no doubts be thrown on the final report," said Zaharieva.
The minister added that this would bring full transparency in the sector, something requested by numerous...
Small companies create over 70% of the jobs in Bulgaria, according to President Rosen Plevneliev.
Plevneliev handed Tuesday an award to the winner in the first national competition for successful small businesses titled “The Big Small”, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.
There were 15 finalists in the competition, all of them in the sphere of production and services.
The competition seeks to encourage entrepreneurship.
“The small ones are the big ones in the...
The Bulgaria's economy jumped by 2% in the first quarter. This is a record for the past four years, as there has not been such a large GDP increase on an annual basis since 2011, National Statistics Institute data suggests.
Compared to the previous quarter Bulgaria's economy grew by 0.9%, which is also the best result of nearly five years. The growth is mainly a result of good indicators in the industrial sector, but the real estate transactions have also increased significantly by achieving...
Westinghouse Electric Company and the Bulgarian government are in talks to set a structure and timeline for their agreement to build a seventh reactor at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant.
The discussions follow the expiry on 31 March of a shareholder agreement the US-based company signed with the previous government in August last year. Under that agreement, Westinghouse would be responsible for providing all of the plant equipment, design, engineering and fuel for the new unit.
At that time,...
Sofia. In January 2015, Bulgaria's exports to the EU increased by 16.7% over the same month of 2014 and amounted to BGN 2.3 billion, according to statistics from the National Statistical Institute (NSI). Major trade partners of Bulgaria were Germany, Italy, Greece, Romania, France and Belgium, which form 70.0% of the exports to EU member countries. Bulgaria's imports from the EU in January 2015 increased slightly compared to the same month of 2014 and amounted at BGN 2.3 billion in CIF prices....
The EUROCITIES Forum will be taking place in Sofia, Bulgaria, under the theme “Funding of Public Transport and New Business Models”. EUROCITIES is the network of major cities in Europe and currently gathers the local governments of over 50 of Europe’s largest cities from across 30 European countries. All of them share knowledge and exchange ideas throughout six forums, including the environment and mobility one; a wide range of working groups, events, EU-funded projects, in which...
Electricity generated for exports and for the domestic market should be equally levied with the "liabilities to society" tax, Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has said.
Petkova said in an interview with daily Standart that the current regime was working to the disadvantage of Bulgarian businesses, since their competitors from neighboring countries are able to purchase cheaper energy.
For years Bulgaria has been selling electricity to neighbors with a per kW/h price that could...
Deputy Mayor of Sofia, Todor Chobanov predicted growth of between 7% and 10% in Bulgaria's tourist sector this year, in a statement earlier this week.
The improved outlook comes on the back of Bulgaria's strengthening economy which recorded its first Q1 budget surplus since 2009, with Ђ128m in its public purse ripe for re-investment.
Bulgaria's winter sun resorts had a spectacular 2014, recording an increase in visitor numbers of 9.2% to the nation's ski slopes during the season,...
Sofia. Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Tsvetan Dimitrov will take Monday part in seminars on direct payments in district centres Pernik and Kyustendil, the press centre of the ministry announced.
The seminar in Pernik is to start at 10:00 a.m. at Panorama Hall of the district administration building at 1B Saint Ivan Rilski Square, while the event in Kyustendil is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. at the hall on the second floor of the district administration building at 44...
Desislava Taneva, Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food, is expected to take part Saturday in the information campaign aiming at explaining direct payments schemes in district centres Sliven and Yambol, the press centre of the ministry announced.
The meeting with agricultural producers in Sliven is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. at the Zora community centre at 1 Hadzhi Dimitar Square.
The meeting in Yambol is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. at the Tundzha Municipality building at 1...
Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister has re-affirmed Sofia’s goal to play a bigger role in the European energy sector, despite the cancellation of South Stream, the Russian gas pipeline that would have crossed Bulgaria on its way to other EU markets.
At a meeting with Bulgarian MEPs, Mitov said that the EU had an interest in Bulgaria’s proposal to build a gas hub – a plan put forth last year by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov after Russia scrapped the 63 billion cubic metres South...
The voting stations abroad for Bulgaria's nuclear referendum on Sunday to see the highest turnout were those in London and Brussels, with 424 votes cast in each, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.
A total of 20 of Bulgaria's voting stations abroad ended their electing day as of 8 pm EET on Sunday, in addition to another 17 stations, that had completed the voting earlier. A total of 2 625 Bulgarians cast their votes in the 20 stations in question.
A total of 327 Bulgarian citizens voted in...
Remittances - money sent by Bulgarian migrants to family members back home - have hit a new high, despite the global downturn, data from the central bank shows.
In May the net sum of the remittances from Bulgarians permanently working abroad totaled EUR 78.2 M, a record-high level of transfers since the Bulgarian National Bank started collecting data back in 2004.
The value of migrant remittances in May exceed by 40% the amount of foreign direct investments that entered Bulgaria's economy...
Bulgaria has become the picture of fiscal discipline, a top ranking German diplomat has said during his visit to Sofia, bringing good news for policy makers here.
"Bulgaria can serve as a great example of fiscal discipline, which Germany wants to see implemented across the European Union," Michael Link, Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office, said on Thursday.
Link is paying a visit to Sofia for the regular political consultations between the ministries of both...
4 and 5-star hotels had the highest occupancy rate in May, at 25.6%, according to data of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute (NSI).
3-star hotels had an average 17.1% occupancy rate, while hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with 1 or 2 stars reported an occupancy rate of 14.3% in May.
The average occupancy rate in Bulgarian short-term accommodation sites in May was 19.8%.
In May, a total of 1932 sites offering...
Energy and Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev and Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov launched Tuesday the privatization of VMZ Sopot, Bulgaria's largest defense industry plant.
The privatization process is to be wrapped up within 165 days, during which the state is to clear all of the company's debts, including unpaid salaries to its workers, according to reports of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA).
In three months' time, the plant is to be bought by a strategic investor which is in the same...
Bulgaria's capital Sofia slipped down one spot in the global ranking of cities with hotels with top customer satisfaction.
The rating is published by hotel.info every quarter.
Sofia is 11 with a score of 7.49 out of 10 received by customers themselves.
The respondents evaluate their stay on the basis of fulfilled expectations. They rank from 1 to 10 the hotel room, the noise level, the balance between price and quality, the staff, and the quality of food. These criteria allow some...
Rural areas in Bulgaria are reporting peak interest in subsidized projects for the construction of photovoltaic systems.
A total of 37 photovoltaic projects were approved in the last three months, alongside subsidies of over BGN 11.6 M, according to recent statistics of Bulgaria's State Fund Agriculture cited by news portal investor.bg.
The subsidies are granted under three measures of the Rural Development Program (RDP) envisaging a diversification into non-agricultural activities,...
Bulgaria makes over 1200 tons of organic honey per year but the largest share of it is exported, according to Plamen Ivanov, Chair of the National Beekeepers' Union.
In a Wednesday statement cited by Darik Radio, he explained that the organic honey volumes that remained in Bulgaria were sold at double the price of conventionally produced honey.
Ivanov announced that a kilogram of organic honey had a price tag of BGN 25-26 on average on the Bulgarian market.
He noted that the main...
The first Chinese car of the Great Wall Voleex C10 model to be produced in Bulgaria is setting the start of a new advertising campaign, announced Litex Motors, the Bulgarian partner of the Chinese producer Great Wall Motors.
The first Bulgarian-made Great Wall Voleex C10 will become a present to one of the participants in an interactive game to be conducted on Facebook.
Instead of the "Made in Lovech" ("Made in Ловеч") slogan (Lovech is the northern Bulgarian city that hosts Great...
Franchising has been growing by more than 20% annually for five years in a row, according to a survey by Franchising.bg, a consultancy.
The consultancy surveyed a total of 144 franchisers and 385 franchisees in Bulgaria between February and June 2012 to compile its third annual report on the development of franchising business, the practice of using another firm's successful business model, in Bulgaria.
The report says that Bulgarian franchisers usually start offering franchising on...
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