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...
The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) have joined efforts to create a rating system for employers in Bulgaria, according to a media statement of BIA's press office issued after a joint meeting.
The joint project is financed under the Regional Development Operational Program.
The information system will include data about employers' economic situation, their commitment to corporate social responsibility and the...
First Investment Bank, FIB, has been able to find a private investor for Bulgaria's troubled largest producer of non-ferrous metals, the Lead and Zinc Complex (LZC; OTZK) in the southern city of Kardzhali.
The company is not the Polish consortium Silesia, but the name will be disclosed in 2 weeks.
It was announced on Sunday that FIB is deferring payments on loans of workers from the complex.
The decision came one day after the trade unions accused FIB of condemning the plant by placing...
Bulgaria's government is expected to list its 33% minority stake in E.ON and CEZ power distributors at the end of summer or the beginning of the autumn in a bid to enliven the local stock exchange and boost revenues.
This was announced by Ivan Takev, Chief Executive of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange in an interview for Dow Jones Newswires. Takev spoke on the sidelines of the Federation of European Securities Exchanges conference in Istanbul.
The local units of Germany's E.ON and Czech CEZ...
Bulgaria will see a 10% growth in the number of tourists visiting it this summer, according to Delyan Dobrev, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
Dobrev is convinced that the growth will exceed the 5-7% initially expected.
Commenting on the amendments to the Bulgarian tourism legislation that would affect the classification system for hotels and restaurants, the Minister told bTV that hotel and restaurant owners can now apply online for changing their star ratings.
It was recently...
Bulgaria hopes to find an investor for its only stock exchange by the end of this year after failing to do so by the beginning of the summer as initially planned.
"In terms of timeline, the plan is to sell by the end of the year. Everything looks on track," BSE Chief Executive Ivan Takev told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of the Federation of European Securities Exchanges conference in Istanbul.
For sale is the government's stakes of just above 50% in the Bulgarian bourse and in...
Power plants with a total installed capacity of up to 10 MW will not need a license for electricity and heat production, according to amendments to Bulgaria's Energy Act passed at second reading by Parliament.
The limit has been increased from the previous capacity of up to 5 MW of total installed capacity.
Besides, the amendments also say that the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) regulates the methodology for determining access and transmission tariffs via gas...
Greek telecommunication group Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, known as OTE, is selling its unit in Bulgaria.
The revenues from the sale of Globul, Bulgaria's second-biggest mobile operator, are to help OTE pay its obligations on bonds maturing in the next two years, according to the OTE's press office, as cited by Capital Daily.
Globul's senior management and officials have already been informed about the decision taken several days ago by the Greek company's board of...
MPs from the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee backed Thursday the veto imposed by Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev on a set of controversial amendments to the Forestry Act.
The Committee will propose a support of the veto to Parliament, meaning that the procedure for drafting the legal changes goes back to square one.
Members of the Agriculture Committee agreed that the veto provided an opportunity to vote the amendments amid a public debate including representatives of...
Bulgaria will launch the construction of its cross-border gas link with Romania in August, the country's Economy and Energy Minister, Delyan Dobrev, has revealed.
The gas interconnector, which will cross the river Danube at Ruse/Giurgiu, is being developed jointly by Bulgartransgaz and its Romanian counterpart Transgaz.
Experts have argued that the 25-km gas interconnector will be the least significant in terms of energy diversification among Bulgaria's planned gas links, dnevnik.bg...
Polish consortium Silesia is the most serious bidder for the indebted Lead and Zinc Complex (LZC; OTZK) in Bulgaria's Kardzhali, Bulgarian Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev told reporters.
"At present, Silesia is the company with the most serious intentions towards OTZK in Kardzhali," Dobrev said Thursday, amidst renewed streets protests of the factory's workers, who demand payment of their delayed salaries and a clear future for the company.
The Economy Minister explained that Silesia wants...
Three energy giants have submitted bids for exploration and exploitation of natural gas in the so-called "Khan Asparuh" block in Bulgarian Black Sea waters.
According to Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister, Delyan Dobrev, the three are the US Exxon Mobil, the French Total, and the Canadian Melrose.
Dobrev spoke Thursday at the conference "Exploration and Production of Oil and Gas –the New Technology Frontier."
The successful bidder will be announced by the end of July, he...
Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev has ruled out the possibility of Bulgaria exiting the South Stream gas pipeline project.
"Currently, there is no danger of Bulgaria not participating in South Stream," Dobrev told reporters on Thursday.
"We support the South Stream project. We believe it is profitable for Bulgaria, but we have to specify all the details," he added.
The Economy and Energy Minister explained that the Bulgarian part of the project will be financed by...
Angel Semerdzhiev, Chair of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR), has assured that there will be no shock spikes in prices of electricity in 2013.
In a Tuesday interview for the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), the DKEVR Chair explained that prices of renewable energy and of heating utilities' high-efficiency combined heat and power generation would drop.
Semerdzhiev noted that the currently admissible increase in natural gas tariffs was 4.88%.
He said that...
Swiss-based Credit Mediterranee owned by Kalmyk multi-millionaire Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has acquired a 52.5% stake in Bulgarian fuel distributor Petrol Holding AD.
The company of the former President of the Republic of Kalmykia and President of the World Chess Federation bought the 47.5% stake owned by Denis Ershov and the 5% stake owned by Alexander Melnik, according to a statement of Petrol Holding's press office.
The deal was sealed on Friday.The statutory procedures for registering the...
Denver-based Molson Coors said it has purchased StarBev and its nine breweries in central and eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, as it expands its operations further.
The price of the deal is EUR 2.65 B (USD 3.54 B).
Molson Coors, whose products include Coors Light and Molson Canadian, said Monday that the company will become one of its divisions and be renamed Molson Coors Central Europe.
Mark Hunter, CEO of Molson Coors U.K. and Ireland, will serve as CEO of the new unit, whose...
Bulgaria is about to make changes to its hotel and restaurant classification system, limiting the validity of hotel and restaurant star rating to five years.
Currently, the country's hotel and restaurant ratings are termless.
The classification procedure will be made easy for hotel and restaurant owner, Deputy Economy Minister in charge of tourism Ivo Marinov has promised.
Marinov has told the Focus news agency that obligatory standards will be introduced for Bulgaria's Spa...
Bulgaria's Parliament decided to partially lift the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in natural gas and oil exploration and extraction.
The moratorium is only lifted as far as conventional gas extraction is concerned, Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev pointed out. The use of the hydraulic fracturing technology is still banned for shale gas activities.
"The extraction of local gas is 40% cheaper. I hope that you support this text, since it would be a clear message that we want...
The World Bank has revised sharply downwards forecasts for Bulgaria's economy, estimating it is to expand just 0.6% this year.
The bank expects Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013 and 2014 to grow by 2.5% and 3.3% respectively.
Developing nations should brace themselves for weak growth and "tougher times", the World Bank warned.
It said that there may be "a long period of volatility in the global economy" as the eurozone debt crisis escalates.
The bank forecast that...
A mere 1000 (0.8%) of the total of 350 000 companies re-registered in Bulgaria's Trade Register are big (total headcount of 250+), the remaining ones being small and middle-sized, according to Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev.
The trend was highlighted Thursday at a meeting of the Economic Development and Social Policy Council at the President's Office held under the motto ""Inclusive growth: Employment and Social Inclusion".
The participants in the meeting agreed on the notion of...
The number of Belarusian tourists in Bulgaria has doubled in May-June 2012 year-on-year, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced.
According to the Ministry, in May and early June 2012, the Bulgarian consular service in Belarus's capital Minsk issued a total of 18 500 visas compared with only 8 000 visas in the same period of 2011.
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has sent 6 more employees to Minsk in order to boost its consular staff in the Belarusian capital for the period between May 13...