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...
Bulgaria's state cigarette maker Bulgartabac Holding, which is about to be privatized, completed 2010 with a net profit of BGN 20 M.
The company's financial performance was announced in a statement in which its management also said that the profit "confirms the consistent trend of positive financial results."
Bulgartabac's 2010 profit is 16.5 times larger than it was in 2009. The consolidated income from cigarette sales grew 22% year-on-year.
In 2010, 80% of the produce of Bulgartabac...
In February 2011 the total business climate indicator has increased by 2.7% in comparison with the previous month, but is still 8.3% below its long-term average value, the National Statistical Institute has informed.
The composite indicator of business climate in industry has increased by 4.1 percentage points in comparison with January and it is only 2.5 percentage points below its long-term average value. The inquiry registers increased managers' optimism about the expected business...
A forum dedicated to the importance of green economy for Bulgaria will be organized on Tuesday in the capital Sofia.
International experts, Bulgarian politicians, business representatives, representatives from the Bulgarian Environment Ministry, the World Bank and Innovation Norway will participate in the event. It will be opened by Tove Skarstein, Norwegian Ambassador in Bulgaria.
Topics such as the importance of "green" development and the policies which may accelerate the stable...
Bulgaria raised 24% more state revenues from gambling in 2010 than it did in 2009, according to the State Commission on Gambling.
In 2010, Bulgaria's total tax revenue from gambling was BGN 123.3 M, a growth of one fourth compared with the 2009 gambling revenues for the state of BGN 99.4 M, official date of the National Revenue Agency shows.
The bets on sports games brought the state budged BGN 47.8 M in 2010, a 10% y/y growth.
The revenues from tax on gambling establishments were BGN...
After it collapsed by some 50% y/y in 2009 and by 25% in 2010, Bulgaria's market of new vehicles has started to show more tangible signs of recovery.
A total of 1 464 new cars were bought in Bulgaria in January 2011, a growth of 18% year-on-year when the sales were 1160. Thus, the new car sales in Bulgaria increased for a third month in a row.
19 motorbikes and 79 new trucks were sold in Bulgaria in January but not a single new bus, according to data of the Association of Car...
Bulgaria will participate for the third time in World Travel Fair 2011, one of the biggest tourism exhibitions in Asia, which opens Friday in Shanghai.
The Bulgarian pavilion has been provided by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism (MEET).
Minister Traycho Traykov has highlighted China as a high-priority country in which MEET actively presents tourist and investment opportunities.
The eleventh edition of the tourism exhibition will bring together more than 500 participants from...
Bulgaria ended 2010 with a trade deficit that is 42.5% lower than the one in 2009, according to preliminary date of the National Statistical Institute.
Thus, in 2010, Bulgaria exported goods and services worth BGN 30.421 B, which is a 33% increase compared with 2009.
Bulgaria's 2010 imports was BGN 37.4 B, or 13.3% more than it was in 2009 (BGN 31 B). Thus, Bulgaria's trade deficit in 2010 amounted to BGN 7 B (FOB-CIF).
After subtracting the spending on transport and insurance, the...
The Czech-owned electricity provider of Sofia and Western Bulgaria CEZ plans to invest a total of BGN 59 M in its network and capacities in 2011.
The CEZ investments only in the Sofia District will be BGN 16.5 M, the company said in a statement.
On Thursday, CEZ opened a new power substation near the town of Kostinbrod close to Sofia, while being a small town, is a hub for several manufacturing plant of Bulgarian and foreign investors.
"The clients are the main priority for our...
The Center for Urban Mobility at the Sofia City Hall plans to extend the paid parking hours in downtown Bulgaria's capital to 8 pm on workdays.
Currently parking in the so-called blue zone is free after 6 pm. According to the planned changes, the blue zone will be divided in 2 – one with prices of BGN 2 per hour, the other – BGN 1 per hour.
The new blue zone will be enclosed between the "Slivnitsa," "Vasil Levski," "Skobelev," and "Hristo Botev" boulevards. In this area, the parking...
Bulgaria's IT market will grow by an annual average of 6% in 2011-2015, according to the Bulgaria Information Technology Report 2011 of Business Monitor International (BMI).
The report says that Bulgarian IT market will grow to an estimated USD 947 M in 2011, up from USD 902 M in 2010.
The compounded annual growth rate of 6% forecast by BMI for the Bulgarian IT sector is below the pre-economic crisis trend level.
The report says that Bulgarian IT spending is forecast to record low...
The troubled VMZ Sopot factory, which is Bulgaria's largest defense industry plant and was once the pride of its military-industrial complex, will be put on the privatization table by the Borisov Cabinet.
The decision to start the privatization of VMZ Sopot is No. 1 on the agenda of the government's weekly meeting on Thursday.
The Bulgarian Cabinet is expected to approve for sale all 118 million shares of the military giant. The privatization is supposed to take place with a tender,...
The Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism has launched an online calendar listing interesting tourists sites and events.
The calendar has a web address - www.potarsi.bulgariatravel.org.
The site will be updated consistently and will collect information about travel, city and town celebrations, festivals, and others.
Users, organizations and institutions are invited to contribute to the site's content by sending information to office@reforma.bg, the Ministry...
Euro Solar Parks, Inc., a company based in New Jersey, USA, has announced the completion of its acquisition of two land properties for solar parks in Bulgaria.
The strategic properties are located in the Karlovo Municipality in Central Bulgaria, and have an area of approximately 11 560 square meters.
Both properties have short distances to the national power grid. They were acquired for the purpose of developing small-sized solar plants that run up to 0.7 MW. The plants will be known as...
The number of Bulgarians who have made online purchases more than once a month in the last year went up two times, according to a poll of "Gemius Bulgaria."
The poll has been commissioned by the "Allegro Group," a retail company with business in Central and Eastern Europe.
In 2010 Bulgarian internet shoppers were 22% of the population, compared to 13% in 2009.
7% of consumers make 5 or more purchases a month and 54% of Bulgarians have used the net to make purchases. The number of those...
Japan is very interested in importing chicken meat from Bulgaria, Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, announced Tuesday.
Naydenov, who is in Japan with the official Bulgarian delegation, led by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, met with the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Michihiko Kano.
Japan had to slaughter many of its chicken over the avian flu and there is currently a shortage of poultry products on the Japanese market.
According to Naydenov, Japan will...
Japan's Toshiba Corporation has offered Bulgaria a large-scale project in the field of renewable energy, "smart electricity grids" and electric cars.
As part of a visit of a large Bulgarian government and business delegation in Japan led by PM Borisov, Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Traicho Traikov met with Norio Sasaki, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation.
The Toshiba management has confirmed that the company will construct a 10 MW photovoltaic park near...
The Bulgarian government will subsidize companies who offer green jobs and hire unemployed people for an at least 6 month period.
This was announced Monday at a joint press conference between Bulgaria's Ministers of Environment, Nona Karadzhova, and of Labor, Totyu Mladenov. BGN 3.2 M have been included for green jobs in the national plan for coping with unemployment, which will secure 2100 new job places with a monthly salary of BGN 240 for half a year.
No research has been carried out...
The average price of residential properties in Bulgaria is down by over 33% compared to the market peak in 2008, data of the National Statistics Institute (NSI) and the Registry Agency shows.
The number of real estate transactions in 2010 compared to 2007 is down two times; building permits and new buildings are down as well, while the number of default loans is up.
The average price per square meter in 2010 has been BNG 964 with properties being the most expensive in Sofia (BGN 1596) and...
German companies are interested in purchasing Bulgarian agricultural products, said Svetoslav Simeonov, CEO of the Bulgarian Agriculture Fund.
On Friday, Simeonov participated in a Bulgarian-German business meeting during the international public exhibition for food, agriculture and gardening industry, Greek Week, in Berlin.
The Vice-president of the German retailer "Metro", Michael Widmann, said that he wants Bulgaria to deliver agricultural products, mainly fruits and vegetables, for...
The US-based pizza maker and distributor, Domino's Pizza, which entered Bulgaria at the beginning of January, plans to open another two restaurants by the end of the year.
The master franchisee for Bulgaria is Anatron Food Services, who also serves as the master franchisee for Domino's Pizza in Greece and Cyprus.
However, the stores in Bulgaria will be operated by LN Solutions, owned by Lazgin Majid and Nikola Nikolov. The two partners have experience with other fast food franchises, as...
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