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...
State-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz has requested a 15.73% price increase from July 1, according to a media statement published on the company's website on Monday.
Bulgargaz bases its demand on the higher US dollar value and on the unfulfilled circumstances provided in the report of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) on gas prices from April 1.
The company further highlights the need to inject some 148.5 million cubic meters of gas into the Chiren underground...
Bulgaria expects a 5% to 8% increase of foreign tourists during summer season 2012, according to the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Delyan Dobrev.
Dobrev attended Sunday the official opening of the season at Bulgaria's largest beach resort "Sunny Beach."
The Minister noted that the Russian market in particular is developing very well and there is an expected 15% to 20% increase from there, reminding that on Monday the 100 000th Bulgarian visa was issued to a Russian...
Bulgaria's government has offered the European Union to change the principle of determining fuel excise duty, according to Energy and Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev.
Dobrev said Friday that Bulgaria had made two proposals: for determining the excise tax rate on fuel on the basis of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), setting a minimum excise rate at a certain GDP, or calculating the excise duty rate on the basis of purchasing power of the population.
Bulgaria's Energy Minister...
Sofia public transportation buses serving line 111 now have free wireless internet.
The service has been launched on Monday, June 4. The buses are equipped with wireless routers of the Vivacom telecom.
The news was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Sofia, Lyubomir Hristov.
He says the 111 line is a pilot project and if it is proven successful, other bus lines will be equipped with wireless routers.
The project is part of the initiative to support Sofia's bid as European Culture...
Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov has said that he expects a wheat harvest of around 3.8-3.9 million tons.
Speaking Tuesday in the southern town of Sadovo, he assured that the Bulgarian market would not experience difficulties because a total of 1.5 million tons of wheat would suffice to cover domestic needs.
Naydenov informed that there would remain available export volumes.
Bulgaria's Agriculture Minister suggested that wheat and bread prices were not expected to...
The share of organic vs conventional production in Bulgaria registered a 30% annual increase in 2011, according to Tsvetan Dimitrov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food.
Speaking Tuesday at the opening of a seminar on the benefits of organic products, he said that the control system indicated a total area of 26 622 hectares used for organic farming in 2011 due to the increased demand for such products on the European and global markets.
Tuesday's seminar took place within a forum held...
Bulgaria has offered to Rosatom to participate in the construction of Unit 7 of Bulgaria's Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, NPP.
The news was announced by the Deputy CEO of Rosatom, Kiril Komarov, speaking at the international "Atom Expo 2012" forum, and cited by Russia's RIA-Novosti and the Bulgarian Standard daily.
"The Bulgarian side proposed to examine our inclusion in the construction of Unit 7 of Kozloduy NPP. I believe that despite Bulgaria abandoning the Belene NPP project, our...
A private investor could possibly purchase by the end of 2012 the abandoned project to build a second Nuclear Power Plant, NPP, in the Bulgarian Danube town of Belene, and pay the looming compensation fees.
The statement was made by the Chairman of the Bulgarian Atomic Forum BULATOM, Bogomil Manchev.
"The purchase of the project by a foreign investor will resolve the problem with Russian claims for compensations," Manchev is quoted saying. He is also the CEO and main shareholder in the...
Bulgaria's Minister of Agriculture and Food, Miroslav Naydenov, has announced that the country has fulfilled all requirements of the European Commission (EC) regarding laying hen welfare.
Speaking Monday in the central town of Veliko Tarnovo, he boasted that Bulgaria had managed to meet the end-June deadline set by the EC and would not face sanctions.
"Staring Monday, all poultry farms in Bulgaria are raising happy hens and we met the deadline we were given earlier," the Agriculture...
The Supervisory Council of Bulgaria's Privatization Agency has given the final go-ahead for the sale of state cigarette-maker Bulgartabac to BT Invest, a firm wholly owned by Russia's government bank VTB.
After five-hour debates on Friday, the Supervisory Council of the Privatization and Post-privatization Control Agency approved the sale of Bulgartabac to VTB for EUR 100.1 M with 6 votes in favor and one vote against.
The news was broken Friday night by the Council chair Yuliya Nenkova....
Bulgarian President, Georgi Parvanov, has shown many times that he is clueless when it comes to economy and his experts have no clue either.
The statement was made Tuesday by Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, in the aftermath of Parvanov's televised words that Bulgarian retirees are paying the social price of the economic crisis.
"I will have to visit the hometown of Pernik of our Communist President (Parvanov is the former leader of the Bulgarian...
The State budget will not in any way need to be updated, Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, declared Wednesday.
In an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, Djankov said there is enough money in the budget and this is not the right moment to make updates at the time when most of the finances of European countries are shacking.
The Minister's comments came on the heels of reports that during the regular meeting of the cabinet last week, Prime...
The average quarterly total income per household member during the second quarter of 2011 was BGN 940.
This is 3.8% more compared to the same quarter of 2010.
The data was released Wednesday by the Bulgarian National Statistics Institute, NSI.
The main part of this income (82.5%) came from wages, salaries and pensions with wages and salaries continuing to be the main source of household income.
During the second quarter of 2011 they were BGN 494 per capita or by 8.4% more compared...
The Governing Board of Bulgaria's Privatization Agency approved Wednesday the sale of the State-owned tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac Holding to the Austria-registered BT Invest, owned by Russian state bank VTB.
On Monday, the buyer offered EUR 101.1 M for the Holding. The offer further binds the Austrian-registered company to buy 5 000 metric tons of Bulgarian tobacco a year in the next 5 years. The company has also slated BGN 7 M in its investment program for 2012 and 2013.
The contract...
Bulgaria's Cabinet has adopted the report for the consolidated state fiscal program for the first half of 2011, stressing the stabilization of the country's macroeconomic indicators.
"The stabilization and gradual recovery of the Bulgarian economy which started in the second half of 2010 are continuing in the first half of this year," the announcement of the Borisov Cabinet.
It contains latest data from the Finance Ministry showing that in the first quarter Bulgaria's economy grew by 3.4%...
Electrical power utilities operating in Bulgaria might need to go through a restructuring, according to Angel Semerdzhiev, the head of the Bulgarian state energy regulator.
Discussions for restructuring aim at a complete transparency of the three companies' costs for external services such as consulting, said Semerdzhiev.
End of 2010, the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation, fined CEZ, E.ON and EVN with penalties totaling close to BGN 3 M for violations of outsourcing...
Two of Greece's major banks – Alpha Bank and Eurobank EFG – have formally announced their planned merger, which will create the largest bank in Greece, and the third largest bank in Bulgaria.
"The Boards of Directors of Alpha Bank and Eurobank EFG announce that they have reached agreement on a combination of Alpha Bank and Eurobank EFG by way of a merger," the two banks said in a joint statement Monday, adding, "Consolidation of two highly complementary private sector banks with...
Bulgaria's Cabinet could complete the privatization of the "Freight Services" unit of state railways operator BDZ Holding within six months, according to Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski.
Moskovski told BNR Sunday that the plan for reforms of the vastly troubled state railway company coordinated with the World Bank called for the splitting of BDZ "Passenger Services" from BDZ "Freight Services."
"The privatization of the freight railway services unit itself will be carried out by the...
The CEO of Lukoil Bulgaria, Valentin Zlatev, remains unwavering the company has not committed any tax or Customs law violations.
"Lukoil does not have even one citation for tax and Customs violations," Zlatev is quoted saying. He was adamant that Lukoil never stopped fulfilling the requirements of Order 3 for the installment of electronic measuring devices to be connected to the National Revenue Agency, NRA, and the Customs Agency.
Zlatev made the statement during a press conference in...
Bulgaria's Cabinet has assigned the management of the future civilian airport at the Black Sea town of Balchik to Sofia International Airport.
“Sofia Airport, whose parent organization is the Ministry of Transport, IT and Communications, has sufficient management experience that will guarantee the execution of the project [for Balchik Airport]. This will create an opportunity for Balchik Airport to start accepting civilian flights shortly,” the Bulgarian government said in its...
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