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...
A contract signed Thursday has become a "decisive" first step for the construction of the natural gas grid interconnection between Bulgaria and Greece, the Bulgarian Energy Holding announced.
The contract for the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the connecting of the natural gas grids of Bulgaria and Greece was signed between "ICGB AD", a joint Bulgarian-Greek government venture, and a consortium of Penspen Ltd. and C&M Engineering S.A.
The...
Bulgaria's consumption of natural gas grew by 2% in 2010 compared with 2009, according to the newly released financial report of state company Bulgargaz.
The Bulgargaz report, which has been published in the Bulgarian Trade Registry, states that in 2010 the Bulgarian economy and households consumed a total of 2.53 billion cubic meters of natural gas compared with 2.48 billion cubic meters the previous year.
Bulgaria's output of natural gas, while occupying a negligible share of the...
Bulgaria's Privatization Agency has announced a tender for the sale of two state-owned minority stakes in two of the country's military repair plants from the TEREM group.
Thus, the Agency for Privatization and Post-Privatization Control will offer investors 34% of the "Terem-Georgi Benkovski" plant in Plovdiv and 28% of "Terem-Gen. Vladimir Zaimov" located in Bozhurishte near Sofia.
The TEREM military-industrial complex consists of eight repair Plants, and the sale of the state assets in...
Bulgaria's finance minister has launched a probe into the allegedly inflated prices that local mobile operators charge, the highest across the European Union, promising justice for the clients.
"We are currently analyzing the market of telephone services. Our initial study showed that mobile prices in Bulgaria do mark a decrease, but much more slowly than they have to," Minister Simeon Djankov told the morning broadcast of bTV private channel.
"Prices are falling everywhere. In Bulgaria...
In the period January - May 2011 the Bulgarian exports to the EU increased by 48.7% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year and amounted to BGN 9.6 B.
The data was released by the National Statistics Institute, NSI, Tuesday.
The main trade partners of Bulgaria were Germany, Romania, Italy, Greece and Belgium, that formed 67.2 % of the total exports to the EU Member states.
The most significant growths were observed in the exports to Malta, Portugal, Denmark and...
The average monthly wages and salaries of Bulgarian employees under labor contract in April, May and June 2011 was BGN 711, 698 and 690, respectively.
The preliminary data was released Tuesday by the National Statistical Institute (NSI)
In the second quarter of 2011 in comparison with the first quarter of 2011 the average monthly wages and salaries increased by 4.2% to BGN 699. The highest increase in wages and salaries was reported in the sectors "Financial and insurance activities" -...
In 2010, Bulgaria acted as a mediator in an arms deal between Serbia and Cambodia for 50 T-55 tanks, according to the updated UN Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA).
The Serbian tanks were first delivered to Bulgaria, from where they were re-directed to Cambodia, Bulgarian Dnevnik daily reported Tuesday.
The document also shows that Bulgaria sold 44 home-made armored personnel carriers (APCs) and 4 BRDM-2 amphibious armored patrol cars to Cambodia over the past year.
Bulgaria...
Bulgaria's capital Sofia will have some of the most beautiful downtown metro stations in Europe, according to Head of the Sofia Metropolitan Company, Stoyan Bratoev.
The subway stop near the National Palace of Culture will have on display inside a replica of the building and all downtown stops will be in line with the city's historical center.
The station under Lavov Most (Lions' Bridge) will have bas-reliefs of the lions. The one under the Maria Louisa Boulevard, near the current central...
Preliminary data, released Monday by the Bulgarian National Statistics Institute, NSI, showed that the seasonally adjusted Industrial Production Index is down by 1.5% in June 2011, compared to May.
In June 2011, the work day adjusted Industrial Production Index rose by 2.2% as compared to the same month of 2010.
In June 2011, compared to May 2011, the seasonally adjusted Industrial Production Index in the mining and quarrying industry decreased by 14.2%, in the electricity, gas, steam and...
Romanian oil company Rompetrol has opened its 58th gas station in Bulgaria, amidst plans to boost its presence on the Bulgarian market.
The newly opened Rompetrol gas station is located on the E79 road, 10 km north of the Kulata crossing point on the Bulgarian-Greek border.
By the end of 2011, Rompetrol Bulgaria AD plans to open 5 more gas stations in the country, bringing their total number to 63, Stanimir Smilkov, commercial director at the firm, said in a statement.
All fuel sold by...
The "Dynamo" factory in the Southern Bulgarian city of Sliven, a leading producer in the automotive and machine-building industries, plans to invest over BGN 0.5 M to boost production capacity and meet the high requirements of the market.
A new phosphate coating line is scheduled to go online in August, marking the completion of the first stage of the plant's investment program for 2011, according to a media statement of the company.
The second stage will include the introduction of a...
Bulgaria's unemployment rate has seen a negligible drop in July 2011, latest data of the State Employment Agency shows.
A total of 315 375 persons were officially registered as unemployed in Bulgaria at the end of July, which is 2 962 fewer compared with the end of June.
The official unemployment rate figure is estimated at 9.47% of the workforce, or 0.09% lower than it was in June 2011.
Compared with July 2011, however, Bulgaria's unemployed are 26 600 fewer, the Employment Agency...
Electronics, IT, and services outsourcing are the sectors of the Bulgarian economy that harbor the greatest growth potential, states the major conclusion of a fresh study by Bulgaria's Finance Ministry.
The report of the Economic Analysis and Forecasts Directorate of the Finance Ministry in Sofia released Monday studies the performance of the real economy sector in Bulgaria in 2008-2010.
In addition to stressing the importance of improving production efficiency in Bulgaria, the paper also...
Bulgaria's state-run power grid operator has threatened to sue in Geneva Russia's state nuclear company Atomstroyexport over delayed payments on planned Belene nuclear plant.
The government in Sofia however was quick to point out that this is not a counter-claim to Moscow's lawsuit at an arbitration court in Paris, which is again on due payments on the nuclear project.
"The action was described as a "counter claim" just because the two sums in question are similar," a statement by the...
Prices of fruit and vegetables are falling traditionally for this time of the year with their wholesale price index going down to 1.9 points.
The data was released by the State Commission for Commodity Exchanges and Market Places.
Prices of greenhouse tomatoes are down 12.3% to BGN 0.93 per kg, of cucumbers – 6% to BGN 0.9 per kg, of green peppers – by 27%. Cabbage prices remain the same; those of potatoes are down 6% to BGN 0.5 per kg; squash prices are down 7% to BGN 0.4 per...
The Bulgarian Transport Ministry is reinstating the popular sea shuttles known as comets servicing the country's beach resorts and coastal cities.
The decision comes after a 20-year break, the Bulgarian TV channel bTV reports Sunday. The initial launch was scheduled for June 1, but the repair of the shuttles, which were purchased second hand from neighboring Greece, took longer than expected – three months.
The regular lines between the southern coastal towns of Sozopol and Nessebar and...
Sofia has been ranked the most affordable European city for US travelers by TripAdvisor, a travel review website based in Newton.
The firm has based its list on what it calls a TripIndex, which takes into account foreign currency exchange rates, hotel fees, the cost of a pizza, a dry martini, and a taxi ride.
The index shows how much it would cost for an American to spend a day in a particular destination and all destinations are ranked by value.
Sofia has emerged as the cheapest...
Austrian company EVN has approved a capital hike to boost its stake in the Bulgarian hydro power plant project Gorna Arda to 70%.
The takeover of a 70% stake in the vastly troubled Bulgarian hydro power project on the Arda river in the south from Turkish company Ceylan was expected in the first quarter of 2011, but fell through.
The project company for the construction of the 160 MW cascade will be formed with a 70% of EVN and a 30% share of the Bulgarian National Electric Company...
Moscow could soon freeze temporarily its gas pipeline project "South Stream" and increase gas export to Europe thanks to Germany as a reliable partner.
The information was reported by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing the Russian daily Kommersant and an unnamed source from the Russian cabinet.
In August 2009, Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an agreement to have the pipeline pass under Turkish Black Sea waters.
In...
Italian engineering company D'Appolonia S.p.A. (D'Appolonia) has been appointed as new Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Advisor for the Nabucco Pipeline Project, effective from 1 June 2011.
The main purpose of D´Appolonia's appointment is to ensure the successful completion of an integrated project ESIA, fulfilling the requirements of the International Finance Institutions (IFIs) and complying with national and European legislation, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International...
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