Expats

Bulgaria to Absorb All EU Funds by 2013 - Minister [Jan 14, 2012] Bulgaria will have absorbed the entire BGN 13 B allotted from the EU funds to the country in 2013, stated Bulgarian European Funds Minister Tomislav Donchev. Speaking in an interview for Darik Radio Saturday, Donchev added that Bulgaria will be negotiating for BGN 16 B of funds for EU's next programing period. The EU Funds minister explained that Bulgaria's priorities till 2020 will center ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Marks 15 Y Since Protests Toppled Socialist Cabinet [Jan 10, 2012] Bulgaria marks Tuesday the 15th anniversary of the first day of large scale protests that led to the toppling of the Socialist cabinet of Zhan Videnov. The rallies flared because in two years in office, the Socialists led the country to a deep political, economic, and financial crisis, and hyperinflation. At the time, the BGN was crashing down to reach the exchange rate of BGN 1 for USD 3 000 ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Cracks Down on Poor Quality Rakia, Wine [Dec 28, 2011] Bulgarian producers and sellers of alcoholic drinks of suspicious origin will face hefty fines, the government decided on Wednesday, bringing local laws in line with EU legislation. Fines will range from BGN 3 000 to BGN 30 000. The executive vine and wine agency, which is part of the Agriculture Ministry, will be required to make public the names of legal alcohol producers on its website. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Launches EVN Unit Sales on Bourse [Dec 21, 2011] The trade with shares from the Bulgarian government's 33% minority stake in the local unit of Austria's EVN AG started early on December 21. The offering will be open for a month. Bulgaria seeks to rake in at least BGN 78.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Final Agriculture Output up 13.5% Y/Y [Dec 20, 2011] The final output at basic prices of agriculture went up by 13.5% or BGN 8441 M, compared with a year ago. These are the first estimates of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute, prepared as of November, and published Tuesday. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Seeks to Raise BGN 78 M from EVN Unit Bourse Sale [Dec 14, 2011] Bulgaria will seek to rake in at least BGN 78.4 M from the sale of the government's 33% minority stake in the local unit of Austria's EVN AG, the local stock exchange said. Bulgaria's financial regulator greenlighted at the beginning of December the listing of the government's 33% minority stake in the two power distribution companies controlled by Austria's EVN. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Budget Makes BGN 300 M from Brewing Industry [Nov 30, 2011] Bulgaria's brewing industry brings the state budget some BGN 297 M annually, according to the Chair of the Bulgarian Brewers' Union and General Manager of Heineken Zagorka Ruud van den Eijnden. The total added value of the Bulgarian beer production and distribution is estimated at BGN 219 M, Ruud van den Eijnden said at the Fall Beer Fair of the Brewers Union in Bulgaria. He further revealed ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Minimum Monthly Retirement Goes Up by BGN 9 [Nov 28, 2011] The minimum monthly retirement pension is going up by BGN 9, from BGN 136 to BGN 145, effective June 2012. The decision was made Monday during the meeting between the Social Policy and Labor Minister, Totyu Mladenov, and the business. The labor unions did not attend. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Moves to Increase Capacity of Its Kozloduy NPP [Nov 13, 2011] Bulgarian Kozloduy nuclear power plant will increase the capacity of its two working units to 104%, which will increase the output of each reactor to 1100 MW. If Kozloduy's two operational reactors, Unit 5 and Unit 6, work at 100% of their current capacity, their output would be 1040 MW each. The upgrade will cost less than BGN 1 M per MW, which will be considerably less expensive than the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Likely to Soften Crack-Down on Illegal Assets [Nov 11, 2011] Bulgarian authorities are likely to have the right to launch probes and seize without a conviction unexplained wealth, worth more than BGN 150,000, which has been acquired only over the last five years. This is envisaged by amendments, currently in the pipeline, to the long-delayed bill authorizing widespread confiscation of illegally obtained assets, according to insiders. The majority in ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Payments on ECHR Verdicts Rise Dramatically [Nov 04, 2011] Bulgaria has paid a total of BGN 10.3 M in compensations on cases lost at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the period 2000-August 2011. According to statistics provided by the Justice Ministry to news portal Mediapool, Bulgaria's average annual payment for human rights violations committed by state bodies skyrocketed in 2008 and has remained at a steady rate of over BGN 1.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria to Increase Minimum Wage on April 1 2012 [Oct 31, 2011] Bulgaria's minimum wage will be increased from BGN 270 (approximately EUR 139) to BGN 290, the country's Labor Minister, Totyu Mladenov, confirmed on Monday. Ahead of the emergency cabinet sitting on the 2012 draft budget in Bulgaria, the April 1 deadline was backed by the business, while the trade unions demanded that the increase of the minimum monthly wage by BGN 20 become effective on ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria?s PM Embarks on Rescuing Struggling Football Clubs [Oct 20, 2011] Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has promised to help two of the country's financially struggling football clubs. Borisov, a passionate football fan, has personally found a sponsor for the team of Marek from the Southwestern town of Dupnitsa. The team has already received a cash injection of BGN 100 000, the Prime Minister revealed after participating in a veterans' football game between ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Opens Tender for Fourth Mobile Operator [Oct 03, 2011] Bulgaria's telecoms regulator said it has opened a tender for a fourth mobile phone license with a starting price at nearly BGN 50 M. Six companies have submitted applications for the UMTS license, the Communications Regulation Commission said in a statement, but declined to reveal their names. The regulator was obliged to open a tender for a 3G mobile phone network license after 4G COM company ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Largest Foreign Direct Investors [Sep 16, 2011] Foreign direct investments in Bulgaria have dropped to the mere BGN 183.8 M (approximately EUR 94 M) in the first seven months of 2011, according to data from the country's central bank. And now, the good news: remittances sent to the country from Bulgarians permanently working abroad totaled EUR 473 M during the same period. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Non-EU Export Expands by 35% in Jan-July 2011 Y/Y [Sep 09, 2011] Bulgaria's export to non-EU countries increased by 35.1% in the first seven months of 2011 year-on-year, the National Statistical Institute announced Friday. Thus, Bulgaria's exports to non-EU states amounted to more than BGN 8.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Foreign Trade Deficit Down by 40% in Jan-July 2011 [Sep 09, 2011] Bulgaria's foreign trade deficit decreased by 40.5% in the first seven months of 2011 year-on-year, according to preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute. Bulgaria's total exports (to both EU and non-EU countries) in January-July 2011 amounted to BGN 22.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria?s GDP Grew by 2% Q2 2011 y/y [Sep 06, 2011] Bulgaria's Gross Domestic Product increased by 2% during the first quarter of 2011, reaching BGN 18 804 000 or BGN 2 516 (EUR 1 284) per capita, according to the country's National Statistical Institute. According to the institute's seasonally adjusted data, Bulgaria's GDP growth rate in the second quarter of 2011 was 0.3%, compared with the previous quarter. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Ups Its Minimum Wage to BGN 270 [Sep 01, 2011] Starting Thursday, the minimum monthly wage in Bulgaria grows from BGN 240 to BGN 270 (EUR 137). According to the country's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, the minimum wage rise will cost its state budget approximately BGN 15 ? 20 M. However, the private sector's expenses will be much higher, the Dnevnik daily points out. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria May Reach EU - Level Minimum Wages in 41 Years - Study [Aug 27, 2011] Bulgaria will need 41 years to reach the minimum wage rates of EU's most advanced countries, according to a study conducted in the Sofia-based University of National and World Economy. Currently, the minimum wage in Bulgaria is BGN 289, or nearly half of the amount of money deemed by the country's National Statistical Institute as necessary for an individual to survive a month in "normal ... [via YahooNews] More >>