Expats

E.U. Criticizes Pace of Reform in Bulgaria and Romania [Feb 10, 2012] Reports from the European Commission on Wednesday gave fresh ammunition to those who want to stall the two nations from joining Europe's passport-free Schengen travel zone. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Needs Much Deeper Judicial Reform - EC Interim Report [Feb 08, 2012] Bulgaria has taken certain measures to improve its justice system and the persecution of organization crime but more convincing results are needed, according to the interim monitoring report of the European Commission on Bulgaria. The Commission's reports under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) are published twice a year to monitor Bulgaria's post-EU accession progress in certain ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Cold kills 33 more in Europe, dam breaks in Bulgaria [Feb 06, 2012] SOFIA (Reuters) - Europe's bitterly cold weather killed another 33 people on Monday and melting snow caused a dam wall to break and flood an entire village in Bulgaria. Gas supplies to the European Union from Russia improved at the weekend but have not fully recovered, the European Commission said, as Italy convened a crisis committee to handle what it called critical shortages of Russian gas ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Holds Yet Another DTT Contest to Avoid Hefty EU Fine [Dec 27, 2011] Bulgaria has confirmed it will hold a tender for yet another multiplex, triggering speculations that the move aims to prevent legal action by the European Commission, irked by the previous shady deals. Bulgaria's communications watchdog is obliged to prepare the package of documents for the new tender on September 1, 2013 under legal amendments that parliament hurriedly adopted in the last days ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Brussels: EU to Pay Bulgaria Extra EUR 185 M for Nuclear Dismantling [Nov 24, 2011] The European Commission proposed on Thursday to secure an additional EUR 185 M from 2013 to help Bulgaria dismantle four Soviet-era reactors at its sole nuclear power plant in Kozloduy. The European Commission suggests that the additional EU financial support, amounting to EUR 500 M, is disbursed for decommissioning the Soviet-era nuclear reactors in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania. The funding ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria to Get More EU Nuclear Decommissioning Aid [Nov 20, 2011] The European Commission is expected to propose next week that an extra EUR 500 M in EU financial support is provided for decommissioning the Soviet-era nuclear reactors in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania. The funding will be allotted over the period 2014-2020, but it was not immediately clear how it will be split among the three countries. The proposal must be approved by all member states and ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria expects EC compensation for closed reactors [Nov 17, 2011] SOFIA -- Bulgaria expects to get additional EUR 45mn from the European Commission (EC) for shutting down Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant?s four reactors. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Switches to Fire Safe Cigarettes from November 17 [Nov 17, 2011] Starting Thursday, all cigarettes sold in Bulgaria and in the entire EU must be self-extinguishing. The European Commission announced on November 14 that the three-year deadline given to the tobacco industry to comply with the new safety standards expired on November 17. "Evidence shows that the number of fatalities can be reduced by more than 40 percent with the introduction of 'Reduced ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Fawns over Brussels with Yet Another DTT Contest [Nov 16, 2011] Bulgaria has surprisingly announced plans to hold a tender for yet another multiplex in an apparent effort to prevent legal action by the European Commission, irked by the previous shady deals. The contest will be organized in 2014, until when the government will splurge BGN 150 M on freeing frequencies currently held by the military, a letter by the Transport Ministry to the European Commission ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Burgas among Top 30 European Access Cities [Nov 16, 2011] Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Burgas has been ranked among the top thirty cities in the European Union, competing for the 2011 Access City title. The news was reported by the Burgas City hall. The award is bestowed each year and the contest is organized by the European Commission with the goal to focus attention on European cities, which work most actively to improve access for handicap people. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Seeks Permission for Environmental Study Before Allowing Shale Gas Drilling [Nov 11, 2011] Bulgaria has asked the European Commission to allow an additional in-depth environmental impact study to be carried out before the launch of shale gas drilling in the country, according to Environment Minister Nona Karadzhova. In a Thursday interview for the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), she expressed hopes that EC's response would arrive soon and that it would be positive, thereby ... [via YahooNews] More >>

EC: Bulgaria's Economy to Grow by 2.3% in 2012 [Nov 10, 2011] Bulgaria's economy will register a growth of 2.3 in 2012, according to the Fall Economic Forecast of the European Commission unveiled Thursday. "The recovery in Bulgaria has been slow so far and is lagging behind the rebound in most EU emerging economies.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Rises against EU's Ever 'Greener' CAP [Nov 07, 2011] Bulgaria is raising serious objections against the changes of EU's Common Agricultural Policy which the European Commission has proposed as of 2014, Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov announced. Naydenov is in Brussels for the talks on the reformed CAP between the 27 EU member-states, the European Commission, and the European Parliament, the Bulgarian National Radio reported. "Bulgaria will ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Schengen accession 'matter of fairness': Barroso [Oct 14, 2011] (SOFIA ) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso Thursday backed Bulgaria's bid to join the visa-free Schengen area, saying accession was a "matter of fairness" once all requirements had been met. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Aims at 36% University Graduates by 2020 [Oct 10, 2011] A total of 36% of all Bulgarians should be university graduates by 2020, according to the country's Education Minister Sergey Ignatov. Several days ago, the European Commission recommended that 40% of Bulgaria's population should have university diplomas by 2020, the Minister has revealed, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. However, Ignatov has admitted this goal would be impossible to ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Ranked in EU Bottom by Teacher Pay [Oct 04, 2011] Teachers' salaries in Bulgaria are the lowest in the European Union, according to a report which compares the salaries of public-sector teachers and school heads in 27 EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Turkey. The data, based on the 2009/10 school year, covers pre-primary to upper secondary education. The report, compiled by the European Commission's Eurydice network, is ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Says No to New EU Taxes [Sep 23, 2011] Bulgaria has risen against a European Commission proposal for the introduction of new taxes across the European Union, including a financial-transaction levy and a new value added tax. "Bulgaria doesn't support the introduction of new taxes because it will impose an extra burden on EU citizens and companies," it said in a statement. "The introduction of the Financial Transactions Tax on an EU ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Netherlands to Block Bulgaria, Romania Schengen Entry [Sep 16, 2011] The Netherlands will "work against" Bulgaria and Romania joining the Scdhengen Agreement, the country's Immigration Minister Gerd Leers promised late on Thursday evening. Neither of the two Balkan countries is doing enough to combat corruption, Leers told the Dutch Parliament, pointing out this is a fact confirmed by a European Commission report this summer The European Commission is looking at ... [via YahooNews] More >>

E.U. Warns Bulgaria and Romania on Reforms [Jul 20, 2011] The warning, in a formal assessment from the European Commission, highlighted continuing worries about law and order in Bulgaria and Romania, four years after they joined the bloc. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor Frustrated with EC Monitoring Report [Jul 20, 2011] Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev, whose work has been slammed in the 2011 monitoring report of the European Commission, has accepted the document with "reservations." The work of Velchev ? together with that of Supreme Court of Cassation Chair Lazar Gruev ? has been described as "passive" by the EC report under the so called Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) that evaluates ... [via YahooNews] More >>