Expats

Bulgaria imposes full smoking ban in public places [May 17, 2012] SOFIA ? Bulgaria's parliament has adopted a total ban on smoking in indoor public places, after earlier attempts failed due to strong opposition from restaurant owners. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria bans smoking in public places [May 17, 2012] Bulgaria?s parliament has adopted a total ban on smoking in indoor public places, after earlier attempts failed due to strong opposition from restaurant owners. The ban, which was approved... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Ethnic Turks Urge IMF Deal, Cite Looming Recession [Apr 26, 2012] Bulgaria's opposition ethnic Turkish party has joined socialists in calling for an urgent deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying the country badly needs it. "It is clear that Bulgaria's economy is about to enter recession. An agreement with the IMF, if not a panacea, will assure international financial markets that the country is stable," Yordan Tsonev, an economist and Deputy ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Socialist Opposition Call for IMF Aid [Apr 21, 2012] A leading politician from the opposition Bulgarian Socialist party has called for an urgent deal with the International Monetary Fund, saying the country badly needs it. "We need the IMF to restore Bulgaria's financial policy, bring it back to where it was before the center-right government of GERB took office in 2009," former Energy and Economy Minister Rumen Ovcharov said on Saturday in an ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria govt faces no-confidence vote over energy [Apr 06, 2012] SOFIA (April 6): Bulgaria's opposition Socialists filed a motion of no confidence in the centre-right government on Friday over its... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Illegal Assets Law to Target Parties Too - Report [Mar 28, 2012] Bulgaria's long-delayed bill authorizing widespread confiscation of illegal assets will probe the financing of parties, as well as participants in public procurements, insiders say. "The ruling GERB party is preparing on the sly serious changes to the bill in between the first and second readings," the opposition-leaning Sega daily reported on Wednesday, citing well-informed sources. For the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Rises Against EU Vine Liberalization [Mar 08, 2012] Bulgaria has declared its opposition to the liberalization of vine planting rights in the European Union that is scheduled to begin from 2016. Thus, the Balkan country has become the 15th EU member state to the planned liberalization after Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Luxembourg, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece and Slovenia. In 2007, the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria May Keep Its Notorious Health Insurance Head [Feb 20, 2012] Bulgaria's discredited National Health Insurance Fund director, Neli Nesheva, may very well keep her position, according to local media. Nesheva admitted to receiving over BGN 12 000 of bonuses last year and - though claiming the money was well deserved - quit office on Friday under public and opposition pressure. Her resignation is to be discussed by MPs from the ruling centrist-right GERB on ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Rulers Go for Temporary Ban on Shale Gas Exploration [Jan 16, 2012] Bulgaria's ruling center-right party GERB has decided to approve a temporary moratorium on the exploration and extraction of shale gas amidst a day after mass protest rallies took place in 12 Bulgarian cities over the issue. Thus, the Parliamentary Group of the GERB party will accept the proposals of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, the nationalist party Ataka, and the marginal ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria proposes smoking ban in public places [Dec 14, 2011] Bulgaria's government is proposing a total ban on smoking from next June in indoor public places, after earlier attempts failed due to strong opposition from restaurant owners. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria to hold runoff election in its presidential race [Oct 28, 2011] SOFIA, Bulgaria ? Bulgaria has announced the final results from last week?s presidential election, and the top two candidates who will compete in a runoff. The election commission said Thursday that of the 18 candidates in last Sunday?s vote, Rosen Plevneliev, the governing GERB party?s candidate, finished first with 40.11 percent, and Ivailo Kalfin of the opposition Socialist Party second with ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria to hold runoff election in its presidential race [Oct 27, 2011] SOFIA, Bulgaria ? Bulgaria has announced the final results from last week?s presidential election, and the top two candidates who will compete in a runoff. The election commission said Thursday that of the 18 candidates in last Sunday?s vote, Rosen Plevneliev, the governing GERB party?s candidate, finished first with 40.11 percent, and Ivailo Kalfin of the opposition Socialist Party second with ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria to elect new president, mayors, as monitors voice concerns about possible vote-buying [Oct 23, 2011] SOFIA, Bulgaria ? Bulgarians will vote Sunday in presidential and municipal elections that test the ruling center-right party?s popularity and the EU nation?s ability to overcome concerns about vote-buying and corruption. Bulgaria?s economic woes have been the key campaign issue, with the opposition accusing incumbents of stalling key reforms. The country will get a new president and heated ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Opposition Unites to Demand Emergency Parliament Session [Oct 11, 2011] Bulgaria's centrist, leftist, and rightist opposition has come together in a rare motion to demand the holding of an emergency Parliament sessions just as the MPs were about to go on break over the upcoming presidential and local elections. Last week, the ruling center-right party GERB sponsored a decision for giving the MPs time off between October 12 and 21, in order to prevent "the use of the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's GERB Presidential Bidder with Lead in Latest Pol [Sep 18, 2011] The presidential candidate of the ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party, Rosen Plevneliev, has a significant lead in the latest poll. The data from the poll was released Sunday by the Mediana polling agency and announced by the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR. If elections were to be held now ? the candidate of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria confident despite Dutch ?no? for Schengen [Sep 18, 2011] Bulgaria?s Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov yesterday expressed confidence about a solution to Bulgarian and Romanian bids to join the free-travel Schengen zone, despite Dutch opposition. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Govt Expectedly Survives Third No Confidence Vote [Jul 26, 2011] Bulgaria's center-right government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov expectedly survived on Tuesday a no confidence vote, submitted by the opposition over its alleged failure in home affairs and Schengen accession. A total of 143 members of parliament voted against the motion, 91 supported it, while 1 abstained. MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the ethnic Turkish party DPS (Movement for ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Opposition Embarks on 3rd No Confidence Motion [Jul 25, 2011] Bulgaria's parliament starts at midday on Monday the debates over yet another no confidence motion against the center-right government of Boyko Broisov, which has hardly any chances of being passed. MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the ethnic Turkish party DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) submitted the third no confidence motion a week ago. The opposition's motives for the no ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's No Confidence Vote Scheduled for Next Week [Jul 19, 2011] The debate for the upcoming no confidence vote against the centrist-right GERB's minority government in Bulgaria will take place next Monday, while the vote itself is scheduled for Tuesday. The no confidence vote over what has been perceived as failure in the sphere of home affairs , as well as the country's delay in joining the Schengen Area, has been initiated by the opposition, led by the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Ruling GERB Firmly Behind Interior Minister [Jul 15, 2011] The parliamentary group of Bulgaria's ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party issued a declaration in support of Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov. The Friday declaration that GERB is standing firm behind Tsvetanov comes on the heels of news the opposition is submitting a no-confidence vote against the cabinet. The opposition, led by the ... [via YahooNews] More >>