17/05/2012

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has invited leading US IT companies to invest for building a technology park near Bulgarian capital Sofia. Plevneliev is currently on an extended visit to the USA, set to feature not only a meeting with US counterpart Barack Obama and a participation in the NATO summit in Chicago, but also meetings with US businesses to lure investments to Bulgaria, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

16/05/2012

The preferential prices for purchasing energy from renewable sources will be reduced from July 1, 2012, according to Angel Semerdzhiev, Chair of the State Commission for Energy and Eater Regulation (DKEVR). "Analysis is now underway, but energy prices will definitely drop, especially prices of energy generated by photovoltaic plants, because capital expenditures are also decreasing," the DKEVR Chair explained Tuesday, without citing concrete figures, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

15/05/2012

Unit 7 of Bulgaria's Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, NPP, will become functional by 2022 or 2023 at the latest, according to Economy and Energy Minister, Delyan Dobrev. Speaking in an interview Monday morning for the private TV channel bTV, Dobrev explained that the newly established project company will bear full financial responsibility, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

14/05/2012

Bulgaria's government is about to establish a company that will take care of the construction of the country's first hi-tech park, Sofia Tech Park, Bulgarian Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev has announced. "As far as Sofia Tech Park is concerned, we are yet to provide it with the necessary shape, but we will establish a company next week in order to fulfill it," Dobrev said during the International Investment Conference "Bulgaria: Business Up" in Sofia, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

09/05/2012

Just as the rest of Europe, Bulgaria will mark on Wednesday, May 9th, the Day of Europe, and 67 years since the end of World War II. Celebrations will take place in the capital Sofia and numerous cities and towns all across Bulgaria, focused on the fifth anniversary since the country's accession to the European Union, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

07/05/2012

Bulgaria is to spend about 300 million leva (about 150 million euro) in European Union funds over the next two years restoring 11 castles and a large number of ancient sites that are popular tourist attractions, The Sofia Echo wrote.

04/05/2012

Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, thanked late Thursday evening the Members of the Parliament from his ruling party GERB for turning the controversial bill authorizing confiscation of illegal assets into law, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

03/05/2012

An 18-member delegation from Qatar headed by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khalid Al Attiyah will arrive in Bulgaria on May 3. Sofia will welcome high-ranking officials from a number of ministries, as well as representatives of investment companies based in Qatar, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

02/05/2012

Bulgaria is focusing on developing alternative forms of tourism, the country's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Delyan Dobrev has stated. On Monday, Dobrev commented on an announcement made by the country's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov that the Tourism Unit of the Ministry is to be shifted to Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

27/04/2012

assets minutes before midnight on Thursday, surprisingly banning anonymous tip-offs. Bulgarian authorities will have the right to launch probes and seize unexplained wealth, worth more than BGN 150,000 which has been acquired over the last 15 years under the draft law, the MPs decided. They however will not act upon anonymous tip-offs. The probe can continue up to one year and may be extended for another six months, the law says, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

26/04/2012

Bulgaria's PM Boyko Borisov and EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy have inaugurated the new section of the Sofia Metro, which was massively funded with EU money. Together with Bulgarian Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski, EU Funds Minister Tomislav Donchev, and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, Borisov and and Van Rompuy opened the 2.4 km section of the first line of the Sofia Metro, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

25/04/2012

Around 350 MW of renewable energy capacities have been launched in the country since July 2011, according to Energy and Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev. Speaking at a Tuesday conference titled "Green Energy", Dobrev explained that the capacity was expected to reach 500-600 MW by July 2012, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

24/04/2012

Reviving an idea dating back a decade, Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov has said that he wants a bill setting up a tax police tabled in Parliament by June and the new unit to start operating at the beginning of 2013. He said he wanted that the National Revenue Agency to be ready with a formal proposal about the tax police by April 27, The Sofia Echo wrote.

20/04/2012

The preparations for the Nato summit in Chicago should give a clear signal that Nato’s door remains open because this is a strong incentive for countries to reform, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov said at meeting in Brussels of the alliance’s foreign and defence ministers, The Sofia Echo wrote.

19/04/2012

Bulgaria's economy may shrink drastically by 5% in the first three months of the year, the country's Industrial Chamber has warned. "Given the looming decline in GDP for the first quarter of 2012, we expect the budget deficit to be significantly higher than envisaged in the budget, putting at risk public investments and the payment of pensions," according to the business chamber, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

18/04/2012

Bulgaria's inflation rate was 1.7% in March 2012, EU's third lowest after Sweden (1.1%) and Greece (1.4%). The March inflation rate was highest in Hungary (5.5%), Estonia (4.7%) and the Czech Republic (4.2%). Compared with February 2012, annual inflation fell in fourteen Member States, remained stable in four and rose in eight, according to Eurostat's data, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

17/04/2012

Bulgaria's economy hovers on the brink of its second recession in three years in the wake of the slump in the euro zone, a Sofia-based think-tank has warned. Bulgaria's economy is expected to shrink in the first quarter of 2012, to be followed by a few more quarters of falling output, entering a technical, recession, the Institute for Market Economics (IME) has forecast, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

09/04/2012

Bulgaria's government, which plans to issue eurobonds worth up to EUR 1 B in the second quarter, may be forced to struggle with volatile markets if it misses out on the current benign conditions, analysts have warned. The sale procedure can be arranged in a matter of two or three months, so it can take place not the beginning of June, as forecast by the finance minister, but in July, according to Georgi Angelov, Senior Economist at the Open Society Institute Sofia, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.

06/04/2012

Recession fears in Europe have led to a correction in economic forecasts for Bulgaria. While in autumn 2011 analysts and international institutions predicted GDP growth of two to three pe cent for the country, most of them have already revised their expectations to less than 1.5 per cent, Capital Daily said. This is no surprise given that two-thirds of Bulgarian export goods and services are bound for Europe. And given tight consumption and investments in the country, exports can be the only propeller of the national economy, the report said, The Sofia Echo wrote.

05/04/2012

The government is to vote next week on the decision to build a seventh unit at the Kozloduy NPP, according to Valentin Nikolov, Deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism. Nikolov told journalists Wednesday that the Cabinet's decision would be followed by the establishment of a working group on the implementation of the project, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) wrote.