Bulgaria

Labour costs in Western Europe still four times higher than in Romania and Bulgaria

Iulian Ernst in Bucharest March 28, 2024

Bulgaria has the EU's lowest labour cost, while Romania still lags well behind Poland and Hungary.

Bulgaria’s Paynetics acquires Bulgarian-UK neobank Novus

bne IntelliNews March 28, 2024

Novus users can monitor their carbon footprint and earn cashback for sustainable purchasing choices through its app.

Bulgaria moves towards sixth snap general election since 2021

Denitsa Koseva in Sofia March 27, 2024

Agreement between Gerb and CC-DB for a joint government with a rotating PM has broken down.

COMMENT: Overheating in Russia and Turkey, but CEE recovering

Ben Aris in Berlin March 27, 2024

The economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which experienced a period of stagnation last year, are poised for a modest revival in 2024, but both the Russian and Turkish economies are already overheating.

Romania's GDP per capita surpassed Hungary's in 2023

bne IntelliNews March 27, 2024

Romania has been catching up with the EU average faster than Hungary, which fell into recession in 2023.

Bulgaria moves closer to deal on selling Russian-made reactors to Ukraine

bne IntelliNews March 24, 2024

Reactors originally intended for Belene NPP project now likely to sold to Ukraine to compensate for loss of Zaporizhzhia NPP to Russia.

Bulgaria thrown into new political crisis, snap general election likely

Denitsa Koseva in Sofia March 20, 2024

Hopes of progress on Schengen and Eurozone entry dashed after Gerb blows up talks with CC-DB on government rotation.

Southeast Europe’s major cities are emptying out

bne IntelliNews March 19, 2024

Eurostat data shows fall in populations of biggest urban areas in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania in last five years.

A surprise EU proposal to expand agricultural ”emergency brake” import restrictions will cost Ukraine €1.7bn

Ben Aris in Berlin March 19, 2024

EU countries have overnight agreed to impose new restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural imports that will cost the cash strapped country €1.7bn and hurt its ability to fight the war against Russia.

KYIV BLOG: EU finalises €5bn Ukraine Peace Fund contribution that will see little new money sent to Kyiv

bne IntelliNews March 18, 2024

EU ambassadors agreed to back a new €5bn Ukraine Assistance Fund on March 13, part of the EU's off-budget European Peace Facility (EPF) that is used to partially reimburse member countries for the weapons they provide to Ukraine.

Bulgaria heading towards new snap election as talks on government rotation fail

Denitsa Koseva in Sofia March 18, 2024

Gerb's Mariya Gabriel has given CC-DB until noon to agree to the party's terms to form a new government, or Bulgaria will hold its sixth snap general election

Support for Nato membership falls sharply in Southeast Europe

bne IntelliNews March 17, 2024

Under half of Montenegrins now back Nato membership, and only 33% would help another member in case of attack.

NGO warns Bulgaria over plans to swap coal for fossil gas

bne IntelliNews March 14, 2024

CEE Bankwatch says Sofia's intention to replace coal-fired with gas-fired power plants is unfeasible given it has no strategy or financial plan.

Ukraine becomes world's 4th largest arms importer, European imports soar

bne IntelliNews March 12, 2024

European arms imports were up by 94% in 2019-23, as Ukraine's allies send military aid while also arming themselves, says new SIPRI report.

Closing gender gap in workforce could double global growth rate says World Bank

Clare Nuttall in Glasgow March 8, 2024

Countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia have a lower gender gap than the global average but only Latvian women have equal legal standing with men.

Poll shows Bulgarians have turned against Putin

bne IntelliNews March 7, 2024

Bulgaria took a strong pro-Western turn after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Bulgaria’s PM Denkov tables resignation of government

Denitsa Koseva in Sofia March 5, 2024

Resignation aimed at triggering rotation of prime ministers, stalled by dispute between Gerb and CC-DB.

Bulgaria has just days to strike deal on new government or faces early election

Denitsa Koseva in Sofia February 29, 2024

Gerb’s Mariya Gabriel is due to take over the PM seat on March 8, but the government’s pro-Western backers are increasingly divided.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy seeks support from Southeast Europe at Tirana summit

bne IntelliNews February 28, 2024

Ukrainian president and Albanian prime minister warn of Russian threat to destabilise the region.

Macron says sending Nato ground troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out

bne IntelliNews February 27, 2024

French president says Russia now presents a greater danger and nothing should be excluded.

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