Europe > Eastern Europe > Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Capital: Sofia; GDP growth (annual %) 2016 : 3.4%;

Bulgarian commissioner fields easy questions at MEP hearing

Bulgaria's candidate for the European Commission sailed through a hearing at the European Parliament on Tuesday (20 June) as MEPs accepted her broad statements and promises without much criticism.

Members of the European Parliament's industry and culture committees held a common conference to see if Mariya Gabriel, an outgoing MEP herself, is fit to become the EU commissioner for digital economy and society.

The 2.5-hour hearing saw Gabriel promising to involve the EU parliament, to aim for “dialogue and compromise” and to “complete the digital single market”.
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Bulgaria Current Account Swings To Surplus In February

Bulgaria's current account balance turned to a surplus in February from a deficit in the previous year, preliminary figures from the Bulgarian National Bank showed Thursday.

The current account balance showed a surplus of EUR 316.8 million in February versus a deficit of EUR 37.7 million in the corresponding month last year.
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ETOA: Suspension of visa exemption status for US citizens "extremely unlikely"

The European Parliament voted on 2nd March 2017 to require the European Commission to suspend visa exemption status for US citizens.

In ETOA's view this is extremely unlikely to happen: the Council of the EU will object and the status quo will prevail.

The situation arises because, since 2014, citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania have needed a visa to visit the US. This means that there is not full reciprocity in treatment of EU and US citizens.

EU legislation provides for a 'delegated act' allowing the Commission to suspend exemption from visa requirements in the event of 'non-reciprocity.' This would apply to citizens of nations that impose visa requirement on EU citizens.
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hina Shandong Economic & Technical Cooperation Group LTD(SCI),

Key Facts: Full name: Republic of Bulgaria
Population: 7.5 million (UN, 2010)
Area: 110,994 sq km (42,855 sq miles)
Major language: Bulgarian
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 70 years (men), 77 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 lev = 100 stotinki
Main exports: Chemicals and plastics, food and drink, tobacco, machine-building equipment
GNI per capita: US $6,270 (World Bank, 2010)
Internet domain: .bg
International dialling code: +359

top news

Climate change laws around the world
2017/05/14
There has been a 20-fold increase in the number of global climate change laws since 1997, according to the most comprehensive database of relevant policy and legislation.

The database, produced by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the Sabin Center on Climate Change Law, includes more than 1,200 relevant policies across 164 countries, which account for 95% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

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Brexit negotiations should treat energy as ‘special case’
2017/05/14
There are strong practical reasons why the UK and EU should treat energy as a appropriate case during Brexit negotiations, argues a new statement.

The statement, jointly authored by Chatham Home, the University of Exeter and the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), says finding common ground on energy during the Brexit negotiations would benefit both the UK and remaining EU27, while compromise may be relatively easier to achieve than for other areas.

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Bulgaria, Economic Overview Increase rebalancing expected in 2017
2017/05/08
Bulgaria

Growth will lose some momentum but remain robust

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