Podcast in English

Bulgarian National Bank building

Bulgarian National Bank lowers economic growth outlook

Bulgaria’s real GDP growth is expected to stand at 2.1% in 2024, indicates the macroeconomic forecast of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) in June. Bulgaria’s real GDP growth is expected to stand at 2.1 per cent in 2024, driven by the positive..

published on 7/20/24 10:26 AM

Bulgaria to ask European Commission to amend recovery and resilience plan

The caretaker government has instructed Deputy PM and Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova to submit, by 11 September, a proposal for amending the REpowerEU chapters of the recovery and resilience plan. This is being done so as to make the..

published on 7/18/24 12:10 PM
Andrey Gyurov

BNB wants the court and the parliament to rule on the case involving Deputy Governor Andrey Gyurov

Andrey Gyurov will cease to perform his duties as Deputy Governor in charge of the Issue Department and Member of the Governing Council of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) until the court and parliament make a decision, the BNB announced. The..

published on 7/17/24 9:23 AM
Minister of Economy Petko Nikolov

Bulgaria's full membership in Schengen will save the economy millions of euros

The direct losses for Bulgaria from the delayed full accession to the Schengen Area amount to EUR 424 million, caretaker Minister of Economy Petko Nikolov said . He quoted a report by the Economic Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of..

published on 7/8/24 1:21 PM

IT sector attracts thousands but the market cherry picks the most motivated and experienced specialists

IT is one of the leading sectors in terms of salary increases and interest by job seekers in Bulgaria. Before the pandemic all kinds of experts were being hired regardless of their expertise or practical skills, but now preference is given to people..

published on 7/5/24 1:44 PM

BNB sets base interest rate at 3.63% as of July 1

The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) announced that it is lowering the base interest rate to 3.63% as of July 1. In May and June, the base interest rate was 3.78%. Bulgaria is in a currency board and the Bulgarian lev is pegged to the euro. Therefore,..

published on 7/1/24 8:52 AM

EC: Bulgaria still not meeting eurozone criteria

Bulgaria fulfils three of the Maastricht criteria for joining the euro zone, but still does not meet the price stability and inflation targets, according to a report by the European Commission, as quoted by BTA. Bulgaria does not currently meet the..

published on 6/26/24 1:51 PM

EU pays €65m for Bulgaria's electricity grid

Bulgaria will receive €65.2 million from the EU for a project to reinforce the electricity grid to better support the integration of renewable energy, the European Commission said in a statement.  The money is part of a total of nearly €3 billion..

published on 6/24/24 2:16 PM

Bulgaria sinks in the 2024 World Competitiveness Ranking

Bulgaria ranks 58th out of 67 countries in the World Competitiveness Yearbook of the Institute for Management Development (IMD), Switzerland. The country has shown a lack of progress since 2021 and dropped 10 positions compared to 2020 and 20..

published on 6/19/24 9:19 AM

NSI: Bulgaria Records Second Consecutive Month of Deflation

According to data from the National Statistical Institute, Bulgaria experienced a monthly inflation rate of -0.2% in May 2024 . Year-on-year inflation from May 2024 compared to December 2023 stands at 0.4%, while the average annual inflation rate for the..

published on 6/14/24 4:55 PM