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 Sciences, commissioned by the Ministry of Economy.
At a discussion in Sofia on the priorities of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union and their repercussions on the Bulgarian political agenda, Minister Nikolov pointed out that the direct losses should be added to the lost profits of around EUR 275 million. Thus, the potential benefits from removing land border controls exceed EUR 680 million annually. Additionally, the accession to Schengen by land will reduce carbon emissions from traffic. "Transport connectivity will improve, trade and investment flows will increase and travel time and costs will decrease", summarized Minister Nikolov.
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,..
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..
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..
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