Urgent reform of Bulgaria's planning districts is needed, local authorities insist.The current regionalization shows increasing economic imbalances in terms of EU grant assistance. The problem is particularly severe in the Southwestern region, which includes Sofia city. According to the EU cohesion rules, when a region's GDP per capita reaches 100% of the EU average, the regions receive 30% co-financing for EU programs.
In the Southwestern region, due to Sofia's indicators, the coverage is 100%. Transitional regions, with a GDP between 75% and 100% of the EU average, receive 60% grant aid, while underdeveloped regions receive 85%. In Sofia city, the GDP per capita is close to 130% of the EU average, which affects the neighboring districts – Sofia District, Pernik, Kyustendil and Blagoevgrad, where the coverage is between 54% and 31%. The bundling of these districts with the capital city limits their access to EU funds.
It is extremely concerning that the largest company in Bulgaria, Lukoil Neftohim, which is part of the country's critical infrastructure, is still in the hands of a country that has declared Bulgaria a hostile state. This opinion was shared by energy..
“The divergence between the monetary and the fiscal policy pursued by the government continues to be the main reason why Bulgaria does not meet all criteria yet for entering the Eurozone,” Lyubomir Karimansky, member of the Governing Council of the..
Germany remains Bulgaria's strongest economic partner. Trade between the two countries for 2024 amounts to EUR 12 billion, said Tim Kurth, President of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. At a ceremony held at the University of..
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