Absurd or reality

Notwithstanding the economic crisis, official statistics register a hike in salaries

Slippery slope

Bankruptcies are on the rise, but the worst is yet to come, employer associations warn.

A question of goodwill

Justice Minister Miglena Tacheva and her deputy Ilonka Raichinova, in charge of international adoptions, prove that improvements can happen in Bulgaria provided the will is there

Press review: Headlines in Bulgarian papers on January 5 2009

These are some of the top stories in Bulgarian newspapers on January 5 2009. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Successes and failures of Bulgarian governments 1998/2007

Bulgarian governments have mostly failed in achieving set goals through the programmes they have initiated in the past 10 years, economists from the Institute for Market Economics (IME) said at a news conference titled The Successes and Failures of Bulgarian Governments 1998/2007 on December 16 2008. IME presented statistics based on the review of 433 reports, which are available on the National Audit Office (NAO) website. The summary of their finds reveals 99 successful initiatives, 193 failures and 141 unclassified.

In the name of the holy thermometer

Global warming is beginning to resemble a religious movement based on tendentious facts

The financial crisis has become an obstacle to the EU's ambitious plans to fight climate change. On the one hand, many people do not like discussing climate right now. On the other, the crisis itself is forcing governments to be very careful, particularly about decisions which directly affect their country's economic wellbeing. Italy and Poland have already threatened to veto a package aimed at fighting climate change, reasoning that their economies could not handle the consequences of a forced reduction in CO2 emissions.

No-frills Budget

Think-tank tells Cabinet to cut taxes and spending as economy faces slowdown

For a sixth year running, Bulgarian think-tank Institute for Market Economics (IME), has put forwards its alternative to the Cabinet draft Budget. As on previous occasions, the main theme is "tax less, spend less". "IME's alternative Budgets always had one goal - to show a different take on public finance, based on the belief that changes in Bulgaria are possible and that they can be done now, not in the future," IME economist Petar Ganev wrote in an opinion piece for Dnevnik daily.

Mutual termination

Mutual funds have been steadily bleeding money as the stock market shows no signs of improvement

Bulgarian mutual funds, which have benefitted the most from the stock market boom in 2007, are also among the biggest losers of the 2008 collapse on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. In October, the worst month for global markets for the past 21 years, the value of assets managed by Bulgarian funds fell by 21.8 per cent, according to data compiled by Dnevnik daily. In nominal terms, their assets fell by 146 million leva to about 524 million leva, a drop of 57 per cent since peaking at more than 1.2 billion leva in October 2007 - a far cry from the optimistic 1.72 billion leva forecast made by the Bulgarian Association of Asset Management Companies (BAAMC) in June 2007. It was the third two-digit drop posted over that period, following the 15.9 per cent (180.5 million leva) drop in January and the 11.7 per cent (88.7 million leva) in September.

Police chief: Sorry, what murder?

Krassimir Dimov, the head of the regional police department in the Black Sea town of Primorsko, told prosecutors he remembered nothing about a murder that allegedly happened in his presence, Bulgarian BGNes news agency reported on August 19 2008. Dimov was questioned by prosecutors about the murder in a Bourgas hospital, where Dimov is currently being treated of high blood pressure. He was admitted to the

One year of dossiers

One year after the commission in charge of declassification of communist-era secret service archives started work, three problems appeared as the main challenges Bulgaria faces in dealing with its communist past. Participants at an April 7 conference held in Sofia on the occasion of the commission's one-year anniversary agreed that the issues of national security, lustration and communication among the

Energy competition: Does it exist?

Economist, Institute for Market Economics, ime.bg

After the acceptance of the Energy Strategy of Republic of Bulgaria in 2002, the Bulgarian energy sector could be characterised with the words: restructuring, privatisation and liberalisation. It is important to note that this process is very slow and the energy sector continues to be ineffective and is far from the understanding of the words "competitive sector". The distribution of electric energy is

Does Bulgaria really need it?

Petar Ganev, Economist, Institute for Market Economics, www.ime.bg

The Ministry for Disaster Management was established in August 2005, by a resolution of the 40th National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria. In the beginning of 2008, it proved to be one of the greatest controversies in the country. More and more people are questioning the necessity of such an institution, as it is spending large sums of money and at the same time it is highly ineffective against all kinds

Talking about adoptions

After two and a half years, the Justice Ministry and the organisations accredited by it to serve as intermediaries in international adoption procedures made a breakthrough in their communication. The breakthrough was that the two sides finally met on December 11 at a round table organised by organisations working in the field. Despite the fact that Justice Minister Miglena Tacheva did not attend the meeting,

Bulgaria's courting embarrassment

Justice Minister Miglena Tacheva on October 8 promised thorough transparency in the procedure of nominating a candidate for Bulgaria's seat at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). On that date, a public council convened by Tacheva met, facing a deadline of a week to finalise the criteria and procedures for nominating the candidate. The public council meeting was a sequel to Bulgaria's humiliation when the

Flat-tax wrangling in Bulgaria

After the three parties in Bulgaria's coalition Cabinet agreed on July 30 to introduce a 10 per cent flat tax on individual income from 2008, the media was awash with criticism of the decision. The main concerns are that people earning between 200 and 350 leva a month, together with people working on a freelance basis, would be hardest hit by the new tax rates. Labour and Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova told

PROPERTY FOCUS: Apartments in Bulgaria's coastal resorts remain unsold

More than 100 three- and multi-bedroom apartments in Slanchev Bryag (Sunny Beach), Elenite and Dyuni Black Sea summer resorts have remained unsold for months, real estate website imoti.net said on June 21. According to the website, which focuses on Bulgarian real estate sector, this was a clear sign of stagnation in the market for big apartments in the leading resorts on the Bulgarian southern Black Sea

TO THE EDITOR: A response to the IME's Ganev

I have just read the article "Preserve your own nature" by Petar Ganev in your issue of March 9-15. It contains such fundamental errors that it cannot remain unchallenged. Mr Ganev's view is that the free market should rule supreme and that nature can be either left to look after itself or be protected by private organisations formed for that specific purpose. He cites The National Trust in the UK as an exemplar of such

Preserve Bulgaria's nature

Natura 2000 has become one of the most disputed issues in Bulgaria after the country's accession to the European Union. The wave of protests against Natura 2000, which is part of a European network designed to preserve biological diversity, was to be expected. Any other kind of reaction was unlikely after many Bulgarians found out that they no longer had full control over their own land. Imposing limitations

Adopting Bulgarians

A total of 267 Bulgarian children are eligible for adoption by foreigners, Margarit Ganev, Deputy Minister of Justice and chair of the Council on International Adoption, told a news conference on February 13. "We have more than 1400 requests from foreign citizens who want to adopt a Bulgarian child," Ganev said. However, according to the line set by the European Union, Bulgaria considers the adoption of Bulgarian children

Massive fight in Bulgaria's Pazardjik

Nearly 400 people of Roma descent fought in one of the largest street fights in Bulgaria in recent memory on October 13, the Interior Ministry said. The massive fight happened in the southern city of Pazardjik near Plovdiv, in Iztok, the Roma neighbourhood of the town. Local police had to call in reinforcements from Plovdiv to restore order. Riot squads were also called. At about 6pm, a Roma family was celebrating what

Year in Review - NEWS

Exporting talent

Weightlifting, Bulgaria's most successful sport, has been seriously ill recently, much of its sickness coming from a loss of its best talent to other countries.

Exporting talent

Weightlifting, Bulgaria's most successful sport, has been seriously ill recently, much of its sickness coming from a loss of its best talent to other countries.

Constitutional birthday

Yesterday the Bulgarian Constitution celebrated its 10th birthday. The anniversary prompted the Civil Association for Constitutionalism and Democracy, made up largely of MPs from the Grand National Assembly, who produced the present constitution, to talk about its role and significance on Monday.

New Parliament convenes July 5

President Petar Stoyanov announced last week that the first session of the 39th National Assembly will begin on July 5.