Programme of British Weeks in Bulgaria

The British Embassy in Bulgaria is organising a two-week festival to celebrate Bulgarian-British ties and co-operation. The British Embassy in Sofia is pleased to present “British Weeks in Bulgaria”, taking place from 26 May to 11 June 2013. This celebration of Bulgarian-British links includes more than twenty events (organised with our partners) to take place in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. The events highlight the close links and prospects resulting from the close relationship between Bulgaria and Great Britain. The events [...]

Monaco Said to Eye Fulham’s Berbatov

French side Monaco is said to be interested in signing Fulham’s Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov, according to a report published by talkSPORT. Berbatov, who scored 15 league goals in his debut season at Craven Cottage, is said to be dissatisfied with life at the club, which finished 12th in Premiership. The 32-year-old Bulgarian forward has become the latest big name to be linked withMonaco, who are planning on making a number of big-money purchases in this summer’s transfer window upon their promotion to France’s [...]

Pollster Aslanov: Bulgaria’s New Parliament to Complete Term

Interview of Novinite.com and Novinite.bg with Yurij Aslanov, head of Aphis, a Bulgarian polling agency Which party will form Bulgaria’s next government – the formerly ruling GERB of Boyko Borisov or the Socialist Party, led by Sergey Stanishev? It is difficult to make any forecasts, but my expectation is that Plamen Oresharski, tipped by the Socialists to head their government, is more likely to succeed. There are reports that Socialist party members may surprisingly support the minority cabinet of the [...]

Expats Remain Biggest ‘Foreign’ Investor in Bulgaria

Emigrants‘ remittances to Bulgaria continue to grow and amounted to EUR 73.7 M in March 2013, according to data of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). The amount is larger than the direct foreign investments in the country, which totaled EUR 49.2 M in March. The expats remittances show a 15% increase for that month, making the highest amount since the beginning of the year. From January to March 2013, the emigrants have wired a total of EUR 196.5 M to Bulgaria.

Bulgarian, Turkish Transport Ministers Mull ‘Truck’ Problem

Bulgarian caretaker Transport Minister, Kristian Krastev, is to meet with Turkish counterpart, Binali Yildirim, in Leipzig, Germany, on Wednesday. The news was reported Valentin Bozhkov, Director of the Automobile Administration (Bulgaria), cited by the FOCUS News Agency. This is the first meeting of the two countries’ transport ministers since January 2012. Krastev and Yildirim, who already held several phone calls, are expected to seek a permanent solution of the problem with Bulgarian tractor trailers in Turkey. They will negotiate an agreement on freight shipments. The meeting comes on [...]

Bulgarian Nataliya Apostolova to Head EU Delegation to Libya

Bulgarian Nataliya Apostolova has been appointed as the new Head of EU Delegation to Libya. Apostolova’s appointment was announced Tuesday by Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Apostolova is currently the EU’s Deputy Head of Delegation to Egypt and has previously worked in the European Commission‘s Directorate-General for Enlargement and at the Permanent Representation of Bulgaria to the EU. The EU’s presence in Libya has been expanded significantly since the beginning of the popular uprising in [...]

Bulgaria’s Rightist GERB Sabotaged Appointment of Replacement MPs

Center-right party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) is said to have sabotaged Tuesday’s sitting of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) scheduled to appoint replacements of Iliyana Yotova and Rumen Stoyanov from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) who gave up their seats. Bulgaria’s 42nd National Assembly held its inaugural meeting Tuesday. According to reports of dnevnik.bg, as a result of GERB‘s move, Wednesday’s sitting of Parliament will be attended by 238 MPs, not 240, and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party will [...]

Nabucco West Project Member-States Adopt Joint Declaration

The governments of Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey adopted Tuesday a joint declaration stressing the potential of Nabucco to supply the energy markets of the Western Balkans and the Visegrad group countries (Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary) at the fifth Nabucco Committee meeting in Bucharest. The committee meeting was hosted by the Government of Romania, according to reports of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH. The governments further expressed their commitment to engage in developing the necessary gas interconnections to ensure that Nabucco can also supply the [...]

Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops (Denmark)

Emmelie De Forest will represent Denmark at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden with the song Only Teardrops

Belgium’s Colsaerts Step Closer to Defending Title in Bulgaria

A day after Bulgaria made its debut on the European Tour, Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts made a step closer to successfully defending his title on the Thracian Cliffs course along the Black Sea shoreline. On day two of the Volvo World Match-Play Championship in Bulgaria on Friday, the 30-year-old easily defeated Thailand’s Kiradeck Aphibarnrat, winning 3 and 2. The victory came a day after suffering defeat by South African Branden Grace. “It (the course) played a little better today but there are still a few loose shots in my game [...]

Bulgaria to Go Sleepless on Sat to Celebrate Night of Museums

There will be many sleepless people in bigger cities across Bulgaria on Saturday night into Sunday as the country will join the Europe-wide Night of Museums for the ninth time. Over 30 museums and galleries across the country will be opening their doors free of charge and extending their working hours. Events are scheduled Saturday throughout the day and onto the dark hours, at least until midnight, organizers say. Bulgaria‘s National Art Gallery, Gallery Sofia, National Gallery for Foreign Art, National Archeological Museum, National Polytechnic Museum and [...]

Bulgarian President Accepts Chief of Staff’s Resignation

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has officially accepted the resignation handed by his Chief of Staff, Tsvetlin Yovchev. Yovchev filed his resignation in early April. However, the official has been on a leave of absence over the last couple of weeks, Yovchev resigned citing “personal projects” that were not compatible with his position in Plevneliev’s administration. He clarified that his projects were not political, but refused to elaborate on them. Yovchev, who is a former head of Bulgaria’s National State Security Agency, became the first member [...]

Bulgaria Submitted 14% of RAPEX Unsafe Product Alerts in 2012

Bulgaria and Hungary filed around one quarter of all signals for unsafe goods in the EU in 2012, according to statistics of RAPEX, the EU rapid alert system for all dangerous consumer products. In 2012, Bulgaria submitted a total of 271 RAPEX notifications, outpaced only by Hungary with 294 signals. All 27 EU Member States, together with Norway, Island, and Liechtenstein, which participate in the system, submitted a total of 2278 RAPEX notifications in 2012, up by 26% from 2011. In 2012, a total of [...]

Overturned Truck Impedes Traffic to Bulgarian-Greek Border

A tractor trailer with Greek license plates has overturned on the Struma Highway in Bulgaria, near the repair works at the “Dolna Dikanya” junction. The incident happened around 4 am Saturday morning, the police in the Bulgarian western city of Pernik reported. The truck has sustained serious damage, but the Greek driver escaped only with light injuries. His life is out of danger. The most likely cause is the driver falling asleep at the wheel. Due to the crash, traffic on the highway in the direction of the Kulata checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Greek border is reported as [...]

Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankulov – Samo Shampioni (Bulgaria)

Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankulov are multi-talented musicians, bringing together the best in terms of vocals, styles, and instruments. They are famous especially for their innovative ways of combining traditional singing, percussions and modern influences. Elitsa Todorova was born on 1977 in Varna. She studied music, specialising in authentic folklore singing and in percussions. She attracts the attention of both the audience and the critics with her specific voice – strong, deep-toned, clear and hardy, the tone-quality being one of [...]

Destination Bulgaria

Disgruntled Bulgarian Truckers Blockade Turkish Border Again

Bulgarian tractor trailers will blockade the Kapitan Andreevo-Kapakule border crossing point between Bulgaria and Turkey on the Bulgarian side for the second time in just days. Drivers and truck owners are protesting the hurdles for their business on the other side of the border and unfair competition. They complain from unfoundedrestrictions such as not allowing into Turkish territory trucks carrying over 500 liters of fuel or making drivers wait at the Turkish border for days. During the previous blockade on May 9 only cars were being let through the checkpoint now. The Interior Ministry informed the [...]

National Regulators Confirm Extension of Nabucco Third-Party Exemption

The national regulatory bodies of Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria have adopted a draft decision confirming the extension of the existing 50% exemption from EU legislation on third party access granted to Nabucco. According to a media statement of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, the extension of the validity of the exemption is in line with the production schedule of the Shah Deniz gas field. Through the draft decision, the four national watchdogs also confirmed their support for the Nabucco legal and regulatory framework, consisting of [...]