During his visit to Syria, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Vitalii Koval met with the Syrian Agriculture Minister Dr Mohammad al-Ahmad. “It was a very constructive meeting with our Syrian counterpart. We discussed a detailed list of goods that the country needs. First of all, Syria is interested in livestock products –…
Bulgaria has solidified its position as a leader in the Balkans for startup creation, climbing one spot to 37th globally in the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Index and maintaining its rank as 23rd in Europe. The country continues to outpace its closest regional competitor, Romania, with three cities featured in the global top 1000. Notably,…
From January 1, the VAT rate for restaurant services in Bulgaria returned to 20%, marking the end of the temporary 9% rate introduced during the Covid crisis. The reduced VAT was extended several times, but no longer applied, also affecting the zero VAT rate on bread and flour, which reverted to 20%. While the caretaker…
In 2024, the state budget received $41.7 billion of external financing. Grants amounted to about $12.6 billion, around 30% of the total amount of financing. At the same time, Ukraine received all loans on concessional terms. “The $41.7 billion in financial assistance represents a remarkable achievement, made possible through the dedicated efforts of the President…
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called on the European Union to ban imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia in order not to finance the criminal Kremlin regime. Sybiha reacted in this way to the Financial Times publication that during 2024, EU countries imported a record volume of Russian liquefied natural gas. “This is unacceptable.…
The power outage in various regions of Bulgaria has led to serious concerns and protests from local residents. Many areas, including parts of the Lovech municipality, have experienced days without electricity, with some villages facing up to six days without power. Ignat Ignev, the mayor of Radyuven, called the situation a “crime” and “bordering on…
In one year following the launch of the Vilnius-Riga rail link, more than 62,000 passengers have travelled between the capitals of Lithuania and Latvia, reports the Latvian public broadcaster LSM. The train journey now takes under 4 hours, according to LSM, which quotes the Lithuanian state railways, LTG. “This route is successful, having maintained its…