Despite the measures imposed by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), housing lending in Bulgaria continues to rise rapidly. In November 2024 commercial banks approved housing loans totaling 923 million leva, marking an increase of nearly 5% from October 2024 and 22.5% compared to November 2023, according to BNB data. This follows a similar upward trend…
Israeli Ambassador to Bulgaria Yossi Levi-Sfari expects an increase in Israeli tourists to Bulgaria following the recent Gaza ceasefire agreement. He emphasized that Israel’s citizens preferred nearby and friendly destinations for their vacations, and Bulgaria fit this description perfectly. The diplomat pointed to the long-standing historical ties between the two nations and noted that multiple…
Bulgaria’s potential membership in the Eurozone continues to generate mixed messages, influenced by coalition politics and unmet criteria. According to Simeon Dyankov (deputy prime minister and minister of finance from 2009 to 2013), the chance of entering the Eurozone until January 2026 is negligible. Dyankov expressed skepticism that the coalition led by Temenuzhka Petkova could…
Bulgaria will request a convergence report from the European Commission regarding its readiness to join the Eurozone once the country fulfills the price stability criterion, according to Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova. She explained that while Bulgaria meets most of the required criteria for eurozone membership, the sole remaining hurdle is related to price stability. Eurostat…
On January 23, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukraine and Switzerland signed a Memorandum of Understanding as part of efforts to engage the Swiss private sector in recovery and reconstruction projects. The document was signed by Guy Parmelin, Federal Councillor, Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, and…
In 2024 foreigners registered 1109 new companies in Ukraine, down by 24% YoY. This is reported by Opendatabot. Citizens of 78 countries started businesses in Ukraine last year. Most of the companies were registered by citizens of Turkey – 201 business projects, Poland – 90 and US – 89. Almost half of the new foreign…
The Bulgarian government has effectively abandoned its plan to enter the eurozone on January 1, 2026, after Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova announced she would not request an extraordinary convergence report from the European Commission and European Central Bank. The country falls short of the inflation criterion by just 0.1%, with the current average annual inflation…