Bulgaria, being one of the richest countries in Europe in terms of mineral water springs, has a huge potential to grow as a balneo therapy and spa tourism destination but it needs a better image as a popular spa and wellness destination on the European market. According to experts, the most direct way to succeed in this endeavor goes through European insurance institutes, health insurance funds and care homes for  [ Read More ]

ulgaria’s Agriculture Ministry said on March 14 2011 it had started payment of subsidies to farmers shortly before the planned protests of agricultural producers because of delays in the disbursement of European Unions funds. The money will be transferred to 91 000 farmers that applied for direct subsidies in the past year. On March 13 2011, agricultural organisations said they would reconsider plans for launching countrywide protests if farmers received  [ Read More ]

Bulgaria’s Economy Minister Traicho Traikov will demand additional details and guarantees on the safety of the future reactor at the Belene nuclear power plant, the ministry said in a statement on March 14 2011. Traikov will request more information from both the reactor’s manufacturer, Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in connection with the incident at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex. The power  [ Read More ]

The America for Bulgaria Foundation (ABF) will earmark $43 million for projects in Bulgaria within the next few years, Deutsche Welle reported on March 14 2011. The organisation, founded in 2008, is a successor to the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund (BAEF), an investment fund created by the US through the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The funds will be provided to promote the activities of local non-profit entities and the  [ Read More ]

Sofia Airport reported a total of 243 107 passengers in February 2011, or about 10 000 more than the same time last year, Investor.bg reported on March 14. The increase is due to the constant growth of passengers travelling to and from Bulgaria on regular international scheduled flights, in addition to the 25 per cent growth accounted for on domestic routes, the report said. There was a two per cent  [ Read More ]

Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for international co-operation, humanitarian aid and crisis response, remains the country’s most highly-acclaimed and respected politician, according to a poll done in March 2011. Georgieva has a 58 per cent approval rating, followed by Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov with 48 per cent and Prime Minister Boiko Borissov with 42 per cent. Ruling party GERB has lost ground, and according to the poll, currently has 23.6  [ Read More ]

Eight hundred kilometers of coastline, over three hundred days of sunshine a year, two national parks, whales, orcas and dolphins, the largest number of protected natural areas in Spain, a historic and artistic heritage unique in the world, towns with local festivities all twelve months of the year, and a cuisine which features top quality produce. Not to mention the olive groves, Ronda, Moguer, the forests of fir trees, Cadiz,  [ Read More ]

Tourists can hear carnival music in any corner of the city, and the last touches are put to the fancy-dress costumes (in Cadiz they are known as tipos), some of them real works of art. The locals put their hearts and souls into what is one of the most eagerly awaited events in the city, and perhaps the most fun-filled and entertaining of all the Spanish carnivals. Compared with the  [ Read More ]

Bulgaria will share best practices with South Korea and Portugal to develop the country’s electronic government (e-government) project, Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov and Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Purvan Roussinov said. In 2011, Bulgaria will allocate about 35 million leva under the EU’s administrative capacity operational programme for the project, Deputy Finance Minister Boryana Pencheva said. Bulgaria will collaborate with South Korea through the Centre for information technology co-operation, the  [ Read More ]

The number of property auctions initiated by private enforcement agents in Bulgaria in the first months of 2011 was double the numbers from the same period of the previous year, according to the data from Bulgarian Chamber of Private Enforcement Agents (BCPEA). In 2010, property sales in Bulgaria tenders came in at 700 to 800 a month on average, but their numbers soared to between 1500 and 1600 in January  [ Read More ]