Bulgarian News Online
March 09, 2010, Tuesday European Parliament eases travel rules for non-EU nationals 
Photo by SeabhcanA non-EU national staying in one of the member states on a long-stay visa will be allowed to travel to most other Member States for three months in any six-month period under the same conditions as the holder of a residence permit, under a new regulation approved on March 9 2010 by the European Parliament. The regulation, which MEPs approved with 562 votes in favour, 29 against and 51 abstentions, is set to enter into force by April 5 2010. The increased freedom of movement should not pose any extra security risk, thanks to a system of controls and alerts, but will in any case not apply to the UK, Ireland or Denmark as a result of their opt-outs, the European Parliament said in a media statement. Under present EU law, long-stay visa holders - for example students or school pupils wanting to go on a study or field trip in another member state, scientists, academics, family members of third-country nationals and EU citizens - are not allowed to travel to other member states during their stay, nor pass through the other states when returning to their country of origin, as the Schengen Convention does not allow for this. The fact that a student who is granted a visa to attend a course in Belgium cannot travel to a specialized library in the Netherlands to obtain information for the purposes of writing his thesis or to Barcelona for a weekend visit "is simply unacceptable", said Portuguese centre-right MEP Carlos Coelho, author of the report by the EP Civil Liberties Committee. "This is an example of how absurd situations can arise", he said.. With the new legislation, a long-stay visa (for stays exceeding three months) will - as regards the Schengen area - have the same effect as a residence permit: a third-country national holding a "long-stay D visa" issued by a member state could travel to the other member states for three months in any half year, under the same conditions as the holder of a residence permit. Long-stay visas will be valid for no more than one year. If a third-country national is allowed to stay for more than that time, the long-stay visa has to be replaced before it expires by a residence permit. To meet any security concerns, the regulation states that non-EU citizens will be able to move freely "on the basis of that permit and a valid travel document", and only if they "are not on the national list of alerts of the member state concerned". Most EU states will be able to use the Schengen Information System (SIS) to consult such lists but the UK and Ireland are not members of the Schengen area and will not be bound by or subject to the regulation. Denmark has a period of six months after the date of adoption of the regulation to decide whether it will enact it in its national law. 
March 8, 2010, Monday Bulgaria Offers Best Eastern European Outsourcing Quality 
Photo by colliers.comBulgaria is among the leading European countries, in terms of the cost and quality of the outsourcing services the country offers. A joint analysis by Colliers International and AT Kearney concluded that Bulgaria held the top position for outsourcing possibilities among the 12 European countries surveyed.The other countries were: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. The country competes internationally in the top 15 countries, with its combination of attractive locations for outsourcing and offshore activities. "The assessment was based on criteria such as financial attractiveness, the overall economic climate and the availability of a skilled workforce," said Atanas Garov, executive director of the Bulgarian branch of Colliers International. According to him, the current time is very suitable for Bulgaria to attract investments in the outsourcing industry."Outsourcing could become a major economic engine for our country with the opportunity to reveal a large number of highly skilled jobs. For this to happen it is a necessary and active engagement on behalf of the government, local administration and businesses," said Garov. Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries will continue to be among the leading global destinations for outsourcing services, according to the study. Their chief advantages are a combination of skilled staff, excellent foreign language training, know-how, cultural proximity and tolerance. This combination of positive factors makes this sector one of the main drivers of the labor market and demand for office space in CEE, the study reveals. Compared with established large business centers, the smaller cities are financially more attractive, and are not necessarily inferior in qualifications of available labor. The report reveals that a high quality and modern office space is key to the long-term existence of outsourcing centers. This factor is important for optimizing operational costs and to retain employees in the company. Within Bulgaria, the Black Sea town of Varna is a typical example, says the report."Varna offers the most competitive rental prices for office space among other secondary markets in the CEE region. This factor, combined with a skilled workforce, an easily accessible geographical position and well developed infrastructure, makes the city an attractive outsourcing and off shoring destination," said Rumyana Lepicheva, executive director of the office of Colliers in Varna.
February 24, 2010, Wednesday Bulgaria Star Jekova 'One of Most Attractive Winter Olympians' 
Photo by slavymagazine.comBulgarian snowboarding star, Alexandra Jekova, has taken part in a photo shoot for the popular Vanity Fair magazine in Vancouver after being picked as one of the most attractive women at the Winter Olympics. The half hour photo session was made on Wednesday morning at the Vanity Fair offices close to the Vancouver Olympic village. The photos will be posted on the internet site of Vanity Fair at the end of the week. Jekova was also listed as one of the top ten most beautiful Winter Olympians on the popular site covers.com.Last week, sources from the Bulgarian headquarters in Vancouver revealed that there was a huge Australian interest in Jekova as she is the girlfriend of Australian snowboarder Alex Pullin. Jekova, who was tipped for one of the few gold medals for the country at the Winter Olympic Games at Vancouver, was forced to quit the competition due to injury.
February 17, 2010, Wednesday Bulgaria's UNESCO Head Bokova, EU Commissioner Georgieva to Help Haiti 
Photo by EPA/BGNESThe two Bulgarians with highest international ranks, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Kristalina Georgieva, met in Brussels Wednesday to discuss the Haiti relief situation. Bokova and Georgieva’s talks focused on the international aid for Haiti in the fields of education and culture. “I believe that with respect to much of the activity of the organization that I have been in charge of for three months, the European Union, and especially the European Commission are a natural partner since we share many common values in the field of tolerance, cultural diversity, dialogue between cultures, education, science, communications, and preservation of cultural heritage,” said the UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova during their join press conference. “As the Commissioner who is in charge of crisis response, for me our cooperation with UNESCO is especially important in the places where UNESCO has developed a full-fledged early warning system,” EU Commissioner for humanitarian aid, Kristalina Georgieva, stated in turn. “In fact, there is already a relative small joint project between UNESCO and the EC exactly in the field of early warning in the event of a tsunami or other natural disasters in the places where UNESCO has the necessary resources,” Georgieva said. As part of her work on humanitarian aid and crisis prevention, Georgieva has vowed to work with various global and local partners on the ground in order to be able to achieve more substantial results.
February 9, 2010, Tuesday European Parliament Approves Barroso II European Commission 
Photo by EPA/BGNESThe new 27-strong team of European commissioners got the approval of the members of the European Parliament in a vote on Friday. A total of 488 MEPs voted for the proposed members of the new European Commission chaired by incumbent EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, 237 voted against and 72 abstained. Following is a list of the new European Commissioners: Joaqu ín ALMUNIA: Competition. Vice-President of the Commission. László ANDOR: Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. Baroness Catherine ASHTON: High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security and Vice-President of the Commission. Michel BARNIER: Internal Market and Services. Dacian CIOLOS: Agriculture and Rural Development. John DALLI: Health and Consumer Policy. Maria DAMANAKI: Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Karel DE GUCHT: Trade. Štefan FÜLE: Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy. * Johannes HAHN: Regional Policy. Connie HEDEGAARD: Climate Action. Maire GEOGHEGAN-QUINN: Research and Innovation. Kristalina GEORGIEVA: International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.* The Bulgarian Commissioner Siim KALLAS: Transport. Vice-President of the Commission. Neelie KROES: Digital Agenda. Vice-President of the Commission. Janusz LEWANDOWSKI: Budget and Financial Programming. Cecilia MALMSTRÖM: Home Affairs. Günter OETTINGER: Energy. Andris PIEBALGS: Development.* Janez POTOČNIK: Environment. Viviane REDING: Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship.Vice-President of the Commission. Olli REHN: Economic and Monetary Affairs. Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ : Vice-President of the Commission for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration. Algirdas ŠEMETA: Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud. Antonio TAJANI: Industry and Entrepreneurship. Vice-President of the Commission. Androulla VASSILIOU: Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. The 27-strong commission has 13 conservative members, including Barroso, as well as 8 liberal ones and 6 affiliated to the socialist group. The Commission is the EU's executive arm, responsible for drafting EU laws and ensuring that the 27 member states comply with the EU treaties. Before the vote the conservative European People's Party (EPP), the largest in parliament, said it would vote in favour. The other two main factions in the assembly, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the Liberal-democrats (ALDE) were more critical, but also backed the new commission.The head of the Green group, former 1960s firebrand leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit, led the 'no' camp. "We are staring at a coalition of hypocrites: just a few days before Valentine's Day, they tell Mr. Barroso 'We don't believe you but we will vote for you'", he joked. Cohn-Bendit was particularly scathing against S&D chief Martin Schulz, suggesting he decided to support Barroso to curry the EPP's favour for his political ambitions. "I don't why do you get angry, you are not yet the president of the European Parliament, be calm comrade," the Green leader told Schulz. Other smaller groups - the hard-left European United Left (GUE), right-wingers from the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) – were set to join the Greens in rejecting the EU executive. The British Tory-led European Conservatives and Reformists' group (ECR) said they would back it. Each commissioner has already faced a hearing in the European Parliament. Bulgaria's first nominee, Rumiana Jeleva, failed to convince MEPs about her suitability for the job, so she was replaced by Kristalina Georgieva. The parliament's vote on the whole Commission was delayed by three months because ratification of the Lisbon Treaty was not completed until November. Under the treaty, the number of commissioners will be reduced by a third by 2014. So this will be the last time MEPs voted for a Commission with candidates drawn from every member state. The president of the Commission, veteran Portuguese conservative Jose Manuel Barroso, has already been approved for a second term by the EU government leaders.
January 25, 2010, Monday Bulgaria PM Borisov to Meet Merkel on Official Germany Visit 
Photo by EPA/BGNESBulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is on an official visit to Germany Monday. Borisov is going to have lunch with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He is in Berlin at the invitation of the German government. According to the official announcements of the Bulgarian government, the Prime Minister is going to seek German support for Bulgaria’s Eurozone accession, and is going to assure Chancellor Merkel of his cabinets measures to curb organized crime and corruption. Borisov and Merkel are also expect to agree on a date for an official visit of the German Chancellor to Bulgaria. German’s governing party CDU and Bulgaria’s ruling party GERB are close allies within the European People’s Party, and Merkel has declared her all-out support for Borisov a number of times. The Borisov-led delegation to Berlin includes Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Minister of Economy, Traicho Traikov, and Minister of Regional Development Rosen Plevneliev; all of them are going to meet with their German counterparts. On Monday, Borisov is also going to meet with the Chair of Bundestag, Norbert Lamert, and with the Berlin Mayor, Klaus Wowereit. Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova is also part of the delegation, and will meet with the Mayor of the German capital. On Tuesday, Borisov is going to participate in a business breakfast.
11 January 2010, Monday PM: Bulgaria to launch euro zone bid in January 2010 
Photo ReutersBulgaria will launch its bid to join the euro zone at the end of January, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov told The Wall Street Journal in a January 10 2010 interview. The country, however, was increasingly fearful that the debt crisis erupting across the currency bloc could harm its application, Borissov said. Bulgaria will no longer need to tap the International Monetary Fund or international bond markets for emergency financing to plug its budget gap, he said. Separate documents seen by Dow Jones Newswires on January 10 showed the country's Finance Ministry will upgrade its forecasts for 2010 gross domestic product to tip a 0.2 per cent expansion from the previous estimate of a two per cent contraction, The Wall Street Journal said. "We have everything in order and we're ready to start the road to the euro zone by the end of the month. It is now the first foreign policy priority of my government to enter the euro zone," Borissov said. According to The Wall Street Journal, Borissov's words ended months of speculation over when "the former communist state would formally apply to the bloc's exchange-rate mechanism -- a two-year currency stability test for euro hopefuls". The paper said that in terms of its economic and fiscal management, "Bulgaria has become a role model for the other countries in Europe". "Bulgaria's experience has a lot to teach other economies preparing to cut spending," said Nigel Rendell, emerging markets economist at RBC Capital Markets. Borissov's concern, however, was that a debt recession and intensifying debt crisis may set the bar higher for new entrants into the single currency, as nervy euro-zone policy makers opt to consolidate existing borders rather than expanding the bloc. "I am afraid that the debt crisis in newer euro-zone countries will negatively affect us," he said. "We hope that the authorities respect the admission criteria as we've worked hard to get here." "It makes sense for Bulgaria to apply, but I worry that at a time of crisis the European Central Bank could postpone the application on a technical point because they want to consolidate," Ivo Prokopiev, chairman of industry group the Confederation of Bulgarian Employers and Industrialists told The Wall Street Journal. In a separate move likely to be welcomed by markets, Borissov said he would extend the powers of Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov, adding increased supervision of the real economy to his treasury portfolio. Borissov also made it clear that his Government's efforts to guarantee fiscal discipline were not limitless. "If fiscal discipline is still hitting people really hard in the years ahead, then we'll have to reconsider our approach," he said. Bulgaria News Archive Bulgaria News Archive Bulgaria News Archive Bulgaria News Archive Bulgaria News Archive Bulgaria News Archive
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