Bulgaria

Bulgaria ranks 13th in size of its shopping mall space in Europe, a report has shown.

Data quoted by British newspaper The Guardian suggest that Bulgaria, which is often described as the EU's poorest country, is positioned at the upper part of the list.

Bulgaria urgently needs to modernize its air force, in the light of the situation in Ukraine, said Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin. 

According to him, the country needs to reorganize its military air force and buy new type of fighter jets, in order to terminate its dependence on Russia for their technical maintenance. 

Bulgaria's government has introduced changes to the Investment Promotion Act implementation rules lowering priority investment projects in manufacturing certification thresholds.

Incentives will be provided to investors in the sectors of manufacturing, industrial zones and technology parks, the government press office announced, cited by Dnevnik.

The state will most probably participate in the second tender for the bankrupt fertilizer plant Chimco AD, also known as Himko AD, in the northwestern Bulgarian city of Vratsa.

Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev commented on the case of Chimco AD during a sitting of the parliamentary energy committee.

Bulgarian lawmakers adopted at first reading changes to the recently-approved Election Code, adding one member to the Central Electoral Commission.

The election watchdog will increase its staff from 19 to 20 if the measure voted on Thursday gains further support.

Bulgaria's mountain resort Bansko is in The Telegraph's World's top 20 places for the good life, ahead of Paris and Tuscany.

According to the newspaper, it is in the number three spot, below Andalusia in Spain and Gascony in France. 

Bulgaria's Parliament will hold a first-reading discussion of a set of amendments to the Energy Act concerning the South Stream gas pipeline project.

The registration of parties for the European Parliament elections on May 25 with Bulgaria's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) starts Thursday.

The deadline for the registration of parties and coalitions is April 9, including, according to reports of Sega daily.

Three power distributors operating in Bularia have demanded an increase in prices starting July 2014.

Czech-based CEZ and Energo-Pro have insisted that prices go up 13-14%, while Austrian EVN requested an 8% hike, BGNES news agency has reported, citing Bulgarian energy watchdog DKEVR's head Boyan Boev.

Bulgaria will receive EUR 133 M from the European Union, which will subsidize vine-growing and wine production under a new operational program.

Krasimir Koev, who heads Bulgaria's Vine and Wine Agency, said that the new program was signed Wednesday, the website Expert.bg reported.

Upon receiving EU funds, new vines are to be planted across Bulgaria.