Latest News from Bulgaria

Serbian Tycoon's Bail Refund Demand Disputed

Zoran Ivosevic, a legal expert and former president of Serbia's Supreme court, told BIRN that there was no direct link between the demand by Miskovic's legal team for his bail payment to be refunded and a court ruling that his rights had been violated by extended custody.

Macedonia 'Closes Border with Greece to Migrants'

Greece says Macedonia is no longer allowing migrants to enter the country on their way to Central and Western Europe, ABC news reports.

Skopje officials did not immediately comment, but Athens maintains the border has effectively been sealed off to migrants for several days.

Hungary PM Backs Bulgaria on Refugee Crisis

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban arrives in Sofia on Thursday for a two-day visit, which was not announced in advance, to discuss the state of the EU's external borders.

 Yavor Siderov, adviser to Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva, said Orban and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov would "discuss the refugee crisis and the [passport-free] Schengen [zone]".

Bulgaria 'Still Prime Source of Human Trafficking'

Bulgaria has been a main source of people forcefully taken to Western Europe between 2011 and 2014, a report unveiled by the Council of Europe says, cited by Dnevnik.bg.

Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor Discusses White-Collar Crime with FBI Agent

Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov has met with FBI special agent Davon Mahoney, who works on cases of foreign corruption practices, the prosecuting authority has said.

Mahoney's visit to Sofia has taken place with the cooperation of the US Embassy in Sofia.

Gas Hub, Kozloduy NPP's Units 5-6 Top Agenda of Bulgaria-Russia Committee

An intergovernmental committee between Bulgaria and Russia has discussed Sofia's gas hub project and the modernization of nuclear units in its first session in five years.

Russian is now seen as one of the sources that could pump gas into the distribution center, according to the Bulgarian Economy Ministry's press office.

Protesting Greek Farmers Stage Blockage of Border with Bulgaria

Thousands of Greek farmers on Wednesday rallied at two border crossings between Greece and Bulgaria and elsewhere across their country.

The Ilinden-Exochi border crossing remained sealed off from 11:00 local time (EET) to 14:00, but the blockade was renewed at about 18:00, a Greece-based correspondent of the Bulgarian National Radio says.

Bulgarian PM Says Govt Took Away Billions from Mafia

The "oligarchs and mafia" affected by a crackdown on smuggling and other measures are seeking political support to make up for incurred losses, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has said.

EU Seeks Results From Bulgaria on Corruption

While praising Bulgaria's new reforms strategies, the European Commission has complained of a lack of results in delivering justice and halting corruption and organized crime in its annual country report issued under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, CVM.

Bulgaria Govt Refrains from Calling for Top Judicial Body's Resignation

The cabinet of Bulgaria has refused to urge the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS), the high decisonmaking body of the judiciary, to step down, despite criticism against it in the EU Commission's report published Wednesday.

Governing parties demanded a day earlier that the VSS dissolve itself, amid a number of scandals involving its members over the past days.

EU's 2016 Report on Bulgaria: Key Findings

The European Commission published on Wednesday, January 27, reports on Bulgaria and Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) to summarize the two countries' progress in 2014 in areas such as judicial reform, fighting corruption and (in the case of Bulgaria) fighting organized crime.

Bulgaria's November Gross Foreign Debt Falls 12% from End-2014

Bulgaria's gross foreign debt has decreased by 10.4% year-on-year in November 2015, reaching EUR 34.54 B equivalent to 77.4% of the projected 2015 GDP, the country's central bank announced on Wednesday.

The end-November figure was also 12.2% lower than the gross foreign debt at the end of 2014, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly debt report.

Bulgarian Energy Regulator Expects 20% Drop in Natgas Price in Q2

The price of natural gas in Bulgaria is expected to fall by about one-fifth from the beginning of April, reflecting a sustained decline in global oil prices, the head of the country's energy regulator has forecast.

Bulgaria relies almost entirely on imports of Russian gas to meet its needs.

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