OECD

Acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev outlined Bulgaria's aspirations to adopt the euro by 2025 during a meeting with ambassadors from EU member states, the US, the UK, and Switzerland. The caretaker government emphasized its commitment to ensuring fair and democratic elections while simultaneously pursuing key international policy goals.

Greece imposes a higher income tax on all types of households than most countries in the world and of course the OECD average. Yet the greatest distance is recorded - higher than 10 percentage points - in families with children, especially in those with the lowest family income.

In the run-up to the European parliament elections in June, many Greeks are focussed on what for them is the big issue: finding a home.

Soaring rents, record-breaking numbers of tourists and a surge in foreign investment in property all mean that getting affordable housing here is an uphill task.

And thousands of people face the same challenge.

The Organizations for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has lifted its GDP growth forecast for the Turkish economy for 2024 from a previous 2.9 percent to 3.4 percent.

Investment activity is expected to remain strong partly due to the ongoing reconstruction following the 2023 earthquake, the Paris-based organization said in in its latest quarterly report, released on May 2.

The Greek economy remains resilient and is expected to grow at a rate of 2% in 2024 and 2.5% in 2025 as rising employment and real wages and strong tourism boost consumption, according to the OECD's six-monthly report.

Despite the slowdown in new job growth, the employment rate and labour force shortages remain at historically high levels, it was pointed out.

In the second reading, the parliament endorsed a bill to ratify the agreement for Bulgaria's involvement in the OECD Program for Ukraine, accompanied by a voluntary financial donation of 60,000 euros (117,350 BGN).

The newly appointed Acting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lyudmila Petkova, has reaffirmed the country's commitment to joining the Eurozone, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and achieving full-fledged Schengen membership.

The new acting finance minister, Lyudmila Petkova, unveiled the budget for the upcoming elections, which amounts to BGN 100 million. Petkova, who was welcomed to the finance ministry by her colleague Asen Vassilev, emphasized that organizing the elections is a top priority for her, alongside Bulgaria's goals of entering the Eurozone, the OECD, and the Schengen area by land routes.

In an important stride towards global transparency and cooperation in tax matters, Bulgaria has received a laudable rating of Largely Compliant from the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (GFTEITP).

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mariya Gabriel, has underscored Bulgaria's commitment to its accession to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as a top foreign policy objective.