Economic development

Bulgaria should not think of catching up with the average European level in the next 15 years, Prof. Viktor Yotsov, from the Institute for Economic Research at BAS, told bTV. He is the head of the team who drafted the Annual Report on Economic Development and Policies in Bulgaria.

There is growing interest in technology for the implementation of smart cities projects, according to a new report by IDC, which provides a forecast for the market in the current and near years.

Turkey provided official development assistance worth $21 billion to 170 countries from 2010 to 2016, according to data from the state development aid agency.

Since the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Greece and its creditors in 2010, one word has been the central point of reference: "conditionality." In other words, the conditions attached to the loans from our European partners and the International Monetary Fund are based on a certain logic: money for Greece in order for it not to go bankrupt and cover its current expenditures, as

Central and Eastern European countries have become stuck in a "middle-income trap" and need new growth strategies and infrastructure to kick off again, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Wednesday, adding that Greece, Slovenia and Kazakhstan have made progress with privatizations. [Reuters]

One of the Investment Companies, owned by Bill Gates, made USD 80 million worth of investment in land which is 45 minutes away from Phoenix, Arizona. It is a desert location with the conditional name Belmont, which in the future will become an innovative city of the future, reports kaldata. 

According to the Bloomberg news agency, a Greek official today left open the possibility of the country needing more fiscal measures in 2018, speaking to reporters. The same official stressed that the government is opposed to the IMF’s request to conduct a new AQR assets for banks.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged the International Monetary Fund to show "good faith" in upcoming Greek debt talks.

"The IMF's role in the end of these talks must be in good faith and without adding further conditionality," Macron told journalists in a joint news conference in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble was categorical regarding a possible debt reduction for Greece in an interview to newspaper “Mannheimer Morgen”, according to a Reuters news agency report. The German politician, who is in the midst of an election campaign, said initiating talks on debt relief would send a wrong message to Athens when the Greek economy was on the recovery.

Greece must press ahead with implementing its reforms-for-aid program and become more competitive, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was quoted as saying, adding that debt relief for Athens was "currently" not on the agenda.