Sponsored Content
Bulgaria in Austria | Bulgarians in Vienna | Bilateral Relations
Austria and Bulgaria - Read the latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, investment, diplomacy, culture and tourism
Protests in Bulgaria Threaten to Escalate
Despite the resignation of Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov, the protests go on and may turn into riots. The opposition wants to hold new elections.
February 19, 2013
Construction Industry: Polish Output Fell Sharply
In the EU, the construction output was down by 2.7%. Poland and Bulgaria record a substantial decrease in production.
February 19, 2013
Bulgarian Minister of Finance Resigns
Due to the citizens´ protests against the government´s austerity cuts, Simeon Djankov steps down as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
February 18, 2013
Economic Growth: Baltic Countries Ahead
Euro area GDP down by 0.6% and EU27 down by 0.5%. The CESEE countries show mixed results. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia have performed best in 2012.
February 14, 2013
Bulgaria: Inflation Reaches 4.2%
The past 2012 ended with 4.2% annual inflation after in December the reported monthly increase of the price level totalled 0.4%, Raiffeisen Research Reports.
February 12, 2013
Labor Market One of Bulgaria´s Main Problems
The labour market remains among the key problems of the economy, although the increase of the indicator with respect to the values registered in the summer was lower than expected.
February 12, 2013
Bulgaria: Surprisingly High current Account Balance
In November, the current account balance was positive amounting to EUR 89.7 mn, Raiffeisen Research reports.
February 12, 2013
Bulgaria: Bad and Restructured Loans Decrease
In the last month of 2012 the annual rate of increase of the monetary aggregate M3 decelerated again (to 8.5%), after in November it accelerated to 10.1%, Raiffeisen Research reports.
February 12, 2013
Bulgaria: Trade and Industrial Sectors Shrink
In November industrial production contracted at the same rate as in October (1.8%). The volume of output of manufacturing remained unchanged on an annual basis. The real-terms decline of domestic trade accelerated to 7.4% yoy.
February 11, 2013
Satisfying Fiscal Situation in Bulgaria
The 2012 budget deficit stands much lower than planned: 0.5% of GDP. Public debt falls after Eurobond repayment in January 2013, Raiffeisen Research analyzes.
February 11, 2013
CESEE Office Market Shows Solid Fundamentals
CESEE office market is undergoing a stable development; rental levels remain largely solid in most of the region, Erste Group says.
February 11, 2013
Kapsch and Thales Win Contract in Bulgaria
As leader of the consortium, Thales has signed a contract with the Bulgarian railway infrastructure company NRIC to provide electronic signalling and telecommunication technology for the Sofia-Plovdiv railway line.
February 7, 2013
CESEE: Economic Outook Brightens Slightly
According to a survey carried out by OeKB (Austrian Clearing Bank), investors in the CESEE region are more optimistic.
February 6, 2013
Slovak Property Market Recovers
For the first time since 2008, property prices were up in the fourth quarter of 2012.
February 6, 2013
Bulgaria: Public Debt to Decrease in 2013
According to the Bulgarian government, public debt will be reduced by BGN 600m in 2013. The public finance law has been adopted at the second reading.
February 2, 2013
Hungarian Unemployment High, But Slight Downward Trend
Hungarian Ministry of Economics: “Unemployment up in the EU but trend continues down in Hungary.”
February 2, 2013
Bulgaria: Deficit Lower than Planned.
The budget balance under the Consolidated Fiscal Programme (CFP) for 2012 is negative, amounting to BGN 350.2 million, or 0.45% of the planned GDP.
February 2, 2013
Slight Upward Trend for CESEE Countries
The economic crisis in the Eurozone has hit the CESEE countries particularly hard, EBRD reports. 2013 will be a better year.
February 1, 2013
“Operations of Austrian Banks in CESEE Region Are a Success Story“
Regarding the Austrian banking sector, governor of OeNB (Austrian Central Bank) Ewald Nowotny demonstrates cautious optimism.
January 30, 2013
Nabucco Pipeline Is Taking Shape Slowly
The natural gas pipeline commences Front End Engineering and Design services for Nabucco West project.
January 28, 2013
Bayerngas Leaves Nabucco
The German natural gas company does not want to join the pipeline project.
January 28, 2013
IMF: Growth in CESEE Region to Accelerate
In the next three years, economic growth rates in central, eastern and southeastern Europe will return to the pre-crisis level, IMF says.
January 23, 2013
Estonia and Bulgaria Record Lowest Public Debt in EU
Third quarter of 2012 compared with second quarter of 2012: Euro area and EU27 government debt nearly stable at 90.0% and 85.1% of GDP respectively.
January 23, 2013
Nabucco: Decision Will Be Announced by Mid-2013
The Shah Deniz II consortium will announce its decision on the pipeline project in June, Nabucco´s CEO Reinhard Mitschek says.
January 21, 2013
CESEE Property Market Highly Heterogeneous
In Austria, the yield is expected to shrink further. However, the investments will be stable, CBRE Austria says. In the CESEE region, the situation is ambiguous.
January 21, 2013
Strong Political Support for Nabucco
Nabucco countries acknowledge the ministerial declaration extending legal and regulatory framework to Nabucco West.
January 19, 2013
Citizens in CESEE Countries Tend to Pessimism
According to a survey carried out by the opinion research institute marketagent.com, pessimism in the countries of central, east and southeast Europe persists.
January 16, 2013
Fitch: Austrian Banking Industry Depends on CESEE
According to the U.S. rating agency, the situation of Austrian banks strongly depends on the development in central, east and southeast Europe.
January 14, 2013
Bulgarian Capital Account Deteriorates
In Q3 2012 the trade balance deteriorated by € 203.5m compared to the same period of 2011, which was entirely due to the increase of the export of investment goods following the recovery of investment activity in the country.
January 14, 2013
Bulgaria Continues Expansive Monetary Policy
In November money supply measured by means of the aggregate M3 returned to a more accelerated growth: 10.1% on an annual basis, Raiffeisen Research states.
January 14, 2013
Bulgaria: Current Account Turns Into Negative Territory
Expectedly the C/A balance deteriorated in October. Cumulatively from the beginning of the year its value also moved to negative territory: EUR -31.6m.
January 12, 2013
Only Small Budget Deficit in Bulgaria
The cumulative balance remained at -0.1% of GDP. Bulgaria only records a minor deficit of BGN 31m, Raiffeisen Research reports.
January 12, 2013
Bulgaria Enters Deflation Zone
A larger-than-expected correction in food prices led to 0.1% deflation in November, Raiffeisen Research says.
January 11, 2013
Bulgaria: Industrial Output Declines
In October industrial production shrank on an annual basis (by 1.5%) for the second consecutive month. At the same time, manufacturing output marked an increase. Construction output continued expanding.
January 11, 2013
Labor Time: Austrians Rank Second in EU
Only employees in the UK record more weekly working hours. On average, the working time came at 41.8 hours per week in Austria.
January 10, 2013
Central Europe's Relations With the U.S.
Philip H. Gordon from the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S.-Central Europe Strategy Forum, Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, DC remarks on the issue of U.S. relations with Central- and Eastern Europe as follows.
January 9, 2013
Poverty: Romanian and Bulgarian Citizens Most Endangered
Regarding the poverty rate, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain, Greece and Lithuania are significantly above the EU average.
January 9, 2013
Retail Trade: Sharp Decrease in Slovenia and Bulgaria
Volume of retail trade up by 0.1% in euro area in November 2012 compared with October 2012.
January 8, 2013
Bulgaria: Private Households Not to Increase Consumption
According to UniCredit Bulbank, the consumer behavior will remain rather cautious this year.
January 5, 2013
Bulgaria: Budget Deficit Lower than Planned
Bulgaria´s budget deficit is expected to reach about 1.0% of GDP.
December 30, 2012
Bulgaria: Lending Grows Substantially
In November 2012, the annual growth rate of broad money (monetary aggregate M3) was 10.1% compared to 8.6% in October 2012.
December 28, 2012
Bulgaria: Moderate Increase in External Debt
The gross external debt1 amounted to € 36,668.7m (92.8% of GDP2) at end-October 2012 increasing by EUR 823.2m (2.3%) from end-2011 (EUR 35,845.5m, 93.1% of GDP).
December 27, 2012
New Hope for Nabucco
The gas pipeline project is said to get a new major shareholder. In case of the entry of the Shah Deniz II consortium, Nabucco´s utilization would be secured.
December 22, 2012
Nabucco: Official Approval in Bulgaria
Bulgarian Ministry approves Nabucco National Environmental Impact Assessment Report.
December 22, 2012
CESEE: Poverty Grows Considerably
In Europe, one in four citizens is affected by poverty, the Russian newspaper “Rossijskaja Gaseta” states.
December 18, 2012
Labor Costs: Highest Increases in Estonia and Romania
Euro area hourly labour costs rose by 2.0%. In the EU27, labour costs were up by 1.9%.
December 17, 2012
Bulgaria: Budget Deficit Ahead
The January-October budget balance moves to negative territory (-0.1% of GDP), Raiffeisen Research says.
December 17, 2012
Bulgarian Foreign Trade Balance Positive
In September the current account was positive (€ 332.7m), which is typical for that month of the year, mainly due to the realization of revenues from tourism and agricultural exports, Raiffeisen Research states.
December 15, 2012
Bulgarian Labor Market: Participation Rate Grows
A repeated Eurozone recession could additionally deteriorate the state of employment, Raiffeisen Research says.
December 15, 2012
Bulgaria: Lending Growth Close to Freezing Point
The increase in deposits also decelerates. The annual rate of growth of money supply (measured by means of the M3 aggregate) slowed down in October to 8.6% (it was 8.8% in the previous two months), Raiffeisen Research says.
December 14, 2012