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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


Bulgaria: Protestors Want Radical Reforms

The atmosphere in the poorest EU country remains tense. The citizens want a new constitution.
February 28, 2013


EVN Suffers from Business in Bulgaria

In the first quarter of its business year 2012/13, the Austrian energy group recorded a decrease in net income. Outlook 2012/13: results from operating activities and Group net profit are expected to be below the prior-year level
February 28, 2013


CEZ: Czech Republic Calls Brussels for Help

After the Czech energy group CEZ has lost its license in Bulgaria, the Czech government wants Brussels to put pressure on Sofia.
February 25, 2013


Bulgaria: Protests Continue in Sofia and Varna

Bulgarian political decisions are afflicted by extreme unpopularity as almost 60 % of the population suffers from immediate poverty. Riots continue in Sofia and Varna.
February 24, 2013


Situation in Bulgaria Remains Tense

After the resignation of the Bulgarian government, the political atmosphere is at a tipping point. The protests continue and are broadening.
February 21, 2013


CESEE Region Still Has Enormous Growth Potential

“CEE growth drivers intact but innovation is needed to start convergence 2.0” Erste Group says.
February 20, 2013


CESEE: Stress of Competition is Growing

CEE significantly more industrialized than euro area (30% vs. 19%) but still needs to catch up in terms of competitiveness.
February 20, 2013


Bulgarian Government Resigns

This step came as a surprise. Before, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov rejected to step down. In April, the country will hold new elections.
February 20, 2013


Bulgaria Cuts Energy Prices

After heavy citizens´ protests, the Bulgarian government has lowered the energy prices by 8%. Moreover, the Czech energy group CEZ loses its license.
February 19, 2013


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