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

Nabucco: Azerbaijan´s Nassirov Optimistic

Elshad Nassivor, Vice CEO of the Azerbaijani oil and gas group Socar is optimistic to create a connection with Austria´s gas hub in Baumgarten.

May 5, 2012

Improved Business Atmosphere in CESEE Region

According to a survey by OeKB (Oesterreichische Kontrollbank), expectations of investors are beyond the level of January. Austrian exports to the CESEE region may increase.

May 4, 2012

Austrian Post Continues Expansion in CEE Region

With the purchase of “Kolportaz Rzetelny” and a stake in “M&BM; Express”, Austrian Post expands its Network in Poland and Bulgaria.

May 3, 2012

OMV Plans Downsizing of Nabucco

The Austrian oil and gas group works on a downsized version of the natural gas pipeline project. The original version would become too expensive, analysts say.

April 25, 2012

Strabag to Expand in Danube Region

In order to develop the Danube region of Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine, the Austrian construction group expands its hydraulic engineering business.

April 12, 2012

Bulgaria: Massive Penalty at OMV Subsidiary Threatens

Bulgaria´s Minister of Transport claims the maximum penalty for OMV´s subsidiary, which would reach up to € 1.0bn.

March 24, 2012

Nabucco Sees Decision on Combination With Tanap Next Year

Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, the € 7.9bn ($ 10.5bn) project to ship Caspian fuel to Europe, expects to make a decision on whether to link up with the competing Trans-Anatolia Pipeline next year.

March 22, 2012

Bulgaria Suspects OMV, Lukoil, Rompetrol of Price Fixing

Bulgaria’s antitrust regulator said four fuel retailers including the Bulgarian units of OMV AG of Austria, OAO Lukoil , Russian oil producer, Rompetrol Rafinare SA and Petrol AD are suspected of being involved in price fixing.

March 17, 2012

Raiffeisen Energy & Environment Sells Bulgarian Assets

The subsidiary of the Austrian Raiffeisen Leasing sells Bulgarian wind parks to Lukerg Renew.

March 14, 2012

Austria and Bulgaria Clear Way for Business-Friendly Climate

Business representatives from Austria and Bulgaria agreed upon a business-friendly climate and clear rules at a Sofia forum,

March 8, 2012

EVN to Delist Bulgaria Units

Austria's EVN AG plans to delist its two units in Bulgaria just two months after the trade with their shares started on the local stock exchange.

March 7, 2012

EVN: Rise in Sales, Decline in Profits Expected

The Austrian energy company will publish its results for the first quarter on February 28. Earnings should rise, profits should fall, RCB estimates.

February 24, 2012

Baumax Faces Stagnation

The Austrian building center chain records declining sales in real terms in Austria. Growth rates are observed in Eastern Europe.

February 24, 2012

CSC Establishes its CEE Headquarters in Vienna

The U.S. IT service supplier CSC upgrades the Viennese subsidiary as regional headquarters for ten countries.

February 22, 2012

Nabucco Still Competes For Gas in Azerbaijan

The gas pipeline project, in which the Austrian oil company OMV is engaged, now enters the critical phase.

February 21, 2012

Massive Losses Expected for Telekom Austria

Loss expectations range from € 194.9m to € 238m. Sales are anticipated to decline by 4.4%.

February 17, 2012

Telekom Austria: No Expansion in Bulgaria

The Austrian telecommunication group is no longer interested in Vivacom. Problems with competition authorities would have occurred.

February 17, 2012

Bulgarian Vivacom: Telekom Austria Has Only Outside Chances

The second-largest Bulgarian telecommunication enterprise is for sale. Telekom Austria is still interested, in spite of dismal prospects.

February 14, 2012

AUA to Withdraw from Mumbai

Due to the increasing price pressure, Austrian Airlines has to focus on new markets. New target markets are Eastern Europe and the Middle East region.

February 13, 2012

Enso Hydro Looking for Hydro Power Plants in SEE

The Austrian hydro power specialist aims for collecting € 70m of Deutsche Bank´s subsidiary DWS. Currently, enso hydro searches for new hydro power projects.

February 1, 2012

3E Group Grows in Eastern Europe

The Austrian building material company´s revenues were up by 3.2% in 2011. Total sales reached € 546m.

January 30, 2012

Good Export Chances in SEE Region

The Austrian Chamber of Commerce regards South-Eastern Europe as growth region. Importance for the Austrian export industry is seen to increase.

January 28, 2012

Turkey Emphasizes Support for Nabucco

Besides the Russian South-Stream project, Turkey also shows support for Nabucco, where Austrian OMV is strongly engaged in.

January 21, 2012

Telekom Austrian Interested in Bulgarian Vivacom

The second-largest Bulgarian telecommunication enterprise is for sale. Telekom Austria has good prospects to become the buyer.

January 16, 2012

Uniqa: Strong Growth in Premium Income

The Austrian insurance company announced to have achieved 20% growth in Bulgaria.

January 16, 2012

EVN Raises Stake in Bulgarian Subsidiaries

The Austrian energy group acquired additional shares for € 45m in connection with the privatization process in Bulgaria.

December 21, 2011

Bulgaria Starts Sale of Share in EVN Bulgaria

The Bulgarian state withdraws from the Austrian energy company. 33% of the shares in EVN Bulgaria will be privatized.

December 13, 2011

Bulgarian Investment Opportunities Forum in Vienna

On 29 November, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange is hosting an event on the forthcoming privatization of Bulgaria’s energy distribution companies.

November 23, 2011

Conference on European Economic Integration

“European Integration in a Global Economic Setting – CESEE, China and Russia“. Conference jointly organized by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and Suomen Pankki – Finlands Bank.

November 18, 2011

Austrian Wage Increases below European Average

Real incomes are expected to go up by 0.8% next year. The average rate for Europe will be 1.3%.

November 4, 2011

EU Calls for Opening of Labor Markets to Romanians and Bulgarians

The European Parliament wants a solution by the end of 2011 and does not see any negative effects on social welfare systems.

October 27, 2011

Negative Results for S&T

The Austrian IT service provider S&T had to report losses in the third quarter of 2011. Sales were below expectations.

October 22, 2011

Growth of CEE Region Under Threat from Eurozone Crisis

The EBRD research is predicting a slow-down in emerging Europe’s economic growth next year with the continuing eurozone sovereign debt crisis posing challenges to recovery from the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

October 18, 2011

Spectacular Surge in Profits of CEE Technology Companies

The annual Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Program honors the fastest growing Central European technology companies. It is based on the percentage of revenue growth over five-year period.

October 18, 2011

Raiffeisen's Comment on Current Developments of CEE Eurobonds

Eurobond markets felt the deteriorating market sentiment in recent weeks, reported Raiffeisen Research.

October 18, 2011

CEE Less Vulnerable to Severe Economic Crisis

The reaction of the CEE region to the global slowdown should be less severe than in the post-Lehman crisis, as CEE economies are in a completely different stage of their economic cycle and have reduced their imbalances.

October 17, 2011

Vienna Insurance Group Merges Bulgarian Subsidiaries

The Austrian insurance corporation intends to strengthen its market presence via the merger of Bulstrad and Bulgarski Imoti,

October 5, 2011

Upward Trend in CEE Real Estate Market

Erste Group: “CEE Real Estate stocks with upside potential of 15%, profitability lags behind”. The upward trend in CEE is driven by low vacancy, strong occupier demand and low pipeline.

October 3, 2011

BP Plans Rival Project to OMV´s Nabucco

The British Petrol Corporation intends to open up new gas fields in the Caspian region. BP is thus a new competitor for the Austrian OMV.

September 27, 2011

No Common Trend for CEE-Countries

Regarding economic growth, prospects for CEE countries have worsened slightly. However, the region remains heterogeneous.

September 13, 2011

New Road Construction Project in Bulgaria for Alpine

Rehabilitation of 109 km of road - Contract value: € 20 m - 24-month construction period.

September 12, 2011

CEE-Region Remains Essential for Austrian Insurance Companies

According to a current market survey of Fitch, the CEE region plays a central role for domestic insurance companies. There is still growth potential.

September 12, 2011

CEE Economic Forum: Green Trends for Eastern Europe

In 2011, Forum Velden in Carinthia celebrates its 5th anniversary. Since its foundation in 2006, over 1.500 experts, top-managers and politicians from over 25 countries have participated in the Forum.

September 7, 2011

Slow Growth for CEE Telecom Sector Expected

Austrian Erste Group: “Seasonality and mobile data growth as key driver in H2 2011. The industry continues to struggle from slow consumer and public spending – Stabilisation to be expected in 2012.”

September 7, 2011

Raiffeisen Centrobank Reports Increase in Profit

Net interest income declined, while trading profit and net fee and commission income increased substantially. Turbulences on financial markets might burden the bank’s business development.

September 2, 2011

Borealis Doubles Profit and Expects Challenging Market Conditions

The Austrian chemical company delivered strong second quarter results despite a softening market environment.

August 11, 2011

EVN Expands in Bulgaria

The Austrian electricity company invested € 5m in the construction of a solar power station in Bulgaria and increased its stake in a joint venture project in the country.

July 21, 2011

Atrium Executes Settlement Agreement with Multi Investment

As a result of the agreement, the American-Israeli real estate fund will receive net cash of € 64m and generate a profit of € 156m.

July 15, 2011

UniCredit and Raiffeisen Seek to Broker Bulgaria's EVN Stake Sale

Bulgaria is going to sell its minority stake in an electricity distributor operated by the Austrian energy company.

June 3, 2011

AUA Give Up Their Focus on CEE

Austrian Airlines are going to improve their connections to Western Europe at the expense of their destinations in the East. The company is currently serving 46 airports in CEE.

May 30, 2011