IME

Over the past 10 years, the Bulgarian economy has changed dramatically. The manufacturing sector is gradually shifting towards higher value added production. The number of employed in traditional industries, for instance the clothing industry and furniture manufacturing, has dropped significantly.

There are clear reasons why Silicon Valley or Shenzhen are synonymous with high technologies - they are the place where entrepreneurs and businesses in this field have created their ecosystem, and accordingly attract those who want to break into the industry.

French President Emanuel Macron addressed the citizens of the EU is a special letter, entitled “For European renewal”, published simultaneously in select media in all member states. This move by Macron is not surprising.

The fate of the “mobility package” is, however, far from sealed – the final decision on it will be taken not by the current, but the next composition of the European parliament, which may turn out to be more welcoming towards competition.

Forth year in a row, the Regional Office of Friedrich Naumann Foundation for East and Southeast Europe (FNF SEE), together with a group of Bulgarian investigative journalists, gathered examples of abuse of public money – both of the Bulgarian and European taxpayer.

Last week’s events give some hope that the deep crisis which has gripped Venezuela’s economy in the past few years could end, or at least that the country may head towards economic recovery soon. It is, however, worthwhile to again review the dimensions and the causes of the crisis.

In order for the EU to prosper as a political, economic and social construct, it needs to be more competitive – including in the field of tax policy, and also to respect sovereignty and find unanimously agreed solutions on major issues.

In August, the Bulgarian government adopted a detailed action plan for joining ERM II and the Banking Union and there were some changes1 to the Bulgarian National Bank Act that also seem to lead in this general direction.

The presentation of the recently published ECB and EC reports was highly anticipated by Bulgarians, as the Bulgarian government\'s intention is to officially sign up for the eurozone waiting room by the end of June.

Like many other recent EU initiatives, the \"Link Tax\" targets online giants such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter in an attempt to share some of their colossal earnings with those they depend on. The good intentions will most likely lead to further encapsulation of the market, increasing barriers to entry.