During the late 1990s and most part of the 2000s, CEE countries reformed their tax systems with two key characteristics: reducing the relative burden of direct taxes and – probably more distinctly, at least for the rest of the developed economies – introduction of single personal income tax rates.
The current state of the Bulgarian judiciary facilitates a poor accountability of the Prosecutor General, who is essentially immune to criminal prosecution and practically cannot be suspended and dismissed from office.
During the transition towards liberal democracy and a market economy, some countries from the former Eastern Bloc managed to successfully mimic the model that had already been proven to be successful in the West – a multiparty democratic system, combined with mostly free market capitalism.
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.
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 liberalization of the Bulgarian power market has been characterized by constant external (the European Commission) and internal (private stakeholders) pressure. Regardless, the government has shown prevailing reluctance to take any serious actions.
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.
Fiscal decentralization is often viewed as a niche issue that mostly concerns administrative and regional development policies. However, it has broader social and economic implications, which are often overlooked, especially in countries with a heavily centralized government structure such as Bulgaria.
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.
