Bulgaria

Just before Christmas, it became clear that the prime minister and the two major labor unions had signed a memorandum which not only prevents raising the retirement age, but also fundamentally changes the pension model of Bulgaria. Noteworthy, the main agents behind this decision were the same people who in 2010 decided to steal 100 million leva from professional pension funds, thus breaking the Constitution.

It has already been 25 years since Bulgaria started its unsteady transition to a market economy after a long period of Communist rule. However, our society is yet to experience the true benefits of liberal democracy, as well as arguably – capitalism itself.

On June 21, BNB announced that it will fulfill its mission at CCB within a month, by July 21. By then it promises that CCB will have either a new ownership structure or a strategic investor, or else be taken by the only state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB, with about 1% market share).

Greeks are preparing a new emission of their bonds. Although only three years but they should bring 2.5-3 billion euro to the country.

The EU is no longer the abstraction it was in the beginning of the crisis. For many Europeans the crisis turned the Euro from a convenience into an issue, the Greek – from exotic and hospitable people into lazy parasites, and the English – from key allies into awkward partners.

The EP parliamentary elections in Bulgaria took place in the midst of what can only be called a crisis of public representation.

Bulgaria became a member of the EU, it became a member of NATO, but still, I don\'t think that the expectations that everybody had when it joined the EU in 2007 were matched to the full extent.

Republikon Institute used data available from Eurobarometer to construct three categories among voting-age population in Europe: eurosceptics, who are dissatisfied with Europe; “soft eurooptimists”, who, in general, are comfortable with the depth of European integration, and “federalists”, who would give more power to Brussels. The Institute then looked at the ratio of these categories in different countries – with a special focus on Central Eastern Europe.

The one thing which is clear is that if the Oresharski government continues to cling to its imprudent and populist line of action, it won’t be long before we see more and more representatives of those remaining 40% out on the streets as well.

In the long term (after 2020), the removal of direct payments should be a priority both for Bulgaria and for the EU as a whole, as only this way would the proper market-oriented development of the sector and the free competition between farmers from different member states be ensured.