IMF Concludes Regular Mission in Bulgaria, Recommends Restoring VAT to Pre-Pandemic Levels
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has wrapped up its regular mission in Bulgaria
HOT: » Assessing the Legacy of Bulgaria's "Denkov" Cabinet: Achievements, Failures, and What Comes Next
Bulgaria is facing a decision about what to do with pipes of South Stream left useless after the project was abandoned, the BBC reveals in a special report from the country's "maritime capital" Varna.
Giving its account on the developments of the past ten days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the project was over, the BBC points out that, just like the fate of pipes, the details around South Stream have always been "a bit of a mystery anyway," talking to a local journalist and Varna residents.
"Even in Varna, South Stream always felt more like a political project than a viable economic one," the author, Chris Morris, notes.
The Black Sea cost feels now "like another front line" in the past twelve months' standoff between Russia and the EU.
The BBC quotes Iliyan Vasilev, energy specialist and former Bulgarian ambassador to Moscow, as saying Russia has overplayed its "ability to offer material financial incentives to the political elite" and has lost the "ability to change the course of Bulgarian politics and history too."
At the same time Bulgarian links with Russia "run deep," Morris notes citing examples of business ties, Russian-owned properties at the Black Sea and "a shared cultural heritage".
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Brazen Bulgarian gangs "terrorise the elderly and rob them over their life savings with increasingly aggressive phone scams nettling millions of euros," according to an AFP story.
The prospect of US President Donald Trump's moving closer to Russia has scrambled the strategy of "balancing East and West" used for decades by countries like Bulgaria, the New York Times says.
Bulgarians have benefited a lot from their EU membership, with incomes rising and Brussels overseeing politicians, according to a New York Times piece.
German businesses prefer to trade with Bulgaria rather than invest into the country, an article on DW Bulgaria's website argues.
The truth about Bulgaria and Moldova's presidential elections is "more complicated" and should not be reduced to pro-Russian candidates winning, the Economist says.
President-elect Rumen Radev "struck a chord with voters by attacking the status quo and stressing issues like national security and migration," AFP agency writes after the presidential vote on Sunday.
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