Bulgarian trade unionists defended Friday the existence of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) after the worthiness and structure of Bulgaria's major scientific institution was recently questioned in public forums by sociologists.

The "Higher Education and Science Syndicate" of the Confederation of Independent Bulgarian Syndicates stated Friday that BAS created 60% of Bulgaria's scientific research and products, which made their way to international science journals.

The Syndicate also cited data from the US Scientific Information Institute which ranks BAS 596th out of 3 482 scientific institutions all over the world. Another ranking of the UNESCO European Center placed BAS 55th among the 100 leading scientific institutions in Europe for 2007.

The trade unionists point out that BAS provides the Bulgarian state and economy with invaluable meteorological, hydrological, seismic, and geomagnetic information and research.

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences was set up in 1869, and presently has 86 scientific institutes with almost 12 000 employees.

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