Bulgaria: Pension Boost Restored After Backlash Over Reduced Increase
The Bulgarian government has decided to increase all pensions starting July 1
Romania's Environment Protection Agency has issued permits to US energy giant Chevron to explore shale gas in two blocks near the Bulgarian border.
The permits to explore shale gas deposits using the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) technology have been granted for the Constanta municipality – the blocks of Costinesti and Vama Veche, according the Romanian Environment Ministry, cited by Vesti.bg and APF.
The permits give green light to Chevron to conduct controlled explosions at a depth of 10 and 15 meters on an area of 1 800 square kilometers.
The fracking technology is a thorny issue in many countries, including the US, and has been banned in some.
Bulgarians, particularly those in Southern Dobrudza, have harbored fears that if the Romanian moratorium is lifted, the technology will for sure affect Bulgarian regions close to the Bulgarian-Romanian border and will destroy the soil and poison the waters.
The Bulgarian Parliament adopted on January 18, 2012, an indefinite moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. Thus, Bulgaria became the second EU country to ban test drilling for shale gas using the method. The decision followed a wave of environmental protests.
On January 17, 2012, the Bulgarian government revoked a shale gas exploration permit granted to Chevron for deposits in Northeastern Bulgaria, citing the insufficient proof of the environmental safety of hydraulic fracturing.
The village of Vama Veche is right on the Bulgarian-Romanian border.
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed a law allowing the purchase of two Russian-made nuclear reactors originally intended for Bulgaria's Belene Nuclear Power Plant
Ukraine's parliament has given the green light for the acquisition of two nuclear reactors initially intended for Bulgaria's Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)
For the ninth consecutive year (excluding 2022), the electrical industry remains the largest contributor to Bulgaria's exports, as reported by the Bulgarian Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (BASEL)
European natural gas prices have climbed above €55 per megawatt-hour for the first time in 16 months, driven by colder temperatures across the continent that are increasing demand for heating fuel
Serbian oil and gas company NIS, controlled by Russia’s Gazprom, is considering exiting its operations in Bulgaria and Romania due to ongoing difficulties in both markets
The Russian company Lukoil initiated the process of selling its Bulgarian assets in June last year, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced during a parliamentary hearing
Bulgaria's Perperikon: A European Counterpart to Peru's Machu Picchu
Bulgarians Among EU's Least Frequent Vacationers, Struggling with Affordability