First topic message reminder :

Talking to a Bulgarian recently, he is of the opinion that nothing is moving forward in Bulgaria and people are just giving up trying to improve things. In other words I suppose its a vote of 'no confidence'. Would you agree?
Strangely enough, just recently we have been wondering this as well over things generally. In 8 years not a lot has changed. Maybe a few small things in our village but overall the country seems to be going backwards rather than forwards in the bigger scheme of things generally. We were quite surprised to hear a Bulgarian voicing our thoughts. Bulgaria is testing our hopes for her future.

children , .. children....now you two , play nicely

on the other hand ..bulgarias progress or not , as the case may be , can no way be related to the sate of anything in the uk or any where else in the world..... IMHO

This is very true no country should be compared with any other for the simple reason of politics. Just as we are all different then so are the countries of the world which will also involve culture etc so what goes on in BG shouldn't be compared to what is happening elsewhere in my opinion.

I also think Bulgaria is progressing. A house in our village has been bought by a Bulgarian, they are also renovating it and doing quite a good job - not as us ex-pats would do - It is a step in the right direction, a Bulgarian moving back into a village as opposed to leaving it. Another has had satellite internet installed. The renovations to our village church are also nearly complete. One of the bars in our village was completely renovated and completed earlier this year new windows, new furniture, new shop, air con, dimming lights, proper toilets. The villagers also got together to petition the municipality to sort the road out properly, not just fill in the pot holes, an amount of 560,000 Leva has been mentioned, but we will have to wait and see what happens there. In a village near us 3 houses have recently been renovated.

I notice that some of the lads now have cars as opposed to mopeds or scooters, many have upgraded their cars. One friend even bought an ice-making machine for 240 Leva, I am sure this would have been unthinkable a few years ago!!

The road from Sredets to Burgas is (apart from a few crazy drivers) a pleasure to drive on. The fly-over from the Sozopol road into Burgas is now completed and in use. This will ease alot of conjestion and no doubt prevent many accidents during the peak of the season. The dual carriageways into the city have also been resurfaced. Many of the roundabouts have been planted up with shrubs, flowers and palm trees. The motorway is well underway, and many or the roads leading to it are being repaired. In Sozopol quite a few shells have been completed and even some of the pavements have been repaired. My friends, who were over in May, commented how much it had changed since the last time they were here, just a year ago. The cars in Sozopol are amazing you now see loads of new and very expensive Merc's, BMW's and Porsches.

The farm machinery is much improved since we first came here 5 years ago. One farmer in our village has a John Dere tractor. Even Bulgarians are starting to contact us with enquiries.

I do believe the tourism board is finally starting to get it's finger out!!

I do live not too far away from Tony - so I guess a lot must be happening in our area!

Funnily enough I was going to start a topic recently "
Do you think your village and surrounding area is getting richer?"

yep , the banks giving out credid... loans.... has made a big difference to some people and their possessions...lets hope for their sake it does not all go tits up ! plus the EU, s subsiding to farmers etc

Andy wrote:

This is very true no country should be compared with any other for the simple reason of politics. Just as we are all different then so are the countries of the world which will also involve culture etc so what goes on in BG shouldn't be compared to what is happening elsewhere in my opinion.

Totally agree with you Andy
Esta :Thank you:for the insight to you local area, it looks as if things are going in the right direction

tonyb60 wrote:

Well from someone that lives here I can say that it is improving although slowly. The red tape is still here but no longer so tight, it does not take so long to get a visa, car registered etc. Transport infrastructure is getting (or will get) better as the new highways are being completed. Although not finished the Trakia highway will, in the near future, be finished. This is no longer a dream but a reality. If this is not progression then what is? More stores are coming into BG than ever just look at the new Lidl stores that are opening.

But yes on the down side there are still pot holes But when I was in the UK in May I noticed that there were as many pot holes in parts of Kent as there are in parts of BG. The main road (Motorways) in the UK are also in an alarming state of decay, ruts and ridges all over the place. Parts of the magic roundabout are wearing out and this motorway is the UK's pride and glory. So maybe the question should be changed to is the UK progressing.

Well said Tony Bulgaria is improving very slowly and of course who would know better than yourself as you have been living there for years now. We also have see changes when we first went to Silistra the Dobrich road to Silistra was a disgrace and you will probably remember the big pot holes and worse the big squares cut out and nothing to give you warning a complete nightmare. We I am happy to say there is a new road and it is a pleasure to drive to Silistra now. However, they village we have our villa in is just awful. Someone said to me why don't you pay for a road to be fixed good one eh!!! Funny but I have noticed some pot holes and groves in our roads here in P'boro too So guess this weather is taking it's toll on every country eh!

It is quite funny really as it is not until you start to think about the changes that have happened as to what is progression. Progression is things that are getting better than you had before and in most cases a comparison as to what is happening in other areas.

In our area there has also been a big improvement in Public transport. A lot of the old buses have disappeared to be replaced with newer one's (note I said newer as opposed to new) but a step in the right direction.

the road from balchik to silistra is the best one i have seen in bulgaria, fabulous.
they attempted to tarmac our village and i thought wonderful, five years of mud will disappear, i have never witnessed such strange management of a road, its been done in strips that defy logic. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] i will take a photo tomorrow and show you.

Depends on who you ask, if its the Prime - surely yes. It was recession-shielded to some extent but poor controls on EU derived funding, corruption and lack of policy to boost up spending and revitalize the economy keep it somewhat stuck where it was 5 years ago.

PS: New to the forum, nice place you have set up here. Still hoping someone from the management will get in touch with me to setup a small add ( thats why I registered ).

Regards,
Mario

Hi Mario I have been looking at the possibility of a banner at the top of the forum but as you can see we do not have the space at the moment. As a member who takes part in the forum discussions you can feel free to tell everyone about what it is you do.

I think there should have been a vote for this topic..

1.Is Bulgaria progressing...?.. :Busy:cant the drivers slow down a little bit ...

And yes what abot the massive rise in electric..?

Quote :

Prices of electricity from wind, hydropower and biomass will be increased from July 1, Bulgaria’s State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR), said in a statement Friday.
The intentions for the price changes of electricity from renewable energy sourcesfollow closely the adoption of the Renewable Energy Act, that has been labeled as restrictive to investments in the field.
Biomass electricity prices will grow by 16.41% to BGN 195.03 per MW/h for power plants with a capacity of up to 5 MW/h running on agricultural waste. At present, there are no such plants in Bulgaria, but the country plans to build capacities worth up to BGN 1 B.
The cost of electricity generated by low-head and medium-head hydropower plants with a capacity of 200 KW/h – 10 000 MW/h will increase by over 4.50%.
The sharpest fluctuation will be in prices of electricity from photovoltaics with a capacity of up to 30 KW/p (kilowatts-peaks). Electricity generated by solar power will drop by 17.53-25.39% to BGN 576.50 per MW/h.
The price formation categories of photovoltaics also change, with the previous division of solar parks with a capacity below 5 KW/p and a capacity over 5 KW/p being replaced with three segments of “below 30 KW/p”, “30-200 KW/p” and “over 200 KW/p”.
The decrease in prices of electricity from solar power comes days after the introduction of a ban on the construction of such facilities on fertile lands belonging to 1st-4th category. The regulation was part of amendments to the Protection of Agricultural Lands Act passed at the end of last week.
The final version of the power rates will be approved in end-May. Before that, the tariffs will be discussed at an open session of DKEVR scheduled for May 25.
The price update of energy from Renewable Energy Sources will be the second one for this year. In end-April, Bulgaria’s Renewable Energy Act was revised, obliging DKEVR to adjust prices of RES energy within one month.
Electricity from renewable energy sources is sold at preferential prices in Bulgaria and power distributors and the national power utility NEK are under obligation to buy out the entire output.
The preferential tariffs are calculated against a total value of electricity generated from fossil fuels.
The installation quotas for renewable energy sources themselves are to be determined by the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) each year by the end of June.
Prices are fixed on the basis of 80% of the average sale price of electricity in the previous year, which was BGN 94.27 in 2010, plus a supplement is added. The supplement can be no less than 95% of the one added in 2009. The supplement reflects the inflation for the past year and the 1.27%-plus increase in power rates in the period.
During the latest price update in end-March, electricity from biomass went up by 116.82% to BGN 398.00 per MW/h for power plants with a capacity of 150 KW/h to 500 KW/h operating indirectly through biomass from plant and animal substances.
Energy derived from wood waste is more expensive. For the first time this year, the category has been subdivided in two- electricity from power plants with a capacity of up to 5 MW/h (BGN 252.73/ MW/h) and electricity from wood waste derived through a combined method (BGN 288.04/MW/h). Until now, such plants had a universal tariff of BGN 217.19 per MW/h.
In the meantime, the cost of electricity generated from RES was reduced by an average 1.30% in April.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... enewables/

TNT1 wrote:

I think there should have been a vote for this topic..

1.Is Bulgaria progressing...?.. :Busy:cant the drivers slow down a little bit ...

And yes what abot the massive rise in electric..?

Quote :

Prices of electricity from wind, hydropower and biomass will be increased from July 1, Bulgaria’s State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR), said in a statement Friday.
The intentions for the price changes of electricity from renewable energy sourcesfollow closely the adoption of the Renewable Energy Act, that has been labeled as restrictive to investments in the field.
Biomass electricity prices will grow by 16.41% to BGN 195.03 per MW/h for power plants with a capacity of up to 5 MW/h running on agricultural waste. At present, there are no such plants in Bulgaria, but the country plans to build capacities worth up to BGN 1 B.
The cost of electricity generated by low-head and medium-head hydropower plants with a capacity of 200 KW/h – 10 000 MW/h will increase by over 4.50%.
The sharpest fluctuation will be in prices of electricity from photovoltaics with a capacity of up to 30 KW/p (kilowatts-peaks). Electricity generated by solar power will drop by 17.53-25.39% to BGN 576.50 per MW/h.
The price formation categories of photovoltaics also change, with the previous division of solar parks with a capacity below 5 KW/p and a capacity over 5 KW/p being replaced with three segments of “below 30 KW/p”, “30-200 KW/p” and “over 200 KW/p”.
The decrease in prices of electricity from solar power comes days after the introduction of a ban on the construction of such facilities on fertile lands belonging to 1st-4th category. The regulation was part of amendments to the Protection of Agricultural Lands Act passed at the end of last week.
The final version of the power rates will be approved in end-May. Before that, the tariffs will be discussed at an open session of DKEVR scheduled for May 25.
The price update of energy from Renewable Energy Sources will be the second one for this year. In end-April, Bulgaria’s Renewable Energy Act was revised, obliging DKEVR to adjust prices of RES energy within one month.
Electricity from renewable energy sources is sold at preferential prices in Bulgaria and power distributors and the national power utility NEK are under obligation to buy out the entire output.
The preferential tariffs are calculated against a total value of electricity generated from fossil fuels.
The installation quotas for renewable energy sources themselves are to be determined by the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) each year by the end of June.
Prices are fixed on the basis of 80% of the average sale price of electricity in the previous year, which was BGN 94.27 in 2010, plus a supplement is added. The supplement can be no less than 95% of the one added in 2009. The supplement reflects the inflation for the past year and the 1.27%-plus increase in power rates in the period.
During the latest price update in end-March, electricity from biomass went up by 116.82% to BGN 398.00 per MW/h for power plants with a capacity of 150 KW/h to 500 KW/h operating indirectly through biomass from plant and animal substances.
Energy derived from wood waste is more expensive. For the first time this year, the category has been subdivided in two- electricity from power plants with a capacity of up to 5 MW/h (BGN 252.73/ MW/h) and electricity from wood waste derived through a combined method (BGN 288.04/MW/h). Until now, such plants had a universal tariff of BGN 217.19 per MW/h.
In the meantime, the cost of electricity generated from RES was reduced by an average 1.30% in April.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... enewables/

Sorry TNT but the bit about the Electricity rise is I'm afraid Maybe you would like to start a new thread on this if you want. I'm sure it will bring some debate.

Quote :

Maybe you would like to start a new thread on this if you want. I'm sure it will bring some debate

..Done ....

:Great:Well done TNT1

Is Bulgaria progressing? No ..not according to more than half of the Bulgarians....

Quote :

More than half of Bulgarians polled in a survey in May 2012 saw the situation in the country as “unbearable” and the economic situation as worsening, according to the Open Society Institute.

The survey was done over 11 days in May among more than 1169 people and results compared with previous such surveys done since 2008 to track trends in public opinions.

Two-thirds of adult Bulgarians saw low salaries and unemployment as the most serious problems. The survey found that 19.5 per cent of Bulgarian households were below the poverty line.

Most believed that it was most important to continue reforms in health care, employment policy and incomes and economic growth.

Those polled said that the issues on which the most progress had been made were infrastructure, policing and transport.

If, by Bulgaria’s next national parliamentary elections – expected in summer 2013 – attitudes remain as they are now, there will be four parties in Parliament: the current ruling party centre-right GERB, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Ahmed Dogan’s Movement for Rights and Freedoms and Meglena Kouneva’s Bulgaria for Citizens.

None of these parties would be able to form a government by itself, according to the Open Society Institute May 2012 survey.

Bulgaria continues to suffer mistrust of some of its key institutions. Compared to May 2011, attitudes to Government, Parliament and the courts remain virtually unchanged. There was increased confidence in the President, but this was likely the result of an election of a new head of state, the Open Society Institute said. Rossen Plevneliev took office as Bulgaria’s President in January 2012.

Giving details of the findings of the survey, the institute said that its polls over the past five years had shown sustained negative assessments of overall conditions in the country.

However, compared to May 2011, this year’s survey had found those polled assessed the situation in the country as a little better.

The most positive assessments came from people aged 31 to 45, living in large cities, and people with higher incomes. The most positive ratings came from men who intended voting for GERB inBulgaria’s next national parliamentary elections.

There had been some changes in attitudes to the four governments of recent times, meaning the current GERB administration and its three predecessors.

GERB has been in office since its July 2009 election victory. It was preceded by a tripartite coalition government made up of the socialists, Dogan’s party and the National Movement for Stability and Progress, the last-mentioned the party that was formed in 2001 around former monarch Simeon Saxe-Coburg. Saxe-Coburg’s party was in power from 2001 to 2005, having defeated its predecessor, the centre-right administration headed by then-leader of the Union of Democratic Forces, Ivan Kostov.

The institute said May 2012 had seen a three per cent increase of positive assessments of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s GERB Government since May 2011, rising to a current 36 per cent.

The GERB Government was most strongly supported by younger residents of Sofia and by people with medium to high incomes.

At the same time, the figures in the poll suggested that positive views of the Sergei Stanishev-led tripartite coalition that was in power from 2005 to 2009 had increased, to 29 per cent in May 2012.

Attitudes towards the Saxe-Coburg years were largely unchanged but opinions of the Kostov government had dropped from 25 per cent approval in March 2010 to 17 per cent in May 2012.

The survey said that estimates of the overall economic situation in Bulgaria continued to be very negative, with every second Bulgarian believing that the country’s economic situation has deteriorated and only 13 per cent saying that it had improved.

However, the institute said, it should be noted that in comparison to previous years, there had been a noticeable decline in the negative assessment of the economic situation in Bulgaria, but this decline was due to a gradual but significant increase in the number of people who thought that nothing had changed.

Negative views about Bulgaria’s economic situation were most pronounced among people in small towns and villages and among people with less education as well as the older generation.

Regarding expectations for the development of the economic situation over the next 12 months, there had been a continuous decrease of pessimists and an increase in the proportion of people who do not expect change.

Just more than a third of respondents said that they were not affected by the economic and financial crisis, while close to 21 per cent of respondents said that the most common problem associated with the crisis was reduced salaries.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... able-poll/