The day in 3 news: Gov’t mulls Covid restrictions; FDI falls by 16 mln euro in H1 2021; Economy minister demands new resignations in state-owned companies

VMZ-Sopot has been under-performing during the mandate of the new board of directors, which started in April

The day in 3 news: Gov’t mulls Covid restrictions; FDI falls by 16 mln euro in H1 2021; Economy minister demands new resignations in state-owned companies

VMZ-Sopot has been under-performing during the mandate of the new board of directors, which started in April

© Nadezhda Chipeva


On Thursday, President Rumen Radev said that on August 20 he will hand the second mandate to form government to the second largest force in Parliament - the GERB-UDF alliance. If the formation sticks to the promise of GERB leader Boyko Borissov that it would return the mandate immediately upon reception, this means that Mr Radev will have to hand the third and last mandate to a party of his choosing by 27 August. Since it is unlikely that any of the remaining four parties in the current fragmented Parliament would be able to form a cabinet, the National Assembly would probably be dissolved by mid-September, opening the way for a third general election in 2021. The winner of July 11 snap vote, anti-elite formation There Is Such a People, already failed to propose a cabinet list to parliament last week.

Government mulls tightening of Covid restrictions as hospitalizations rise

Health Minister Stoycho Katsarov and experts from the ministry discussed imposing further restrictions on public gatherings and visits to night clubs, as the number of newly detected Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations is on the rise. According to health authorities, there are over 2,000 Covid-19 patients under medical care as of Thursday, with 174 needing intensive care. "Hospitals would manage treating 6000-7000 people , but it would be hard, as the limiting factor is the number of doctors and nurses available," Mr Katsarov told bTV on Thursday.

FDI down 16,1 mln euro y/y in the first half of the year

Data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) shows that foreign direct investment (FDI) into Bulgaria has dropped by 16.1 million euro in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020. Incoming FDI stocks amount to 657.9 million euro, mostly based on reinvestment of profits, the BNB said. Luxembourg is leader with 457 million euro, while France, Germany and Hungary all invested over 100 million euro each. The most significant FDI outflows go towards the Netherlands (-222 million euro) and the UK (-197 million euro).

Economy minister fires VMZ-Sopot, State Consolidation Company directors

Caretaker Economy Minister Kiril Petkov has demanded the resignations of four of the five board members of the largest state-owned arms plant, VMZ-Sopot, as well as the head of its umbrella firm - the State Consolidation Company. The announcement came after Mr Petkov met representatives of trade unions at VMZ-Sopot. He told the Bulgarian National Radio that VMZ-Sopot has stopped fulfilling its contracts and paying its obligations and has accumulated 3 million euro in losses since its new board of directors took office in April.

On Thursday, President Rumen Radev said that on August 20 he will hand the second mandate to form government to the second largest force in Parliament - the GERB-UDF alliance. If the formation sticks to the promise of GERB leader Boyko Borissov that it would return the mandate immediately upon reception, this means that Mr Radev will have to hand the third and last mandate to a party of his choosing by 27 August. Since it is unlikely that any of the remaining four parties in the current fragmented Parliament would be able to form a cabinet, the National Assembly would probably be dissolved by mid-September, opening the way for a third general election in 2021. The winner of July 11 snap vote, anti-elite formation There Is Such a People, already failed to propose a cabinet list to parliament last week.

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