On Tuesday, BSP returned the third and last unfulfilled mandate to form a government to the President. The 2021 National Census' first stage was launched online, but hit teething problems early on following an attack from hackers, which slowed the website, and system error, which prevented users from registering a profile with their name and identification number.
Record 9.9 percent GDP growth for Q2 2021 compared to Q2 2020
Bulgaria's GDP for the second quarter of 2021 stands at a record-breaking 9.9 percent as compared to the same period in 2020, National Statistics Institute (NSI) announced on Tuesday. Compared to the first quarter of the year, this is a 0.6 percent increase - 0.2 percent higher than the early estimates of NSI from mid-August. The rise in GDP is primarily driven by the services sector, exports and individual consumption. This is the highest rate of annual quarter to quarter GDP growth in Bulgaria's post-socialist history.
Pension supplements from GERB, MRF, BSP risk overwhelming state budget
GERB and MRF members of the General Assembly of Parliament unexpectedly proposed new schemes for increasing pensions following those pushed by caretaker Finance Minister Assen Vassilev and approved by the Budget Commission of the institution a week earlier. Instead of an overall 12.5 percent increase of all pensions bar the minimum, which had to be raised to 185 euro, the two parties - backed by BSP, decided to call for new monthly supplements to pensions of 50 and 60 euro. Mr Vassilev accused the three parties of attempting to "blow up" the budget, as the supplements might be voted - and approved - separately from the overall increase of pensions advocated by the Finance Minister. This would mean an almost doubled unplanned increase of pensions, weighing down the state budget.
Caretaker gov't donates spare AstraZeneca shots to Bhutan, attracts GERB criticism
Sofia is donating 172,500 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Bhutan, the caretaker government announced on Tuesday. The decision comes amid continued low demand for the Oxford jab in Bulgaria and fears that the remaining supply might expire. The decision was opposed by GERB, with MP Dr Daniela Dartikova accusing the caretaker government of stalling the vaccination campaign. Health Minister Stoycho Katsarov objected, saying that the caretaker cabinet had been trying to rescue the campaign following the failure of the previous government.
On Tuesday, BSP returned the third and last unfulfilled mandate to form a government to the President. The 2021 National Census' first stage was launched online, but hit teething problems early on following an attack from hackers, which slowed the website, and system error, which prevented users from registering a profile with their name and identification number.
