Bulgarians for Europe but not in these terms
The majority of Bulgarians do not question the European affiliation of the country, according to a study by the Alfa Research agency.
About 60% of Bulgarians maintain their categorical support for Bulgaria's membership in the European Union and are not looking for another geopolitical alternative. 21% of respondents have a negative attitude towards membership, and 19% answer that their attitude is neither positive nor negative.
At the same time 12% of Bulgarians state that they fully approve of the way in which the EU is governed to date, 42% - only somewhat , and 39% - are definitely dissatisfied.
2023's export drops
Last year, Bulgaria exported goods worth a total of 86.5 billion levs. This is 6.9% less than the previous year, with Bulgarian exports performing poorly for most of 2023. The reasons are the lower prices of most commodities, especially oil and grain, the reduced amounts of electricity and fuels and the stagnation of economic activity in Europe.
However, there is good news in the data - the largest commodity group in Bulgarian exports is machinery, parts and equipment, which reports growth of over 7% on an annual basis to over 20 billion levs. There is growth in the sales of various finished products , and these are the two commodity groups with the greatest added value for the economy.
Bulgarian company to Slovakia
The Bulgarian company euShipments' stake was aquired by the Slovak fulfillment operator Swiss point data to its logistics group. The deal is now for a minority stake with a majority option. This is the fourth deal since the beginning of 2023 for the Ruse-based company. The company created by Svetlozar Dimitrov and Lora Dimitova attracted the equity investment fund BlackPeak Capital as a partner in 2022 (see box). The price of the transactions is not disclosed.
Swiss point data was established in 2002, works in the field of e-commerce fulfillment and logistics and is one of the leading operators in Slovakia. It is based in the capital Bratislava, and its fulfillment center is located 15 minutes from there, in the small town of Senets. Thanks to this, the Slovak company is valuable with its location, and after the deal it will offer its customers the services of more than 50 courier companies in Europe and 600 delivery methods.
