Cold industrial autumn ahead
In September, industrial business sentiment in Bulgaria dropped by over 5 points due to reduced production activity and negative forecasts for the coming months, according to surveys by the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
Despite this decline, the overall business climate fell only slightly, by 1 point, as other sectors remained stable or showed improvement. The main challenges for industry include uncertainty and labor shortages, while retail trade was the only sector to report positive expectations, with a 4.7-point increase in business sentiment due to anticipated higher sales and orders.
Parliamentary mayhem risks forfeiture of funds
A major parliamentary disruption on September 26, which involved physical obstruction and sabotage of equipment, has stalled decisions needed to secure EU funding under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).
As a result, Bulgaria risks losing 266 million euro in financial corrections and potentially missing out on 1.4 billion euro in RRP payments, jeopardizing future investment projects.
The joint disruption, co-ordinated by There Is Such a People and Vazrazhdane, reflects deeper political divisions and mismanagement.
Energy storage investment demands security
A new deposit requirement for energy storage capacity has been introduced in Bulgaria, following recent amendments to Ordinance No. 6 on grid connections.
Investors must now pay a 50,000 levs deposit per MW of capacity when connecting to the electrical grid. The measure aims to prevent speculative reservations of capacity and encourage genuine investment in renewable energy storage.
The changes also support the implementation of the 1.2 billion euro ReStore project, which will build energy storage systems with a capacity of 3,000 MWh. This deposit can be made via a bank guarantee or cash, and is refundable once the project is connected to the grid.
Cold industrial autumn ahead
In September, industrial business sentiment in Bulgaria dropped by over 5 points due to reduced production activity and negative forecasts for the coming months, according to surveys by the National Statistical Institute (NSI).