Closer to full Schengen membership
Bulgaria and Romania have a high chance of securing fill Schengen membership in the next couple of days, media outlets reported today, citing sources from the Hungarian Presidency of the EU.
Bulgaria and Romania's full membership will be discussed on October 10 by European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, who, together with Hungary's Interior Minister, will propose to the European Council the removal of land border checks. This was announced at the end of September by Yordanka Chobanova, Head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria.
Currently, Bulgaria and Romania are part of the Schengen area for free movement only by air and sea. Austria has vetoed both countries' full membership.
Park Center Sofia is sold
Sofia's first shopping center, initially called City Center Sofia, is set to change ownership for the fourth time. The Bulgarian company TSH Investment is in the process of purchasing the mall which is now called Park Center Sofia (next to the Hemus Hotel) for an estimated price of between 34 million and 40 million euros.
Equal partners in the TSH company are Trinity Capital and the Plovdiv-based company Hus Invest, owned by brothers Ivan and Alexander Asenov. The previous three sales of the mall occurred between 2006 and 2014, when it was still known as CCS.
Although the deal has not been officially announced yet, it has been trailed for about a month. Approval for the sale is pending from the Commission for Protection of Competition.
In 2023, Trinity Capital also acquired MegaMall in Lyulin.
Bulgarian Academy of Science develops 3D model of human skin
Scientists from the Plant Cell Biotechnology department at the Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, in collaboration with the Metabolomics Laboratory at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), have developed an innovative 3D model of human epidermis, a first for Bulgaria, aimed at research in medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.
The project involves the use of specialized techniques to replicate the complex physiological structure and protective function of the human epidermis. The model allows researchers to conduct advanced clinical studies to test the biological effects and permeability of drugs and cosmetic formulations, reducing the need for animal testing in scientific experiments.
Closer to full Schengen membership