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In the end of October, two months earlier than planned, Danube Bridge 2 started working, linking the Bulgarian town of Vidin with the Romanian Calafat. First to try the new bridge were Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, and his Romanian counterpart Victor-Viorel Ponta. “Completion of this bridge sends a strong signal from young EU Member States towards Europe", the Commissioner said. Locals hope that the new bridge will help economy in the region. The town of Vidin is one of the poorest in Bulgaria with unemployment reaching up to 22%. Most of the young people leave the city as students. “I hope that the new bridge will bring positive changes to the region. I hope more jobs would be opened,” an unemployed young man says. “It would be good for the city if more visitors come here. The road is not going through the city but I hope that more tourists will visit it,” adds a young woman. The hope is the newly built bridge, some 8 kilometers north from the town. Rosen Raikov is one of the construction workers on it. He has been working abroad for a long time but returned to his native city of Vidin. However, his views about the future of the city are not very optimistic.

Bulgaria is a responsible and stable EU Member State, Bulgarian EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said during the 7th annual meeting between Bulgarian government and the business. The meeting went under the motto “Big questions for 2013.” Entrepreneurs demanded measures for better business climate in the country, while the government vowed to provide stability. Bulgaria could absorb 45 billion euro by 2020, Bulgarian President Rossen Plevneliev has announced. He also proposed a national package of measures for the absorption of available EU funds to be created. All political parties should reach an agreement over the Bulgaria 2020 Strategy.  The aim is the strategy to remain the same if governments changed. The plan also aims at Bulgaria absorbing 2.5 billion euro annually. Here is more from President Plevneliev.

According to data from the Bulgarian National Association Essential Oils, Perfumery and Cosmetics the price of the Bulgarian rose oil has reached EUR 6000 for a kilogram in 2012. The price of this product saw an increase of nearly 50% over the last 3 years, as it was around EUR 4200 in 2009. According to the General Executive of the association Nikolina Uzunova there are several reasons for the significant increase in the price of the rose oil. On one hand this is due to the increased expenses of the companies, which make this product and the higher price of the rose flowers. On another hand the increased price is due to the economic crisis and the difficulties the companies are facing when applying for bank loans to develop this business. The bank loans have become more expensive over recent years and this has reflected on the price of the final product, because expensive loans mean higher expenditures for the Bulgarian manufacturers. Another important factor which has influenced the price of the rose oil is the climate change, which led to lower yields, less oil produced and higher price of this product. Due to the good weather conditions the total output of rose oil in 2012 came to 1800 kilograms, which is 15% more than the oil produced in 2011.

In the period January – October 2012 the Bulgarian exports to third countries increased by 11.1% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year and amounted to 13.9 Billion Levs while the imports increased by 12.8% and added up to 17.3 Billion Levs. In the first ten months of 2012 the total value of all exported goods (both for third countries and EU) amounted to 33.8 Billion Levs and compared to the corresponding period of 2011 the exports increased by 2.2% while the total value of all imported goods reached 41.6 Billion Levs and grew by 10.8%. The Report

Shanghai: BYD Co Ltd , the Chinese carmaker backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, will launch a joint venture in Bulgaria to produce electric cars and buses, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. BYD and the Bulgarian energy firm Bulmineral signed the agreement on Tuesday /December 12, 2012/  to build an auto assembly plant in Breznik, a small town about 50 km west of Sofia, the report said. The 50-50 joint venture will be named Auto Group Motors and is expected to deliver its first sample electric bus in February 2013, Xinhua quoted Bulmineral chief executive Alexander Usachev as saying.