The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised Bulgaria for its fiscal policy response and budget for this year. According to the IMF directors, the country's 2021 spending plans maintain support for the economy and strengthen social benefits (See here).

The Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior breached the terms of its grant agreement by using EU money to buy SUVs from older stocks instead of new all-terrain police cars, according to an investigation closed recently by OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office.

The company Intrust EAD, owned by MP Delyan Peevski, on 27 January 2021 signed a contract with United Group for the sale of Vestnik Telegraf EOOD.

The Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has given United Media permission to acquire Vestnik Telegraph EOOD - the media group that publishes the newspapers Telegraph, Monitor, Match Telegraph, Politika and Europost and has shared control over the regional publication Borba. The announcement was made on the antitrust regulator's website.

The general elections in Bulgaria will be held on 4 April. This was revealed in a public address made by President Rumen Radev, in which he announced that he had signed an ordinance setting the day of the vote. The head of state essentially scheduled the elections for a week later than the date of 28 March, which he had initially announced.

The main tasks that the Bulgarian government has to undertake are related to fulfilling the Roadmap commitments resulting from the Bulgarian lev's entry into ERM II, which took effect on 10 July 2020. This is what Minister of Finance Kiril Ananiev said in an interview he gave at the annual Euromoney forum for Central and Eastern Europe, the Ministry of Finance announced on its website. According to him, a National Plan to Adopt the Euro in Bulgaria is being drafted.

No expert can say that the pandemic will be over in March, said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in response to comments on the voting date. He made a surprise appearance at the regular briefing of the National Operative Staff in order to respond to criticism expressed by President Rumen Radev. The measures we employ are the mildest and most sparing for the people's psychological wellbeing, Borissov stated, praising the Staff, and defining it as the most competent.

At the initiative of the head of state, Rumen Radev, the presidency has launched a round of consultations aimed at formulating the necessary steps to ensure fair and transparent election process that will guarantee the health and voting right of Bulgarian citizens.

12 Bulgarian scientists at the Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski” are in the top two percent of the world's best scientists according to a Stanford University ranking.

Mustafa Karadayi was elected to another term as president of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) during the party's annual conference, which was held online for the first time ever this past Saturday.