The Ministry of Finance publishes the final data on the implementation of the Consolidated Fiscal Program (CFP) as of the end of April. Total revenues, grants and donations under the CFP as of the end of April amounted to 24.47 billion BGN, or 27.1% of the planned amount for the year. This represents an increase of 1.7 billion BGN. (7.5%) compared to the same period in 2024, driven mainly by tax revenues, which grew by 13.3%. At the same time, non-tax revenues remained almost unchanged, and grants and donations by 655.7 million leva less. Expenditures under the CFP as of April amounted to 26.39 billion leva, or 27.3% of the annual plan. However, if we exclude a one-time transaction from February 2024. at a cost of 1.2 billion BGN, the corresponding growth in expenditures reached 12.9% (3.02 billion BGN) - mostly for social payments, salaries, subsidies and capital expenditures. As a result, the budget balance is negative - a deficit of 1.91 billion BGN, or 0.9% of the forecast GDP. For comparison - a year earlier, the CFP was in surplus of nearly 600 million. BGN, which was in line with long-term trends. The main reason for the reversal is the shortfall in revenue collection. According to some forecasts, the shortfall on this line could reach or even exceed 6 billion BGN by the end of the year. Particularly noteworthy is the discrepancy between the projected growth of over 25% in the medium-term budget forecast and the reported performance of barely 7.5% as of April. In the case of tax and social security revenues, the shortfall is even more significant - a forecast of 20.6% versus an actual 13.3%. This puts the Ministry of Finance in a position where it is forced to postpone or limit certain expenditures - including transfers to budget structures, project payments and even statutory increases in public sector salaries. The aim seems to be to show fiscal stability at least until the middle of the year - before the decision on the Eurozone.

The state forest has increased by a total of 9160 decares from the 5 campaigns conducted over the past 8 years to purchase such territories. Their goal was to ensure the year-round maintenance of the healthy state of the forests and their protection from encroachments, fires and other adverse impacts by joining small forest properties to the state forests, whose owners do not have the ability or desire to manage and care for them. From the beginning of the first campaign in 2016 to 2024 inclusive, the largest total area of ​​the purchased forest territories is in the area of ​​operation of the "South-Central State Enterprise" - Smolyan (2,706 decares), the "South-Western State Enterprise" - Blagoevgrad (1,767 decares) and the "North-Central State Enterprise" - Gabrovo (1,605 decares). The average age of the forests in the property in the municipality of Smolyan is 60 years - mainly of Scots pine, with the main part of them being predominantly of artificial origin - crops. State forestry enterprises do not receive funding from the state budget for the implementation of the functions assigned to them by the Forestry Act, but are supported by revenues from their economic activities, predominantly from the sale of wood harvested during the management of the state forests that are provided to them for management. When launching the fourth campaign for the purchase of forest territories, 2 million leva were set aside for this purpose. During the previous three campaigns, transactions were finalized for the purchase of a total of 832 properties with a total area of ​​4253 decares, for a total value of 3.168 million leva. The value is determined on the basis of an appraisal prepared by a qualified independent appraiser, and the costs of carrying out the appraisal are at the expense of the buyer - the relevant state enterprise. According to data for 2023 According to the latest report of the Executive Forestry Agency, the distribution of forest areas by type of ownership is as follows: state forest areas are 2,889,748 ha, forests managed by the Ministry of Environment and Water, which include reserves and national parks, are 172,362 ha, and municipal forest areas are 441,271 ha. There are a total of 381,068 hectares of forests owned by private individuals, and a total of 59,485 ha by companies and religious communities.

The concessionaire of Sofia Airport – “Sof Connect” – will have to start paying its concession fees from the beginning of next year, announced the Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov. For the last 20 years, the state-owned operator of the airport has paid 88.6 million euros to the state, which is 4.5 million euros per year. Shortly after the start of the concession, in the spring of 2021, the then-outgoing government of Boyko Borisov voted for a 10-year postponement of the concession fees due to the reduced passenger flow. “Sof Connect” owes concession fees in the amount of over 79 million euros (over 154.8 million leva) for the first three years of the 35-year concession alone. They must be paid in two equal installments only in the period 2046-2048. The concessionaire will pay in the manner stipulated when the concession was signed in 2020. At that time, a minimum fixed amount of just over 24.5 million euros was fixed, or 32% of the total concession revenues for the relevant year. Thus, the concessionaire pays the larger of the two amounts each year. If 32% of the revenues exceed the fixed amount, the percentage is charged. Otherwise, the fixed minimum fee is paid. If a new agreement is actually signed to regulate the new payments from next year, the deferral granted by GERB in 2021 will be for only 5 years, not 10. Most likely, the amounts due for these 5 years will be paid during the last 5 years of the concession.

Bulgarian energy technology company Blue Bird Energy is working on a project to build small modular reactors in Bulgaria. The company, in which Glavbolgarstroy and Assarel Medet are shareholders, is using the most advanced technology in this field in the world – BWRX-300 – developed by US-based GE Hitachi. Small modular reactors, which are one of the most commented technologies in the energy sector recently, could not only support the country’s energy security, but also create even better conditions for the development of the competitiveness of Bulgarian industry, the construction of data centers, gigafactories and other high-tech production related to artificial intelligence.

The construction of the high-class multifunctional building Sofia Verticale has started. It is located on General Eduard I. Totleben Blvd., right next to the Astoria Hotel /former Rodina Hotel/ and will offer buyers 4 underground levels and 17 above-ground floors. Office and retail spaces are planned from the 1st to the 9th floor, while 52 apartments with city views will be located from the 10th to the 17th floor. It is expected to be fully completed within 36 months. Realto Group companies are the exclusive sales partner. The Sofia Verticale building is designed to receive the highest level of energy efficiency certificate, LEEDS Platinum. The apartments will be equipped with Smart Home systems and will be included in the building's BMS system. It has been designed in unison with the Astoria Hotel to contribute to the homogeneous and aesthetic urban appearance. The volume of the building is visually divided into two parts, in accordance with the functionality (office and residential part). Investors are Todor Terziev, Nikolay Borisov and Georgi Kostadinov through their company "Belenski Invest". The architecture is entrusted to "Cholakov Gongalov Architects" and arch. Cholakov, the leading designer is "A 3" and arch. Simeonov, and the construction supervision is taken over by "I Sof Consult" and Stanislava Lazarova.

One of the biggest businessmen in Gotse Delchev – Mehmed Kapanak, is building a huge poultry slaughterhouse in the Mochura area with a capacity of 10,000 birds per day, equivalent to 14 tons of carcass meat. On a plot of 5279 sq.m., owned by Kapanak and long ago designated “for the food industry”, the businessman planned the poultry slaughterhouse back in 2012, when the mayor of the municipality authorized the preparation of a development plan for the investment, but the site never started. Low-rise development is planned, with buildings up to 10 m high. The built-up area of ​​the property will be about 1500 sq.m., and at least 20% will be greening. In addition to the slaughterhouse, there will be a packing and packaging workshop, a warehouse for finished products, an administrative building, a fire tank, a parking lot for 12 cars and a wastewater treatment plant. Mehmed Kapanak, who is from the village of Breznitsa, runs the poultry slaughterhouse with his company "Markez" OOD, through which he develops his main activity - sausage production. His sausage workshop is also in the Mochura area. Mehmed Kapanak became famous in 2011, when he was a municipal councilor and decided to buy the Gotse Delchevo hotel "Nevrokop" from the Plovdiv company "Akum". The hotel was agreed for 1 million euros and the councilor even put down 100,000 euros to guarantee the deal. The former Nevrokop Metropolitan Nathanael snatched the hotel from him, buying it from Plovdiv residents for 1.3 million euros. 4 years later, Kapanak bought the "Dinamo" bus station in the city for 800,000 leva.

A total of eight companies participated in the public procurement of "Mini Maritsa-Iztok" for the construction of a photovoltaic power plant complete with batteries for the company's administrative building. The project is for nearly 400 thousand leva, and the companies' offers were opened on June 10. These are "Rezonas" EOOD, "Gamma Solar 1" EOOD, "ST Cleaner" EOOD, "MAT" EOOD, "Prostream Group" EOOD, "R and G Projects" EOOD, "PM Electrical" EOOD, "Tral" EOOD. The green project of the state-owned mines envisages the construction of a photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 120kWp and an electricity storage system with batteries with a capacity of 200kWh, as well as a monitoring and management system. The procurement specifies that "Mini Maritsa-Iztok" will use the produced electricity only for its own needs and will not give the surplus to the electricity distribution network. The participant must design, supply the necessary equipment, carry out the construction and installation activities, as well as provide supervision during construction. The project implementation period is up to six months after signing the contract.

By decision of the sole owner of the capital, the name of the company "Festo Production" EOOD has been changed to "Festo Bulgaria" EOOD. The change has been entered in the Commercial Register. The company is managed and represented by Mr. Kalin Dobrev and there are no changes in the registered office and correspondence address.

The private specialized higher education institution named "Higher Education School of Insurance and Finance" with headquarters in Sofia will now be called the University of Insurance and Finance. The project has received a positive assessment from the National Agency for Assessment and Accreditation. Over the past 5 years, enrollment has increased by almost 80%.

Shelly Group ED has launched the procedure for increasing the capital with employee shares, voted at the last regular annual general meeting of shareholders, held on June 2, 2025. The company will offer up to 52,652 shares to employees who have concluded a contract with the company by the end of 2024 at the latest, including in subsidiaries, with the exception of members of the board of directors, at a nominal and issue value of 1 leva each. For comparison, the market price of the shares is slightly under 100 leva. The procedure is being handled by Karol Investment Company AD. The offering will be considered successful if at least one share is subscribed and paid for. The starting date for subscription of shares from the increase is June 12. Shares will be able to be subscribed and paid for until June 20.

In the first quarter of 2025, the average price of agricultural output in the EU rose by 2.6%, the second consecutive quarter of price increases, Eurostat data showed. In Bulgaria, however, prices rose by 13.02%. The average price of goods and services used in agriculture and not related to investment - such as energy, fertilizers or feed - also rose by 0.23% across the EU. In Bulgaria, agricultural input prices fell by 0.88% in the first quarter. Among the key agricultural products, there was a sharp increase in the prices of milk (up 12.6%), eggs (up 10.7%) and cereals (up 9.6%) compared to the first quarter of 2024. In contrast, there was a sharp decline in the price of olive oil (down 43.5%), potatoes (down 13.4%) and pigs (down 11.2%). Among non-investment inputs, the largest increase was in veterinary costs (+3.0%), with more moderate increases in fertilisers (+0.9%) and energy and lubricants (+0.7%). Of the 23 EU countries, the steepest increases were recorded in Ireland (+19.3%), Luxembourg (+15.6%), Hungary (+14.6%), Latvia (+13.6%) and Bulgaria (+13.02%). Prices fell the most in Spain (down 9.7%), Greece (down 7.1%), Portugal (down 2.8%) and Malta (down 2.0%). The average price of goods and services used in agriculture and not linked to investment - such as energy, fertilisers or feed - also rose, albeit very slightly (down 0.23%) across the EU. Among key agricultural products, there was a sharp increase in the prices of milk (up 12.6%), eggs (up 10.7%) and cereals (up 9.6%) compared to the first quarter of 2024. In contrast, there was a sharp decrease in the prices of olive oil (down 43.5%), potatoes (down 13.4%) and pigs (up 11.2%). Among non-investment raw materials, the largest increase was in veterinary costs (+3.0%), with a more moderate increase in fertilizers (+0.9%) and energy and lubricants (+0.7%). The increase in agricultural prices in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter of 2024 is widespread across EU Member States. Of the 23 EU countries that recorded price increases, the steepest increases were recorded in Ireland (+19.3%), Luxembourg (+15.6%), Hungary (+14.6%), Latvia (+13.6%) and Bulgaria (+13.02%). In contrast, prices fell the most in Spain (down 9.7%), Greece (down 7.1%), Portugal (down 2.8%) and Malta (down 2.0%).

Revenues from the export of goods are important for every country, and for some countries they are of critical importance for their economies, as they form a large part of their financial receipts. When calculating the ratio of the value of annual exports of goods and services to gross domestic product (GDP) for the 25 countries with the largest economies in the world, the following results are obtained: The country that is most independent from the export of goods is the United States, which is also the largest economy in the world. US export revenues formed 10.9% of the country's GDP last year. The next two most independent countries in this indicator are Brazil and Argentina. Their export revenues to GDP are 17.9% and 15.3%, respectively. The countries ranked 4th to 6th have similar export revenues to GDP ratios, such as: India (21%), China (21.1%) and Russia (21.9%). While the country with the largest economy in Europe and the 4th in the world, Germany, has a relatively high share of export revenues in GDP, at 31.8%, which makes it somewhat vulnerable to possible export disruptions. Other countries with large and highly developed economies are even more dependent on export revenues, namely: South Korea (44.6%), Poland (52.7%), Switzerland (72.2%) and the Netherlands (84.2%). As for Russia, the country's GDP for 2024, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is 2.5 trillion. dollars. According to data from the Federal Customs Service, the total volume of Russia's exports in 2024 is 433.9 billion dollars.