21.05.2025
An investment of over BGN 60 million, the creation of more than 250 new jobs was opened by Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov in Stara Zagora region. The investment is in a new logistics center in the village of Zagore for a retail chain, which is among the five largest employers in Bulgaria. In the course of its 25-year presence in Bulgaria, the company has invested BGN of over 1.1 billion.
Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov specially welcomed the company’s active work with Bulgarian producers in over 180 vegetable gardens and orchards, greenhouses and vineyards. As he said, that helps domestic producers reach the Bulgarian market, but also promote their products in Europe. The Prime Minister assured that all investors could rely on a prudent partner – the Bulgarian government.
Confidence in the Bulgarian market, in the investment climate, is extremely important as it shows that the country not only deserves to be a praiseworthy member of the European Union and was recognized for accession to Schengen, but also receives the full support of its partners for joining the Eurozone and the OECD, Mr. Jeliazkov said. The Prime Minister expressed his confidence that in a couple of days we will have reason for satisfaction with the assessment that we will receive.
Asked by the media about the upcoming convergence reports, Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov pointed out that if the decision on 4 June is positive, an administrative process will start which will end with the derogation for Bulgaria owing to the fact that the country meets the Maastricht criteria. “We expect a positive report but until it comes out, everything is hypothetical,” the Prime Minister said, adding that the country is taking all needed steps to prepare, including to ensure the security of Bulgarian consumers, and a public awareness campaign is underway.
In a reply to a media question about the additional BGN 15 million allocated by the government to address the public transport crisis in the capital city, Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov recalled that the central government provides an annual subsidy for city transport every year. For 2024 that subsidy from the central government to the Sofia Municipality was BGN 89 million, For 2025 the subsidy has gone up by 17 million which is nearly a 20% increase.
“As the government approved a higher subsidy for public transport and not funds for wages, if the mayor sees no need of such an increase, he is free to return it to the government budget,” Rossen Jeliazkov noted. The Prime Minister also pointed out that the cabinet does not expect to be thanked for that. We simply want the city to function normally and that the Municipality of Sofia has a budget because there is no way that in midyear the largest city in Bulgaria does not have an approved municipal budget and it must finally become clear whether there is or there is not a majority that supports the Mayor”, Rossen Jeliazkov said and recalled that the local self-governments are both, the mayor and the municipal council.
