All entries related to Bulgaria, newest first. tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:en:en/countries/bulgaria 2026-10-23T06:00:00Z Eurotrack tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:a07fbdc9:en 2026-10-23T06:00:00Z

Bulgarian metals company Sofia Med plans to build, under its SVAROG project at its Sofia site, a plant refining about 30,000 t of mixed copper scrap a year into copper of over 99.9% purity. The project (about €19.49m, including a proposed €6.2m grant) passed evaluation in the EU Innovation Fund and was invited to grant preparation; the report gives neither a construction date nor job numbers (BTA, 23 Oct 2026). — Source: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/economy/1230889-sofia-med-plans-eur-19-5-mln-copper-recycling-plant-with-eu-innovation-fund-support

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:7c274fb9:en 2026-10-08T06:00:00Z

Bulgarian arms and firearms maker Arsenal opened a new nitrocellulose production plant in Kazanlak on 8 October 2026, attended by members of the government and the head of state, among others. It is part of a larger investment programme to expand capacity and the product range, whose total volume exceeds €300m according to the ministry; the report gives no separate figures for the plant or for new jobs (BTA, 9 Oct 2026). — Source: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/economy/1220969-bulgarian-defence-industry-takes-step-forward-with-new-nitrocellulose-plant-at-arsenal-deputy-prime-minister-says

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:6b6519a9:en 2026-10-08T06:00:00Z

Bulmarket Group is reviving the locomotive and wagon works in Ruse, closed in 2013, on a 176,000 m² site and investing €60m, of which €17m comes from Bulgaria's recovery plan. Seven companies with over 210 employees already operate on site; the LVZ 1866 works is to repair or build more than 1,000 freight wagons and 200 locomotives a year, with tank wagon production starting at five vehicles and rising to 20 a month. The source read does not quantify new jobs (RailFreight, 8 Oct 2026). — Source: https://www.railfreight.com/railfreight/2026/10/08/bulgaria-invests-e60-million-to-revive-ruse-railway-workshop/

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:a078a7c2:en 2026-10-08T06:00:00Z

From 102 applications in the second call, the Commission selected 46 further projects: eight on extraction, 11 on processing and 19 on recycling, plus eight integrated projects. They include seven lithium, 12 nickel, 10 cobalt and four rare earth projects. Of the first 2025 list, 25 projects have so far completed their environmental assessment and 17 hold a construction permit; the Commission announces a new call for the end of 2026 (European Commission, 8 Oct 2026). — Sources: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_2113 · https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/fs_26_2115

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:866a93c3:en 2026-10-02T06:00:00Z

VESS Modules has opened a fully automated photovoltaic module plant in Kardzhali with an initial annual capacity of 1 GW; the investment is €15m, 200 jobs have been created, and an expansion to 3 GW is planned. The investor calls it the first fully automated module plant of this size in the EU; Deputy Economy Minister Krasimir Yakimov attended the opening (Balkan Green Energy News, 2 Oct 2026). — Source: https://balkangreenenergynews.com/vess-modules-opens-1-gw-solar-panel-factory-in-bulgaria/

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:6e1631d1:en 2026-09-25T06:00:00Z

New sunflower processing lines for oil and meal production went into operation on 25.09.2026 at the Magic Flame/Klas Olio plant in the Rilci district of Dobrich, with Prime Minister Rumen Radev attending. The investment totals €20m and the plant can handle 600 tonnes of seed a day; close to 100 new jobs take the workforce above 600 (BTA, 25.09.2026). — Source: https://www.bta.bg/bg/news/bulgaria/1211940-iskam-da-vidya-che-iznasyame-gotova-produktsiya-s-dobavena-stoynost-kaza-v-dob

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:9afbe7b6:en 2026-09-24T06:00:00Z

On 24 September 2026 Schneider Electric announced a cash offer of €70 per share for Bulgarian smart home and IoT maker Shelly Group; the deal values Shelly at around €1.2bn excluding debt, a 27% premium to the unaffected reference price. The founders back the deal; completion depends on, among other things, a minimum acceptance level and regulatory approvals. This firms up the preliminary talks reported on 29 July 2026 (entry 53f7bc81) (heise online, 24 Sep 2026; Handelsblatt, 24 Sep 2026). Update (28.09.2026): Schneider's subsidiary SE 2026 A SAS has registered the €70-per-share offer with Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission (FSC); the minimum acceptance threshold is 95%, and the acceptance period will only start once the FSC has approved and the offer has been published (Shelly Group ad hoc release, 28.09.2026). Update (05.10.2026): Shelly Group's board of directors considers the €70-per-share offer adequate in its reasoned statement, relying on a fairness opinion from Freitag & Co.; in the investment agreement Schneider committed, among other things, to preserving management, locations, employment levels and core brands for a set period (Shelly Group, ad hoc announcement, 05.10.2026). Update (23 October 2026): the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) completed its preliminary review of the offer on 22 October 2026 and asked for additions to the offer document, for which the bidder has 20 business days; the price is not affected. The acceptance period will begin only once the amended document is approved (Shelly Group, EQS release, 23 October 2026). — Sources: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Smart-Home-Schneider-Electric-takes-over-Shelly-Group-11464299.html · https://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2026-10/69759497-eqs-adhoc-shelly-group-se-verwaltungsrat-mit-positiver-stellungnahme-zum-registrierten-freiwilligen-oeffentlichen-erwerbsangebot-der-schneider-electr-022.htm · https://live.deutsche-boerse.com/news/EQS-News-Bulgarian-Financial-Supervision-Commission-completes-preliminary-review-of-the-voluntary-public-takeover-offer-for-Shelly-Group-SE-0f8f4c93-26a0-40e3-aecd-5b382c5d4181

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:248f5f3e:en 2026-09-24T06:00:00Z

The opposition GERB criticises that the government of Prime Minister Rumen Radev broke its promise not to introduce new taxes; former Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova calls the windfall tax a serious blow to business and investors. The package is a proposal and parliamentary approval is pending (BTA, 24 Sep 2026). — Source: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/1210785-gerb-slams-planned-tax-policy-for-2027

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:dc940611:en 2026-09-01T06:00:00Z

Danish maritime safety-equipment maker Viking Life-Saving Equipment ceased all manufacturing at its plant near Plovdiv (operating for 12 years, assembling lifeboats) as of 01.09.2026, shifting production to Thailand; 57 production staff are affected, while about 200 admin/finance employees remain on site (Plovdiv24, 01.09.2026). — Source: https://www.plovdiv24.bg/novini/regionalni/Svetoven-lider-zakri-proizvodstvoto-si-krai-Plovdiv-osvobozhdava-sluzhiteli-3018874

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:4240d027:en 2026-08-14T06:00:00Z

Sofia Metro Line 3 is being extended eastwards by about 3 km with three new stations (Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Vitinya and Gen. Vladimir Vazov) into the Levski housing estate. The cost of BGN 282,321,041 excluding VAT (around EUR 144.3 million) is financed through the Recovery and Resilience Plan. Four Siemens trains with communications-based train control (CBTC, automation grade GoA3) are to serve the section, which is projected to carry more than 45,000 additional passengers a day. As of 28 July 2026 construction was finished and the section was to be submitted to the state acceptance commission; the English Wikipedia gives 15 August 2026 as the opening date. Update (14.08.2026): The roughly 3 km section with the stations Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Bessarabia and Gen. Vladimir Vazov was formally opened and entered passenger service on 14.08.2026; the third station is thus named Bessarabia rather than Vitinya (BTA, 14.08.2026: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/1185360-three-new-metro-stations-open-on-sofia-s-metro-line-3). — Source: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/1174695-four-trains-with-advanced-equipment-to-enter-service-on-sofia-metro-s-extended-l

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:f1d131b3:en 2026-08-10T06:00:00Z

Nomad Capital Group, registered only at the end of March 2026 with €50,000 of capital, notified the Bulgarian competition authority on 10 Aug 2026 of its intention to buy the idled Maritsa East 3 lignite plant, the country's second-largest coal-fired plant, and its operator. According to the authority the buyer currently conducts no business operations; the plant has been idle since April 2025, when the state offtake contract expired. The source gives neither price nor stakes (BTA, 11 Aug 2026). — Source: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/1183661-recently-registered-company-states-intention-to-acquire-bulgaria-s-second-larges

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:521af145:en 2026-08-01T06:00:00Z

Bulgarian ice cream and dessert maker Corte Diletto, founded in 2012 (brands Arcobaleno, Coppa della Maga and Nouri), has completed its own roughly 6,000 sqm factory in Elin Pelin east of Sofia at a cost of more than €8 million, after around four years of construction. The plant focuses on mochi ice cream, which the company says it supplies to over 30 markets. As reported by the business daily Capital (1 August 2026, paywalled): the 20,000 sqm site leaves room for a second construction phase, for which some €2 million is earmarked over the next two years. The report gives no figure for jobs. — Source: https://www.capital.bg/biznes/stoki_i_prodajbi/2026/08/01/4938572_novata_sladoledena_fabrika_za_mochi/

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:53f7bc81:en 2026-07-29T06:00:00Z

Reported stage (first Bloomberg, picked up by BTA and SeeNews, 29 July 2026): France's Schneider Electric is in preliminary talks over a tender offer for Bulgarian smart home and IoT manufacturer Shelly Group, which is listed in Sofia and Frankfurt. A valuation of around €1.3bn, or about €70 per share, is cited. There is no binding offer; whether one materialises, on what terms and on what timetable is open. Update (24 Sep 2026): Schneider Electric has announced a cash offer of €70 per share (valuation around €1.2bn); the volume is carried in follow-up entry 9afbe7b6. — Source: https://seenews.com/news/schneider-electric-in-prelim-tender-offer-talks-with-bulgarias-shelly-group-1298852

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:9d750fb8:en 2026-07-16T06:00:00Z

Japanese group Kyowa Manufacturing opened a new production base in Sofia's Iskar science and industry zone on 16 July through its Kyowa Europe subsidiary; the roughly €6 million investment expands its existing Bulgarian footprint. Second source: economic.bg. — Source: https://www.investor.bg/a/524-industriya/433695-yaponskata-kyowa-europe-otkri-nova-proizvodstvena-baza-v-sofiya

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:1e16a9b6:en 2026-07-15T06:00:00Z

Bulgaria's competition commission KZK conditionally cleared the acquisition of confectionery maker Prestige-96 (brands Naya, Hyper, Mirage, Roden kraj) by Ireland's Valeo Foods Group on 15 July: for three years, Valeo may not tie the supply of Prestige product lines to purchases of other group products. The deal, announced in March 2026, can now proceed to completion. Second source: SeeNews. — Source: https://www.investor.bg/a/524-industriya/433606-kzk-odobri-pod-uslovie-sdelkata-za-pridobivane-na-prestizh-ot-irlandska-firma

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:4d71d384:en 2026-07-01T06:00:00Z

Bosch is winding down its Engineering Center in Sofia in phases, cutting about 670 jobs; about 400 employees are affected this year, the rest by 2027, and the closure is to be completed by mid-2027. The head of Robert Bosch EOOD in Bulgaria cites the deep transformation of the car industry, falling production volumes and delayed adoption of new technologies (Novinite, July 2026). — Source: https://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=239379

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:0d511d00:en 2026-06-19T06:00:00Z

The Commission assessed the milestones of the fourth payment largely positively, which according to Pekanov was made possible by results on anti-corruption and rule-of-law reforms. According to the report, three measures remain open (culture, water and sewage, integrated urban transport) and the fifth and last request must be completed by the end of August (BTA, 19 Jun 2026). — Source: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/1151014?download=1

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:796b1e5d:en 2026-04-23T06:00:00Z

The US-led coal-fired power plant AES Maritza East 1 in Galabovo is ceasing operations because its long-term power purchase agreement with the state utility NEK expires on 8 May 2026. About 350 employees of two companies at the site are being laid off from 1 Jun 2026, and the mass redundancy is registered with the Stara Zagora labour office; the Maritza East 3 plant had already stopped operating in 2025 after its contract expired (BNT, 30 Apr 2026; second source: BNR, 23 Apr 2026, which says "more than 300"). — Sources: https://bntnews.bg/news/layoffs-at-aes-maritsa-east-1-thermal-power-plant-in-galabovo-are-set-to-begin-on-1-june-1391178news.html · https://bnrnews.bg/en/post/460624/hundreds-of-jobs-to-be-cut-as-bulgarian-coal-plant-nears-closure

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:8c388d69:en 2026-03-04T06:00:00Z

Lead-acid battery maker Elhim-Iskra is suspending production in Pazardzhik from 23 Mar 2026 and, after a period of temporary inactivity, plans to dismiss about 200 employees, nearly the entire workforce. The company cites falling industrial production in its export markets Italy and Germany, competition from Turkey, China and India, and high energy and labour costs; revenue was about €15.4m last year and the company was loss-making (Eurofound European Restructuring Monitor, March 2026). — Source: https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/204352

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:cea19935:en 2026-02-17T06:00:00Z

Automotive electronics maker MD Elektronik is closing its plant in Vratsa in mid-2026; in the coming weeks it will only complete ongoing projects and accept no new orders. About 550 employees are affected, most in production, administration and finance; the company points to the deteriorating market in the European automotive sector with declining volumes and stronger competition (Eurofound European Restructuring Monitor, February 2026). — Source: https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/204248

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:ccb07b0a:en 2026-02-11T06:00:00Z

On 11 February 2026 Bulgaria signed the contracts for passenger rail services, opening the rail market to private operators for the first time: the west region, with 75% of train services, goes to BDŽ Passenger Transport, and the north (14%) and south (11%) regions go to Ivkoni Express. The contracts run for twelve years from 13 December 2026, operators' profits are capped at 3.57%, 813 employees move from BDŽ to Ivkoni Express and the rolling stock stays in state ownership; the European Commission has doubled the investment in new vehicles tied to the reform to EUR 734 million, and missing the start date would put EU funding at risk. The cabinet approved the signing on 4 February 2026 and at the same time adopted the draft law on public transport, which for the first time provides for a national transport plan, a single electronic ticket with revenue sharing between operators and at least three services a day to every locality; according to municipalities, 738 settlements have no public transport at all. The transport ministry had put the draft out for consultation on 17 November 2025 (comments until 17 December 2025), and by mid-February 2026 it was before parliament. (LOK Report, 30 Oct 2025, 20 Nov 2025, 10 Feb 2026 and 18 Feb 2026) — Sources: https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/bulgarien/65220-bulgarien-unterzeichnung-der-vertraege-mit-bdz-passagierverkehr-und-ivkoni-express.html · https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/bulgarien/65008-bulgarien-kabinett-bewilligt-zwei-wichtige-reformen-im-verkehrsbereich-bdz-und-ivkoni-express-uebernehmen-im-dezember-2026-den-spnv.html · https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/bulgarien/63216-bulgarien-das-neue-gesetz-ueber-den-oeffentlichen-verkehr-fuehrt-einen-einheitlichen-elektronischen-fahrschein-koordinierte-fahrplaene-und-verkehrsanbindungen-zu-allen-ortschaften-ein.html · https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/bulgarien/62529-bulgarien-das-neue-oepnv-gesetz-muss-eine-bequeme-befoerderung-fuer-alle-fahrgaeste-gewaehrleisten.html

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:b19d450a:en 2026-02-02T06:00:00Z

Bulgaria, Greece and Romania intend to apply jointly for EU funding to modernise the Thessaloniki–Sofia–Bucharest rail line and to synchronise planning, permitting and construction; this emerged from a first working meeting with the European Commission at the end of January 2026, which followed up a memorandum on the new corridor signed in December 2025. The Commission holds out Connecting Europe Facility funding for trilateral projects that can be completed by 2030 if proposals are submitted by mid-September 2026. Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Grozdan Karadžov named as priorities a third Danube bridge between Ruse and Giurgiu, the repair of the existing Danube Bridge 1 planned for completion by June 2026 together with electrification of an 11 km section from Ruse (contractor to be chosen by year-end), preliminary studies for two further Danube bridges, and the resumption of the Sofia–Thessaloniki train service next year, ten years after the last through train. (LOK Report, 2 Feb 2026) — Source: https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/bulgarien/64823-bulgarien-griechenland-rumaenien-gemeinsame-finanzierung-fuer-die-eisenbahnstrecke-thessaloniki-sofia-bukarest.html

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:d0a2d670:en 2026-01-01T06:00:00Z

Accession as of 1 January 2026 despite some deficits. Economically sensible for trade relations and investment. The Bulgarian lev is replaced by the euro. — Source: https://www.wiwo.de/politik/konjunktur/bulgarien-tritt-2026-dem-euro-bei-politisch-umstritten-oekonomisch-sinnvoll/100160043.html

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:0bc25fdd:en 2025-12-05T06:00:00Z

The transport and infrastructure ministers of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania have concluded an agreement on a high-quality rail and road axis from Alexandroupoli on the Aegean to Bucharest, which they signed together with EU Transport Commissioner Tsitsikostas. The axis belongs to the Sea2Sea project and the BBA corridor (Baltic Sea–Black Sea–Aegean Sea); alongside trade and tourism, security considerations play a role. Tsitsikostas considers an immediate start possible, although a remark in the report suggests this would initially mean planning work. Beforehand, the Greek transport ministry had negotiated the details of a cooperation memorandum with corridor coordinator Mario Mauro; on the Greek side the focus is the Svilengrad/Ormenio–Alexandroupoli line, which is also of military importance. (LOK Report, 11 Nov and 5 Dec 2025) — Sources: https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/griechenland/63595-griechenland-bulgarien-rumaenien-vertraege-fuer-den-bau-der-eisenbahn-und-strassenachse-griechenland-bulgarien-rumaenien-wurden-unterzeichnet.html · https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/griechenland/62960-griechenland-bba-korridor.html