03.12.2022
DECEMBER 3 - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
In 1992, the UN General Assembly declared December 3 as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This is the day to support the dignity, rights and well-being of people with disabilities and for their full participation in public life.
Dear friends,
The international community celebrates the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.
This is another occasion to show our respect and express our support for more tolerance and understanding of people with disabilities.
This is another reason to think about whether the society and the Bulgarian institutions take enough care and empathy towards people with disabilities and their families?
The answer is in each of us, in the whole society. For our friends to feel good, it is the responsibility of all Bulgarians.
The Consultancy center for disadvantaged people in the city of Berkovitsa is aimed at people with disabilities. We are together and will continue to defend the need to change attitudes and behavior, a new way of thinking, a new culture.
Because a society is strong when it is united!
We wish you courage, strength and sharing!
02.12.2022
PHOTO EXHIBITION "THROUGH MY EYES AND YOURS" DEDICATED TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
On the eve of the International Day of People with Disabilities, a multimedia photo exhibition "Through my and your eyes" was opened at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. "We have to prove to society that people with disabilities are a valuable resource. This is a long process that cannot happen solely with the efforts of the state," Minister Lazarov said at the presentation of the exhibition organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Human Resources Development Program. "It is necessary for each of us to make an effort to have a society without borders, without an inaccessible public environment, without social exclusion - a society that guarantees everyone's right to realize themselves. We will fully support initiatives to provide employment to people with disabilities," he added.
The photo exhibition "Through my eyes and yours" is dedicated to people with disabilities in Bulgaria with a focus on autistic individuals. The aim of the project is to put an emphasis not on the diagnosis of "disabled", but on their knowledge, skills, talent and opportunities to fully integrate into society and contribute to its development. The exhibition presents photographs of 18-year-old Sevdalin Tlachenski, an autistic person, and his mentor Alexander Nikolov, winner of the "Journalist of the Year" award for 2021 of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee.
Deputy Ministers Nataliya Efremova and Nadya Klisurska, representatives of the Metropolitan Municipality and non-governmental organizations providing social services for people with disabilities participated in the premiere of the exhibition.
"In the coming year, we will continue to work hard to support disadvantaged people. Our main focus will be on the opportunities for their employment. We will have special programs for employers, for the non-governmental sector," said Deputy Minister Natalia Efremova.
Nadya Klisurska emphasized the need to "see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us". "I hope that we will all have the sensitivity and patience to appreciate the uniqueness of each one, to see for their strengths and skills and give them a chance to develop them," she said.
Five poets from different generations - Petar Chuhov, Kristin Dimitrova, Maria Doneva, Konstantin Trendafilov (Papi Hans) and Anastasia Stoilova - wrote poems based on the photographs of Sevdalin Tlachenski and Alexander Nikolov, which reflect society's sensitivity to the problems of people with disabilities in Bulgaria.
02.12.2022
THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ADOPTED A SECTOR STRATEGY FOR E-CUSTOMS
The Council of Ministers adopted the Sectoral Strategy for the Development of Electronic Management in the Customs Agency and the Roadmap for the Implementation of the Sectoral Strategy for the Development of Electronic Management in the Customs Agency - "e-Customs" 2021-2027.
The Strategy for Digitization of the Customs Administration - "e-Customs" 2021-2027 was created by the Customs Agency as a sectoral strategic document in the field of policy for the development of e-government in the Republic of Bulgaria 2019-2027 in the Customs Agency.
The aim is to propose the general strategic framework for achieving the digital transformation of the customs administration and its activities in accordance with the current European principles for e-governance, cyber security, control and supervision of customs and excise legislation, development policies at the national level and the current regulatory framework.
The sector strategy for the development of electronic management in the Customs Agency - "e-Customs" 2021-2027 continues, develops and upgrades the projects on digitalization of the customs administration, which were implemented with the Sector Strategy for the Development of Electronic Management in the Agency in the period 2016-2025.
The decision of the Council of Ministers will improve the conditions for the implementation of the Strategy for the Development of Electronic Government in the Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2021-2027, will create the necessary prerequisites and conditions for the continuation of the work of the Customs Agency in the field of automation of processes related to the implementation of customs legislation and the measures set out in the "e-Customs" Sectoral Strategy. The fulfillment of the objectives of will contribute to the fulfillment of the commitments undertaken by the Republic of Bulgaria as a member state of the European Union to facilitate legal trade.
02.12.2022
BNB WITH A FORECAST FOR INTEREST RATES ON LOANS AND DEPOSITS
The trend of increasing interest rates in the Eurozone is expected to be quickly transferred to interest rates in Bulgaria, which will cause them to increase both on loans and on deposits in our country. This is what the Bulgarian National Bank predicts in its Economic Review.
In the sector of non-financial enterprises, the weighted average interest rate reached 0.91% as of September 2022, mainly under the influence of the increase in interest rates on new time deposits of companies in dollars. The interest rates on company deposits in BGN and in Euro also rose, becoming positive from August and reaching 0.04% and 0.19% respectively as of September. In the case of household deposits, the trend for the rise of interest rates on new time deposits was upward from the middle of the year, but the increase was less pronounced and by September 2022 the interest rate reached 0.26% (at a level of 0.09% as of December 2021) and 0.12% as of June 2022).
Inflation in the fourth quarter of 2022 and in the first quarter of 2023 should follow a gradual slowing trend, the Bulgarian National Bank predicts. Factors for this are expected to be the substantial increase in labor costs per unit of production, the growth of private consumption, as well as the suspension of some fiscal measures.
We expect the unfavorable development in the external environment in terms of global economic growth and the tightening of global financial conditions to lead to a more significant deterioration of the prospects for the Bulgarian economy in the fourth quarter of 2022 and in the first quarter of 2023, the bank also says.
In the first nine months of 2022, there is a tendency to accelerate the annual growth of deposits of the non-governmental sector in the banking system. This dynamic is due to the growth of company deposits, which was contributed to by the weakening of the investment activity of companies in the conditions of increased uncertainty in the economic environment and the growth of the nominal gross operating surplus in the industry sector. The cancellation in the third quarter of the year of the fee for maintaining cash balances above a certain amount by the large commercial banks is a factor with a possible influence on stopping the tendency to slow down the annual growth of household deposits, the bank indicates.
In the first nine months of the year, both firms and households continued to save mostly in local currency. At the same time, from the end of the first quarter, a more significant increase was also observed in the deposits of non-financial enterprises in foreign currency (mainly in euros), and on an annual basis the growth of the deposits of companies in foreign currency amounted to 25.0% as of September.
Annual growth in credit to the non-government sector continued to accelerate in the first eight months of 2022, which was more pronounced in corporate credit. Rising commodity prices and continued difficulties in global supply chains have spurred firms to look to banking for working capital and stockpiling.
The rise in corporate lending rates that began in September, reflecting the reversal of the interest rate cycle in the Eurozone, likely contributed to the observed slowdown in annual business credit growth at the end of the third quarter of the year.
The growth of credit to households continued to follow a trend towards a smooth acceleration under the influence of the still low levels of interest rates and the continued acceleration of consumer price inflation, which created the conditions for increased demand for financial resources for the purchase of real estate and durable goods for the purpose of storing value. An increase in economic activity on an annual basis was reported in all main economic sectors and to the greatest extent in the mining and processing industry sub-sector.
Employment increased by 1.3% year-on-year mainly due to the increase in the number of employed persons in the service sector. Compensation per employee accelerated significantly, supported both by rising consumer prices amid limited domestic labor supply and by increased demand for labor amid rising economic activity from high inflation on consumer purchasing power, and also and reduced consumer confidence given the high level of economic uncertainty, reports the Bulgarian National Bank.
02.12.2022
BNB RAISED THE MAIN INTEREST RATE AGAIN
The Bulgarian National Bank announced a new increase in the main interest rate. This is the third promotion in a row. From December 1, the main interest rate becomes 1.3%. In October it was set at 0.49% and in November it rose to 0.59%.
The main interest rate was last different from 0.00 on January 1, 2016, when it was 0.01%.
The value of the main interest rate matters, but only in some limited cases. Mainly the main interest rate is used to calculate the penalty or statutory interest on late payment. The calculation is done by adding 10% to the base interest rate.
The main interest rate is an instrument by which the value of a monetary unit in a country's economy is regulated and measured. Its amount is determined by the Central Bank.
When the main interest rate rises, it usually happens in a strong economy in order to balance it out.
The Central bank reduces its size when the economy is in difficulty and there is a need to support it. This is done in order to stimulate the withdrawal of loans and provide new jobs. Inflation is also regulated in this way.
01.12.2022
500,000 BULGARIANS WILL ACQUIRE DIGITAL SKILLS BY MID-2026.
The plans of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy are for 500,000 unemployed and employed Bulgarians to acquire digital skills by mid-2026 with funding under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Emil Mingov.
Within the project, the social ministry will develop a digital platform and electronic resources for conducting online courses. It is planned to create 760 digital clubs, which will also have equipment for online training of disadvantaged people.
Deputy Minister Mingov emphasizes that increasing the quality of the workforce, people's digital skills and the increased use of digital technologies in the training process are among the main priorities of the national employment policy. In this regard, through the Human Resources Development Program 2021-2027, another 160,000 people will participate in specific training for the acquisition of digital skills. According to the deputy minister, about 100,000 people who have digital skills but do not have a certificate will have the opportunity to certify them.
Investing in upskilling and reskilling the workforce is a key priority aimed at fostering an inclusive recovery and supporting the digital and environmental transition.
The Deputy Minister points out that the Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy developed by the ministry also aims to encourage companies to improve working conditions and invest in the development of their employees.
The possibilities of financing projects with EU funds
The operations under the Human Resources Development Program, which are planned for 2023, are mainly related to the development of the labor market and employment support. Among the measures to be launched are "Qualification, skills and career development of employed persons" with a budget of BGN 55 million, "Active inclusion and access to employment of disadvantaged people" with a budget of BGN 30 million, "Sustainable employment for disadvantaged persons" with a budget of BGN 100 million, "Promotion of the social economy at the local and regional level" with a budget of BGN 22 million and "Youth employment +" with a budget of 80 million BGN. Municipalities can still apply for the "New Opportunity for Youth Employment" project, which is implemented by the Employment Agency.
The Deputy Minister explained the financing possibilities under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The investment "Modernization of long-term care" has a budget of over BGN 700 million and is divided into three procedures. The first procedure of these has a budget of BGN 189.8 million and is related to the renovation of 82 residential services for elderly people who are beyond working age. The second measure has a budget of BGN 215 million and will increase energy efficiency in 840 existing social services. Under the third procedure, which has a budget of BGN 331 million, 125 new social services for residential care for people with disabilities and 125 new accompanying specialized and advisory social services for people with disabilities will be built.
30.11.2022
WHAT IS THE PENALTY IF I'M LATE FOR WORK?
In Art. 187 of the Labor Code stipulates that violations of labor discipline are:
According to Art. 188 of the Labor Code, disciplinary punishments are reprimand, warning for dismissal and dismissal. According to Art. 189, para. 1 of the Labor Code, when determining the disciplinary penalty, the employer should take into account the severity of the violation, the circumstances in which it was committed, as well as the behavior of the worker or employee. Before imposing the disciplinary penalty, the employer is obliged to listen to the worker or employee or to accept his written explanations and to collect and evaluate the indicated evidence /Art. 193, para. 1 of the Labor Code/. When the employer has not previously heard the worker or employee or has not accepted his written explanations, the court cancels the disciplinary penalty without examining the dispute on its merits - para. 2 of Art. 193 of the Labor Code. In para. 3 of Art. 193 of the Labor Code states that the provisions of the previous paragraph do not apply when the worker's or employee's explanations were not heard or were given due to his fault.
Disciplinary punishment is considered imposed from the day the order is delivered to the worker or employee or from the day it is received, when it is sent by registered letter with return receipt.
30.11.2022
BGN 300 HEATING AID IS AVAILABLE FOR ANOTHER 50,000 FAMILIES
The caretaker government included another 50,000 households in the energy support for the current heating season.
They will receive a one-time payment of BGN 300. Energy-assisted households in the current heating season will exceed 360,000, after it became clear today that for another 50,000 the interim government has found an additional financial resource of BGN 300 each.
These are disadvantaged people who are generally not covered by normal targeted heating aid.
The Prime Minister announced that families with children with permanent disabilities, children without the right to an inheritance pension from a deceased parent, orphans, people with disabilities who suffered from fires, floods and other natural disasters in 2022 will be entitled to this assistance, as well as state-supported war veterans, war-disabled and war-wounded.
30.11.2022
THE NRA WARNS OF A NEW SCAM
Fake emails are distributed on behalf of the National Revenue Agency. They are a message with the sender: intrastat@nra.bg and the title of the email: "Warning letter for submitting an Intrastat declaration". The letters contain information about the approaching deadline for submitting the Intrastat declaration by flow.
The text of the fake emails reads /published without editing/:
"Regarding: reminder of approaching the deadline for submission of Intrastat declaration by flow / flows Intra-Union imports for reference period 30/2022.
We remind you that the deadline for submitting Intrastat declarations is the 14th of the month following the reference period based on Art. 11 para. 1 of the Law on Statistics of Intra-Community Trade in Goods.
INTRASTAT DIRECTORATE
Central Office of the National Revenue Agency
This is an automatically generated message. Please do not answer.'
Attached to the letter is a file containing malicious code. When opened, the recipient's computer can be infected with a virus that steals personal and financial information.
This is a classic form of "phishing" attack, which attempts to steal personal information on the Internet - usernames, passwords, bank accounts, etc.
If you receive such an email, do not open it, but delete it. If you did open the email, scan with an antivirus program or seek assistance from an IT professional.
30.11.2022
BULGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: SERVICES WILL BE THE MOST AFFECTED BY THE CRISIS
The structure of the Bulgarian economy allows it to be less negatively affected by economic crises in general. This suggests that the negative economic consequences caused by the military conflict in Ukraine will be smaller or at least similar to those that will be suffered by the rest of the EU countries.
This was stated by Prof. Dr. Stoyan Totev in a plenary report at an international scientific conference on the topic: "Economic development and policies: realities and perspectives. Challenges and risks in the context of overlapping crises'. It is organized by the Institute for Economic Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, with the participation of teachers, scientists and independent experts from Bulgaria, France, Romania and the Czech Republic.
The expectations for Bulgaria are that there will be no entire sectors that will be seriously affected by the crisis, and that there will be no significant changes in the country's comparative advantages. Specific industries that in their development so far have imported raw materials and products from Ukraine and Russia may have a problem, emphasized the economist from the Institute for Economic Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
In support of his thesis, Prof. Totev cites data from the World Bank, according to which the comparative advantages of the native economy are in the export of products in the field of food, textile, sewing and metalworking industries, as well as in the export of non-metallic mineral products. The comparative advantages of products in the chemical and furniture industries and in the production of plastic and rubber products are also close to unity, he said.
With the proviso that in case of a continued stagnation in Europe as a result of the current crisis, certain industries and productions may be affected, including to change and comparative advantages, Prof. Totev emphasized that due to the low elasticity of substitution of food products, the agrarian sector should be affected to the smallest extent, in contrast to the development of high-tech industries. As long as they do not have a large participation in the processing industry in our country, it is likely that the industry will be less "affected" by the crisis compared to the average indicators for the EU countries, the economist argued.
Services are expected to be most affected by the crisis conditions, and this will also depend on the duration of the crisis itself. It is known that this sector recovers very quickly when the economic situation normalizes. A disturbing factor for Bulgaria could be the longer duration of the crisis, especially in tourism and transport.
The other big problem facing the Bulgarian economy is that, in addition to being the least competitive compared to EU countries, it is generally too energy-intensive. Therefore, in the short term, the war in Ukraine is expected to have a negative impact on industries that use natural gas, and more specifically on the realization of their production. To the extent that other EU countries will experience similar difficulties, Bulgaria cannot be expected to have serious problems at least on the European market, explained Prof. Totev.
In this sense, the economist's recommendation is to conduct a "reasonable" economic policy aimed at stimulating those industries that are characterized by the use of relatively higher technologies, but there is also a prerequisite for this based on the presence of their comparative advantages. Another possibility is in the search for development in the higher segments of the production chain, which allows to achieve relatively higher labor productivity in low-tech industries - in recent years, enterprises in Bulgaria have already improved their positions in this direction, according to Prof. Totev.
