News from Bulgaria, page 5

The open-air exhibition «The Colour of Salt» by photographer Niki Dinov shows 24 pictures of the salt pans near Burgas from 1 to 31 October. It opens on 1 October at 18:30 outside the Sea Casino cultural centre. The red and pink tones of the basins come from the microalga Dunaliella salina, which shields itself from the strong sun with a red pigment. Through brine shrimp the pigment moves up the food chain and ends up colouring the flamingos.

Home prices in the second quarter of 2026 stood 15.5 per cent above the same quarter a year earlier, according to the National Statistical Institute. Against the first quarter the gain is 4.5 per cent. It is spread unevenly: Plovdiv leads on 5.8 per cent, followed by Stara Zagora on 2.9, Varna on 2.8 and Sofia on 2.4, while Burgas gave up 1.5 per cent. The annual reading in the first quarter had been 14.8 per cent.

Assessment: The Burgas decline is a quarterly figure, not a change of direction. The coast breathes with the season, and the second quarter covers the months before high summer, when few deeds are signed on the southern shore. For buyers that means a calmer negotiating position than in Plovdiv or Sofia. Sellers should look at the annual figure rather than the quarter, and landlords at summer occupancy in any case.

The draft tax laws for 2027 raise the compulsory VAT registration threshold from 51,130 to 75,000 euro. At the same time registration becomes compulsory for transactions in land and buildings, whatever the turnover. Electronic invoicing for domestic transactions only starts in 2028, giving the National Revenue Agency time to build the checking systems. The package as a whole is expected to raise about 1.4 billion euro, leaving a net 1.123 billion once the reliefs are deducted.

From 2027 an excise duty is to fall due on passenger cars with more than 250 kilowatts of engine power, either on first registration or on import. New cars would pay 10,000 euro plus 10 euro for every kilowatt above the limit; used cars 5,000 euro plus 8 euro per kilowatt. Two hundred and fifty kilowatts is roughly 340 horsepower. Ambulances, fire engines and other special vehicles are exempt.

Labour costs per hour worked were 9.9 per cent higher in the second quarter of 2026 than a year earlier, on preliminary figures. Wages and salaries also rose by 9.9 per cent, other labour costs by 10.0 per cent. By sector, industry leads on 12.2 per cent, ahead of services on 11.5 and construction on 8.5 per cent. The steepest rises were in mining at 18.7 per cent and in electricity and gas supply at 14.3 per cent.

The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission has set the amounts covering part of household electricity costs for the period from 1 to 31 August 2026. Elektrohold Prodazhbi receives 24.47 euro per megawatt hour excluding VAT, EVN Bulgaria Elektrosnabdyavane and Energo-Pro Prodazhbi 24.56 euro each, and ESP Zlatni Pyasatsi 58.97 euro. The background is the gap between the regulated selling price and fluctuating procurement costs on the market. The figures were published on 23 September.

Assessment: For the owner of a holiday flat this is the quiet half of the electricity bill: it appears on no statement, yet it holds the tariff down. Anyone letting all year round should keep in mind that the support is decided afresh month by month and is not a permanent state. I think it wise to build the 2027 budget on the uncompensated price and treat the support as a bonus.

On 23 September the National Assembly passed a new consumer credit act at first reading, with 124 votes in favour, 64 against and 11 abstentions. It provides for a 14 day right of withdrawal without penalty and applies to credit up to 100,000 euro. For small loans up to 1,860.60 euro running longer than three months, the total cost may reach but not exceed the principal. A creditworthiness assessment becomes compulsory before every approval and advertising for fast loans is tightened; the act transposes Directive (EU) 2023/2225.

The Burgas branch of the National Art Academy opened its ninth academic year on 23 September with 151 students: 121 undergraduates and 30 on master's courses. The branch was founded in 2018 with 38 students. Two master's programmes are new: art glass with stained glass, run jointly with Burgas State University, and protection of underwater cultural heritage, in partnership with the UNESCO Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Sozopol. The ceremony was held at Magaziya 1 in the Burgas port complex.

On 21 September Burgas municipality announced an investment proposal to replace the asbestos cement water main of 100 millimetres diameter in Aleksandrovska Street. The section affected runs from San Stefano Boulevard to Vasil Levski Street and will be built in two stages. The notice is issued under the Environmental Protection Act, and objections go to the regional environmental inspectorate. Aleksandrovska is the city's central shopping street.

In August 2026 fuel in Bulgaria became 34.5 per cent dearer than a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the highest reading in the European Union. Lithuania follows on 28.8 per cent, Finland on 27.6, Germany on 27.5 and France on 27.4; the EU average is 23.8 per cent. Month on month, diesel in Bulgaria rose by 13.5 per cent, beaten only by Czechia at 14.3 per cent, against an EU average of 8.3 per cent. The Bulgarian annual figure stood at 26 per cent in June and 22.2 per cent in July.

Assessment: For owners on the coast this is less a question of the petrol pump than of running costs: tradesmen travelling out, laundry runs, deliveries to a building site and supplier prices all sit on top of it. I see two sides. Landlords should read the 2027 management and service contract with open eyes, because that is where the cost lands first. Owner-occupiers who drive little will mainly feel the second round, through local prices.

For 6 a.m. on 23 September 2026 the border police report extremely heavy traffic at the Kapitan Andreevo and Lesovo crossings, above all lorries leaving the country. Malko Tarnovo does not appear in the report and is therefore running normally. For the southern coast that is the shorter route: some 240 kilometres from Burgas, about four hours by car on the scale of the usual route planners. Those not driving themselves can take a scheduled coach from the South bus station in Burgas or fly with a change.

The Burgas branch of the Forestry University opened its first academic year at 11 a.m. on 23 September 2026. Fourteen students are enrolled, nine in landscape architecture and five in forestry; both programmes are accredited. The branch is housed in Tria Space in the Central Park complex. Its creation was approved in August 2026.

On 22 September 2026 the municipality put figures to the planned student campus in the Horizont quarter of Burgas: around 36 million euro on a site of 26 decares. Laboratories, halls of residence, a library and a care facility for staff families are foreseen; construction is put at roughly 18 months from the start of works. Eight European university campuses were analysed beforehand. The European Investment Bank and PwC Bulgaria have assessed the scheme favourably.

According to Eurostat, drawing on Eurocontrol, airlines operated 708,980 commercial flights EU-wide in August 2026, 2.3 per cent more than in August 2025 and 5.7 per cent more than in August 2024. Bulgaria records a rise of 1.7 per cent, 0.6 percentage points below the EU figure. Greece is on 4.1 per cent and Romania on 1.1 per cent, while Germany fell by 2.4 per cent. Flight numbers rose in 19 member states and fell in eight.

Assessment: Flight volume is the most honest leading indicator for a holiday region: it arrives before booking figures and cannot be massaged. Bulgaria is growing, but more slowly than the European average and markedly more slowly than Greece, and that is the real message for this coast. I do not read a slump into it but a prompt: landlords should not rely on charter chains alone for 2027 but build up direct bookings and the shoulder season. The Eurovision Song Contest in Burgas in May 2027 will shift the curve for a year, not for ever.

At session 42 on 21 September 2026 the Burgas municipal council took up three planning assignments. The first concerns an underground fibre-optic and 400 kV cable running from the open switchgear of the 400/110 kV Burgas substation on plot 07332.119.282 in the Bulgarovo cadastral district to plot 07079.13.3536 in Burgas. The second prepares an external water main through the Tvardica district serving plots 07079.22.37, 07079.22.39, 07079.22.42, 07079.22.43 and 07079.22.45. The third amends the development plan for plots I and VI in block 37 of the Bratya Miladinovi neighbourhood together with the access streets.

On 21 September 2026 the Burgas municipal council adopted the 2026 budget with a framework of 356.6 million euro. It contains 1.5 million euro for preparing the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, with further funds foreseen for next year covering logistics, security and the cultural programme. The same session took up the annual report on 2025 budget execution and the cash statement for the first half of 2026. Works planned include resurfacing Maria Luisa Boulevard.

At its 44th regular session on 21 September 2026 the Ruen municipal council unanimously adopted a 2026 budget of 26.36 million euro, around 2.88 million more than in 2025. State-delegated tasks account for more than 17.45 million euro. The capital programme comes to 2.2 million euro and goes into road repairs, school buildings, care facilities and municipal premises. The municipality counts 39 settlements, among which, in the words of mayor Ahmed Mehmed, the money is spread without distinction.

Pomorie municipality will present its staged plan for the municipal hospital at 5.30 p.m. on 24 September 2026 in the town art gallery. The hospital is to remain in municipal hands; the plan foresees expanding imaging diagnostics and the operating theatre, adding services step by step and bringing in a strategic partner with investment, equipment and specialist staff. The stated aim is that older residents, the chronically ill and visitors are treated locally instead of travelling to other towns. Mayor Ivan Alexiev will present the plan himself.

Burgas State University “Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov” opened its 64th academic year on 21 September 2026. Around 900 first-year entrants are enrolled on bachelor's and professional bachelor's programmes, alongside a new master's intake. Teaching covers 19 professional fields across science, engineering, health, economics and social studies, and the institution holds research university status. The ceremony took place in the building of the Medical Faculty.

On 29 September 2026, between 5 and 7 p.m., the Nesi Gallery in Burgas opens Antoaneta Ancheva’s solo exhibition “Mora Temporis / Zastinalo vreme”. The works show narrow lanes, architectural fragments, light and deep blue sky, with architecture becoming a carrier of memory and of the sense of time rather than a backdrop. The gallery stands at 12 Aleksandrovska Street with its entrance at 3 Han Krum Street, a few steps from the pedestrian zone.

At the “Dalgolyatie - Gostopriemno more” forum in Tsarevo on 19 September 2026 the tourism ministry gave figures for the current season: 3.1 million tourists from May to July, 11 million overnight stays and 627 million euro in revenue, 13 per cent more than a year earlier. From January to July 5.2 million guests were registered, 2.2 million of them from abroad, staying an average of 3.8 nights against 2.4 nights for domestic guests. Revenue stood at 520 million euro from foreign visitors, up 10.5 per cent, and 360 million euro from domestic ones, up 18.1 per cent. For 2027, 150,000 airline seats from Germany have already been booked.

Assessment: The most interesting figure is not the volume but the length of stay: 3.8 nights on average for foreign guests. Owners letting a holiday flat on the southern coast often plan for weekly bookings and then find that the market books shorter and turns over more often, which makes cleaning and handover dearer. I read that as an argument for properties with self check-in and reliable local management. That revenue is rising faster than guest numbers points to higher rates per night, and that is the better news for owners.

Since 21 September 2026 the stretch of road III-9009 between Novo Panicharevo and Yasna Polyana, just under six kilometres long, has been closed to all vehicles. The diversion runs from Novo Panicharevo along road I-9 to the Kraymorie junction, then on the II-99 to the Primorsko junction and the II-992 to Yasna Polyana, and correspondingly in the opposite direction. The Road Infrastructure Agency expects this phase to take about six months; the contract for the full rebuild runs 360 calendar days. The carriageway and drainage are being renewed, with works on three bridge structures and on numerous power and water crossings.

The Bulgarian National Bank reports an inflow of foreign direct investment of 3.45 billion euro for January to July 2026, equal to 2.8 per cent of output. In the same period of 2025 the figure was 1.53 billion euro. Reinvested earnings account for the largest share at 2.62 billion euro, alongside 492 million euro in debt instruments and 334.8 million euro in equity. Real estate showed an outflow of 7.3 million euro, against an outflow of 16.6 million euro a year earlier.

On 18 September 2026 A95 petrol in Bulgaria cost 1.67 euro a litre, diesel 1.94 euro and LPG 0.68 euro. On the same day a package of measures worth more than 300 million euro was announced to cushion the effect of high fuel prices on households and businesses. Of that, 170 million euro goes as aid to farming businesses, with 100 million euro covering the difference in the gas oil price between 2025 and 2026, equivalent to almost 44 cents a litre. A one-off payment of 50 euro is foreseen for low-income households, covering more than 560,000 people, with 30 million euro set aside.

On 17 September 2026 a citizens' committee in Sveti Vlas wrote to the departments for regional development, environment and water, finance and tourism, and to the Burgas district administration. It asks for a new wastewater treatment plant and for an action plan with firm dates by 1 November 2026. The trigger was the closure of Iztok beach on 12 August 2026 by the regional health inspectorate after a failure at the Elenite plant had contaminated the sea. A human chain is announced for 18 September from 9 a.m. on the Burgas to Varna road at the Kosharitsa checkpoint, so traffic there may be held up.

Sozopol municipal council adopted the 2026 budget on 17 September at its 33rd session. It amounts to 23.4 million euros, about ten per cent above last year. Delegated state tasks account for some 7.5 million euros, the earmarked grant for capital spending stands at a little over 700,000 euros, and more than 609,000 euros are carried over from the previous year. The priorities are municipal road infrastructure and connecting the villages to water and sewerage, where so far only Ravadinovo is on the network.

On 17 September 2026 Burgas municipality published the draft of a detailed development plan for plot 07079.707.197 in the Ostritsa 2 settlement area, Banevo cadastral district. It provides for villa building up to seven metres high, that is two storeys, with a building density of up to 20 per cent, a floor area ratio of up to 0.8 and a minimum green share of 70 per cent; parking has to be provided on the plot. The legal basis is article 128 paragraphs 3 and 5 of the Spatial Planning Act. The papers are available at the ZAU Osvobozhdenie directorate on working days from 8.30 to 12.30, and objections can be filed within 14 days of service of the notice.

Assessment: Twenty per cent density and seventy per cent greenery are the figures that keep a villa area calm for years. Buying there means buying distance from the neighbour rather than floor space, and that is what carries resale value in the hinterland of Burgas. I see two sides: the owner-occupier gains quiet, the developer loses volume, because 0.8 leaves little room. The 14 day period also applies to neighbours who wish to object, and in practice this is the window most often missed.

By order no. 3022 of 17 September 2026 the mayor of Nessebar granted the owners' association of the Bay View Villas complex a free right of use. It covers 110 of the 673 square metres of plot 51500.200.9 in the Baira locality, a forest area, and serves the operation and maintenance of borehole TK-2 as well as the water abstraction permit procedure. The term is five years, the right of use is valued at 2.60 euros, plus 0.13 euros in municipal tax and 30.68 euros in administrative fee including VAT, both payable within seven days. The legal basis is article 39 of the Municipal Property Act and article 69 paragraph 2 item 3 of the Forestry Act, together with council decisions no. 752 and 808.

A new methodology sets out how the consumer protection commission examines whether a price rise is economically justified, based on the amended Consumer Protection Act. Higher costs for supply, production, labour, energy and raw materials, as well as exchange rate movements, count as justification; a reference to general inflation or to a profit target does not. The comparison is with the regular price in comparable earlier periods, while promotions and the return to the regular price are excluded. A trader has at least five working days for the first reply, with five to ten more if the data are incomplete, and only then is the increase deemed unjustified. Two industry associations regard this as control of profits and as a burden mainly on small firms.

A regional business conference met at Burgas Free University on 17 September 2026, part of the nationwide series run by the Leader.BG platform and under the patronage of mayor Dimitar Nikolov. Investment, digitalisation and the link between companies and higher education were at the centre. The second phase of the Burgas industrial and logistics park, completed in mid August 2026, and the development of the port, the airport and the free trade zone were named as arguments for the location. Rector Milen Baltov announced that students will in future spend whole semesters inside companies.