08th of January 2007

iPropertyCLUB News

EU Accession and the Property Markets in Bulgaria

Fireworks and laser lights lit the midnight skies over Bulgaria as the country celebrated its entry into the European Union, but celebrations were tempered by some of the realities of the new year and new era.

President Georgi Purvanov said that Bulgaria’s EU accession was a “heavenly moment” and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev called it a “dream come true”, while European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that Bulgaria and Romania joining the EU meant that “our culture, our heritage, will be richer, our mutual ties and our economy will be boosted”.

The new year began with price increases, including on fuels, but also with optimistic economic growth forecasts, ranging from the Finance Ministry’s 5.8 per cent to ING Bank’s and Bulgaria’s Institute for Market Economics’ 6.5 per cent. There was also optimism about the boost that EU accession would mean for Bulgaria’s property market. The final figures for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2006 would add up to about four billion euro, and it has a positive outlook for FDI in 2007.