Britons living in Bulgaria. Guide to Bulgaria, Sofia and Varna

Bulgaria Europe
British citizens holding valid passports can enter Bulgaria for up to three months without requiring a visa. However, we area aware of cases where ...

Although the president is head of the armed forces, the role is largely ceremonial. As a result, the government became committed to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. As negotiations dragged on, the EU urged a rapid resolution of the situation in order to progress reforms required for accession in 2007.Mr Stanishev has said that EU membership is his government's top priority and pledged to make up for lost time. Bulgarian is a Slavic language.After the second world war the country was a satellite of the Soviet Union for nearly half a century. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. He beat nationalist Volen Siderov, who opposed the country's European Union entry in 2007.Bulgaria's presidents are elected to five-year terms. In 1997, macroeconomic stability was reinforced by the imposition of a fixed exchange rate of the lev against the German D-mark and the negotiation of an IMF standby agreement. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Legislative power is exercised by the prime minister and parliament. Low inflation and steady progress on structural reforms improved the business environment; Bulgaria has averaged 4% growth since 2000 and has begun to attract significant amounts of foreign direct investment. Minerals, including coal, copper, and zinc, play an important role in industry. MoneyYou can buy Leva from banks and foreign exchange offices in the UK.  Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Some criminals are reported to impersonate traffic policemen to flag vehicles down on major routes, especially near international border crossings.  The 1996 legislation gave public broadcaster status to state-owned radio and TV.In 2000 Balkan News Corporation - part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - launched bTV, Bulgaria's first national commercial channel. The country achieved growth, saw unemployment fall from highs of nearly 20% and inflation come under control but incomes and living standards remained low.Bulgaria was not among the countries invited to join the EU in 2004. The country joined NATO in 2004.Country profile: BulgariaA Balkan country with spectacular mountains and a coastline on the Black Sea, Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman empire for around 500 years, although the Orthodox tradition remained strong. The former communists remained a powerful influence. The mostly ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) is also part of the coalition.The Socialists won the biggest number of seats in parliament in the June poll, but not enough to form a government on their own. The NMS, which led the former coalition, came second and the MRF third.In the political manoeuvring that followed, the main parties blocked each other's attempts to form a government. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into the EU.