The interest shown towards the Sofia offices with strategic location is quite serious. Local freelancers, small companies, big international companies that want to outsource their business to Sofia are all looking for nice offices in Sofia. These offices in Sofia need to have strategic location, so that they can attract the interest of the potential clients. All these groups of companies looking for offices in Sofia are interested in long-term rental and insist on having good city location.
The rental levels of luxurious offices in Sofia have gone up with 8 % in the past 12 months. Since the number of good offices in Sofia is decreasing, there is a new tendency that the real estate agents are pointing out. Some of the buildings that were panned to be malls and trading zines are planned to be turned into offices of the highest class. The brokers say that this is a wise step and that these offices will correspond to the needs and desires of the outsourcing companies, as well as the new local companies.
The Deputy Prime Minister at the European Policy and Institutional Matters, Meglena Kuneva, informed the Ambassador of Romania in Bulgaria that the Schengen area accession of Bulgaria and Romania is a target that is achievable for the two countries. According to the press office of the Bulgarian government, among the first visits abroad of Mrs. Kuneva would be to Bucharest where the Deputy Prime Minister will discuss the Schengen bids of Bulgaria and Romania with various representatives of the Romanian government.
Meglena Kuneva stated that in order for good results to be achieved under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was among the main priorities of the new Bulgarian government. The Deputy Prime Minister further stated that she will make everything possible to speed up the justice reforms and the fight against corruption in Bulgaria. According to Meglena Kuneva, Romania and Bulgaria have to keep a special relationship in connection with their common goals in the European Union. According to her, the EU investment program should include cross-border projects that will improve the life of the people in the two neighboring countries as far as economic growth is concerned.
Sofia is the destination with the more serious annual growth in the rental of luxurious office premises on the main streets and best districts of the city. During the first six months of the year there was an almost 30 % increase in the rental levels of the capital when luxurious offices are concerned. The other Central and Eastern European capitals that provoked the interest of the outsourcing companies include Riga, Belgrade and Moscow.
The companies which are interested in the rental of luxurious offices in Sofia are outsourcing companies which work in the sphere of pharmacy, IT services and consultancy. All these companies are looking for comfortable and modern offices in Sofia with fast access and coverage from the public transport. The office premises in Sofia that the companies are looking for need to be large in terms of space, modern in terms of interior, as well as well-organized, with a nice dining area and a parking around. The outsourcing companies who are looking for luxurious offices in Sofia are eager to pay up to 13 Euro/sq.m in order to get the office they need and deserve.
Francois Fillon, who is the former Prime Minister of France and also a candidate for becoming a leader of the right-wing Union for a Popular Movement as well as for the presidential election in 2017, recently stated that he is against the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area. In an interview for the French television TF1, Mr. Francois Fillon stated that France should prevent Romania and Bulgaria from entering the Schengen as these are the two countries wherefrom most Roma people come in France.
The former Prime Minister of France further stated that a brand new Schengen area with special border services and just key countries inside which are usually target for mass immigration. Naturally, Mr. Francois Fillon wants more strict conditions for getting French citizenship. At the same time, Romania and Bulgaria hope to be accepted in the movement free Schengen zone soon, as both countries are absolutely ready to become members, as far as technical issues are concerned.
The outsourcing companies which are renting offices in Sofia come from several main sectors, namely IT and telecommunications, production, financial and special services. All these outsourcing companies plan expanding of their business in Sofia and are often looking for larger offices in the capital. So, what are the outsourcing companies searching for in terms of offices? According to the real estate agents all companies that make plans to open businesses in Sofia are looking towards modern office premises with good location, allowing for easy access. The outsourcing companies are also looking for brighter office premises in Sofia with high quality ventilation and air-conditioning system.
The outsourcing companies which are searching for new offices in Sofia require high quality of the services, systems and completion works. They are also insisting on the recreation and dining zones, as well as on the professional property management of the offices in Sofia they are renting. Currently, the rental prices vary between 10.5 and 13 Euros/sq.m depending on the location and on the specific needs and requirements of the outsourcing companies that are moving to Sofia city.
Recently the Foreign Affairs Minister of Romania Titus Corlăţean stated that no consensus has been reached in connection with the acceptance of Romania in the Schengen area. The minister further stated that he is sure Romania will finally be joining Schengen, though the country is now not in the area where the target was overbid. Some of the people in the country say that Romania should be alone in the search for Schengen entry. Others believe that it would be better for Romania to apply for entry in the Schengen zone along with Bulgaria.
Currently, both Romania and Bulgaria have fulfilled the technical criteria to become members of the Schengen zone. However, the two countries have failed to convince the member countries of the Schengen area that they deserve to be accepted as full members. The European political landscape is quite complicated and both Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen is victim of other factors which are not directly associated with the readiness of Romania and Bulgaria to become members of the Schengen travel-free zone.
In the past few years France, the Netherlands and Finland opposite the joining of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen free movement zone. These countries insisted on a two-step accession – first naval and air borders and later – the terrestrial borders.
The engine that drives the entire office market in Sofia is the outsourcing market. Sofia is the main outsourcing destination in Bulgaria, followed by the cities of Plovdiv, Varna and Bourgas. For more than 10 years already Sofia is a popular destination for outsourcing and many large and successful companies have already opened offices here. According to information offered by the Ministry of Economics, more than 20 000 people in Bulgaria are already working in the outsourcing business. Bulgaria keeps the second place in Europe and the fifth in the world as an appealing outsourcing destination.
The main factors that make Sofia office market so appealing for the outsourcing companies are the low maintenance costs, the affordable rental prices of the Sofia offices, the high-quality office premises in Sofia, the fast and reliable internet connection, the excellent knowledge and training of the specialists and their good knowledge of foreign languages. For example, a great part of the call centers in Sofia, Bulgaria operate in more than 25 languages. The companies which are building offices in Sofia and the realtors try to answer the needs of the modern outsourcing companies.
The main challenges that stay in front of the new Commission in Strasbourg are associated with the migration policy, Energy Union, as well as the equality between the women and men. The new European Commission voted a European Parliament that was headed by Jean-Claude Juncker. The head of the Bulgarian delegation in the European People’s Party, which is also a Deputy Chairperson of the EPP at the EU Parliament Maria Gabriel informed Juncker on several challenges that concern Bulgaria.
Among these challenges was the consistency between home and foreign policy, as well as the coordination and solidarity between the EU member states. The Deputy Chairperson of the EPP at the EU Parliament Maria Gabriel further stressed out the necessity of a comprehensive approach of the EU Commission on migration. The Deputy Chairperson made a statement according to which there must be a real migration diplomacy to be based on cooperation with the countries of transit and the enhanced dialog, especially between the countries of the southern Mediterranean. The importance of smart visa policy was further stressed in order to support objectives of the EU.
Among the most important topics that were discussed were also the support that Romania and Bulgaria search for in connection with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen area and the possible free movement of people.
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