In the beginning of April it became clear that the European Committee plans new regulations for people outside the European Union who wish to visit the visa free Schengen zone for short trips, business meetings and holidays. The European Committee in the face of the Euro Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström hopes that these new measures and smarter visa policy concerning the Schengen visas for short stays will attract more tourists, students, artists and business people to Europe.
The offer of the European Committee for alleviation of the Schengen visa requirements include several measures. The first one is for a shorter period for the processing and decision making for granting a visa from 15 days to a period of 10 days. The second one is to give an opportunity for submission of Schengen visa applications in countries of the European Union that are in case the Commonwealth is responsible for examining the application or if there is no representation in the country of application. There are plans for various reductions for the regular passengers, as well as a visa for multiple entries that will be valid for three years.
The rest of the Schengen visa alleviations requirements include a simple application form, a chance for online application, a chance for special schemes for Schengen visa granting at the very border for stays up to 15 days in the travel free zone of Schengen. The European Union will also get the opportunity to issue Schengen visas if the visitor comes for an important event. The authorities are even thinking of a new visa type that will allow the travelers to move into the travel free Schengen zone for a period of up to one year, in case they do not leave the member state they are staying at for a period longer of 90 days. All these changes need to be improved by the European Parliament and the EU Council, however this is expected to happen no earlier than in 2015. In case these changes enter into force, they will apply to all countries in the European Union, the Schengen area and the associated countries of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.
There are many new office buildings in Sofia and a lot of local and international companies that are looking to relocate to a better and more comfortable office premise in the Bulgarian capital. There are several important things that all general managers look for when they are in need of a new office in Sofia city – the location and the maintenance. In the last two years, the companies looking to buy or rent an office in Sofia city are requiring office buildings with full service. The market situation shows that the office projects with good location and not so perfect parameters and the buildings with perfect technical parameters but unattractive location or low overall quality of services hardly ever attract the interest of the companies.
If a certain office building wants to attract and retain its company tenants, the developers and owners of office buildings should pay attention to the overall attractiveness of the location, the available property management and the offered maintenance, as well as the availability of dining places and public transport. Most of the big companies that are relocating to Sofia city are interested in the areas along the main boulevards. Other companies are looking for offices in the business centers of Sofia and yet others are interested in the downtown Sofia location. The location is associated with the access to the public transport including the metro. The other important criteria here include the time in which the maintenance company reacts when something is not working and then comes the rental fee. The least important factor for the companies searching for a Sofia office is the maintenance fee.
On the first day of April the European Committee made an offer the provision of an easy access for short-term trips in the Schengen zone. The committee noted that many citizens from countries that are not part of the European Union and want to travel to the countries in the Schengen area, have to face a long and expensive procedure in order to be issued visas, even if they plan just a short trip. Thanks to that offer, it is believed that these visa procedures for short stays will be reduced and simplified. This step is expected to result in less bureaucracy and savings, yet the security level will remain the same.
The easier access to the Schengen visas will increase the number of short stays to relatives and friends, and the number of short business trips. As a result, this will increase the economic activity and will be beneficial for all parties. According to a recent study, the flexible requirements when Schengen visa issues are concerned will result in up to 60 % increase in the short trips in the passport free Schengen zone. People from South Africa and Saudi Arabia, from India, China, Russia and Ukraine will be able to travel more. Bulgaria hopes to become part of the Schengen zone for free traveling by the end of this year. Currently, the Bulgarian citizens do not need visas in order to enter the Schengen travel free area for short periods of time.
The potential of the Sofia office market is enormous according to real estate agents from leading brokerage companies. Many of the companies which are now outsourcing their business in Sofia and the companies which are already part of the business sector in Bulgaria are looking for fully furnished and well equipped offices in Sofia. The construction companies which are investing in office premises are now trying to provide modern office buildings with Sofia office premises around 200 and 250 sq.m. According to the real estate agents, there are not many available offices of the highest class A in the center of Sofia and there is a niche for them to be constructed. Such offices however are also on demand in the outskirts of the city, especially near the ring road.
The investors in office buildings in Sofia should know however that there is a tendency for the companies to sign rental contracts for shorter period of time. In the past the companies were signing rental contracts for their Sofia offices for ten years, now they are more willing to sign contracts for half of that period. Why is that so? The companies want to feel free to change the location and the office building in Sofia, in case they find out that the current office premises they are renting in Sofia do not answer their needs anymore. There is yet another trend on Sofia office market – the so called co-working process, where individuals rent a single working space where they can work together with people from other branches.
In an interview for the Bulgarian newspaper Capital, Mr. Anri Malos the President of the European Economic and Social Council announced that Bulgaria should take certain measures in order to improve its status and appearance among the other countries in the European Union. According to Mr. Anri Malos Bulgaria should make efforts to support its young people, to offer them good education and to create a positive atmosphere of trust. The young people in Bulgaria should be given a feeling of stability and brighter future.
In order for Bulgaria to be accepted by its partners in the European Union and to finally become member of the Schengen agreement, the country has to change its image and should be presented as a beautiful country with a lot of potential in front of the investors and the local young people. Mr. Anri Malos said that the effect of the European funds is easy to be spotted all over the country and these funds helped the local authorities improve the infrastructure of the country and he gave as an example the highway from Sofia to Bourgas. According to Mr. Anri Malos, Bulgaria can now use the European funds and programs investing in the young people and their education and in innovations.
It seems that the office market in Sofia is already part of the new tendency that is already valid in the office markets of London, New York and Dubai. The offices in Sofia city are now coming with full equipment and furnishing. The international companies which are outsourcing their business in Sofia city seem to be very happy with that as they pay more for rent, but they also get more in terms of office premise conditions and access to various facilities and amenities. According to the information presented by the real estate experts, the Sofia offices that are mostly being rented have up to ten working premises and are fully furnished with stylish working desks and are connected to fast wireless internet and digital television, as well as a fixed telephone landline.
These new and modern Sofia office centers provide additional facilities such as meeting halls that could be reserved for a certain meeting, office equipment including scanner and printing machine. The Sofia office buildings of class A are offering office premises with cleaning and maintenance of the common parts, the fees for which are included in the monthly rental price. In other words, the situation on the Sofia office market is quite good, there are still offices of the highest class A which are available for sale and rent, tempting the companies with their excellent location and full range of available facilities and services.
In a recent interview in front of Capital newspaper, the President of the European Economic and Social Council Anri Malos said that Bulgaria has to invest in the education of its young people and in various innovations, in order to improve its image and to become a desired member of the travel free Schengen zone. According to Mr. Malos, the aim of the organization European Economic and Social Council is to stay close to people, to listen to their needs and to help them in giving their best to their own country and the world.
Mr. Anri Malos commented that people in some of the European countries still think that the expansion of the European Union towards East and the acceptance of countries such as Bulgaria and Romania was not a good decision. Why is this so? According to Mr. Anri Malos, the expansion of the European Union was not properly explained to these people as something that is important and necessary. Currently, the French Interior Minister Mr. Manuel Vals is against the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen. Unless the reaction and attitude of these people changes, there will always be politicians that will make use of the situation to chase their own goals.
During the last two years it became clear to the construction companies and the real estate agents, that the offices on demand in Sofia are the ones of the highest possible quality. The companies which are looking to open their new offices in Sofia and thus to outsource their business in Bulgaria, as well as the companies which have already opened offices in Sofia and now want to relocate are all looking for a few crucial things – good location, well covered by the public transport; high quality of the office premises and balanced sale / rental price. Some of these companies have already been renting business centers in Sofia of a lower quality and now they do not wish to make compromise.
Why are the companies looking for office premises in Sofia of class A? The answer is simple – they are looking for a good balance between work and life. The good managers know that in order to keep their business running and to keep their best employees in the team, they must offer a great selection of services and comforts. If the employees are happy, then they are giving 100 % in their daily activities and the company they work for makes a profit. It is as simple as that and the sooner the companies managers understand that, the better it will be for everyone. According to the real estate agents, there will not be bigger changes in the rental levels on the Sofia office market in 2014.
It seems that for so many years now Romania and Bulgaria dream about being part of the Schengen zone for passport free traveling and this still remains a dream. Recently, the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Mr. Kristian Vigenin expressed hopes that the bid for entry of his country will finally be considered and that Bulgaria will become part of the visa free Schengen zone. At the same time, Romania intends to put concrete and sharp questions for entering the travel free Schengen zone in front of the leaders of the Council of European Union in May. The intentions of Romania were announced by the president of the county, Mr. Traian Basescu after his meeting with the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
It is a fact that Romania and Bulgaria do qualify for Schengen, however their entry is made difficult from certain member countries which are willing to see positive reports of the European Commission for the two countries in order to agree to the extension of the visa free zone of Schengen. It is a fact that Romania and Bulgaria are now truly disappointed by the Schengen entry mechanism, which has turned to be a tool for political games. The politicians from the two countries feel that this mechanism is not used for acknowledging the efforts that the two countries have made and are currently making.
The sector of the business premises and offices in Sofia is in good place now, developing with steady steps and the business seems to feel certain optimism. The characteristics of the available office buildings in Sofia and the office centers that are in progress were discussed by leading real estate agents and investors. According to the real estate agents, who are experts on the office properties market in Sofia, the future projects for the construction of office buildings in Sofia will offer around 190 000 sq.m. However, the office projects of class A in Sofia that are currently being worked on comprise of around 60 000 sq.m.
In case the rental levels of Sofia office premises remain the same in the current years, the investors will find out that there is a lack of high quality office premises. Currently, in Sofia city are available 45 000 sq.m. of offices and the real estate experts say that each year around 100 000 sq.m of new offices in Sofia are being rented or purchased by new companies on the Bulgarian market or existing companies which are relocating. Currently, the interest of the investors is focused on the office buildings of the highest class A in Sofia, which have all the required facilities and amenities to offer to the people working there, public transport and access to good infrastructure.
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