Monthly Archives: April 2013

The new Sofia offices projects

Mina Boycheva 16/04/2013

The office market in Sofia city will be stirred next year with three new projects that will be completed and will enter their doors for new tenant companies. The three office buildings will add approximately 100 000 sq.m. more to the already existing office premises in the capital of Bulgaria. This new office area is above the annual percentage of the square meters of offices that were completed in the years before the crises, but at the same time is below the annual level of office demand in the period of the crises. In 2014 will be fully completed the administrative centers Capital Fort on Tsarigradsko Schousse Blvd, the Millennium Centre and the City Tower on Macedonia Square.

The office market in Sofia city will be stirred next year with three new projects that will be completed and will enter their doors for new tenant companies.

The supply of office space nowadays is approaching with slower steps if compared to the supply in the years before the crises, but still the number of offices provided is going up. According to the statistics, at the end of 2012 the office premises offered were 1.60 million sq.m, marking a 7 %year increase. The office premises that were completed were estimated to 108 000 sq.m., while the rented office premises for the same period were 85 000 sq.m. in total.

The main tenant on the office market remain the international companies, which are moving their offices on the territory of Bulgaria. In general these are companies from the IT sector and the pharmaceutical sector, which are looking for high-quality office premises in office buildings of class A that are easiy accessed via the public transport and feature parking zones. The real estate agents believe that the same parameters will form the office market search in 2013.

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Sofia’s access to the Schengen zone postponed

Mina Boycheva 16/04/2013

Bulgaria along with Romania faced a new rejection in the beginning of March, connected with their application to enter the Schengen zone. The two countries were postponed again from becoming part of the border free travelling area, after the justice and the home affairs ministers of several of the European Union member states agreed that the two countries are not yet ready for becoming part of the Schengen zone. Actually, most of the member states showed their support for the two countries from the Balkan Peninsula, however the powerful states of Finland, the Netherlands and Germany opposed. The two countries are meeting the technical criteria in order to become part of the Schengen zone, but their membership was postponed since the rest of the countries have certain doubts about the overall situation they are in.

It is believed that Bulgaria will be accepted as a member of the Schengen area at the end of this year or at some point next year.

The interior minister of Germany, Mr. Hans-Peter Friedrich, made a proposal according to which the access of the immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania should be restricted. His idea came from his concern that the social security system was used for many years already. All the other countries that are members of the Schengen zone however, stated that Germany should not restrict the right of access of the skilled workers to the job market. It is believed that the two countries will be accepted as members of the Schengen area at the end of this year or at some point next year.

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