News

We have already written about the importance and main characteristics of the social service "Domestic Social Patronage", provided by the municipalities. The crisis and the state of emergency have made the service an even more important tool for meeting the needs of the elderly and those with special needs. Thanks to the data received from the Agency for Social Assistance and after reviewing all available municipal budgets in recent years, we can now indicate the specific dimensions of the DSP.

At its last meeting, the government allocated over BGN 250 million for "significant municipal projects". Although expected, the paradox in this decision is that the amount is greater than the total targeted subsidy for capital expenditures of municipalities in the budget for 2021. A December government meeting proved more important for local investments than the entire adoption procedure of the budget. Municipal investments are not only dependent on government transfers, but also increasingly manually managed by the Council of Ministers.

Immediately before the outbreak of the pandemic, we focused on the development of Plovdiv and Varna as the two strongest economic centers in the country after the capital (see "The potential beyond Sofia - a view of Plovdiv and Varna"). An interesting moment in their presentation is the competition for the title "second largest city in Bulgaria", which is inevitable in recent years. Given that a census is forthcoming in 2021 and taking into account the current socio-economic processes in Plovdiv and Varna, we can look at this dispute and bring some clarity.

Shortly after the end of the state of emergency in the country, an IME team held a working meeting with over 20 mayors of town halls and deputy mayors from the villages in the municipality of Gabrovo. During the conversation it was commented several times that the pandemic has led to a revival in the villages and to an increase in registrations at the current address. Months later, we decided to verify this statement by comparing it with official data. For this purpose, we use the quarterly data on the population from GRAO and compare the data by settlements as of March 15 and June 15, 2020.

The preparation of the budget of Sofia Municipality for 2021 will be a challenge for several reasons. In the first place is the lack of a developed macroeconomic framework for 2021 at the national level. In second place is the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the 2020 budget and the possible need for a second update at the end of the year. Thirdly, it is due to the ambiguity of the development of the pandemic and the danger of a new series of quarantine measures on economic life.

The public health crisis of recent months has brought to the fore a number of health system problems. Among them is the provision of appropriate staff and equal access to health care. However, as these problems do not affect the individual districts of the country equally, the current text focuses in greater detail on the access to specialists in the different districts of Bulgaria.

Half a year after the beginning of the state of emergency and the accompanying economic crisis, the labor market is showing signs of recovery. However, regional dynamics in unemployment levels reveal deepening problems at the municipal level.