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Another 3 years Sustainable Partnership between BE and 60K

a.shulekova — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:16:56 GMT

South Eastern Europe`s leading BPO and Contact Centre outsourcing company 60K and one of their major clients BE (part of Telefonica O2 in the UK) recently signed a contract for 60K to provide another 3 years of technical and customer service support for BE’s UK customers.

Building a truly valuable partnership is not an easy achievement and both companies have been working together for several years to share their values, goals and best practices to forge the perfect business relationship. In confirmation of this Chris Stening, Managing Director of BE, declares: “I was very skeptical about offshore outsourcers when I arrived at BE a year ago but have been bowled over at the level of quality, value and especially customer service that 60K has delivered. Many of awards BE has won over the last three years can be directly attributed to them. Their people are exceptional and their approach flexible and collaborative with a real partnership approach. After benchmarking others in the area, 60K shone out as offering the best value, service and quality. One of our partners that visited 60K has been so impressed that they are exploring using them for their own business. Outsourcing for me is now far more than an efficiency opportunity – it is the chance to deliver best in class service.”

Commitment, pro-activeness, shared knowledge, mutual dependency, and organizational linkage are some of the main factors defining the sustainability of this partnership. Proof of this is the many awards won by BE and 60K:

Best UK Customer Service 2010 and 2011 (Think Broadband)

Best UK Consumer Fixed Broadband 2010 and 2011 (according to ISPA):

Best EMEA Outsourcing Partnership 2010: Silver Medalists (Contact Center World)

Best EMEA Outsourcing Partnership 2011 (European Call Center Awards): Highly commended award

For the last award 60K were highly commended for their partnership with BE at a gala ceremony in London, attended by representative of the global business world. In connection with this CEO of 60K Jonathan Gladwish commented:

“This commendation is a reflection of the strong relationship we have with BE. This has been developed over the past three years and 60K feel, and are treated as an extension of BE’s organization. Both BE’s management team and 60K’s staff always put BE’s customers first and are renowned in the industry as providing ‘Amazing Customer Service’, which is thanks to the dedication and efforts of all involved!”

More than 120 people dedicated to the BE project are working in 60K and they are all doing a great job in meeting and exceeding the expectations of BE and their customers.

BE is a leader on the British broadband market and has earned a truly formidable reputation as the pro-consumer’s choice - meeting the demands of users who accept nothing less than the fastest, most reliable and bandwidth-rich internet access combined with the best Customer Support in the UK. BE provides an agile, imaginative and refreshing broadband alternative that delivers a very different experience to the one customers are used to.

Being on the market since 2005, BE has built their own network for the latest ADSL 2+ technologies ― from the ground up and being an innovator in technology, BE is now developing a fiber broadband service. The future looks extremely “Rosy” for both BE and 60K with both companies having aggressive growth plans for 2012. To this end, 60K’s pro-active support and partnership, recently added a second contact center to cater for existing customer’s demands and new requirements growth plans. As part of 60K’s 2012 plans the company will be setting up and acquiring further facilities in Europe to bring further support options, languages and back-up.

Securing a Future Action

Law Partnership Tascheva & Partner — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:40:23 GMT

By making provision for relief of future claims by way of injunction, the Law provides the creditor with the possibility to secure in advance his future claims against a debtor. The purpose of the procedure is to prevent the debtor from disposing of the property prior or during the legal proceedings to the detriment of the creditor’s interest. Thus, when there is a legal interest for the creditor to prosecute a claim, he can seek from the Court, on the grounds of art.390 of the Civil Code, a cautionary judgment (a preliminary injunction) which secures relief of his claims upon completion of future legal proceedings. The court competent to pronounce itself on the request for injunction (the collateral security measures), is the court within whose generic competence the future claim falls.

In his petition to the court the creditor should state the possible grounds of the future claim / e.g. evidence for collectible receivables, other proofs, etc./, as well as the need for adopting collateral security measures /e.g. the debtor’s refusal to pay, the possible risk that the debtor may dispose of his property to the creditor’s disadvantage, etc./. However, no injunctions are admissible for securing monetary claims against the State, governmental institutions, municipalities and medical-treatment facilities pursuant to art.5, para.1 of the Medical-Treatment Facilities Act. Coercive enforcement of an injunction for a monetary claim through garnishment of the receivables is also not allowed / i.e. un-confiscatable receivables /.

The plaintiff-creditor should specify the type of injunction of the future action being sought and the amount claimed. The injunction measures that can be enforced are as follows: garnishment of the bank accounts of the debtor, injunction of the debtor’s immovable property, imposing a restraint on the use of the debtor’s automobile, suspension of the execution, and any other appropriate measures set by the court. The injunction measure being sought should be adequate to the need for collateral security. This means that if the amount of the debt is small, then it will not be possible to request an injunction over an immovable property as this would be disproportionate to the required collateral security measure given the size of the debt. The court has no right to grant an injunction measure different from the one requested by the plaintiff.

The request is examined in a closed session on the day it is received and is granted if the court decides that the future action is /1/ reasonable and well founded and /2/ there is a need for injunction measures. Having allowed the injunction measures, the court issues an injunctive order / in most cases upon provision of a guarantee by the creditor to the amount of 10% of the price of the action/ and sets a time limit for lodging the future action, which cannot exceed one month. If within that term the plaintiff fails to give proof for bringing a legal action, the court dissolves the injunction.

In cases when the Court of First Instance has not granted an injunction, the plaintiff has the right to appeal to a court of higher instance, in which case a copy of the appeal is not presented to the debtor. The moment the debtor finds out about the injunction is the moment he is served with a notification of the imposed injunction through an official receiver, or through the Registry Agency or the Court as prescribed by the law for the different cases. From that date onward starts the 7-day term within which the debtor can appeal the imposed injunction.

From 01.01.2012 onward EU citizens freely acquire land for a secondary residence and business purposes in Bulgaria

Law Partnership Tascheva & Partner — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:33:43 GMT

From 01.01.2012 onward the restriction to acquire land for a secondary residence or for business purposes is annulled for citizens of EU member-states, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein who are not permanent residents in Bulgaria, as well as for legal entities registered under the legislation of these states. The restriction was envisaged with the Transitional Measures in Application No 6, Part 3, p.1 of the Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania 2005 to the EU (Transitional Measures). From this date onward - i.e. 01.01.2012 afore-said physical persons and legal entities will be able to acquire land for living and for business activities on the terms and conditions valid for Bulgarian citizens.

The restrictions on the acquisition of agricultural land and forests by citizens of EU member-states, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein, however, will remain in force till 01.01.2014.

Self-employed farmers who are EU citizens and intend to reside permanently in Bulgaria and are also registered as agricultural producers can acquire land and forests on the terms and conditions valid for Bulgarian citizens. Such citizens are not subject to the restrictions envisaged by the Transition Measures.

Given the above possibilities, a number of peculiarities of the Bulgarian legislation should be noted concerning the payment of the purchase price and the taxes due in real estate deals.

In respect of the measures undertaken by the Bulgarian government against money laundering, a law has been enacted restricting cash payments which exceed BGN 15 000 or its equivalent in another currency. Real estate deals at a price higher than BGN 10,000 or its equivalent in another currency fall within the scope of that law too. Such payments have to be made to a notary’s bank account especially provided for this purpose or to any other bank account agreed between the parties.

On the other hand, a physical person or a legal entity acquiring a real estate through purchase at a price higher than BGN 10 000, is under the obligation to declare the origin of the finances to the notary. In case the money for the purchase is a loan made by a physical person or a legal entity that is not a credit institution or bank, then there is the requirement for the purchaser- a physical person or a legal entity- if taxable under the Bulgarian legislation, to declare to the tax authorities every loan which exceeds BGN 10,000 that they have received. The loan has to be declared by the lender, too. With the signing of the Notary Deed for the purchase before a notary, the parties to the deal declare that the price stated in the Notary Deed is the real price of the deal.

The costs for the purchase of a real estate in Bulgaria in all cases include a notary fee, a local tax in favor of the municipality responsible for the district where the real estate is located, and a registration fee for entering the Notary Deed for the purchase in the Property Register. The fees and local taxes are determined by statutory regulations, and the notary fees are estimated as a ratio, whereas the local tax is determined by each municipality to the amount of 0,1% to 3%; the registration fee is a fixed sum of 0,1%. The fees and the local tax are estimated on the basis of the purchase price of the real estate.

Despite the financial crisis 60K is developing rapidly and strongly

a.shulekova — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:03:02 GMT

Despite the financial crisis 60K has been developing rapidly for the past year. Bulgaria’s leading independent outsourcing company definitely deserved and has now opened a second home to accommodate its new clients and continued growth from its existing clients.

The new and second contact center is again in Sofia (264 Botevgradsko shose) and is spread over total floor space of 1100 sq meters in a newly built facility providing complete technical, electrical and physical security, which is paramount in protecting 60K’s Clients’ sensitive data. 60K has options over a further 2 floors in the building, each floor of 1100 sq meters to prepare for even further client growth and numbers.

The new office space has 200 fully equipped service representative desks, 5 supervisor’s seats, and spacious conference room.

60K`s existing Contact Center office of over 2500 sq. meters on Kliment Ohridski in Sofia remains fully occupied with clients. With two large and high quality Contact Centers in Sofia – 10 minutes apart, 60K can uniquely offer its international and domestic clients true physical and data back-up and disaster recovery with both Contact Centers fully linked by multiple high speed fiber and in the case of an emergency outage at one center, a smooth and quick bus transportation of agents between centers to keep clients and in turn their clients fully operational.

The new business building opens new opportunities for hiring new team members by offering young people to kick-start their successful careers and experienced customer support people the opportunity to extend their careers at 60K. People who currently work at this new location are typically aged 20-44, multi-lingual and their number has already increased quickly with 60K now totalling over 450 staff working on various projects at both the old and new locations.

60K's agents are working on fast developing projects for Bulgarian and International clients with several new clients again being added in December as well as early next year.

BCCI Encourages Bulgarian-Spanish Cooperation

a.shulekova — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:01:37 GMT

The President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tsvetan Simeonov got acquainted with the work of the strategic alliance of Spanish and Bulgarian Companies “Bulgaria 360”, which works to promote bilateral partnership in the process of internationalization and development of business in our country.

The President of the Bulgarian-Spanish Business Council with BCCI Dimitar Pampulov also took part in the meeting, which was held on 25 October 2011 at the Chamber. Francesc Havier Verhano, representative of a company part of the alliance, made an overview of the goals of the organization, which provides assistance and services in the following areas: consultations, finance, investments, technologies, translation and legalization. The organization comprises several companies. “Bulgaria 360” has a direct and proactive approach – directly targeted at customers.

During the meeting BCCI and the Alliance agreed to cooperate actively in order to achieve better understanding of Spanish and Bulgarian markets and in the same time, to meet the needs of companies seeking bilateral cooperation.

Great Success: 60K Recognized in Best Outsourcing Partnership Award Ceremony in London

a.shulekova — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:49:42 GMT

Finalists for the Awards are who judges consider to have a very tight and effective client/outsourcer relationship based around clear goals, mutual respect and a high quality multilingual operation with an engaged workforce.

Bulgaria's leading call center 60K has been officially named “highly commended” in the category Best Outsourcing Partnership of 2011 at a glamorous European Call Center Awards ceremony held in the London Hilton on Park Lane. 60K is coming second only to Sitel/Lifescan, two of the biggest companies globally. Other finalists who came in behind 60K were Firstsource & Giffgaff, Gem & Cisco, City Park Technologies & American Express and Ventura & RSPCA.

The European Call Centre Awards formally recognize professional excellence across Europe. Now in its 16th year, the Awards have become a firmly established annual event rewarding the individuals and companies that have made a real impact over the previous 12 months. The Awards are also the sister event to Europe's number one exhibition Call Centre & Customer Management Expo held on October 11-12, which runs at the Earls Court Olympia on the two days surrounding the Awards night. The Head of judges Claudia Hathway defines this expo and awards as "the best and the brightest the industry has to offer."

There were 14 categories to recognize the teams, individuals and the innovation projects within the call centre. Bulgaria-based company 60K was represented by Jonathan Gladwish (CEO) and Ivan Ivanov (COO) along with their guests from two of their Major Clients: Thomas Cook and Be. 60K/Be (part of O2 in UK) were highly commended for their partnership at the gala ceremony, attended by representative of the global business world and over 200 exhibitors:

“This commendation is a reflection of the strong relationship we have with Be. This has been developed over the past three years and 60K feel, and are treated as an extension of Be’s organization. Both Be’s management team and 60K’s staff always put Be’s customers first and are renowned in the industry as providing ‘Amazing Customer Service’, which is thanks to the dedication and efforts of all involved!” mentioned Jon Gladwish. This recommendation together with the other four awards that 60K has received in the first three years of its existence, establishes the company as a force to be reckoned within the outsourcing marketplace.

Legal Measures Limiting Cash Payments

Law Partnership Tascheva & Partner — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:57:23 GMT

Legal Measures Limiting Cash Payments

Another attempt of the executive authority in Bulgaria to limit the grey economy

The enactment of the Limitation of Cash Payments Act as of 25th February, 2011 enforces limitation of cash payments in the territory of Bulgaria, in the event the value of the payments is equal to or in excess of BGN 15,000 or if the value is below BGN 15,000 where the payments are part of a financial consideration under a contract the value of which is equal to or in excess of BGN 15,000. These limitations also apply in the cases of payments in foreign currencies where their equivalent in Bulgarian levs is equal to or in excess of BGN 15,000.

Outside the scope of the law are the following cases:

- cash withdrawals/deposits from/to personal payment accounts;

- cash withdrawals/ deposits from/to accounts of legally incompetent individuals or individuals with limited legal competence, spouses or lineal relatives;

- cash transactions in foreign currency by occupation;

- transactions in banknotes and coins a party to which is the Bulgarian National Bank, and the replacement by banks of damaged Bulgarian banknotes and coins;

- payments of employment remuneration in the meaning of the Labour Code.

The motive behind the amendments is the malpractice of cash payments in transactions between legal entities, natural persons and between legal entities and natural persons which remain unaccounted for in the primary accounting documents. This results in tax evasion and non-payment of the obligatory social security contributions.

The enacted law is another case of the executive authority’s effort to limit the grey sector of the economy. The government justifies the imposition of limitation on cash payments as action permissible and desired from the EU Law perspective. As pointed out in paragraph 18 of the preamble of Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 26.10.2005 on the prevention of abuse of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering and funding of terrorism large cash payments have time and again proved to be very vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing. The European legislation does not impede, it in fact encourages EU member states to adopt stricter regulations to combat successfully the hazard posed by large cash payments.

As well as the exchange between the civil subjects, the newly adopted law will also influence the tax and the social security system. The budgetary enterprises whose function is to collect revenues and other accounts receivable towards the state budget, must move on in stages to the system of card payments, in an order of sequence and time limits as determined by the Minister of Finance. All banks in the country will service such payments through contracts with the Ministry of Finance, on equal terms and prices. The natural persons and legal entities will not pay bank commissions and fees. These sums will be at the expense of the state budget.

The National Revenue Agency will monitor the observation of the law on the part of the legal entities and the individuals, and will impose serious financial sanctions for the offenders.

Furthermore, amendments also to the Notary Officers and the Notary Activity Act continue this governmental policy which requires that the payments in transactions for the establishment, assignment, alteration or termination of property rights over immovable properties ( e.g. the selling, exchange, or division of real estate, establishing a right of construction, right of use, etc.) that in total exceed BGN 10,000, be made in a special bank account of the notary or in a bank account specified by the parties. These changes to the transactions against payment with immovable properties are in effect from 1st July, 2011.

www.taschevapartner.com

European Grounds for Enforcement of Unchallengeable Receivables

Law Partnership Tascheva & Partner — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:26:09 GMT

European Grounds for Enforcement of Unchallengeable Receivables pursuant to Regulation № 805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of Europe

The State, the Union, the citizens and their legitimate interests, or how the EU opens up new opportunities for the citizens of Europe

The present day legal framework of the European states and of the European Union provides for a rich variety of mechanisms for protection of creditor interests in civil and commercial law relations. In cross-border transactions creditors may protect their interests both through traditional means stipulated in the national jurisdictions and through the provisions of the EU law. This means that there are two levels of legal regulation – the national level and the supranational level, which are in relation to one another. On the higher level is the legal system of the European Union, the norms of which take precedence over the legal systems of the EU member states. With a view to achieving the goals of the EU set forth in the foundation treaties, the authorized institutions of the Community engage in active legislative activity in the field of private law, thus providing regulation on competences, recognition and execution of judgments in commercial and civil law cases pursuant to the primary Regulation No 44/2001, the creation of a European judicial network of civil and commercial lawsuits by Decision of the Council №2001/470/ЕО, introduction of European grounds for enforcement of unchallengeable receivables by Regulation 805/2004, creation of a procedure for an European order for payment under Regulation №1896/2006, and the creation of a European small claims procedure under Regulation № 861/2007. All these European acts open up new horizons before the EU citizens and protect their rights. They provide creditors with additional options which represent a whole new set of instruments in their legal disputes with debtors.

Economic aspects of the problem of unchallengeable receivables

One of the most important problems of private law impacting directly on the economic systems in the modern world is the need for adequate regulation of the collection of undisputed receivables. The significance of the problem calls for regulation given the amount of damages resulting from delayed or thwarted repayments of undisputed receivables. The cumulative effect of such damages may bring about insolvency or other negative economic consequences for the companies, e.g. sustaining the effect of the domino through chains of interdependent liabilities. Provided that the debtor does not object to a given creditor’s claim, it is unwarrantable for the common market of the EU to have superfluous judicial formalities impeding the collection of debt. Accounting for the requirements of the internal market, in the year 1999 in Tampere, the European Council put on the agenda a number of specific goals aimed at catalising cooperation in the field of civil jurisdiction.

Subject matter and place of Regulation 805/2004 within the legal system of the EU

Regulation 805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21.04.2004 is made in the spirit of the objectives set forth at the meeting in Tampere, and like most of the other acts in the field of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial lawsuits, it is legally grounded on art.67, para 4 of the Treaty for the functioning of the European Union. The Regulation is aimed at implementing the Community’s goal of creating and expanding the space of freedom, security and justice, which is also in unison with the overarching objective of the Union of maintaining the smooth functioning of the internal market. The EU level regulation abides by the principle of subsidiarity set forth in the foundation treaties, and it governs only those important issues relating to the internal market and the EU policies which the member states cannot settle independently. In addition, the EU level regulation abides by the principle of proportionality which ensures that no excessive measures be taken in implementing the regulation necessary for the achievement of the targeted objectives. The subject matter of the regulation is the introduction of European grounds for enforcement of unchallengeable receivables through the adoption of a set of minimum procedural requirements, through the free movement of verdicts, judicial conventions and public documents across all member states without the need for intermediary legal proceedings for recognition and execution of enforcement in the member state.

Scope of the Regulation

The Regulation applies to civil and commercial lawsuits, regardless of the nature of the court or the tribunal - art.2, para 1. The scope of its application expressly leaves out tax, customs and the administrative lawsuits, as well as cases in which the state is liable for acts of omission and commission in the exercise of state power - acta iure imperii. The regulation does not apply to the civil status and legal capacity of physical persons, property rights ensuing from marriage and family relations, wills and inheritance, procedures relating to company insolvency, concordats and similar procedures, social security and arbitration. There is also a special exemption clause applicable to one of the member states – Denmark. Pursuant to art.3 the regulation applies to judgments, judicial conventions and public documents in relation to unchallengeable receivables.

The receivable is deemed unchallengeable in the following circumstances:

The debtor has expressed consent validated through an agreement approved by the court or concluded in court in the course of legal proceedings – art.3, para 1, letter a); or
The debtor has raised no objection in the course of the legal proceedings under the procedure rules valid in the member state by origin – art.3, para 1, letter b); or
The debtor has not appeared or has not been represented in court in relation to that receivable after he has initially impugned the claim in the course of the legal proceedings, in as much as such behavior is a conclusive acknowledgement of the receivable – art.3, para 1, letter c; or
The debtor has expressly acknowledged the debt in a public document – art.3, para 1, letter d).

The regulation also applies to a judgment delivered on an appeal against judgments, consent judgments or public documents certified as European grounds for enforcement – art.3, para 2.

The possibility for recognition of judgments on unchallengeable receivables in another member state under Regulation 805/2004 does not cancel or exclude the possibility for the creditor to request acknowledgement under the general rules of Regulation 44/2001 – art. 27. In this case the creditor faces alternative possibilities. All the same, the rules of Regulation 805/2004 are more relaxed and free from superfluous formalities, which proves being more effective, fast and economical.

Legal definitions in the regulation

The regulation contains legal definitions of some of the concepts contained therein which substantially simplifies its interpretation. The basic definitions are listed in art.4 of the Regulation, the most important of which are as follows:

”judgment” is any decision rendered by a court in a member state, irrespective of what name that judgment is given, including a decree, order, ruling or a judgment summons, as well as taxation for the costs of a court official;
”receivable” is a money receivable which is subjected to execution or the maturity of which is determined in a court order, judicial convention or a public document;
“public document” is any document formally drawn up or registered as a public document the certification of which is related to the signature and content of the document; same is drawn up by a public or other body authorized to this purpose by the member state, from which it originates; a public document is also deemed an agreement for obligations for support concluded with an administrative organ or endorsed by it;
”member state by origin” is the member state where the decision has been pronounced, the judicial convention has been concluded or approved, or the public document has been drawn up or registered and has been certified as European grounds for enforcement;
”member state of enforcement” is a member state where enforcement of the judgment, judicial convention or the public document has been demanded following certification thereof as European grounds for enforcement;
“court by origin“ is the court approached with the trial as of the date of fulfillment of the conditions under art.3, para 1, letters a), b) or c).

Purpose and nature of the European grounds for enforcement of unchallengeable receivables and legalization of the judgment as European enforcement

The purpose of creating European grounds for enforcement of unchallengeable receivables is to remove whatever procedural formalities and obstacles preventing the enforcement of judgments delivered in a member state other than the member state of the enforcement.This type of procedure should be distinguished from the procedure laid down in Regulation 1896/2006. The latter provides for the creation of a new means for creditor protection – a procedure for a European order for payment, whereas Regulation 805/2004 does not provide for a new procedure but only eases to the extent possible the procedure for enforcement of the national judgments on unchallengeable receivables in all member states (except for Denmark), thus creating European grounds for enforcement and eliminating the need for exequatur. Pursuant to art.5 of the Regulation a judgment certified as European enforcement grounds in the member state by origin is recognized and executed in the other member states without the need for a declaration of execution, which is in contrast to the requirements under Regulation 44/2001, and without a possibility for opposition to its recognition. A judgment on an unchallengeable receivable delivered in a member state is certified as European grounds for enforcement, upon the filing at any moment of an application with the court by origin and after having met all the requirements under the regulation. These requirements demand that the judgment be subjected to execution in the member state by origin, that it not contradict the jurisdictional provisions under chapter 2, sections 3 and 6 of Regulation 44/2001, and that the court procedure in the member state by origin have complied with the minimum procedural requirements under Regulation 805/2004 which guarantee that the document for starting the unchallengeable receivables procedure has been served on the debtor and he/she has been informed about the consequences of failing to file an opposition or appear in court. Should only a part of the judgment be in conformity with the requirements of Regulation 805/2004, there is the possibility for the creditor to demand that only that part of the judgment be certified as European grounds for enforcement. The certificate for European grounds for enforcement is issued in a standard form and in the language of the judgment.

Rectification and withdrawal of a European Enforcement Grounds Certificate and peremptory rule

A certificate for European grounds for enforcement, through a declaration before the court by origin, is:

rectified if, owing to a material error, there is a discrepancy between a judgment and the certificate
withdrawn if it is clear that the certificate has been issued in breach of the provisions of the regulation

Pursuant to art.10, para 4 of the Regulation the issuance of a certificate for European grounds for enforcement is not subject to appeal.

Enforcement

Apart from the rules under the Regulation, the enforcement procedures are laid down by the law of the member state of enforcement. A judgment which is certified as European enforcement will be executed on the same terms as a judgment delivered in the member state of enforcement. The creditor must submit to the competent enforcement authorities in the member state of enforcement a copy of a judgment as well as a copy of a European enforcement certificate which both must conform to the requirements for a standard of proof, and also, if necessary, a copy of the certificate or a translation thereof in the official language of the member state of enforcement. Pursuant to art.20, para 3, a party which demands enforcement of a European enforcement certificate in a member state cannot be subjected to the requirement to provide whatever pledge, agreement or a deposit under whatever name , on the grounds that it is a foreign national, a non-local, or a person who does not reside in the member state of enforcement The judgment or its certification as European grounds for enforcement may under no circumstances be subject to re-consideration in the member state of enforcement. Pursuant to art.29 the member states must collaborate with one another to ensure that the public at large as well as the professional circles are fully informed about the methods and procedures for enforcement in the members states, more specifically, through the European judicial network of civil and commercial lawsuits, created in accordance with Decision 2001/470/ЕО

Judicial conventions and public documents

The certification and execution of judicial conventions and public documents relating to unchallengeable receivables are governed for reasons of expedience by the rules for judgments on undisputed receivables, with some exceptions specified in the Regulation.

Law Partnership Tascheva & Partner

www.taschevapartner.com

Bulgaria's Retail Trade Finally Starts Growing

a.shulekova — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:16:29 GMT

Bulgaria's retail trade has registered a positive though modest growth for the first time in over two years, according to latest data from the National Statistical Institute.

After declining on a monthly basis in the past 25 months, in March 2011, Bulgaria's retail trade (excluding car sales) grew by 0.5% compared with February, and by 1.4% year-on-year.

The positive retail trade growth comes after the decline in the sector had slowed down to 0.1% y/y in February, and 0.2% y/y in January 2011.

The timid growth of the retail trade in March is line with mainstream analysts' expectations that the domestic demand in Bulgaria will finally start to recover, even though very modestly, to fuel the overall economic growth together with exports.

While Bulgaria's exports performed relatively strongly in 2010, the still declining domestic demand has been a major factor hampering the proper recovery of the Bulgarian economy.

NSI data shows that much of the positive growth of the retail trade in March can be attributed to the rising fuel prices – as the sales of fuel and machine oils grew by 7.6% year-on-year.

The growth, however, is not limited to these items – as the sales of pharmaceuticals grew by 2.1%; computers – 1.3%; clothes and shoes – 0.2%. The furniture and appliances trade dropped by 7.1%, and the food, drinks, and tobacco trade declined by 0.1%.

Bulgaria to Sell Duty-Free Zones on Stock Exchange

a.shulekova — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:15:17 GMT

A total of 26 companies with full or total state participation will be floated on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), announced the Agency for Privatization and Post-Privatization Control on Monday.

Among the attractive companies whose shares will be put up for sale are 100% of Sofia-based Montazhi, 100% of Duty-free zone Svilengrad, 46.398% of Duty-free zone Plovdiv, 46% of Transit Trade Zone AD Varna, 19% of Duty-free zone Burgas and 7.6% of Private Shareholders Company Zografski AD.

A total of 18 of these companies will be sold via non-cash payment, the privatization watchdog added.

The initial date for the offering of the share packages at a centralized public tender is the sixth working day following the publication of the tender announcement in the State Gazette, with an end-date of 14 working days from the promulgation.

Emil Karanikolov, head of the Privatization Agency, recently announced that Bulgaria's center-right GERB party Cabinet planned to raise BGN 450 M from privatization of fully or partly state-owned companies in 2011. In his words, the companies on the table included a couple of "giants" – cigarette-maker Bulgartabac, Bulgaria's largest military plant VMZ Sopot, and construction company Technoexportstroy – as well as some smaller companies and state minority stakes in power utilities.

Montazhi EAD deals in industrial and energy projects in the country and owns estates with a total area of 383 000 sq m in major cities in Bulgaria.

Duty-free zone Svilengrad is located on a territory of 70.139 decares, including 16 buildings which are rented. The company specializes in customs brokerage and on-and-offloading activities. Montazhi EAD and Duty-free zone Svilengrad have been contributed to the State Consolidation Company.

Duty-free zone Plovdiv spreads on 9 233 sq m of covered and open-air warehouse area. The company's subject of activity includes production, trade and warehousing; assembly, disassembly; packing, repackaging, labeling; secretarial services; modern telecommunications; conference halls and offices, which can be offered to the customers; technical control; loading, discharging, stacking and other services; bank; cleaning services; maintenance and repair of the infrastructure of the zone; parking; café and other services requested by the customers.

Transit Trade Zone AD Varna has an administrative building with an area of 204 sq m, a border check point with a built area of 40 sq m, outdoor facilities, warehouses, an access ramp for unloading automobiles and containers and engineering infrastructure spreading on 12 000 sq m of concrete ground. The company specializes in packaging, unpackaging, final processing, ownership change, unlimited cargo stay, etc. A port for public transport is to be built in the zone, for which investment agreements have been reached with US company Port Investment Development Inc.

The information memoranda (with the respective addenda) of Montazhi AD, Duty-free zone-Svilengrad, Duty-free zone Plovdiv, and Transit Trade Zone can be accessed at the building of the Privatization and Post-Privatization Control Agency every working day following the promulgation of the tender announcement in the State Gazette until the end-date for the carrying out of the centralized public tender. Within this timeframe, the memoranda can be purchased at the cash point of the privatization watchdog.

Bulgaria's Unemployment Rate Falls to 9.3% in April

a.shulekova — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:12:57 GMT

In April 2011, the unemployment rate stood at 9.3%, extending a downward trend from previous months, announced Labor and Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov.

According to Mladenov, as quoted by BNR, the trend should continue in the summer months due to seasonal work, subsidiary employment and the measures financed by the European Social Fund.

Minister Mladenov presented the statistics to representatives of German business in Bulgaria.

Mladenov reiterated the ambitious yet attainable goal stipulated in the Europe 20/20 strategy - a 76% employment rate against a 53% share of people over 55 years and 7% youth unemployment . In his words, the labor market was turning to the youths, putting an emphasis on flexible forms of employment and integration of underprivileged groups.

Mladenov listed the programs that were yet to be opened- operation "Close to Work", which would finance work-related travel expenses within 80 km distance, as well as the operations "I can ", "Safe Labor", "Development of Social Initiatives in Enterprises" for the financing of social activities like organizing spots for recreation, eating and childcare at workplaces.

Piccadilly, Lidl Open New Supermarkets in Bulgaria

a.shulekova — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:33:48 GMT

The supermarket chains "Piccadilly" and "Lidl" have opened new stores in the country, the companies announce.

The German "Lidl" entered for the first time the Black Sea city of Burgas by opening three stores at once and replacing the facilities of the "Plus" chain, which were purchased by Lidl.

Piccadilly opened its 5th supermarket in Sofia, replacing the "Elemag" store on "Kozyak" street. The company also has 10 smaller stores in the capital known as "Piccadilly Express."

"Lidl" now has 30 stores in Bulgaria. "Piccadilly" has 26 supermarkets, 12 "Piccadilly Express" stores and one hypermarket - "Tempo," which is located in the capital Sofia.

In the beginning of March, the Belgian company Delhaize acquired 100% of the shares of Serbian Delta Maxi Group, owner of the Piccadilly retail store chain operating in Bulgaria.

Delta Maxi (Delta Holding) runs some 450 stores in 5 countries in South-Eastern Europe. With the move, Delhaize added to its already-existing Greek and Romanian branches.

Belgium's Roger Vanden Berghe to make carpets in Bulgaria

a.shulekova — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:30:16 GMT

Belgian carpet weaving mill Roger Vanden Berghe will relocate part of its operations from Belgium to Bulgaria at an existing facility leased from sector player Decotex (BUL:4DE), the Bulgarian company said on Friday.

The Belgian manufacturer has also acquired part of Decotex's assets. Decotex will continue to produce carpets but will also focus on its other core activities, including construction and property investments.

Decotex, 91.94% owned by Kappa Technology, slipped into a loss of BGN 199,000 in 2010 from a net profit of BGN 168,000 the previous year.

Bulgaria's budget deficit at EUR 332m in Jan-Feb 2011

a.shulekova — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 03:00:31 GMT

Bulgaria's budget deficit came in at BGN 650 million in the first two months of 2011, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said on Friday.

In February alone, expenditures outstripped revenue by BGN 170 million.

Experts from the ministry said, however, that by the end of March, when official figures for the second month of the year would be published, the gap could turn out to be BGN 100 million higher than the announced figure, or BGN 270 million, bringing the cumulative shortfall for January to February to BGN 750 million.

Djankov also said in parliament the implementation of the budget was going by schedule and the fact that the deficit had already swelled to one third of the country's full-year goal was not disturbing, as he expected higher revenue in the coming months which would provide for meeting the budget target.

Bulgaria's budget deficit stood at about BGN 1.45 billion in the first two months of 2010.

Slovenia's Nova Ljubljanska Banka nears sale of Bulgarian arm

a.shulekova — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:59:34 GMT

Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) is on track to sell its Bulgarian unit, NLB Bank Sofia, the Slovenian bank said on Friday as quoted by Reuters. The bank is also seeking to offload its Austrian division, LHB Frankfurt, as well as its subsidiary in Germany, Adria Bank, as part of its measures to reinforce its capital base ahead of the Europe-wide stress tests. "Talks with a potential buyer of NLB Bank Sofia are in the last phase, while activities to sell LHB Frankfurt and Vienna's Adria Bank are under way," NLB said. NLB Bank Sofia is the 23th biggest lender in Bulgaria in terms of assets, which came in at BGN 197.7 million as at end-2010. The financial entity recorded a net loss of BGN 14.4 million in the past year. In late 2010, the Slovenian bank allowed three potential buyers to conduct due diligence on its Bulgarian arm and the successful candidate was expected to be announced by the end of the year. NLB has decided to keep its divisions in Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Forum

a.shulekova — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Focus in the agenda

Policies for energy efficiency

The new directive of the European Commission about energy efficiency and how Bulgaria will cover the new

Who and how could submit proposals for energy efficiency projects

Which European success stories towards higher energy efficiency could be adopted and implemented in Bulgaria

Energy efficiency of municipalities and buildings

Energy efficiency and opportunities for the municipalities. Successful projects

The JESSICA program and opportunities for public-private partnership

What is an energy efficient building and passive houses? Energy passports

Green business buildings and the benefits from certification

Energy efficiency and the business

How the business can be the forerunner in matters of energy efficiency in Bulgaria? Successful projects

Renewable energy sources

Has the investors' interest increased or decreased after the adoption of the New RES Act – facts and forecasts

What should we expect in 2012 – 2013? – Market development and foreseeable policies for supporting RES

Development and realization of investment projects - a look from the inside and from the outside. Financing

Registration fee: 92.4 euro VAT included

Deadline for registration: 3 November 2011

KOREA-EU Free Trade Agreement – Growing Opportunities for Korea and Bulgaria

a.shulekova — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria and the Embassy of South Korea in Bulgaria have the pleasure to invite you to a business conference, entitled "KOREA-EU Free Trade Agreement – Growing Opportunities for Korea and Bulgaria". Participation in the conference will involve senior government officials, as well as substantial number of business representatives from Korea and Bulgaria.

The event will take place on October 27th, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. at Sheraton Hotel, Sredetz Hall, Sofia.

Legal Aspects of Starting Up in IT

a.shulekova — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

“Legal Aspects of Starting Up in IT” is the third of a series of seminars organized by New Balkans Law Office.

The seminar will take place between 6.30pm - 8.00pm on Thursday, 11th November at Sterling Business Centre.

These seminars will offer guidance on the approach a start-up may take to its legal structuring, to the establishment of its first legal relationships (internally and with external counterparties) and on the benefits of protecting the start

up's intellectual property. The series is aimed at budding IT entrepreneurs, and will demystify highly-relevant areas of national and applicable international law, giving some clear initial guidance on how to reach the “investment-ready” stage.

The third in series will focus particularly on trade mark registration and how to manage company growth.

The seminar will include a 30 minute networking opportunity.

Reserve your place by confirming your participation by email to: natalia.corjescu@newbalkanslawoffice.com.

Places for this event are limited to 25.

PRINCE2 Foundation Certificate Programme

p.yancheva — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Key element in the PRINCE2 Foundation course will be the PRINCE2 process model using the PRINCE2 Trigger Map. Delegates will be shown how the model is setup, how the different project activities and project roles are linked together and how PRINCE2 deals with exceptions that are imminent to occur in any kind of project.

CEE-SPI and EuroMed SPI conference

p.yancheva — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Challenges for the IT business in the region.

Source: http://www.eventbox.bg/events/834

Third International Conference: Enеrgy and Climate Changes. Management and Conservation of CO2

p.yancheva — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT

The purpose of the conference is to gather experts, managers and representatves of responsible institutions from CEE region who could help solving the climate problems, connected with energy.

DevReach 2010 Conference

p.yancheva — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT

The fifth edition of the most significant technical conference for Microsoft technologies in the CEE region.

Source: http://www.eventbox.bg/events/669

Best practices in transport with NaviTrans - vertical ERP solution for transport, spedition and logistic companies

p.yancheva — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Best practices in transport with NaviTrans - vertical ERP solution for transport, spedition and logistic companies

Seminar: "Opportunities for increasing the energy efficiency of the companies"

p.yancheva — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT

"Opportunities for increasing the energy efficiency of the companies"

Rising Opportunities - 1st Russian Bulgarian Solar Business Forum

p.yancheva — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT

"Rising Opportunities - 1st Russian Bulgarian Solar Business Forum" will give an excellent opportunity to accelerate and boost the Solar market development in Bulgaria by attracting the Russian industry and investors and will help to create synergies between Russian and Bulgarian Solar business for the mutual benefits.

Balkan Property Exhibition

p.yancheva — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Balkan Property Exhibition (BALPEX) offers a perfect platform for promoting the latest products and services in the real estate industry: sales or rental of houses and summer villas, apartments and apartment complexes, hotels and hotel complexes, business properties including offices and commercial spaces, agricultural land; private properties; financial, insurance, planning and design services; property management, brokerage, consultancy and business development.

Conference "Mergers and Acquisitions in the Region"

p.yancheva — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT

The purpose of the third annual forum "Mergers and Acquisitions in Bulgaria and the Region" organized by Capital is to become a platform for exchange of information, ideas and contacts between consultants, companies and funds.

Besides presenting useful information for the latest trends in the sector, the event will create opportunities for establishing contacts between entrepreneurs and investors.

Main aspects to be discussed:

- Which are the opportunities for growth through acquisitions?

- How could I sell part of the assets of my company on a global level?

- Which are the new investors in South-East Europe?

Expolight

a.pavlova — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:00:00 GMT

The latest innovations and achievements in the field of lighting. Exhibitors from different countries will present their products. The International Specialised Exhibition EXPOLIGHT will present not only technical innovations and vanguard solutions, but also qualified and professional assistance from design to realisation, responding to the highest requirements for safety, comfort and effectiveness.

Link

Sihre

jeni — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Specialized exhibition for hotel, restaurant and spa equipment and furniture

LINK