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After years of talks, Bulgaria and Romania will join the EU in January under strict conditions. For Britons, among the many areas of life which will undoubtedly be changed by this, is the property market. Thousands of Britons have already bought homes in these countries - but will many more now join them? Bulgaria and Romania have "gone through a remarkable transformation", said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announcing their EU accession. The two countries, which were the poorest of the former Soviet satellite states of Central and Eastern Europe, made changes such as tackling organised crime and corruption, and introducing farming reforms.
 

A mini town for one billion levs will be built in one of the Sofia residential districts by 2012. The investment in the multifunctional complex which is to be constructed in the center of Sofia will exceed one billion levs. Yesterday, the Bulgarian Investment Agency handed the Sofia Acropolis company a first class investor certificate.

Local company Densi Stroy plans to build 3 or 4 entertainment and shopping centers styled after the Central Mall in Veliko Tarnovo, Northern Bulgaria, which it also developed, said Marin Zgurev, manager of the construction company.

A retro tram transports Sofia's citizens to mark World Tourism Day on September 27.Sofia's deputy mayor Tzvetan Tzvetanov and the representative of the State Tourism Agency Mario al-Jeburi presented the route for the tourist tram trip on a central tram juncture in the capital.

Release that pension fund, unlock the SSIA and dissolve your mutual fund - there is a new investment in town.
That's right, forget about buying a three-bed in Lucan to rent to a gaggle of nurses, Cambodia is the place to lay down your cash for a rainy day.
The home of the Khmer Rouge and the killing fields was yesterday being touted as the latest must-have for the hordes of ever-hungry Irish property investors.

Scotland is ready to welcome Bulgarian and Romanian job seekers even if Great Britain decides to introduce restrictions for these two countries' workers after they become full members of the Union, The Sunday Times writes. The newspaper quotes Jack McConnell, high-ranking representative of Scottish government, in whose opinion fresh immigrants will resolve the demographic crisis in the country, where the birth rate has slumped in recent years. Currently we are discussing a solution that will enable the Bulgarian and Romanian qualified workers to find jobs in Scotland easier than in the other parts of Great Britain, McConnell said in an interview with Sunday Times.

Icelandic tourists have been discovering Bulgaria as a favourite tourism destination this year, according to data by the state Tourism Authority.
Along with Iceland, steady rise in the interest to spend the holidays in Bulgaria has been found with tourist from Ireland and Romania.

A total of 3 716 193 foreigners visited Bulgaria from January to September 2006, State Agency for Tourism head Mario al-Djebouri said.
The figures were 5.8 per cent higher the percentages for the same period last year, he said.

One out of three owners of restaurants and retail outlets along Bulgaria’s southern Black Sea coast plans to accept bank card payments.
The figures come from a Visa International survey among 200 owners of restaurants and shops in the seaside resort towns of Sozopol, Primorsko and Kiten.

Golf is not a favorite pastime here. Bulgaria, one of the poorest of the former Soviet bloc countries in Europe, never developed a tradition of playing and has just three golf courses.
But as the country has become one of the Continent’s hottest second-home markets, all that is about to change.
Six golf resorts are being built with courses by internationally known designers, including two by Gary Player and one by Jack Nicklaus. Three of the courses are on the Black Sea coast, two near the ski resorts of Bansko and Borovets and the sixth near the capital, Sofia.
Ten other courses also are being planned across the country, most with residential components, but more focused on the domestic market.