EU presidency puts lagging Bulgarian science in the spotlight

In January, Bulgaria took over the EU presidency. At a time when the country wants to highlight its achievements in becoming a modern European country it research languishes at near the bottom in European rankings. Today, Bulgarian science subsists on starvation rations, with public research funding around a paltry 0.22% of GDP for the last five years – approximately €100 million (£89 million) – among the lowest in the EU28. Its scientific publication performance lags behind comparator countries such as Romania, Hungary and Slovakia too. Meanwhile, private sector R&D expenditure ticked up to 1% of GDP in 2015, up from 0.6% in 2012, thanks to international investment, particularly from industry.