October 16 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria has not changed the terms of its offer to host a new factory of German carmaker Volkswagen but retains the right to do so at a later stage, local media reported on Wednesday, citing the head of the government's investment promotion agency.
The government is analysing the situation and if there are possibilities to revise the financial offer that still stay in line with EU rules, it could do so, public radio BNR quoted Stamen Yanev, CEO of InvestBulgaria Agency, as saying.
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Earlier on Wednesday, BNR quoted Bulgaria's former president and current board member of a local automotive lobby group, Rosen Plevneliev, as saying that Bulgaria has decided to almost double the subsidies offered to Volkswagen to 260 million euro ($287 million) from originally offered 135 million euro.
"We also have ideas how to support Volkswagen with additional infrastructure and educational measures," BNR quoted Plevneliev as saying.
Plevneliev is a member of the board of directors of Automotive Cluster Bulgaria, which according to information published on its website is a non-profit organization representing the interests of automotive manufacturers, suppliers and organizations.
On Tuesday, a Volkswagen spokesman said that the company's board has postponed its final decision on whether to build the new manufacturing plant in Turkey because of international criticism of Turkey's military operation in northern Syria.
Volkswagen was also considering sites in Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania during the selection process
($ = 0.9052 euro)