UNWE and 24 Hours Newspaper Joint Project Is among the Winners of the Prestigious European Journalism Science Alliance Programme
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The joint project of the Institute of Economics and Politics and 168 Hours Ltd. /publisher of 24 Hours newspaper/, entitled The Euro Premium: An Investigation Into Hidden Price Inflation During Bulgaria’s First Year in the Eurozone, is among the 25 projects that received funding under the European Journalism Science Alliance Programme. The recognition comes after an extremely competitive selection process involving 177 project proposals from 49 countries.
The Scientific Project Head is Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yanko Hristozov, UNWE Vice Rector for International Affairs and Director of the Institute of Economics and Politics. The Leading Journalist is Stanimir Kyumyurdzhiev /Vaglenov/ from 24 Hours newspaper.
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The project brings together the expertise of scholars and journalists to examine one of the most significant economic events for the country - Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone. The goal is to analyze whether the introduction of the euro on 1 January 2026 led to hidden price increases in certain sectors of the economy. In addition, the study examines whether unjustified price hikes occurred during the transition to the single European currency, a phenomenon that has also been observed and analyzed in other countries following the euro adoption.
To achieve this objective, the team will use an interdisciplinary approach combining economics, law and investigative journalism. The project includes an economic analysis of official data from the National Statistical Institute, a journalistic investigation of key market sectors and a comparative legal analysis of consumer protection mechanisms in the European countries. The results are expected to provide an objective assessment of the impact of the currency transition on consumer prices, identify any unfair practices and formulate recommendations for improving the consumer protection policies and increasing the market transparency.
Journalism Science Alliance is a European initiative that supports collaborative projects between the scientific organizations and the media aimed at conducting profound evidence-based investigations.
