Bulgaria, Summing Up Privatization, April 1996 - Prohaska, Maria (Centăr za izsledvane na demokracijata, 1996)
The 1993-1995 period saw the first steps of privatization, the establishment and development of its institutional foundations and in 1995, the phasing-in of actual privatization. Over 24,000 entities had been privatized by December 31, 1995. Most units (about 22,000 shops, restaurants, hotels, warehouses, small production enterprises, etc.) passed into private hands through restitution. The specific nature of the recent development of Bulgaria's private sector is determined largely by this restoration of ownership rights to small urban properties. Restitution helped create favorable conditions for the establishment of a real estate market and for the promotion of entrepreneurship, mainly in trade and services. However, there are still many unsettled restitution claims, as well as some unresolved problems concerning how some former owners may be indemnified by giving them the opportunity to participate in other forms of privatization