The main purpose of the study is to present the general dynamics of the Great Depression in Bulgaria, the causes and factors that gave a specific appearance to its manifestation in the country, its phases and forms, as well as the subsequent structural change and trajectory of the Bulgarian economy and society. Along with reconstructing the historical facts, we have tried to present the history of economic thought and the debates that accompanied them. Without falling into determinism, we argue that the overall dynamics of the causes, phases and consequences of the Great Depression had an internal logic and causal consistency.

The article presents a proposal for individual assessment of energy poverty through a quantitative model for measuring household energy needs. The assessment contains a demographic and technical component, and is an important part of determining normalized household energy expenditure, as part of an official energy poverty line, in addition to income and energy prices. The expenditure-oriented approach to measuring energy poverty has been proven to be the most suitable for the national specifics in Bulgaria. The energy poverty line is necessary when applying financial schemes for crediting measures for energy efficiency of buildings and heating systems of domestic energy consumers in Bulgaria, as part of a comprehensive mechanism to combat energy poverty.

In the research sphere, gender equality is among the core values, criteria and principles for building the new European Research Area. The European Union is constantly concerned with putting this principle into practice by ensuring equal opportunities for women and men and eliminating existing imbalances and distinctions. To this end, a new requirement is introduced for submitting validated gender equality plans in organisations applying for projects under the current Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation covering 2021-2027. This study aims to: (a) outline the fulfilment of this criterion for participation in the programme by academic institutions in Bulgaria; (b) assess the conformity of the planned areas of intervention with the current state of gender differences in research in Bulgaria; (c) raise the awareness and sensitivity of academic staff to this issue given current European regulations.

The EU has one of the strongest competition protection systems in the world, which also applies to non-EU companies operating on the Single market. The new structural challenges faced by the EU competition policy require a reassessment of its role in transforming European industry and addressing new issues arising from the specifics of the digital economy. In addition, the pandemic crisis also requires an answer. The article firstly discusses the importance of the competition policy for the effective functioning of the Single market. Then, based on the study of several cases, some structural challenges to the EU competition policy are outlined. An attempt has been made to summarize the new challenges related to the pandemic crisis, digitalization and the green transition, systematizing the new measures related to them.

As part of the economic transformation in the Central and Eastern European countries, issues affecting international banking have become the subject of increasing attention from the academic community. The recently published monograph "The Process of Mergers and Acquisitions in International Banking" reflects the long-standing work of Assoc. Virzhinya Ivanova's long-standing research on essential aspects of the functioning of the world economy, in particular on structural and organizational changes in the international banking business. The book analyses these processes in the context of EU regulations and inter-national banking arrangements and regulations.