site.btaParliament Adopts BTA's Annual Report

Parliament Adopts BTA's Annual Report

Sofia, May 17 (BTA) - The National Assembly on Wednesday adopted the annual report on the operation and the finances of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) in 2016.

The report says that last year, in addition to carrying out day-to-day news reporting, BTA set up its 15th regional press club, situated in the northwestern town of Vratsa, and successfully hosted the 12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media in Prague and the annual congresses and assemblies of the news agency associations of the Balkans, Southeastern Europe and the Black Sea region. Also, BTA and Bulgaria were chosen to host the 6th News Agencies World Congress in 2019.

Concerning BTA's financial position, the report points to the need to add between 200,000 and 300,000 leva to the annual government subsidy for the news agency in order to finance capital expenses. As in earlier years, it identifies BTA's two most serious problems which also confront many other news agencies around the globe: the unregulated use of information from the agency and the improper attribution of agency content by official partners.

Krassimir Bogdanov MP of the United Patriots said that BTA has distinguished itself in serving Bulgarians abroad. According to Bogdanov, the BTA information centre in Bosilegrad is the only official Bulgarian institution in this "forsaken area" in Eastern Serbia bordering Bulgaria, which needs Sofia's support. He expressed his satisfaction with the establishment of a press club in Vratsa, saying it will be useful for Northwestern Bulgaria. Bogdanov called for the creation of more BTA press clubs abroad.

Krassimir Yankov MP of BSP For Bulgaria noted that Sofia is to hold the rotating EU Council Presidency in the first half of 2018 and it is very important that BTA work efficiently for it. Drawing attention to the importance of information security, Yankov noted that after recent legislative amendments the BTA building in Sofia is no longer guarded by the police. He wondered whether this situation poses a risk, considering the changed security environment, and suggested that the police should be in charge of security in the BTA offices.

BTA Deputy Director General Borislav Chalukov said that security is beyond the agency's competence and function. Chalukov said: "Security guard services are not our strength. Our strength is in being fast, accurate, fair, and impartial in reporting news. We leave the rest up to the institutions which possess the experience and the professionalism to do a job that is not our core activity."

Discussing the forthcoming Bulgarian EU Presidency, Chalukov said BTA will do its part of the job and will remain one of the best news agencies in the world. He told the lawmakers: "We count very much on your support, which we have always received before, and we hope that together we can address the matters associated with the upcoming Presidency of the EU."