site.btaMedia Review: August 2

Most news media outlets cover the topic that the 120th anniversary of the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie uprising will be celebrated on Wednesday. A solemn ceremony will be held at 9 pm at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Sofia. Attending will be Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, who chairs the National Committee to commemorate the anniversary. President Rumen Radev will review the troops and will deliver an address. Vice President Iliana Iotova will be attending too. The Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising broke out on August 2, 1903, for the liberation of the Bulgarian population in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace, which after Bulgaria’s liberation in 1878 remained within the territories of the Ottoman Empire under the Berlin Treaty.

POLITICS

The 24 Chasa daily publishes an interview with political scientist Prof. Rumyana Kolarova, who says that the caretaker government system in Bulgaria cannot be abolished through constitutional amendments because every parliamentary democracy has this system. "Whenever a parliament is dissolved, the cabinet that remains functioning after it is called a caretaker cabinet. Taking away the power of the President to appoint a caretaker government should be one of those constitutional amendments that require [the convocation of] a Grand National Assembly because of the principle of separation of powers", Kolarova explains. Commenting on the political proposals for taking away the President's power to appoint caretaker cabinets, Kolarova stresses that clarifying texts could be added to the Constitution to limit the President's discretionary power. The limits may differ, but they should be based on the advantages and disadvantages of the actions of former caretaker cabinets in Bulgaria, she says. Kolarova emphasizes that, in Western European countries, when a parliament is dissolved, the current cabinet becomes caretaker. Another option is for the outgoing parliament to elect a new cabinet, a caretaker one. Very often in Western and Central Europe, faced with the prospect of snap elections, parliamentary parties agree on appointing a prime minister who is non-partisan and cabinet members including representatives of the main parliamentary parties. In other words, the parliament chooses its own caretaker cabinet. Of course, in her words, there is also the option, when parliamentary majority cannot appoint a cabinet, to look for another political entity, such as the head of state, to appoint a caretaker cabinet. However, the situation in Bulgaria is unique because the president always gets full, discretionary control over the executive when there are early parliamentary elections. Kolarova says she has never heard of such a practice in other European parliamentary democracies.

JUSTICE

In a Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) interview, Justice for All NGO member Petromir Kanchev commented on the organization's withdrawal from their partnership with the Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) coalition. In his words, the Justice for All Initiative does not want resignations, does not want the government to fall, nor does it want snap elections to be held. On Tuesday, the Justice for All Initiative disapproved the project for changes to the Constitution, tabled by GERB-UDF, CC-DB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. The NGO said that they participated in a project for drafting changes to the Judicial System Act together with CC-DB but they were different from what the coalition presented and even more different from the bill sponsored by the three parliamentary groups. According to Justice for All, the changes with regards to the prosecutor general do not curb his powers. The NGO criticized the changes related to the terms of the heads of the supreme courts and the prosecutor general. Kanchev told BNR that such constitutional changes are not the reason why the organization supported the sponsors of the draft constitutional amendments. He said that there are three texts – there is one on which Justice for All worked on together with CC-DB, another presented by CC-DB and the third one is the one that was tabled to the National Assembly. These are not the changes that will make actual, fundamental judicial reform. Such changes would stabilize the role of the Prosecutor General as a titan who holds the entire criminal policy of the state, Kanchev argued.

ASSAULT ON 18-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM STARA ZAGORA

Speaking to Nova TV, Prof. Yovcho Yovtchev, director of the hospital in Stara Zagora, said that he has suspended the forensic doctor who issued a report on the injuries of the 18-year-old girl from Stara Zagora assaulted in late June so that the investigation on the case can proceed properly. The girl's numerous injuries, some of which were inflicted with a model knife, were termed "minor" in the report. On Monday, thousands of Stara Zagora residents protested against violence and in support of the victim. Thousands of people staged large-scale protests across Bulgaria. Yovtchev said the forensic doctor had only carried out an assessment of the damage caused to the injured girl. "The colleague has made a description of what traces of injury there are, in what anatomical areas they are and what the patient's condition is at the time of the examination. That concludes the expert report", he said, adding that the expert report cannot give details of whether the wounds would have complicated the patient's condition from that point on.

FINANCES

In a Nova TV interview, newly elected President of the Bulgarian National Audit Office Dimitar Glavchev said that the results of the delayed financial audits that the Audit Office should have done over the years will be available within a month. "Within 3-4 months, out of 57 audits delayed over the years for various reasons, only seven remain to be worked on. According to the reference I have requested, I was told that within a month all the audits will be made available, some are dating back from years 2014 and 2015", Glavchev explained.

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In a frontpage story, the Trud daily says that more money will be left in the pockets of debtors to the state treasury due to an amendment which was adopted along with the 2023 State Budget. When a bank account is seized by the National Revenue Agency (NRA), the money of salaries and pensions up to the minimum wage will not be touched, as before, Trud writes. The change is that NRA representatives, responsible for collecting the debt, will collect only 50% of people's income for the difference between the average and minimum wage. The amendment has already been promulgated in the State Gazette and will enter into force on Friday, August 4.

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Sega.bg reports that banks in Bulgaria are enjoying profit growth, quoting data of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). According to the publication, the banking system in Bulgaria has registered profit of BGN 1.7 billion in the first half of 2023, which is 66% more compared to the same period of 2022. This means that every month banks earn an average of 283 million leva. The figures are positive from a macroeconomic point of view, but if examined from the perspective of companies and households in Bulgaria things look different - the banks' profits are coming out of their pockets in the form of rising interest rates on loans, on deposits, as well as increasing fees and commissions. For the past six months, banks' revenues from fees and commissions alone exceeded BGN 913 million, BNB data show. Interest income amounts to some BGN 2.78 billion.

SOCIAL POLICY

In a BNR interview, Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivanka Shalapatova said that reducing poverty and social inequalities should be a goal of any public policy, be it social, health or education. She said she is ready to work to raise the minimum wage and incomes and to increase the sense of social justice in Bulgaria that, in her words, is currently lacking. "In Bulgaria, we invest serious financial resources that do not always lead to a better quality of life", she stressed. Shalapatova recalled that the Labour Ministry is preparing a comprehensive analysis of the social assistance policy to avoid a situation in which people who have been receiving state benefits for years to keep experiencing difficulties. "For the next budget [speaking of the state budget for 2024], we will work for the comprehensive support of all vulnerable groups. Cash benefits alone will never be enough", the Minister said, adding that the aim is for parents of disabled children to receive comprehensive support, not just financial assistance. By the end of 2023, a national map for social services will be prepared. It will be based on analyses of local authorities, Shalapatova said.

CULTURE

In an interview for the Trud daily, former culture minister and acting MP Vezhdi Rashidov comments on the adopted 2023 Culture Ministry budget, which is set at some BGN 357 million (slightly increased compared to the 2022 budget of BGN 340 million). In Rashidov’s words, money for culture is never enough. I say this as a former [culture] minister, as an MP and as a citizen. Until the culture budget becomes at least one per cent of GDP, we would hardly say that the money for culture is sufficient", he says. According to Rashidov, Bulgarian culture is not simply about state support of theatres and cinema. Bulgarian culture also rests on the shoulders of great Bulgarian artists - painters, sculptors, writers, poets, composers, musicians, and performers. The Ministry of Culture mainly exists because of their cultural products, he comments. "In the very first budget debate, my colleagues and I appealed for more money for both capital expenditure and to cover performing arts costs. The reforms that we have made in theatres are working, but inflation is affecting them too, the theatres are living organisms. This is why I believe that the funds for Bulgarian artists and creators should be revised periodically. I and my colleagues in the cultural sphere have made a proposal to increase the culture budget by BGN 30 million. And this has become a fact. With this money there will be an increase and more decent pay for museum workers, librarians and Bulgarian artists", Rashidov explains.

TELECOMMUNICATION

Dnevnik.bg and Mediapool.bg report that Czech PPF Group and Emirates Telecommunication Group Company (e&) of the United Arab Emirates have signed an agreement under which e& will acquire a 50% plus one share stake of PPF Telecom Group's assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia, according to a statement on the Czech company's website. In Bulgaria, as well as in Hungary and Serbia, the company operates under the Yettel brand. The parties agreed that e& will pay EUR 2.15 billion upfront upon the closing of the deal to acquire a 50% stake plus one share in PPF Telecom, as well as additional payments of up to EUR 350 million within three years of the closing of the deal if PPF Telecom exceeds certain financial targets. A reimbursement of up to EUR 75 million is envisaged if these financial targets are not met, the publications of Dnevnik.bg and Mediapool.bg also read.