site.btaMedia Review: August 28

POLITICS

Highlights of 24 Chasa’s interview with Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov:

- The government has about 500 tasks ahead of it. Our horizon does not depend on local elections, I do not want tension with the presidency;

- When Gabriel becomes prime minister, I will probably return to the Ministry of Education because there are a lot of reforms that need to be accelerated;

- The weakness of the services is in the fight against corruption and foreign influence;

- We need to carefully make the transition from Russian to non-Russian oil;

- Bulgaria could lose EUR 1.6 billion from the EU if we don't reach a consensus with the trade unions on the closure of coal plants;

- No aggressor will attack a NATO member state;

- Any criticism of the government by Borissov is also a criticism of the people nominated and approved by GERB.

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The political analyst from "Trend" Dimitar Ganev said on bTV that Boyko Borissov has already entered the campaign for the local elections. He commented on Sunday's statement of the leader of GERB, who reproached the government for making widespread changes in the executive. Shortly afterwards it became clear that on Friday the Economy Ministry had replaced the entire board of the State Consolidation Company without consulting Borissov's party.   

“The role that Borissov and GERB will play is one of distance from the executive, a slightly oppositional role. They are clearly aware that this government has started and will probably continue to erode in terms of public support and any association with power may damage their image,” Ganev is adamant.

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"Recent statements by party leaders clearly show us that we are moving towards a political grotesque. Mr. Petkov seems to have forgotten that he, not I, is in coalition with Mr. Borissov and Mr. Peevski. It is very difficult to comment on a situation in which logic is increasingly absent," Rumen Radev told journalists before the start of the gala evening of the Pirin Folk festival in Sandanski, 24 Chasa reports. He was commenting on a statement of the co-chairman of Continue the Change (CC) Kiril Petkov that GERB should clearly state whether they stand with the President, or they want to see reforms in the special services.

A few days ago, Petkov said that it is "insane that in 2023 we have ostentatious murders, people are shot in the head in the alleys and the security services are not being reformed." His words were in reference to the murder of Alexey Petrov and President Radev's refusal to replace the Interior Ministry's secretary general.

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Machine voting should be used for the local elections, said on BNT Stefan Manov from the public council at the Central Election Commission.

“What happens at local elections is many times worse than what happens at national elections. At the last local elections in 2019, we had 15% of invalid ballots in the vote for municipal councillors, and in the vote for mayors, the invalid ballots were 6.3%. If there is a vote where the machines help, it is the local elections, because processing the election results is a difficult task,” Manov noted.

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ECONOMY

Interest rates on home loans remained at around 2.5%, but those for current consumption rose sharply, according to the latest data of the Bulgarian National Bank, quoted by Standart News.

The appreciation of loans for current consumption is 1% in July compared to June.

The upward trend in these rates - from 8 to 9% - is worrying, BNR reports, warning that by the end of the year, they may surpass 10%.

Mortgage rates remain low, but the property market is stagnant. The rate of growth in lending has slowed by half - to 14% from 30% at the start of the year, and registered property transactions have fallen for the third consecutive quarter.

This is due to the expectation of higher interest rates, hence lower house prices, says financial analyst Desislava Nikolova.

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"Any introduction of additional requirements, new rules, bureaucracy, paperwork to be filed will always discourage both employers and workers from telecommuting. The more restrictions that are imposed, the harder it becomes for people with disabilities and mothers who need hourly work to access work in Bulgaria,” Adrian Nikolov, an economist at the Institute for Market Economics (IME), said on Nova TV.

According to him, a major obstacle to teleworking are work accidents and insurance for them, and probably this is the reason for asking employees to describe the objects in the room where they work remotely.

According to Nadya Vassileva, chairperson of the Bulgarian Employment Confederation, many employers have insurance that covers work accidents, but they are outdated.

MISCELLANEOUS

Deals with the prosecuting magistracy, politicians and a link to the murder of Alexey Petrov were among the versions for the surprising return of gambling mogul Vassil Bojkov in Bulgaria on Friday, which meant that his remand in custody would be considered on Saturday by a panel on duty at the Sofia City Court, 24 Chasa writes.

Some speculated that Bojkov would be released after a 24-hour arrest, but that did not happen.

The judge announced that there is enough evidence in the investigation that one of the richest Bulgarians has committed the crimes he is accused of, there is no danger that he will commit others, but he could abscond.

One fact is being forgotten - that Vassil Bojkov was included in the Magnitsky list, former foreign minister and diplomat Nadezhda Neynsky told Nova TV, commenting on the prosecutor's disclosures about Bojkov's ties with Russians sanctioned by the EU, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. She added that apparently, in order to be included in this list, the US had information about such links. There can be no deal on the Magnitsky Act charges, she believes.

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Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva asked Health Minister Hristo Hinkov and Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov to draw up a list of medicines that can lead to a false positive drug test, Nova TV reports.

"At the moment there is no official list of drugs that have an effect in a test, which is why I think it would be good to set up a working group on the issue, or the Expert Council of the National Council on Narcotic Drugs could give an expert opinion on what the effect of different medicines is in a test and compile a list that is open and can be supplemented," Kovacheva said.

"I believe that knowledge of the medicines that can lead to a false positive drug test would significantly reduce the negative consequences of a possible false result, as it would enable the necessary measures to be taken before driving and therefore testing," the ombudsman said.

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A lit cigarette may have caused the horror in Romania, Standart news and other media report. On Sunday, there were two explosions at a petrol station, killing one person and injuring sixty. The investigation into the serious incident is ongoing. The Romanian Prime Minister has ordered immediate checks following reports that the petrol station was unlicensed.

Health Minister Hristo Hinkov said at a briefing that Bulgaria is ready to help eight of the injured in the blast, adding that specialists, equipment and bedding have been provided, and emergency teams have been formed to ensure their transportation to hospitals.

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Dnevnik reports that the Bulgarian National Association Active Consumers, whose survey found Escherichia coli contamination on a number of beaches on the South Black Sea coast, is launching a new inspection on Monday, this time in conjunction with the Ministry of Health. The first sample will be taken from the beach in Tsarevo, which according to recently published data is the most polluted.