site.btaMedia Review: April 1

HEADLINES

The leading topics on the morning programmes of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), bTV, and Nova TV on Monday morning were President Rumen Radev’s choice of caretaker Prime Minister – Dimitar Glavchev, Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area by air and sea, and cases of migrants being beaten up in Sofia by civilians. The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) has an interview with MEP Andrey Novakov, who said that the countdown for Bulgaria’s Schengen accession by land too has begun. 

Not a single topic dominates the front pages of print media. 24 Chasa’s main frontpage headline is on lamb meat prices for Easter and St. George’s day. The top headline in Trud is an analysis by astrologist Svetlana Tilkova about the date June 9, 2024, when it is possible that simultaneous snap parliamentary elections and European parliamentary election will be held. The top story in Telegraph is on the mobile application Waze and its effect on traffic police checks. The leading headline in Duma is about the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and how it is an alternative to the so-called “assemblage” – the until now power-sharing parliamentary parties GERB-UDF and Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB). 

POLITICS

24 Chasa has an interview with political scientist Dimitar Ganev who says that Dimitar Ganev will not have it easy as caretaker prime minister, because in the event of any controversy everybody will disassociate from him. Ganev commented on the future parliamentary elections by saying that the most difficult question for CC-DB will be whether they will agree to govern together with GERB-UDF. According to Ganev, Bulgaria is in the deepest and longest political crisis since the country’s liberation in 1878 and it may continue after elections in June. He is concerned with the unknown responsibility of the future caretaker government as he says the President’s rights extend to the choice of a caretaker prime minister and there is the end. Ganev noted that if there are no ministers confirmed by the president by April 11, the elections in June cannot be two-in-one.

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Trud’s top story with astrologist Svetlana Temelkova reads that if two-in-one elections are held, the day for Bulgaria for the European vote because of Sunday voting in Bulgaria should be June 9, 2024. “For Bulgaria, according to the date of its founding on October 27, 679, this will be a day that carries emotions in words and in behaviour, both on the day and in future actions predetermined by election day.” Temelkova’s analysis discusses other possible election days and the truthfulness of her previous predictions, such as the fact that the rotation of prime ministers did not happen. 

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Another story in Trud entitled “Outgoing ministers are eyeing the caretaker cabinet”. Ministers from the outgoing government may remain in the caretaker government of Dimitar Glavchev, political analysts tell Trud and give as an example the statements of outgoing Agriculture Minister Kiril Vatev, who said he would accept to be part of Glavchev's caretaker government. Readiness to meet with Glavchev was also demonstrated by outgoing Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov, who recalled that he was invited as an expert from the Interior Ministry system in the Denkov-Gabriel cabinet by Kiril Petkov. The Constitution does not explicitly state a deadline for forming a caretaker government, but the head of state gave Glavchev seven days.

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Trud’s leading analysis is on the recent amendments to the Constitution, and it is entitled “How they messed up the Constitution”. 

SCHENGEN ACCESSION

In an interview for BNR, MEP Andrey Novakov said that it will take time for most people to get used to the new travel policy, and it is a positive one. Regarding Bulgaria’s Schengen accession by air and sea, Novakov said that the countdown to accession by land has already begun. He noted: "This is an irreversible process. Bulgaria is breaking more and more with its 1990s past and moving closer and closer to its European future." The new European Parliament will be operational in autumn. In 2025, after the elections in Austria have already passed, it is quite reasonable to expect Bulgaria to join by land, Novakov said. Commenting on the upcoming elections, the MEP said that the national context will dominate over the European one. In his opinion, a two-in-one vote would be a major challenge for all - for the participants and for the voters.

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Public figures appeared on the morning shows of BNT, bTV, and Nova TV, to congratulate Bulgaria accession to the Schengen area by air and sea and to wish the country full accession by the end of 2024. 

VIOLENCE TOWARDS MIGRANTS

The morning programme of bTV had a reporter interviewing young people fighting against hate crimes against foreigners in Bulgaria. The young people kept their identity anonymous and said that violent videos are circulating in closed channels on the Telegram platform, the attacks are on migrants and people of Arab origin. Groups of young people walk around metro stations in Sofia looking for people who look like migrants to them. They ask them questions and if they find out they don't know Bulgarian, they attack them.

A woman of mixed origin, who did not dare to show her face, told bTV that in these groups the youths arrange a time and place to attack people of Arab origin. Information on how many people were attacked was also published.

The morning programme of Nova TV had an interview with an Afghani national who has been living in Sofia for over twenty years. He told Nova TV how the two were attacked with stones and metal bars in broad daylight in front of their home. The attackers were young men and a girl. The Afghan man said that he had been living in Bulgaria since 2003 and that his wife is Bulgarian. She is in shock but in good health. They now live elsewhere and are planning to sell their apartment in Sofia and move. 

ECONOMY 

24 Chasa reports that amendments to the Agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Bulgaria for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and of Tax Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital will come into effect on January 1, 2025. According to the amendments, Bulgarians working in Germany will pay tax on their income in Bulgaria. Currently, seasonal workers in the country do not owe taxes neither in Bulgaria nor in Germany. The amendments foresee that they will either pay tax in the country they work in if they exceed the tax-free minimum or will pay it in Bulgaria if they do. The amendments in the Agreement come after the two countries took into account that since 2010, when it was signed, there have been significant changes in the field of international taxation initiated by the countries in the G20 and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the daily notes. The amendments are effective as of January 1, 2024. They will affect the taxation of income earned in 2024, but will apply in 2025.

HEALTHCARE

The morning programme of BNT had a report on the introduction of mandatory digital prescription for antibiotics in Bulgaria. In mid-October 2023, mandatory digital prescription of antibiotics and diabetes drugs was introduced. But because of reports of problems and at the insistence of the Bulgarian Medical Association, the government decided in December to bring back paper prescriptions until March 31, 2024. An application has also been developed through which prescriptions can also be prescribed offline. "I expect things to be much more normal and problems to be fewer. Otherwise, there were numerous problems before - with the software systems of both doctors and pharmacists. The doctors themselves were not prepared for this change. Pharmacy Owners everybody has got used to it and should have adapted", Nikolay Kostov, Chairman of the Association of Pharmacy Owners, told BNT.