site.btaMedia Review: April 30

POLITICS

The draft revisions to the Gambling Act, on which Parliament will hold a second-reading vote on Tuesday, dominate Tuesday’s news media.

Capital.bg writes that super fast, within a single week, GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) proposed a ban on gambling ads in the media, and on the last working day of Parliament, all parliamentary groups unanimously supported the bill at first reading and called an extraordinary session on April 30 for the second reading. All this is happening during the recess of the MPs and days before the official start of the election campaign. In recent years, gambling advertising has increased many-fold and overflows from the media space. All this did not impress either the controlling authority - the National Revenue Agency - or the State, Capital recalls. Moreover, at the beginning of April, it was with the votes of GERB-UDF, MRF and Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) that texts on banning direct and indirect advertising of gambling, proposed by Vazrazhdane, were rejected. Why the sudden and very serious shakeup of the media and advertising market right before the elections? Unofficially, participants in the market give three possible answers: the amendments will be part of the election campaign of GERB-UDF and the MRF but will not be adopted or will be significantly revised; the amendments are pre-election blackmail of media and gambling operators but will not be adopted or will be significantly revised; the amendments aim to reduce the market evaluation of Nova Broadcasting Group, which is currently in the process of being sold as part of the change in ownership of United Group, the company which owns the Vivacom mobile operator. bTV Media Group is not being sold but the gambling restrictions or the threat of them can be used as an instrument for pressure by GERB and the MRF.  

Mediapool.bg recalls that big television channels, websites and other media groups in Bulgaria consider the proposed revisions an attack on freedom of speech, because gambling ads are important for their functioning. On the other hand, the ban on gambling ads has been demanded for years by media experts, organizations for children’s rights protection, psychologists, groups of gambling addicts, and many citizens through online petitions.

Telegraf’s front-page article reads that if adopted conclusively on Tuesday, the draft revisions to the Gambling Act will result in a loss of over BGN 100 million for sport. The daily has an interview on this topic with economist Kuzman Iliev, who argues that the amendments are made because of the upcoming elections on June 9. 

Dnevnik.bg writes that every single proposal to limit or ban gambling ads (not a single one has been finalized thus far) raises questions about the real goals and interests behind it, and the proposal of GERB and the MRF is no exception, particularly given how it was made in the last working hours of this National Assembly. The sponsors of the bill have not said why the changes are proposed now, right before the elections and mere weeks after the same two parliamentary groups voted against Vazrazhdane’s proposal. Representatives of CC-DB commented that the bill looks directed against the media, but they too voted in favour on first reading. Grozdan Karadzhov of There Is Such a People commented that if the bill does not pass on second reading, that will reveal its true goal: racketeering gambling companies and the media. Against the backdrop of the negative positions of the affected by the bill, MPs from almost all groups tabled ahead of Tuesday’s second reading proposals for more restrictions or broadening of those already in the bill, Dnevnik.bg writes.

On Bulgarian National Radio, Assoc Prof Zhana Popova from Sofia University’s Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communications, commented that it is not right for private TV channels to justify the presence of gambling ads in their programmes with the public interest. Freedom of speech is endangered but from within the media itself. Nova TV is saying it is dependent on gambling operators. It is not right for a TV channel’s programme to be determined by its sponsors and advertisers; the two should be separated. “We forgot why media exist: to inform us first and to entertain us, second. There is a problem with the entertainment. When people seek gambling, it is because they lack something to entertain them,” she commented. She forecast that the MPs will amend the Gambling Act in such a way that everyone will be pleased, but that is not how it should be. If regulation instead of a ban is introduced, there will be a problem with the implementation – neither the National Revenue Agency nor the Council for Electronic Media has the resource necessary to regulate gambling, the expert argued. 

On Nova TV’s morning show, economist Vasil Karaivanov commented that the proposed changes in the Gambling Act are very dangerous for the economy. “Something very strange is happening. MPs are suddenly coming together, there is some incredible enthusiasm to change some of the economic rules that have worked so far. Such a ban [on gambling ads] is a very bad signal to any foreign investor. Fifty percent of gambling is online. Behind it is much of the IT sector, a creative industry. Media is a very small link in the whole value added chain,” Karaivanov said. According to him, the revisions will cost the state budget around BGN 200 to 300 million until the end of 2024 alone. He sees the proposed revisions as part of the election campaign.

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On Bulgarian National Television's morning show, PR expert Diana Damyanova and political expert Petar Cholakov commented on the upcoming elections and what coalitions can be expected. According to Damyanova, the constant scandals in Bulgaria’s political life will not affect parties with core voters, such as GERB, but will affect Continue the Change because of its many peripheral voters [voters who do not always vote for this party in elections]. Cholakov commented that once a person is labeled as a liar and law violator, even if that person is later found innocent, there is no deleting that label. That is why the scandals will significantly reduce the support for Continue the Change in the elections. Discrediting materials will keep being used as part of the election campaign, the two experts agreed. 

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24 Chasa reports that parliamentary represented parties received over BGN 9 million in donations last year. Half of this sum went to Continue the Change.

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Duma quotes Prof Rumen Gechev, member of the Bulgarian Socialist Party’s National Council, as saying on Monday that the party has formed the lists of its candidates for the June 9 elections in the most democratic way possible. The top-of-the-list candidates are chosen by the Executive Bureau and are voted by the National Council. The Left wing looks like a Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) standing strong after 135 years and having proven that it does not sit in anyone’s lap and defends its voters with dignity and consistency. The party’s main priority is to perform well in the upcoming elections, Gechev said. “There was an attempt by party members unhappy that they were not at the top of the candidate list; they left the BSP and formed the Left coalition. In the previous elections, they got 37 votes and went to lick their wounds. Once they saw nothing comes out of it, they fell apart into 3 or 4 parts. They only inflict damage on us, but that is the goal of those funding them,” he summarized the attacks against the BSP. 

ECONOMY

24 Chasa’s front-page story presents population data for 2023 released Monday by the National Statistical Institute, which shows a new trend where people move from cities to villages. According to the daily’s article, 37,000 people a year choose to leave urban life behind. Over 107,000 Bulgarians moved across the country last year. There is also a trend where more expats return to Bulgaria than Bulgarians move abroad. In four years, those returning were by 30,000 more than those leaving Bulgaria.

On bTV’s morning show, financial expert Nikolay Vassilev commented on the National Statistical Institute’s population data that shows the Bulgarian population continues to age (24% are aged over 65) and shrink (down by 2,229 in 2023 compared to 2022). He explained that to stop this, there have to be over 100,000 childbirths a year and no migration. The problem has been neglected by all power holders in the last years and if left unsolved, it will result in the Bulgarian nation’s disappearance in 100 years. Vassilev presented several proposals for increasing the birth rate in Bulgaria: BGN 25,000 per newborn child; immediate construction of new kindergartens in Sofia and other cities with a shortage; child benefits of BGN 160 for every child in the country. The money needed for all this – nearly BGN 1 billion a year – will come from personnel cuts in the overly big public administration and concessions on big infrastructure projects.   

On Nova TV's morning show, the population data were discussed by several experts. Dr. Alexandra Ravnachka from the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences said that an increase has been reported this year in the number of children born in Bulgaria. Another good news is that, according to a recent study on the psychological attitudes of Bulgarians, they want to have more children. According to Lidiya Shuleva, former minister of economy and social policy, the working age population in the country is more than the employed population. "There are many people who do not work and do not study.  This proportion is quite high among the young. This is a trend that is deepening in many EU countries. A lot of young people neither study nor work," Shuleva added. “The trend is negative. It is determined by the policies we are pursuing. Bulgaria is the fastest disappearing country. Economic development leads to population structure and demography, and vice versa,” said economist Preslav Raykov. He added that from now on we need to create a place that is attractive for people. Vasil Velev of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association noted that there have been positive changes when it comes to migration. What will turn the negative trends around is economic growth, he argued. “We need stability, predictability, and good governance,” he specified.  

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Trud’s front-page article reads that the Exchequer gives back tax money to young families with a mortgage loan. That happens if one of the spouses submits their income tax declaration by the deadline, April 30, and the family meet the requirements. The two must be legally married, one of them must have been under 35 years of age at the time of the mortgage load contract, and the dwelling must have been the family’s only home during the year in question.

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24 Chasa has an interview with Angelin Tsachev, Executive Director of the Electricity System Operator, who says traders buy electricity at negative prices and use it in Bulgaria without having clients. They thus make profit, while the system gets destabilised. However, they will have to pay as of May 1, when participants in the market from across the region will be able to purchase electricity and offer cheaper energy to Bulgarians.

HOME AFFAIRS

Trud has an interview with Hristo Krastev, Deputy Sofia City Prosecutor, who presents the proposals of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office for future legislative changes regarding intoxicated driving. The magistrates’ idea is to improve the efficiency of cases against intoxicated drivers as well as to close the loopholes allowing killers on the road to escape just punishments. Krastev explained that the proposed two revisions to the Code of Criminal Procedure aim to encourage a broad public debate on the issue with the participation of all professional communities involved in road traffic safety. The first proposal is to allow the use during the investigation of mobile traffic data collected by mobile operators when the violation of traffic rules has caused death. The second proposal is to allow in case of urgency the compulsory collection of saliva, blood, or urine samples from drivers to determine whether they were driving after the use of alcohol or drugs.