site.btaMedia Review: June 3

POLITICS 

Mediapool: As expected, Parliament did not secure a quorum and the attempt to hear caretaker prime minister Dimitar Glavchev about the scandal with the UN resolution on the Srebrenica massacre failed. Present in the debating chamber were Conitnue the Change- Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), on whose initiative the extraordinary sitting was scheduled, as well as There Is Such a People and one independent MP. After two registrations, Parliament's Deputy Chair Rositsa Kirova from GERB reported that only 69 people were present. 

"I wish you all a good day," she said and adjourned the sitting.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) also did not show up. A day earlier, the Bulgarian Socialist Party and Vazrazhdane said they would not attend. 

Glavchev, who is also caretaker Foreign Minister, had to be heard because of the documents brought to light that he had ordered Bulgaria's permanent representative to the UN, Lachezara Stoeva, to vote on behalf of Bulgaria with "abstention", despite the fact that this country was among the sponsors of the document which last Thursday confirmed  July 11 as International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide. However, Stoeva refused to do that. According to unofficial information, Glavchev's order came after pressure from GERB leader Boyko Borissov at the request of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. GERB publicly denied having interfered with Glavchev, while the caretaker government saw a "hybrid attack" in the scandal.

On Saturday, Glavchev, who has been with GERB in the past for a long time, once again did not explain why he had asked Bulgaria to abstain, instead announcing that he would not comment on the "criminal leak of work documents at an incomplete decision-making phase."

"There is no scandal, someone is trying to make a scandal. 

We have an official position, expressed by vote of our permanent representative to the UN. I don't know why this fact is being overlooked and work documents that are part of the decision-making process are being passed around. Anyone who has a rudimentary knowledge of how a decision is made knows that it is a process. It actually ends once the position is expressed by vote," he said. 

Dnevnik also covers the topic. 

Interviewed by the Bulgarian National Radio, journalist Raina Asenova said Bulgaria's position on Srebrenica had always been unanimous and clear. She commented on a leaked cable sent to Bulgaria's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva. The leaked documents alleged that on May 23, she defied last-minute instructions from Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dimitar Glavchev to abstain in a vote on the UN resolution designating July 11 as the "International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica" and voted in favour. Asenova went on to say that Bulgarian diplomats had always worked with their foreign colleagues on the matter and had never questioned what exactly happened there. The journalist, who covered those events for BTA at the time, said they were horrendous: "A crime which is among the most violent since World War II - it cannot simply be called a war crime. It is termed genocide for a reason. This was confirmed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia after years of trial and investigation. It was then re-confirmed by the International Court of Justice in The Hague. These are atrocious crimes of extermination." A major scandal was averted thanks to Stoeva's professionalism. "It would have damaged Bulgaria's image big time," Asenova said, adding that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic conducted an aggressive campaign against its adoption.

Diplomat and former foreign minister Lyubomir Kyuchukov told Bulgarian National TV that the scandal over the Bulgarian position on Srebrenica has taken on burlesque overtones.

ELECTIONS 

Dnevnik: Bulgarians go to the polls at the end of this week with relatively low confidence in the meaning of voting, although they say they understand in principle that this is important. The election campaign is being conducted almost exclusively among the hardcore supporters and it is questionable whether more people will be attracted to participate in one of the most important institutions of democracy.

The latest Eurobarometer poll on the European elections before they took place showed that for only a third (32%) of Bulgarians of voting age, voting is something they perceive as extremely important or a fundamental duty as citizens. More than four in ten (43%) said it was of medium importance to them and one in four (23%) said it was of low importance. 

In the EU, the average size of the group that is very keen on voting is 53%, while those not interested are 10%.

For most of the Bulgarians surveyed this divergence with Europe does not seem to be a problem. A month before the elections, 49% said they perceived themselves as Bulgarians and Europeans (another 6% as Europeans and Bulgarians), and 42% as Bulgarians only.

Young Bulgarians, who will vote for the first time for MEPs, have the same profile as those over 55 - the right to vote is important only for 23% (27% for those over 55), and not important for 25% in both groups. 

DEFENCE

24 Chassa runs an interview with caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov in which he comments a number of defence-related topics, including the acquisition of F-16 fighter jets by the Bulgarian Airforce. Asked if the currently used MiG-29s will hold up until the F-16s arrive, Zapryanov said they will. “We have a contract for the procurement of six MiG-29 engines and a procedure is currently underway for finding an additional six engines. We have assurances from the US that the F-16 will arrive on schedule. However, we must pay special attention to preparing the 3rd Fighter Air Base (the Graf Ignatievo Air Base) for receiving the [F-16] aircraft. Construction works at the Air Base need to be sped up. I am happy with the work at the moment. Speeding up renovations started when Dimitar Stoyanov was caretaker defence minister. He accelerated the work, which was continued by [defence minister Todor] Tagarev. I am also continuing down this path and we’re updated on a monthly basis on how the work is progressing,” Zapryanov said.  

ECONOMY 

Eurostat data show that Bulgaria is among the countries with the longest working week in the EU, and also that this country has the lowest benefits for families. Former social policy minister Hristina Hristova and economist Preslav Raykov commented on the topic on NOVA TV.

Hristova pointed out that social payments are lower in other countries such as the Czech Republic, Estonia and Bulgaria is trying to change social policies. On the topic of the working week, she pointed out that most countries have a five-day one. Hristova pointed out that there is a serious problem with the employment of uneducated people without qualifications.

Raykov is of the opinion that it is necessary to reorient the economy to be able to earn more with less work. This can happen by importing industries with higher added value. The expert pointed out that Bulgaria does not have enough staff for the different industries, which restricts investments.

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The structure and size of the state administration in Bulgaria almost always provokes debates, often shedding light on its large size and inefficiency. 

While it is clear that the public sector plays an important role in providing basic services and maintaining public order, the question of whether the size of the administration is appropriate to the needs of the country remains open.

There is also the question as to how the administration will deal with the inefficiencies that still exist in the system of public administration and the delivery of services to citizens and businesses, which continue despite the latest increase in civil servants' salaries this year.

At the beginning of April, the Council of Ministers adopted a decree increasing the basic salaries of state and municipal civil servants on the grounds of 'reducing the large pay disparities for similar positions'. At that time, several options were discussed on the possibility of allocating more than BGN 300 million for the remuneration of civil servants, because it appears that there is a significant disproportion between the different levels and structures. And in order to overcome the imbalance in salaries, 353 million BGN have been earmarked in this year's budget so that the lagging salaries can be raised. 

The annual report on the state administration in 2023, approved by the Council of Ministers, actually reveals worrying disparities in pay levels among employees in similar positions in different administrative structures.

The report's findings show a significant disparity not only between different administrations, but also for the same posts within different organisations. The main reasons for this imbalance include financial constraints, variations in the interpretation and application of the legal framework and unjustified differences in individual pay levels.

The pay gap in state administration employees working in similar positions was sometimes as high as 2.6 times. The high salaries, however, do not guarantee high efficiency. 

FOOD IMPORTS AND EXPORTS 

24 Chassa: If an unexpected crisis befalls Bulgaria and stops all food imports to this country, in just there will be a huge food shortage in just three months.

Thus, 80% of the fruit and vegetables, which are mainly Greek and Turkish, will disappear from the market. Pork, a favourite of Bulgarian cuisine, which comes from Spain, Germany, France and Belgium, is increasingly replacing domestic pork, as farms in Bulgaria are declining and livestock farming is not attractive to young people and specialists are already in short supply.

According to new data from the Agriculture and Food Ministry, only 51% of the tomatoes eaten by Bulgarians are grown domestically, while the share of domestic cucumbers is 61%.

In 2023, 100,000 tonnes of tomatoes were imported, compared to 115,000 tonnes of domestically grown tomatoes. However, part of this domestic production has gone to Poland, Romania and Hungary.

The overall trend in vegetables is that more Bulgarian produce is produced than is imported.

Here again, the importing countries are Greece and Turkiye, but compared with tomatoes, cucumbers are exported to Germany and less to Poland.

Some 594,000 tonnes of vegetables were produced last year, while imports were 296,000 thousand tonnes.

However, the problem with fruit is more than dramatic. Apples and watermelons are imported the most.

According to official data, only plums were grown in larger quantities compared to 2022. For all other fruits, the trend is for domestic production to decline.

Bulgarian farmers produced 179,000 tonnes of fruit in 2023, a sharp decrease of nearly 43,000 tonnes compared to the previous year.

Bulgaria could potentially feed 30-40 million people. Only a few years ago, this country was at the forefront of exporting sunflowers, tomatoes, apples, plums, cherries, etc., and that was given the much more limited resources of modern machinery, because it was state policy. Until recently it was unthinkable to import tomatoes from Poland, let alone from Turkiye and Albania. Fewer and fewer producers remain, explains Tsvetan Tsekov, chairman of the Fruit and Vegetable Branch Chamber. 

A new market situation has emerged with the liberalisation of imports into the EU from Ukraine and Moldova, where Bulgarian fruit and vegetables are now totally displaced.

"We have not been able to export apples and pears for years, and this production potential does not exist. Unfortunately, the picture is bleak and the problems are getting worse. It is not a question of if, but when we will lose these sectors if there are still no policies and strategy with clear objectives," warns Tsekov. 

The situation with meat and meat products is identical according to producers. Traditionally own production of pork is around 40%, and imports - 60%.

The Ministry's figures show that Bulgarians consume around 210,000-220,000 tonnes of pork each year.

WORLD 

Mysterious wooden coffins were discovered under the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday, June 1. They were covered with the French flag and had the inscription "French soldiers killed in Ukraine".

Three people - a Bulgarian, a German and a Ukrainian - have been detained, French newspaper Liberation reported. The coffins were later found to have contained plaster, police said.

The driver of the van, which was used for transport, was arrested nearby. After a manhunt, the other two suspects were arrested while trying to catch a bus to Berlin. When questioned, the driver explained that he had arrived from Bulgaria the previous day and had been paid EUR 40 to drop off the persons and cargo.

An investigation is being conducted "for possible foreign interference". The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed that the three suspects were born in Bulgaria, Germany and Ukraine and were still in police custody on Sunday.