site.btaMedia Review: June 5

SREBRENICA

Mediapool and Dnevnik feature a story on caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev’s statement that Russia and Serbia have put pressure on countries ahead of the June 23 vote on UN's resolution designating July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.

According to leaked documents published by Bird.bg and then other media outlets, a cable sent by Glavchev to Bulgaria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lachezara Stoeva called for a last-minute change of Bulgaria's position ahead of the vote. Stoeva allegedly ignored Glavchev's instructions, and Bulgaria supported the resolution, which it had co-authored. Quoting own sources, Bird.bg says the reversal in the Government's position came after communication between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and ex-Bulgarian prime minister and GERB leader Boyko Borissov.

Mediapool writes that Glavchev officially confirmed that there was Serbian and Russian pressure on Bulgaria not to support the resolution on the Serbian genocide in Srebrenica. “On April 23, 2024 the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia in Sofia, Zeljko Jovic, made a demarche in the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, insisting Bulgaria to oppose the submission of the resolution for discussion in the UN General Assembly,” Glachev notes in his statement. The media outlet points out that questions remain open about caretaker Prime Minister’s behaviour and the formation of the Bulgarian position in the final days and hours before the UN vote. Glavchev responded in writing to a parliamentary question from Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria MP Kristina Petkova, which was dated a day before the vote. His reply was sent on June 3, Mediapool says. In it, Glavchev declares the scandal a hybrid attack and reiterates that the cable did not contain the final instructions to Stoeva.

Dnevnik writes that the caretaker Prime Minister did not answer what the point of the cable was, since it was received an hour before the vote but is now said that it "does not contain final instructions".  Mediapool points out that when Glavchev was asked the same question on Monday he explained that “this was part of the process”.

POLITICS

Sociological agency Market LINKS published data from its latest research on the electoral attitudes ahead of the June 9 parliamentary elections. The research was conducted in partnership with bTV. According to its results, GERB-UDF (24.7%) will win the elections with a 9% lead over the second-largest political force Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (15.4%). The Movement for Rights and Freedoms will rank third with 12.3% while Vazrazhdane will get 11.1% of the vote. The other two parties in the legislature are expected to be the Bulgarian Socialist Party (7.5%) and There is Such a People (4%). A total of 48.3% of the respondents said they would vote at the national elections and 47.4% at the European.

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24 Chasa reports the results of its online poll on the concerns that would make people vote in the European elections on June 9.  The largest group of people would vote due to concerns about income and living standards (27.5%), the daily writes and explains the result with economic uncertainty and inflation. The second largest group (22%) is most worried about the ongoing war in Ukraine. They will vote for whoever they believe will work for stability and security in Europe, the media outlet argues. The third largest group (15.7%) will vote to support their favourite party, while Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone is a motivating factor for 6.9% of respondents. Problems with illegal migration are a motivating factor for 5.9%.

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In an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio, Central Election Commission (CEC) Public Council member Stoil Tsitselkov said there are too many options to invalidate ballots. He reminded that the CEC has set 30 options of invalid ballots. No voting technology has yet been audited, Tsitselkov noted. The trend is towards a decrease in vote buying, but the controlled vote is not decreasing, he stressed.

ECONOMY

24 Chasa features an interview with National Social Security Institute (NSSI) Deputy Governor Vesela Karaivanova-Nacheva. She said that in May the number of pensioners receiving pensions below the poverty line (BGN 526) was 524,700 or 25.7% of the total. "After the increase in pensions from July 1, the number will decrease to 324,800 or 15.9%," she added. A successful demographic policy should include a set of measures aimed at halting the continuing decline and ageing of Bulgaria's population, declining birth rates and persistently high overall mortality rates, Karaivanova-Nacheva pointed out. Alongside this policy, of particular importance is the promotion of an active life for the elderly and the use of older people's intellectual and professional capital, the NSSI Deputy Governor stressed.

Telegraph quotes NSSI data on pensions. The average amount a pensioner received in the country at the end of May was BGN 828. The average pension in Sofia was the highest (close to BGN 1010), while the one in Burgas (on the Black Sea coast) was second (close to BGN 920). The lowest pensions were recorded in Kardzhali (South Bulgaria), where the average was BGN 676.

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Telegraph has an interview with Bulgarian Association of Raspberry Producers Chair Bozhidar Petkov. "Bulgaria is in the top ten in the world for raspberry production. New Zealand, Australia and England are already behind us," he said from China, where a traditional International Scientific Conference on Raspberries was held.

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On Bulgarian National Television's morning show, National Association of Municipalities in Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB) Executive Director Silvia Georgieva explained why many municipalities have not launched projects under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. She explained that the procedures of the Plan are difficult, new and incomprehensible for the central administration. Other major reasons are lack of capacity and lack of interest. “This resource will actually help municipalities, first of all, to renew a huge amount of infrastructure in which we provide basic services - education, kindergartens, street lighting, environmentally friendly transport. Eventually we reached the point of signing contracts. As of yesterday [June 4, 2024], we have signed 450 contracts for the implementation of various projects, which are mainly for street lighting, for the renovation of school infrastructure, of kindergartens, and we are still waiting to start signing what most excites the citizens - the contracts for renovation of multi-family residential buildings," said Georgieva. NAMRB has been assured by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works that the conclusion of agreements for the renovation of such residential buildings will start any moment. Georgieva stressed that municipalities have critically little time to implement their projects.

SOCIETY

Trud features an interview with Bulgarian Union of Auto-Moto Training Teachers Chair Yonko Ivanov on the problem of the high number of road accidents in the country. He argued that new drivers are rarely the issue. „For 2023 we have somewhere around 7,000 crashes, 920 of which were caused by new young drivers with up to 2 years experience. That is 12-13% of all road accidents,” he pointed out. Ivanov believes the real problem lies in school education and family upbringing. “We have repeatedly pledged the idea of lifelong learning to be introduced here, as it is in Europe. Children from kindergarten, from schools to secondary education can learn about the rules of the road. Because at the moment we are talking about so-called shared traffic. Everyone who is on the road is a road user - the cyclist, the pedestrian, the tricyclists,” he stressed.