site.btaMedia Review: December 13

The leading media story on Friday is the start of government-forming negotiations between the largest political force in the legislature GERB-UDF and other parliamentary parties and coalitions.

GOVERNMENT-FORMING NEGOTIATIONS

Speaking in Parliament on Friday, GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko Borissov said that the coalition’s negotiating team will send out official letters to the parties that are open to talks on forming a government, and the hope is that negotiations will start as soon as possible. He added that invitations will be sent to Democratic Bulgaria, BSP - United Left, and There Is Such a People. “I think we will finalize a government with success,” he said. The meetings will be held separately, and Borissov will take part in them.

Mediapool highlights the fact that Continue the Change (CC) will not receive an invitation. "CC said they would not participate [in talks]. [CC Co-Chair] Assen Vassilev refused to apologize. He even said that when these outrages happened [Borisov's arrest in 2022] they were celebrating. So why should I sit down with Assen Vassilev to talk? He sat next to me for a year and yesterday he said all these things," Borissov said.

On Bulgarian National Television's morning show, Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh) leader Radostin Vasilev said that the party's position is firmly against GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). "If a [government-forming] mandate comes to the MECh party we will build a common front against [GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko] Borissov and [MRF - New Beginning leader Delyan] Peevski with clear rules," he added. Vasilev also argued that the caretaker cabinets formed by President Rumen Radev before the constitutional amendments were "many times better."

On Bulgarian National Television's morning show, There Is Such a People (TISP) Deputy Floor Leader Stanislav Balabanov said the party is open to talks with GERB-UDF, but is firmly against Borissov being prime minister. Balabanov described the draft 2024 State Budget as "chilling" and directed the blame at Assen Vassilev [former finance minister: June 2023 - April 2024] . He said Vassilev's budgets were populist and pre-election.

On Bulgarian National Television's morning show, Continue the Change MP Venko Sabrutev said he was rather pessimistic about a cabinet with the first government-forming mandate. He described the proposed budget by the cabinet of caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev as "scandalous". "The model where a man gives away money left and right at his will is back. In order for Bulgaria to pay such high salaries in the Interior Ministry, SANS or any other administration, Bulgaria has to borrow funds. All that so the caretaker cabinet can buy voters for Peevski and Borissov."

In an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio, political scientist Assoc. Prof. Petar Cholakov described the chances of forming a regular government as "almost hopeless". In his view, the President has no use in delaying the handing of the first government-forming mandate. "If the first mandate does not realize a government, we can congratulate ourselves with new snap  parliamentary elections," Petar Cholakov argued.

JUDICIARY

24 Chasa has an interview with Judge Daniela Taleva, who investigates the Prosecutor General. Taleva says that together with Interior Ministry she has reviewed some 30 alerts related to acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov. Regarding the alert that former Secretary General of the Interior Ministry Zhivko Kotsev was pressured by Sarafov to resign, she says that Kotsev himself denies this. She also comments on the "Eight Dwarfs" investigation that exposed a network for trade in influence in the judiciary and where Sarafov's name appeared. "I personally questioned the witness and became convinced of the instability of her testimony - it was confusing and contradictory," Taleva said. On Sarafov's alleged connections with Petyo "the Euro" Petov, , a controversial figure and former prosecutor and head of the Sofia Investigative Service, she says that no eyewitnesses have seen the two together in private.

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An article in the Lex.bg law portal reads that Sofia City Prosecution Office Head Iliana Kirilova has proposed the supervising prosecutor in the case against MP Dzheyhan Ibryamov - Ivaylo Petrov, to be promoted to deputy of hers. Ibryamov, an MP from the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF) and the coalition's top-of-the-list candidate in the 30th multi-member constituency in Shumen for the snap parliamentary elections on October 27, was detained for influence peddling on October 2 and later released. The case against Ibryamov began in the midst of the election campaign for the October 27 elections. Ibryamov remained loyal to ARF leader Ahmed Dogan following the rift in the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and did not switch his allegiance to Delyan Peevski, who headed the newly-formed MRF-New Beginning party. Ibryamov was detained with marked bills given to him by prosecuting witness Miroslav Todorov. Todorov claimed that Ibryamov had asked him for a bribe to arrange that he will be awarded public procurement contracts of the Defence Ministry, as well as to buy votes for the elections. Currently, Ivaylo Petrov is an ordinary prosecutor at the Sofia District Prosecution Office, but is seconded to the Sofia City Prosecution Office, which is a higher tribunal. For Kirilova's proposal to be accepted and for Petrov to become her eighth deputy, a decision of the Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council is needed. The issue is expected to be discussed later in December, Lex.bg's article further reads. Ivaylo Petrov is the supervising prosecutor in another case of significant public importance – the case against former investigator Petar 'The Euro' Petrov, a controversial high-profile power broker in the Judiciary. Petar Petrov was a key figure in the Eight Dwarfs investigation.

ECONOMY

24 Chasa features an article on the economic effects of Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area. The daily writes that they amount to at least BNG 1.5 billion a year. This is mainly due to the facilitated trade relations with Schengen countries, as well as the increased predictability of land transport. The biggest winners will be industries that transport a lot of goods overland to other EU countries - the parts of the manufacturing industry that are best integrated into international chains, the article notes. Examples include automotive manufacturing, metals processing, the chemical industry and perishable food production, where timely and predictable delivery is the difference between a fit and an unfit commodity. There will be significant improvements in tourism as the opening of the border with Romania will facilitate easier access to Bulgaria’s northern Black Sea coast. Ski resorts in South-West Bulgaria will also see dividends. The article also points out that the country will stop paying fees for the carbon emissions generated by cars waiting to cross the border.

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On Nova Television’s morning show, economist Dobrin Ivanov commented on the draft 2025 State Budget. According to him, the issues are in the expenditure part of the budget. "The revenue side is trying to solve the problems created by the expenditure side - the increase in personnel costs, pension payments and maintenance. This was pointed out by the finance minister in October when they started preparing the Budget," he explained. He said there is an increase in personnel costs of over BGN 4.5 billion compared to 2024. "Pension costs are growing by about BGN 4 billion," Ivanov added.

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Trud warns that the final price for bread will increase by 20% if the VAT rate is restored, citing industry experts. One of the proposals in the 2025 draft budget is to restore standard VAT from January 1.  "When the VAT on bread was abolished, the price of bread fell. So, when it returns I expect it to go up," says Iliyan Lyudiev, sales manager at a bakery chain. Mariana Kukusheva, Chair of the Board of the National Branch Union of Bakers and Confectioners, is of the same opinion. In the case of higher-end bread with seeds, for example, no price increase is expected. Bread costs will increase by about BGN 5 per month, branch representatives predicted.

The Bulgarian National Television also covered the topic.

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Telegraph writes that the National Revenue Agency has data on 962 Bulgarian citizens who until the beginning of 2023 received income from creating and sharing content on an online platform that is associated with publishing adult content, but failed to declare it. The Agency has information on around BGN 14 million received by the individuals over 5 years, with 20 of the citizens having income of BGN 8.5 million in the period from 2020 to the first three months of 2023.

HEALTH

24 Chasa features an interview with Dr. Zhasmina Koeva-Balabanova, Chair of the Board of the Bulgarian Association for Personalized Medicine. "An investment of BGN 11 million would cover the needs of over 18,000 tumour patients in a calendar year," she says. The funding would be directed towards biomarker diagnostics. "Accurate diagnosis would be made early enough to maximize the chances of state-of-the-art and effective treatment and of life. The health benefits translate into 16 added years of good quality life using personalized biomarker-based therapies," Koeva-Balabanova said.

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bTV's morning show featured a panel on the introduction of artificial corneas in medicine and the chance for this type of treatment to start being practiced in Bulgaria. Myopia is becoming a global pandemic and it is expected that by 2050 more than 50% of the world's population will suffer from it, said Prof. Aleksander Oscar, head of the Clinic of Eye Diseases at Alexandrovska University Hospital in Sofia. Corneal and ocular surface diseases are among the leading causes of irreversible vision loss. About 100 corneas are transplanted every year in Bulgaria, and the cornea is obtained from a cadaveric donor. "The artificial cornea is a revolution in medicine. This will be the first organ to be transplanted that is artificial," Oscar added. After such an intervention, 100% recovery of vision is still difficult to achieve, he clarified. "In the foreseeable future, however, it is expected to reach maximum recovery of visual function," Oscar said. He expressed hope that this kind of surgery could be applied in the country. "Our intention is to establish a link with the University Clinic in Israel and go there so that we can develop the capacity. In our clinic we already have the necessary equipment for diagnosis and early treatment of corneal diseases," he added. "There are 70 people waiting for a cornea. If one waits for many years, one can end up going blind. Then the transplant is not very successful. If the choice is between waiting for many years or having an artificial cornea, it is better to have the artificial one,” explained Prof. Arie Markovich.