site.btaMedia Review: March 7

UKRAINE, EU SECURITY

Speaking in the morning show of Nova TV, international relations expert and former deputy defence minister Rumen Kanchev commented on the European Union’s decision to raise EUR 800 billion to upgrade its defence capabilities.

"Eight-hundred billion for Europe's security is not that much. The Pentagon's budget each year is around 900 billion. And the entire amount for arming the US exceeds 3 trillion. Since 2015 China has been spending 300 billion every year, but hides part of the costs, because with them the defence budget is separate from the budget of the military-industrial complex. It is the same in Russia. In the last 15 years, China has spent four times more than this 800 billion," Kanchev said. 

“While the US was dealing with Afghanistan and Iraq and the EU – with its enlargement, China and Russia were hell-bent on rearmament," the expert explained.

He commented that Bulgaria has never spent money on defence and the Bulgarian army is not in a good condition in terms of weapons, equipment, and modernization. “However, we have a good base of military-industrial plants… With our facilities, we can help the EU and Bulgaria itself," Kanchev added.

"Europe needs to achieve strategic stability with its potential adversaries. This means a relationship between them, including their nuclear relations, in which the political leadership of neither side has any interest in attacking the other. Such a situation currently exists only between the United States and Russia," he summed up.

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Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov will visit the Bulgarian military factories VMZ Sopot and Arsenal, the national television reports. His visit is related to the development of the Bulgarian military industry in the context of European security.

At the EU meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Zhelyazkov proposed an alternative plan to save part of the funds under Bulgaria’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. He said the government would propose that the funds that could not be utilised under the Plan be diverted to modernize the military industry in the country. In this way, he said, Bulgaria would improve its level of security, especially as an external border of the EU.

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By a decision of the Council of Ministers, the programme for the use of humanitarian assistance for persons seeking temporary protection from the hostilities in Ukraine has been extended until April 1, for 25 days only, the national radio said.

The Sunny Beach resort is temporary home to the largest community of Ukrainian refugees in this country - nearly 5,000 people. Most of the refugees accommodated in the state-owned bases and hotels of Sunny Beach lead a closed life, inside the community they have created. After three years of stay, most Ukrainians who have arrived here do not speak Bulgarian, despite integration programmes.

Elena Andonova is chair of the Tourist Business Association and the manager of the hotels that accommodate 958 refugees from Ukraine. 

“On top of the mixed signals given by political leaders and President Radev about the dynamic international situation are the actions of the government, which has, unknown to us, extended the temporary protection programme for Ukrainian refugees by just 25 days,” she told BNR.

“Some sort of grace period will have to be devised. The refugees will not leave our hotels because they don’t know where to go. I hope that after April 1 we will have clarity at least for 3 months ahead," Andonova added.

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"The winning position on Ukraine is that here must be peace - this is a view we have held since the beginning, and the only way to resolve the problem is through diplomacy," BSP - United Left deputy floor leader Maya Dimitrova said on BNT’s morning show.

“Bulgaria can provide assistance, but in no case live force... BSP supports the decision of the National Assembly for humanitarian aid,” she added. 

According to Dimitrova, the countries suggesting that Europe should be rearmed ought to consider where they would find the necessary funds.

BUDGET 2025

Speaking on the morning show of BNT, Martin Dimitrov from CC-DB argued that Budget 2025 has record and unprecedented spending in recent history. According to him, 26 billion of spending is planned in 2025, which is three times more than the previous year.

He commented that Bulgaria meets all the criteria for the euro area and should join it on January 1, 2026, adding that the government needs to make some diplomatic efforts.

Dimitrov said that some of Bulgaria's competitiveness will be lost as the revenues that are written in the budget seem unfeasible.

He also commented on the idea that the unspent funds for the Recovery Plan should go to defence. In his opinion, this is acceptable because Europe and Bulgaria need rearmament.

About the war in Ukraine, he commented that the common goal should be a strong European Union.

PARLIAMENT

Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov is expected to be heard in Parliament about the information on the suspension of the work of the Maritsa East 3 TPP, as well as the upcoming layoff of employees working there, BNR reports. The day’s agenda also includes Question Time with the Prime Minister and his deputies.

DIPLOMACY

The French Ambassador to North Macedonia, Christophe Le Rigoleur, categorically rejected the possibility of a change of the negotiating framework, better known as the "French proposal", for the start of negotiations for North Macedonia's membership in the European Union, Nova TV reports.

“I believe that North Macedonia and Bulgaria should start a process to restore trust… I think we should work together for a relationship that benefits both countries," the French Ambassador said.

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bTV and BGNES report that Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova was forced to leave the opening of a Guerrilla Girls exhibition in the Square 500 national gallery.

Upon Mitrofanova's arrival, those present at the exhibition began chanting "This is not Moscow", "This is Europe", "Glory to Ukraine", and "Murderer".

HEALTH

The SFP Coalition and the Smoke-Free Bulgaria initiative are organizing a discussion in Sofia Friday on how to improve tobacco control through legislative changes and other measures, BNR reports.

At the end of January, the two organizations sent an open letter to state institutions proposing seven imperative steps to curb the threats of smoking.

Among them is a sharp increase in excise duty on tobacco and related products to be included in this year's budget. 

Other proposals are a change in the definition of “smoking” and “enclosed public places” to include all types of products, a complete ban on advertising of tobacco and related products, education of students on the dangers of their use.

The reason for the letter was the death of a youth after using a vape drug.

Addressing the government, the organizations cited inaction against violation of the indoor smoking ban and inadequate state control as problems.

CAPITAL WEEKLY, DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS

The election of a new composition of the Supreme Judicial Council is essential, especially since one of the first decisions of this Parliament was an amendment to the Judicial System Act. If the Constitutional Court, which is about to be filled with one judge from the parliamentary quota, annuls the amendments to the JSA as unconstitutional, there will be no obstacle to a Judicial Council with an expired term in office electing the Presidents of the two Supreme Courts and the Prosecutor General. Thus, the current composition of the SJC remains as convenient for GERB leader Boyko Borissov and MRF-NB leader Delyan Peevski.

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The procedure for the election of a new constitutional judge from the parliament's quota abruptly turned into a campaign not to elect Yonko Grozev - one of the most prominent human rights defenders in Bulgaria, a former judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and nominated by CC-DB. His nomination has been fiercely attacked by anonymous writers on dubious websites who are identified as close to the interests of MRF - New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski, who is sanctioned for corruption under the global Magnitsky Act. These publications call Grozev "a failed judge", which sounds absurd against the backdrop of his international career. The other candidate is Orlin Kolev, professor of constitutional law at Sofia University, nominated by GERB. He is known for challenging the legality of President Rumen Radev's veto on a caretaker government with Kalin Stoyanov (MP of MRF-NB) as interior minister, as well as the legality of the sanitary cordon around Peevski, proposed by CC-DB.

The election of a new constitutional judge is expected by mid-March at the latest, and the political stakes are high.

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In Bulgaria, 93% of the housing stock is not energy efficient. With limited public resources and the current practice of 100% grants, renovation has reached only 4% of the existing building stock. GERB is restarting the old national "free" renovation programme, which is not free at all because it comes out of the budget and is paid for by all taxpayers. The programme has been running since 2015 with BGN 2 billion and modest success, and now the government has announced a new phase for 2025-29 for another 2.5 billion under the same mechanism.

In ten years with this programme, the state has managed to renovate about 1,300 buildings. "Only" 66,000 apartment buildings and one million single-family houses remain in the country. At this rate, it will take another 30 years to finish the job. Experts believe that a fairer approach is needed, for example a permanent programme with a lower grant rate that works for all, not just for selected buildings.

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The country's automotive component factories are reporting a decrease in orders due to reduced production in Europe. The problems come from weak demand for electric cars, but also affect internal combustion engines. Companies are cautious in their forecasts of when the market can be expected to recover.