site.btaMedia Review: April 16

DRF WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR CABINET AHEAD OF SECOND NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE

Debates on a second vote of no confidence in the Zhelyazkov cabinet over corruption are scheduled for Wednesday and the vote will be 24 hours later.

The vote was submitted by MECh at the end of last week and is supported by Vazrahdane and Velichie.

Against this background, the Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DRF) decided to withdraw its support for the Zhelyazkov cabinet on Tuesday after a joint meeting of the parliamentary group and the Central Operational Bureau. They said that the institutions are being used for repression and the judiciary is increasingly dependent.

“Despite our consistent calls and insistence on respect for the signed agreement on co-governance and open and equal treatment between partners, unfortunately, GERB, BSP and There Is Such a People have categorically demonstrated that they serve the interests of one man – Delyan Peevski, sanctioned under the global Magnitsky Act, who single-handedly runs the Council of Ministers.

Driven by our responsibility to the Bulgarian citizens and our voters, we state clearly that we can no longer and will no longer support a majority that supports and develops the model of backroom dealing, corruption and institutional arbitrariness," said MP Valentin Tonchev at a news briefing announcing the decision.

Despite their withdrawal, the risk for the cabinet of Rosen Zhelyazkov is not great because of the declared support of the group of MRF-New Beginning. Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria does not want to oust the cabinet at this moment either

Commenting on Bulgarian National Television, former foreign minister and deputy prime minister Ivaylo Kalfin said that Ahmed Dogan's withdrawal was not surprising and there had been earlier indications about it.

"Obviously, they had greater expectations about their presence in power, which did not happen. They entered this coalition to oppose the other MRF faction, of Delyan Peevski. They saw that they would not be able to and quite logically they left," Kalfin said.

"Obviously, Mr Peevski is trying to reinvent himself in Bulgarian politics and get rid of everything that has been in the past. This process takes time and in my opinion will not be completely successful. It is largely due to the turnout at the last elections. As long as there is a chance for him to participate, he will be a political factor," Kalfin said 

POSSIBLE RESURRECTION OF BELENE N-PLANT PROJECT

Mediapool.bg reports that the project for a second nuclear power plant will be resurrected.

BSP leader and Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov told journalists on Tuesday that the ruling coalition had agreed not to sell the reactors from the suspended Belene N-plant project to Ukraine.

In his words, the decision was supported by all partners in the government, and GERB leader Boyko Borissov and is to be confirmed by Parliament.

Speaking on bTV, Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov confirmed that the BSP had raised this issue with Borissov, but it must first be discussed by the Joint Governance Council, and then a parliamentary decision must be taken to reverse the previous decision, which obliged the energy minister to negotiate with Ukraine for the sale of the reactors.

Ukrainian parliament has already adopted a decision and a decree has been issued by President Volodymyr Zelensky to conclude the deal for no less than BGN 1.2 billion.

Stankov said that in the US he had meetings with investors who were interested in building huge data centres, and the biggest challenge is providing 1,000-1,500 MWh (for their operation). “It's a reactor-and-a-half and investors want low-emission power and nuclear is emission-free," Stankov said.

In March, it emerged that Bulgaria will build one of the European Union's six new artificial intelligence (AI) factories, after the country received a EUR 90 million grant.

"Selling the reactors is the easiest solution, there is such a decision of Parliament, but we have to consider all possible solutions. For me it is extremely important that today the reactors are kept and are fit for sale or installment," Stankov said now, but stressed that "the absolute priority of the state is the construction of units VII and VIII."

From his words, however, it can be concluded that the ruling coalition is likely to support Zafirov's request.

The equipment for the abandoned nuclear project is owned by the National Electric Company and the money from its sale was supposed to go for the construction of the future two nuclear units at the Kozloduy site using the AP1000 technology of the US company Westinghouse. Analyses are currently being carried out on the price of these reactors and the cost of the electricity they produce, in order to make a final investment decision at the end of 2025. Costs are estimated at between USD/EUR 14 and 16 billion.

It is not clear where the funds will come from for the Russian project, which has been stalled for years and whose costs exceed BGN 2 billion.

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There are three alternatives for the equipment for the Belene N-plant. One too be used at the Belene N-plant site. Second, to sell it, which

is now obviously out of the question. And the third is to scrap it, which is obviously not feasible and not profitable, Ivan Hinovski, Chairman of the Bulgarian Energy and Mining Forum, said on the Bulgarian National Television.

“I think that in two-three years we will have a new geopolitical environment and we will be able to use this equipment in Belene. The cheapest way to build a new N-plant is with the available equipment because we have paid 20% of the project, which is not small. We are talking about a piece of Russian equipment and very modern IT equipment, new turbines, new regulations, completely different control systems, which will improve safety drastically."

According to Hinovski, preparations for Belene will take about three years. "In 7-8 years Belene could start if a good move is made now."

On the news of the contract with Shell, Hinovski said there are confirmed onshore deposits, which we are not prospected for unclear reasons. "There is gas in the Black Sea. Our expert analyses show that it is in the form of gas hydrates."

ECONOMY

Capital.bg quotes Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev as saying that Bulgaria's economy will continue to grow over the next two years despite the uncertainty and the diverse impact of different factors. Radev together with Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova participated in a business meeting organized by the American and British Chambers of Commerce in Bulgaria. 

In his remarks Radev addressed three important topics - the effects of the trade war on the Bulgarian economy, the country's readiness in the current global context for the introduction of the euro and the macroeconomic prospects for the country. Of the new tariffs and their effect on the country Radev said: “The magnitude and dynamics of the changes in tariffs since the beginning of this month have led to a sharp increase in uncertainty in global financial markets and a significant deterioration in the outlook for the global economy. What we are trying to do as a central bank is to assess the direct and indirect effects on our country of these developments. Overall, the direct effects are limited. The US share in our total goods exports in 2024 was about 2.5%, or USD 1.2 billion. When we trace the value-added movement of all Bulgarian exports, we find that in total about 4% of them are consumed in the US - i.e. we can conclude that Bulgarian exports worth about USD 1.8 billion are potentially exposed to the new tariff regime.

It is important to specify that the balance of trade in goods between Bulgaria and the US for 2024 was positive and amounts to about USD 154 million. In the current year, however, our trade balance is likely to turn negative once the value of imports representing military equipment is taken into account. More tangible, however, may be the indirect effects associated with a possible redirection of global trade flows and the eventual restructuring of supply chains.”

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Capital.bg reports on the plans of employers for hiring new employees in the next six months, referring to a regular national survey of the Bulgarian Employment Confederation, which brings together the largest HR companies in the country, writes Capital.bg 

The hiring ratio, which measures the difference between companies that plan to increase staff and those that will reduce it, remains positive but is just 3%. This is down slightly from the previous six months (4%), but far below year-ago levels - there were 16% more companies planning growth in the same period in 2024.

The survey included 1,078 companies from 12 sectors, with a total of 22% of respondents planning to increase staff and 19% expecting redundancies. Over half of the companies (53%) do not anticipate any changes. 

The Federation notes the significant reduction in the proportion of companies that are unsure how their teams will develop - from 24% in the previous period to 12% now. "This decline is mainly due to a growing shortage of skilled workers that is forcing companies to optimize and retain their existing teams.

Most companies plan to hire people in Sofia - 62% overall, but their share is down 12 percentage points from the previous period.

However, there is potential for business expansion outside the capital - with the exception of Ruse, where there is no change, in the remaining regions the share of companies that foresee staff growth is increasing. The IT sector remains in the lead with a 15% net employment rate. However, the trend is downwards - a year ago the ratio was 24% and in the previous period - 19%. The manufacturing and finance sectors, on the other hand, grew by 4 and 6 percentage points, respectively, compared to the October 2024-March 2025 period. Expectedly optimistic are the forecasts for the hotels and restaurants and agriculture sectors ahead of the active season. Therefore, more companies plan to hire there as well.