site.btaMedia Review: September 28

POLITICS

Speaking on bTV's morning show, former interior minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov described GERB’s decision not to nominate a presidential candidate as a major political mistake. He argued that participating in the presidential election would have been an important exercise for consolidating the party ahead of the upcoming local elections. Tsvetanov also said that GERB is already losing a significant part of its municipal infrastructure. He expects lower voter turnout in the October 25 presidential elections, arguing that GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, which together received some 660,000 votes in the April parliamentary election, will not be able to mobilize their voters if they do not have their own presidential candidates. Tsvetanov added that he does not believe GERB leader Boyko Borissov can direct GERB voters toward any of the other presidential candidates. Looking ahead to the presidential race, Tsvetanov considers Iliana Iotova to be emerging as the clear leader in the first round, while the competition for second place is, in his view, likely to be closely contested. He points to the presidential ticket of Kostadin Kostadinov and Petar Volgin and the ticket of Andrey Gurov and Georgi Kandev as competing for that position. He also argues that a significant portion of the approximately 1.4 million votes received by Rumen Radev could shift toward Vazrazhdane but not toward Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria.

ECONOMY

Interviewed on the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), financial analyst Deyan Vassilev commented on the government's plans to introduce an excess profits tax for some sectors. He sees the proposed tax as a way to target profitable sectors to raise money for the budget instead of addressing the problem of permanent government spending. According to him, the proposed formula would effectively tax the natural nominal increase in companies’ revenues and profits. Vassilev warns that the measure could ultimately affect consumers, as higher costs may be passed on to them. He argues that using a one-off tax to cover permanent government expenses is problematic if those expenses are not themselves consolidated or optimized.

Guests on the Bulgarian National Television's morning show also discuss this topic. Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association Executive Director stressed the need to address market distortions and weak competition. Ivanov points out that “excess profit” is not a term in economic theory, noting that profit is the economic benefit earned by an entrepreneur, while the market and competition determine its level. He argues that the State should primarily create conditions for a competitive environment and, where economic operators have benefited from market distortions, a mechanism could be developed to return some of those resources to the budget and ultimately to citizens. Former social minister Lydia Shouleva says it is difficult to determine whether the excess profits tax should be considered an anti-inflationary measure without further analysis. She points to “the lack of sufficiently objective explanations for which sectors would be subject to the measure.“ While she considers it positive that the tax is expected to be one-off, she warns that it could reduce investment activity in some sectors.

Speaking on bTV's morning show, Mihail Krastev, head of the Union for Private Economic Enterprise and economist Stoyan Panchev echoed concerns that the proposed additional taxes would ultimately be passed on to consumers. 

AGRICULTURE

In an interview on BNR, Agriculture and Food Minister Plamen Abrovsky discusses agricultural policy and administrative reform in Bulgaria, among others. He said that a comprehensive concept for land use in Bulgaria will soon be presented. The Minister described the current land legislation as outdated and says the system does not adequately serve either landowners or farmers. Abrovsky said that authorities continue to carry out daily inspections for falsely declared animals. He spoke of plans to experimentally equip all animals in one Bulgarian region with GPS trackers, noting that such a system has not yet been implemented in the EU and could become an official identification system at EU level. He defended the planned merger of the Executive Forestry Agency and the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture, adding that the merger process is expected to continue until the end of the year. As to the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council he will be attending, Abrovsky said that Bulgaria’s main priority is the regulation governing the Common Agricultural Policy. This country also wants specific support for rose production. Together with Greece, Cyprus and Romania, Bulgaria will also call on the European Commission to reconsider EU legislation in the field of livestock farming, particularly with regard to combating animal diseases, he added.

EDUCATION

Mediapool.bg reports that Bulgaria has enough university places overall, but a mismatch exists between students’ preferences and the fields prioritized by the government to meet labour-market needs. Some popular programmes are oversubscribed, while other places remain vacant. According to figures cited in the article, only 32% of students are studying in fields with good employment prospects, while for 56% there is a low probability of working in their field of study. The article also highlights Bulgaria’s role as both a destination for foreign students and a source of students studying abroad. Foreign students account for 8.67% of Bulgaria’s student population and come from more than 120 countries. They are heavily concentrated in medicine and dentistry, which together account for 59% of all foreign students. In medicine, foreign students actually outnumber Bulgarian students. At the same time, more than 15,000 Bulgarian students are estimated to study elsewhere in the EU, particularly in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

The media outlet also publishes an analysis by the Institute for Market Economics (IME) arguing that Bulgaria’s low participation in lifelong learning is becoming a serious economic problem. According to Eurostat data, in 2025, only 6.1% of Bulgarians aged 25–64 had participated in formal or informal education or training during the previous four weeks, compared with an EU average of 13.7%. This is particularly concerning amid very low unemployment, a shrinking working-age population and growing labour shortages. According to an OECD analysis cited in the article, 72% of Bulgarian adults are unwilling to participate in further education, rather than being prevented by factors such as cost, lack of time, or family commitments. The IME analysis argues that public funding should focus on training outcomes rather than participation numbers, while employers should have a greater role in shaping training. The biggest challenge is changing the perception that education ends with a diploma, the analysis adds.

JUSTICE

Sega.bg reports that the prosecution service has suspended the case concerning the 2015 poisoning of arms businessman Emilian Gebrev, his son Hristo, and an EMCO production director. According to the media outlet, the proceedings have been suspended rather than terminated. Gebrev said on bTV on Sunday that the supervising prosecutor had ended the case on August 20, arguing that the perpetrators had not been identified and that there was no point in continuing the investigation. The case dates back to April–May 2015, when the three men were poisoned with an unidentified organophosphorus substance. In 2020, Bulgarian prosecutors charged three Russian nationals in absentia with attempting to murder Gebrev, his son, and the EMCO production director, and issued international arrest notices. Gebrev strongly criticized the decision and called for an investigation into who and why had obstructed the case over the years. He also spoke about the recent explosions at EMCO ammunition depots, maintaining that they were not caused by human error and adding that it is up to the competent authorities to determine exactly what happened.

ROAD SAFETY

24 Chasa cites a study by the University of National and World Economy, according to which road accidents in Bulgaria cost the country nearly EUR 2 billion last year, equivalent to 1.7% of its GDP. It notes that the number of fatalities is lower than in 2012 but the losses are increasing. The treatment of seriously injured people is the fastest-growing component of the cost, having risen by 51% since 2012, while their number has increased by only 8%. The study also highlights that motorcycles account for the highest losses in road accidents, yet their users pay nothing to use the roads. Prof. Hristina Nikolova, who led the study, believes that road charges should be based on the distance travelled. Ultimately, the mechanism for charging road users based on their road use can generate money to improve road safety, she adds.

Trud reports that the Institute for Road Safety has called on Prime Minister Rumen Radev to address the situation on Bulgarian roads after 12 people were killed and 62 injured in road accidents over the weekend. The organization describes the situation as a complete institutional breakdown and accuses the government of a lack of coordination, unregulated policies and behind-the-scenes actions. In an open letter to the Radev, the organization says that the major reform announced on September 9 has produced no results. The letter identifies several critical problems. The first is the tensions between the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, the Interior Ministry and the Transport and Communications Ministry, which have led to disciplinary proceedings, public conflicts and attempts to establish new structures without a clear vision. The second is the Interior Ministry’s attempt to push through a bill amending the Road Traffic Act, which was rejected by all stakeholders but was nevertheless advanced following pressure on MPs. The Institute also criticizes what it describes as the squandering of more than EUR 100 million on road repairs carried out without a prior risk assessment and without demonstrated impact on reducing the number of fatalities.