site.btaMedia Review: August 9

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The gruesome disfigurement of an 18-year-old girl in the southern city of Stara Zagora, which gained prominence in the public domain in late July (a month after it occurred) and sparked nationwide street protests against domestic violence, causing the National Assembly to start working on new legislation to enhance protection from violence, remains a leading topic in Bulgarian media.

Psychologist Valeria Simeonova says in a page-one interview for 24 Chasa that children are usually unprepared for, and cannot recognize, the acts of violence against them and their friends. Simeonova says it is terrible to leave kids exposed to scenes and stories of violence in the media, but it was thanks to the media that the case of Debora, the 18-year-old girl in Stara Zagora, was brought to the attention of the public instead of being swept under the carpet. "Regardless of how nightmarish this story is for teenagers, it helps them realize that such things happen around them and they need to learn to recognize abusers," she says. Many young girls think that being slapped by their boyfriend is all right, because it is usually intended to let the girl mend her ways, which is seen as a good thing. Girls "should know that these are not normal and wholesome human relations", the psychologist says.

Trud reports that five physicians appointed to carry out an expert examination of Debora's injuries recused themselves from the case. Therefore, the examination will be performed by a medical team from another town, the daily says, quoting the Stara Zagora Regional Prosecution Office. Meanwhile, Debora issued her first public message since the assault. In a video on Facebook, she thanked the people for their support. She said: "Thank you for supporting me, thinking about me, praying for me and struggling with me at this awful moment." The report is accompanied by a photo of the girl.

According to SegaBG.com, the amendments to the Protection from Domestic Violence Act and the newly introduced definition of the term "intimate relationship" will create nothing but jokes. "The present incumbents, too, are riding the wave of populism and hastily amending laws without due preparation, without debate and without discussions with experts, which is usually harmful rather than useful," the website argues.

Covering the latest anti-violence protests, held in Sofia, Stara Zagora and dozens of other places on Tuesday evening, MediaPool.bg says that the organizers of the demonstration in Sofia pressed for new policies of prevention, support and protection for women victims of violence, giving violence victims easier access to justice and completing the reform of the judicial system. They also want emergency centres for violence victims to be set up in all administrative regions, the national council for protection from domestic violence to go into operation immediately, and personal responsibility to be borne for every court judgment and medical expert conclusion.

Lawyer Silvia Petkova said on the morning talk show of BNT1, the main channel of Bulgarian National Television, that quick legal amendments are never the right response to a social problem. According to Petkova, fast-track legislation shows two issues. "First, our legislators lack experience. Second, although we have some form of civil society, it criticizes but proposes nothing. Every Bulgarian citizen has the right to propose to the National Assembly a legal regulation which she or he finds necessary." Psychologist Ani Vladimirova commented on the same show that there has been very strong tension in society in recent years. She said: "The rashness which came as a result of that tension is visible everywhere: in the aggressors, in society, in legislation. The desire to alleviate the tension quickly does not work. What we need is an easing of the tension, a return to reason and an effort to make decisions. But the beginning has been set."

POLITICS

Ahead of the October 29 local elections, political scientist Milena Stefanova says in an interview for Trud that it came as a pleasant surprise to her that the election campaign practically started very early. She says it is clear that the capital Sofia will have a new mayor after Yordanka Fandakova announced more than a year ago that she will not run for re-election.

Stefanova says: "There is no universal profile of a successful mayor. Neither in terms of age, nor in terms of career history, marital status or whatever, can a model mayoral profile be defined. As a political figure, a mayor needs to be highly trusted by the community. He or she must be popular among the local community and possess leadership skills." According to the author, the parties ought to groom their candidates for the roles of municipal councillors, mayors or MPs. "Somehow, it does not happen in Bulgaria, with the partial exception of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. I know of no other party that prepares its members consistently and systematically," she says.

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The President of the National Association of Municipalities (NAM), Daniel Panov, called for broader powers for the police to fight vandalism more efficiently, 24 Chasa reports. This should be provided for in the Ministry of Interior Act, Panov argued. His proposal is part of an anti-vandalism campaign launched by mayors across Bulgaria. NAM has created a special section on its website to catalogue acts of vandalism. The municipality of Veliko Tarnovo, North Central Bulgaria alone spends over BGN 100,000 every year to repair broken benches, bowers and children's playing equipment in public places. Sometimes a community playground is vandalized as soon as it is restored, mayors complain.

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Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov got into a dispute with the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) over who should fight against disinformation and defend ethical principles in journalism, Duma says in its main story. CEM reacted strongly against Denkov's statement that the regulator is failing to do its job, leaving journalists disseminating false information unpunished. CEM called on the executive and legislative branches of power to fulfil the European Commission's recommendations concerning the rule of law by correcting their own conduct vis-a-vis the independence of the media regulator and all media in Bulgaria. In a counterreaction, the Prime Minister urged CEM to try and think about what it can do to deal with disinformation, rather than explain what it cannot do.

ECONOMY

"Every Other Employee Works towards Minimum Pension," runs the main headline in Trud. Explaining the reason, the daily says that social insurance contributions are often paid on underdeclared income. In 2022, the official income of over 1.56 million Bulgarians (more than half of the country's working people) was under BGN 772 per month, according to data from the National Revenue Agency, based on annual tax returns and information reported by employers. The minimum monthly wage during most of last year was BGN 710. At the other end of the spectrum, 485,000 people (the second-largest income group) officially earned between BGN 1,667 and BGN 3,333 per month in 2022. They paid the largest share of personal income tax: BGN 1.3 billion out of a total of BGN 5.2 billion.

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Between August 9 and 22, sunflower growers may apply for funding from an emergency aid package of EUR 16 million from Brussels as compensation for duty-free imports from Ukraine, SegaBG.com reports. The website quotes Iliya Prodanov, President of the National Grain Growers Association and Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture, as saying: "The money is far from enough, but grain growers have never said that aid or subsidies are what can help the sector." According to Prodanov, sunflower growers expect local sunflower oil plants to buy their produce, because export of the crop remains a problem. Still, they hope to be supported with another BGN 32 million from the state budget to cope with competition from low-priced Ukrainian imports.

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A major crisis in the hospital in the northwestern town of Vratsa was discussed in a documentary aired during the morning talk show of Nova TV. Doctors and nurses are leaving the hospital's children's ward. A series of meetings are being held at various levels to address the issue. One of those quitting is pediatrician Bisser Todorov, who sits on the Management Board of the Bulgarian Medical Association. He said: "The situation dates back seven years. The main reason is the unbearable and unmanageable conditions in which the doctors work. Wages are not the main reason, but rather the inability to take leave of absence." According to Todorov, the staff size is at its functional minimum, and taking an extra day off is virtually impossible.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Less than two weeks before the parliament of North Macedonia decides whether to launch a constitutional amendment procedure, the United States encouraged dialogue between the governments in Sofia and Skopje to iron out their differences and supported North Macedonia's prompt accession to the European Union, MediaPool.bg reports. The website notes that the inscription of Bulgarians in the Constitution of North Macedonia is the main condition raised by Sofia for the start of real EU membership negotiations with Skopje.

The website quotes the US Department of State as telling the Voice of America that the US strongly supports North Macedonia's full integration in the EU. It said that an EU with the Western Balkans, including North Macedonia, will be stronger and more prosperous. Washington encourages dialogue between Sofia and Skopje to resolve their differences and implement existing agreements, the Department of State said.

For now, North Macedonia's largest opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE, is opposed to the contemplated constitutional amendments, which require a two-thirds majority to pass, the story says.