site.btaMedia Review: September 15

All media reports on the decision of the National Assembly to scrap the ban on the imports of Ukrainian grain. All TV channels report on events around the first day of school - September 15.

POLITICS

Duma reports that the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) now controls a third of the 25 standing parliamentary committees. MRF MPs now head five of the most influential committees: the Committee on Budget and Finance headed by Jordan Tzonev; on Committee on Economic Policy and Innovation headed by Hamid Hamid; on Environment and Water headed by Stanislav Anastasov; on Transport and Communications headed by Halil Letifov; on Children, Family, Youth and Sport headed by Nebie Kabak. On Thursday another three MRF MPs: Tsvetan Enchev, Erten Anisova and Valentin Tonchev became heads of the Committee on Policies for Bulgarians Abroad, on Tourism and of the Committee on Direct Participation of Citizens and Interaction with Civil Society respectively.

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The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reports that GERB leader Boyko Borissov refused to name his party's mayoral candidates for the October 29 local elections. The MRF will announce theirs next week, said MP Delyan Peevski. Vazrazhdane said they will rely on "working people" and it was high time "we had workaholics for mayors". Also on BNR, political scientist Hristo Panchugov said that the situation has changed and GERB now have a feeling that the battle for the Sofia mayor's office is not a lost battle for them - after living for a year with the widely shared expectations that GERB are sure to lose the capital. The political scientist expects GERB's main competitors in the upcoming elections will be Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) almost across Bulgaria.

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On Bulgarian National Television, Central Election Commission (CEC) Spokesperson Rositsa Mateva said that the preparation for the October 29 local elections goes as planned. Registration with the CEC was completed on September 13. Sixty-five parties and nine coalitions had submitted papers, but one party was declined registration, because it failed to present all required documents. All available information about the elections can be found on the CEC website. The ballots for the local elections will be like the ballots for the general elections, and the ballot for the mayoral elections will be like the one for the presidential elections. The machine ballots will be counted by hand like they were at the latest parliamentary elections of April 2.

ECONOMY

Trud’s front page quotes Vazrazhdane MP Tsoncho Ganev, who stated that since Parliament voted to lift the ban on the imports of certain Ukrainian products after September 15, Ukraine would now be able to import genetically modified grain here. According to Ganev, a decade ago Monsanto, a major producer of genetically engineered crops, was allowed to become one of the players on the Ukrainian market, which facilitated the production of GMOs there. Deyan Nikolov, another Vazrazhdane MP suggested that while Ukrainian grain may be cheaper than its Bulgarian equivalent, importing it would not serve to lower inflation – only some grain processors would use it to increase their profit margins.

Former caretaker Minister of Agriculture Yavor Gechev told Trud that the data Finance Minister Assen Vassilev presented to the Council of Ministers to have the ban lifted is not just speculative but also untrue. Gechev added: "We produce 8 million tonnes of grain and consume 1 million tonnes. Bulgarian produce is than replaced with Ukrainian produce. Where does the VAT come from then?

Duma’s front page quotes Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) floor leader Korneliya Ninova, who labelled the decision "betrayal against the Bulgarian people and [their] European partners". Ninova is adamant that all arguments in favour of having the ban lifted are unsubstantiated.

On Nova TV, economist Latchezar Bogdanov and Radostina Zhekova, Chair of the Dobrudzha Union of Grain Producers, argued about the lifting of the ban. 

Bogdanov commented on a statement by Finance Minister Assen Vassilev earlier this week that wheat producers had earned a profit of BGN 2.5 billion in 2022. Bulgaria is a huge net exporter of wheat, with 75% of its output being exported, said Bogdanov and argued against the payment of compensation across the board. As to sunflower, the more of it is imported, the more cooking oil is exported. In the first weeks and months of the war against Ukraine, the world markets saw a spike in the prices of wheat and sunflower to EUR 1,000 per tonne. Some people may have thought this would be the new normal and anything below it was too cheap, the economist said.

Zhekova countered that the profit of BGN 2.5 billion was spread across 70,000 producers. Besides, Finance Ministry data put subsidies at BGN 2 billion in 2022, meaning that most of the profit came from subsidies. She argued in favour of support for grain producers on the grounds that 2022 and 2023 had been very difficult due to exorbitant fertilizer and fuel prices. Zhekova commented that the European Commission's decision to finance Ukrainian grain transport with EUR 1.2 billion would make EU producers uncompetitive and would plunge them all into bankruptcy.

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An article in Capital is dedicated to the political influence in the energy sector. The article points out that the energy sector is one of the key ones when it comes to political appointments and distribution of power. There are billions of dollars in circulation and there is little control over their spending. Tens of thousands of people are governed and easily become loyal voters. But it is mostly through state-owned energy companies that real upheavals can be triggered - massive miner strikes, sharply rising electricity prices on the open market, long-term contracts and international agreements. This is precisely why it is extremely important who runs the state-owned energy sector, and it is also indicative of who really runs the country. The article points out that despite the turbulence in the executive branch in the last two years, most of the heads appointed under the last GERB cabinet retained their posts. The directors elected by the caretaker governments and the office of Kiril Petkov, who have not yet been replaced, do not have a clear political affiliation. The new appointments under the current government are again entirely GERB-approved. According to Capital, more shake-ups in the sector are not expected in the near future, which means that the ruling configuration between CC-DB and GERB is satisfied with the status quo.

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The weekly Capital quotes the Association of Restaurants in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Association of Restaurants, which criticized Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and Minister of Tourism Zaritsa Dinkova for looking to raise the VAT on eating and drinking establishments back to 20% from the current rate of 9%. The article proceeds to argue that raising back the tax is a reasonable move, considering that: first, the state is not obligated to aid any particular private sector, as that could be considered unfair by the remaining sectors; second, bars and restaurants have never been promised that the lower VAT would be a permanent measure, as it was only introduced as an anti-crisis tool during the height of the COVID pandemic; and third, indirect taxes are the biggest source of revenue for the state budget here.

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Telegraph quotes Tanya Mihaylova, deputy Executive Director of the Social Assistance Agency, who said that some 320,000 vulnerable households can receive a one-off electricity allowance of BGN 148.35.

INFRASTRUCTURE

An article in Capital talks about the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and of the agencies under its control - Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA). The article describes RIA as the "jewel in the corruption crown" and continues: "In road procurement, even a complete change of personnel would not bring a quick change - for the simple reason that in this area the old players hold control not so much through the institutions but through the supposedly private sector. There is hardly a person in the country who does not already know that the big construction companies have political ties with GERB and the MRF. Fuelled for years through contracts, they have become indispensable in infrastructure construction and unstoppable, if competition from outside is not brought in. Since 2021, they have consistently appealed most decisions of the new leadership in order to derail any change, even at the cost of temporarily drying up fresh capital to themselves. The same scheme is currently blocking new road maintenance contracts that should only be in play for their price."

The article argues that the dominant market weight of the few large companies allows their owners (and those behind them) to block or control large projects such as Hemus and Struma motorways, the Vidin-Botevgrad road and others. This means that Bulgaria has a third consecutive minister, whose hands are tied in the sector. Despite promises of change, contracts are once again going to the same players.

HOME AFFAIRS

An article in Trud reports that Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov instructed prosecutors across the country that neither employees of the Ministry of Interior nor prosecutors have the right to issue temporary freezing orders on motor vehicles, no matter if they were driven under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Sarafov’s instructions come after in end-July 2023 the National Assembly voted "unclear and controversial" amendments to the Penal Code to have cars confiscated, if they had been driven under the influence. Trud reports that 214 motor vehicles have been confiscated in the first month since the amendments were introduced, however, the Penal Code still needs further amendments, as the last ones can be the cause of absurd situations.

Telegraph quotes Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov, who said that the procedure to test drivers’ blood samples for drugs has proved to be problematic, as there are now months-long delays.

Duma clarifies that according to Sarafov’s instructions, before the court comes up with a decision on the case, the car can be sealed, and/or its licence plates can be removed to ensure that it will not be used, until the decision is announced.

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Telegraph reports that Bulgaria’s Mountain Rescue Service received four drones with thermal cameras as donations. The machines worth some BGN 50,000 will be used find and rescue injured mountaineers.

DEFENCE

Duma quotes BSP for Bulgaria MP Kristian Vigenin, who criticized Defence Minister Todor Tagarev for planning to "throw BGN 100 million into a bottomless pit" by investing in homes for some 1,500 NATO servicepersons near Kabile and Bezmer, South Eastern Bulgaria, in 2025. Vigenin blamed Tagarev for tending to defend foreign interests rather than those of the Bulgarian people.

EDUCATION

An article on Duma’s front page is dedicated to September 15 being the first day of school in Bulgaria. Some 700,000 pupils start classes on Friday, 57,000 of whom are first-graders. The author notes that many schools ask parents to not bring any flowers but to donate the money they would have spent on said flowers for various causes instead. The author appeals to have parents teach their children to show respect for their teachers instead. She continues: "Teachers would be unable to feel other people’s children as their own, to transfer their own knowledge to the children, if they did not feel trust and recognition".

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Trud published an interview with Prof. Andrey Zahariev, Dean of Finance at the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics in Svishtov. Zahariev quoted data from Swedish educational institutions, according to which the mass use of tablets to teach pupils can be counterproductive, which is why Sweden is focusing its efforts on reintroducing printed books in the teaching process.

ENVIRONMENT

Capital points out that the removal of Diana Iskreva as director of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water in Stara Zagora, South Central Bulgaria, and the appointment of Diana Ganeva in her place turned out to be a "happy change" for several investment projects in protected areas. One of the companies that apparently benefited from the new appointment is Gradus, a chicken meat and eggs producer, which after four years of unsuccessful applications was finally allowed to build a large photovoltaic park near in Nova Zagora municipality, partially in a protected area under the Natura 2000 ecological network.

Another case mentioned in the article is the Varna-based company Eskana, which received permission to implement their investment plan for the development of the quarry for extraction of rock lining materials near Kotel without Environmental Impact Assessment. According to the Ministry of Environment and Water, such a permit is not necessary in this case, as the legal procedures have been followed, however, the swift and similar actions raise doubts, the author of the article points out.