site.btaMedia Review: October 6

PROTESTS

The blockade of the Trakia motorway and the Pass of the Republic set up by miners and energy workers in protest against the plan to close down coal-fired power plants continues on Friday.

After a meeting between representatives of the trade unions at Maritsa East Mines on Thursday, the differences between them were settled, and the common opinion they reached is that the energy workers continue the protest together with the miners.

The main demand remains the withdrawal of the territorial plans by the European Commission, and it has been decided to consult a lawyer in European law to check the possibilities for this.

The protesters also expect government representatives to come on site to negotiate with them, BNT reports.

“If anyone is worried about their job and is willing to work hard, they are welcome. Those who are mentally and physically fit are welcome in the army. We need such people, it’s first-category labour. We can hire at least 1,000 people from this region into the army as long as they are fit for military service," said Defence Minister Todor Tagarev on bTV.

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BNR reports that prison employees will protest in front of the building of the General Directorate Execution of Sentences. A survey by the trade union among its structures shows that employees are dissatisfied with the overall management of the directorate. The specific reason is the dismissal of junior inspector Emil Velkov about a month ago, who led the protest of the Sofia prison employees in May.

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According to BNR, the CAAI [Campaigns and Activism for Animals in Industry] association is organising a protest against the appeal of the order of the Ministry of Environment and Water to ban the breeding of American minks in Bulgaria. The order, issued in 2022, was attacked in court by the owner of the only mink fur farm in the country, against which environmentalists have been protesting for many years. The protest takes place on Friday morning during the hearing of the case, in front of the Sofia City Administrative Court. The organizers of the protest, the CAAI association, warn that the revocation of the order banning the breeding of American mink in the country will mean a guaranteed and cruel death for millions of animals, as well as numerous negative consequences for nature, people and the state.

ECONOMY

Trud summarises a statement by Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva, which she made during her address in Abidjan, the economic centre and largest city of Ivory Coast, ahead of next week's annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank to be held in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

According to Georgieva, fighting inflation is the number one priority. In the statement, which was circulated on the IMF's online platforms, Georgieva added that high prices undermine consumer and investor confidence and hit the poorest people in society the hardest.

Georgieva also said that the IMF's new regular World Economic Outlook, to be officially unveiled on Tuesday, will show a slow and uneven recovery, with wide divergences in trends emerging around the world. Economic fragmentation - marked by protectionism, export controls and withdrawal from world trade - threatens to further undermine growth prospects, especially for emerging and developing economies, Georgieva said.

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Nova TV reports that the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) met on Thursday to discuss the new minimum wage. From January 1, it should become BGN 933 because of the new way it will be determined.

"I think it is extremely necessary to accept this increase in the minimum wage. The CITUB and the Podkrepa Labour Confederation supported the project because this amount is based on legislation. The increase is absolutely necessary because over the last two years we have seen prices rise. The minimum wage has also been increasing, but the rate has been weak. The real purchasing power of the minimum wage has fallen. That is why we insist that the 19% increase come into effect on January 1 to compensate for the losses," said Violeta Ivanova of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB).

For their part, employers have expressed concerns that the minimum wage is approaching average wage levels. "Under the pressure of upcoming elections at the end of the previous parliament, populism simply prevailed. This led to the result that has no precedent anywhere - the minimum wage being 50% of the average wage. This result is in violation of both conventions signed by Bulgaria and the directive on adequate wages, which is allegedly transposed in this way," said Ivelin Zhelyazkov of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA).

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Dnevnik cites a forecast by the World Bank, warning that Bulgarian economy will slow down.

Bulgaria's economy is expected to slow significantly this year to 1.4%, in line with the ongoing cooling of the euro area economy.

According to the World Bank's latest report which examines the economic outlook for countries in Europe and Central Asia, growth could even be further depressed if Sofia fails to implement the reform milestones included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which would lead to further delays in the upcoming tranches.

In its spring forecast, the World Bank expected the Bulgarian economy to grow slightly more - by 1.5%.

Inflation will continue to decline but will remain high in 2023. This will put at risk the country's official goal of joining the eurozone in 2025, according to World Bank experts.

Annual consumer price growth will be 9.8% in 2023, easing to 5.6% next year and 4.2% in 2025.

The government's fiscal deficit target of 3% for the current year is achievable, but may come at the expense of lower-than-planned capital spending. This could hurt growth prospects in the future, the report's authors warn.

Bulgaria's current account balance is projected to shift to a slight surplus in the 2023-2025 period due to an expected downward adjustment in the prices of key imported commodities and an increase in the country's net exports of services.

The upcoming local elections at the end of October could increase pressure on the ruling coalition and political uncertainty could escalate again, the report warns.

Given slowing growth and potentially persistent inflation, poverty (using the poverty line of USD 6.85 a day) is expected to continue to decline slowly, reaching 3.5% in 2023, as was projected in the World Bank's spring report.

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Bulgaria is at the tail end of the world in terms of guaranteed minimum wages, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 24 Chasa reports.

Although this country is not yet a member of the organisation, the OECD maintains a database with the guaranteed minimum wages of many countries around the world and the comparison sends Bulgaria firmly to the tail.

The most recent OECD data is from 2022, when the minimum wage in this country was BGN 760 (it is currently BGN 780). Divided by 22 working days per month and 8 hours, this equals BGN 4.31 (USD 2.31) per hour.

The only country in the world with a lower guaranteed minimum wage is Mexico at USD 1.80 per hour.

MISCELLANEOUS

Friday’s media report that the amendments to the Constitution will be voted on first reading by Parliament. The sponsors of the changes expect that they will be finalised by the end of December.

The amendments to the Constitution provide for the division of the Supreme Judicial Council into two separate bodies, a reduction in the powers of the Prosecutor General, and the possibility to file individual constitutional complaints. 

The proposal to change the date of the national holiday from March 3 to May 24 is unlikely to pass because the idea met with serious opposition from GERB and MRF.

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A new incubation and accelerator programme - the South East European Innovators Programme (SEEIP) will be officially presented on Friday, Sofia Tech Park's press office announced. The event will take place at 4:30 pm in the Incubator Building.

Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Georgi Angelov, business representatives, scientific community, investor and entrepreneurial organizations are expected to attend.

SEEIP is a technology programme open to projects and ideas from all industry sectors. It includes elements of incubation, acceleration and technology transfer, and is aimed at entrepreneurs, researchers and inventors who want to create their own company based on scientific research, to commercialize their developments, as well as to further develop their business projects, Sofia Tech Park’s release said. The programme will support the teams throughout their entrepreneurial journey - from defining the specific product or service, through finding investors and funding to entering international markets. Since 2016, Sofia Tech Park has supported the development of more than 60 innovative companies. 

Sofia Tech Park is the first science and technology park in Bulgaria that develops activities to support start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, science, education and innovation. It functions as a hub for researchers, innovative start-ups and mature technology companies from Bulgaria and South-Eastern Europe. Its activities are dedicated to the development and management of an environment that supports the growth of SMEs by providing know-how, networking opportunities and access to new technologies in three key areas: information and communication technologies, life sciences and clean energy, the release said.

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The Bulgarian men's national volleyball team failed to repeat its feat from the match against the Netherlands in Group C of the Olympic qualification. The Bulgarians lost to Canada 0:3 (21:25, 17:25, 18:25) in their fifth match of the tournament in Xi'an (China).

Thus, they suffered a third loss, and with two defeats and six points, they remain in sixth place in the standings. The loss minimized any chances for the second place and an Olympic quota.

CAPITAL weekly highlights

The main clash in the constitutional changes will again be over the control over the prosecution service. The draft seems to be jammed with a lot of additional changes aimed at compromising the whole idea of constitutional reform.

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The digital transformation of Bulgarian Posts is not happening. The BGN 100 million one-stop shop project was envisaged under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, but will not take place. Over the past decade, Bulgarian Posts has been losing money every year. The company has to maintain its huge network while enjoying a microscopic presence in the strongest growth market - courier services. An action analysis is being prepared and a recovery plan has been submitted to the European Commission for consideration.

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French Latecoere's plant in Plovdiv takes over production of all doors for Airbus' A320. In addition to the front doors for Airbus' A320, which is the group's main customer, the local plant has also taken over the assembly of the rear doors since July, moving the entire programme here. The number of workers has been growing steadily, now numbering more than 370, and revenues last year exceeded BGN 77 million.