site.btaMedia Review: January 9

No single topic dominates Tuesday's news media.

HEADLINES
 
Trud leads on an article about the pension system in Bulgaria titled “Current Pension Adjustment Rule Condemns Us to Poverty in Old Age”. It argues that the Golden Swiss rule, which provides for an annual pension adjustment by 50% of the growth of the average contributory income and 50% of the previous year's inflation, leads to pensions lagging behind monthly wages, which are already the lowest in the EU. In good economic times, pensions grow more slowly than monthly wages, which condemns pensioners to a life of scarcity. The article notes that retirement age is getting closer to the average age of death. It also highlights the ageing problem, adding that the share of people aged over 65 will rise to 30% in 2070, up from 22% in 2021. 
 
Telegraph’s first-page article is about growing food prices, which have been eating up the minimum wage increase since the COVID-19 pandemic. It notes that prices have gone up by 48%, while salaries have increased by just 4% since 2020, when the minimum monthly wage was BGN 610, down from the current BGN 933.
 
Duma’s leading article quotes Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) MP Valery Mitov as insisting on the immediate and complete ban on the import and sale of Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas. Mitov is adamant that the gas should be listed as a narcotic drug and both dealers and users should be held liable. He called for urgent measures to be taken to protect young people from the drug, which has been flooding the country on an epidemic scale. 
 
Trud carries a front-page signed commentary titled “An Albanian for President in Skopje? Not Right Now”. 
 
24 Chasa leads on a discrepancy in the results of breathalyzer tests and blood tests for drivers. It tells the story of a young driver in Sofia who tested positive for alcohol when stopped for a routine check in December. The man had his car seized by the authorities, but his blood sample came out negative the following day. It turned out that the false positive result was caused by the man’s frequent use of mouthwash. The article also talks about the possibility of cold and flu medications, nose drops or dental anesthetics yielding false positives in drug testing. 
 
Dnevnik.bg leads with a feature about rail transport. It is titled “(No) End to Delays: There Will Be Enough Locomotives for the Trains but Not Right Now”. It tells of a woman who lives in a town near Sofia and uses a train to commute to work but faces the reality of daily train delays varying from 10 minutes to six hours. The rail operator, BDZ Holding, told Dnevnik that they need 120 locomotives daily to ensure timely train services and during the entire 2023 they were 4-5 locomotives short of that on average, resulting in frequent delays. BDZ said that it has already signed a contract for the delivery of 10 new locomotives, which should end the shortage within two years and eliminate the delays. The change should also prevent many of the delays caused by locomotive breakdowns during travel. The locomotives will be supplied by the Siemens Tron Group, for BGN 91.1 million excluding VAT.

SCHENGEN ENLARGEMENT

On Nova TV, Vassil Velev, who chairs the Board of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, said that his organization demands and would back a firmer reaction by the Bulgarian government to the Austrian refusal to allow Bulgaria into the Schengen agreement for borderless travel for all borders: land, sea and air. Vienna has only agreed to let Bulgaria in for sea and air travel. “Schengen, the eurozone and OECD accession are top priorities for the Bulgarian business. They will step up economic growth and improve the quality of life in Bulgaria. After all the efforts we made and meeting all requirements for Schengen entry, why aren’t we equal with the rest?!” said Velev. He also said: "We would support a tougher response from the government. Why not veto an Austrian initiative? There should be calls not to buy Austrian goods and not to use Austrian services. There should be both government and public reaction." He argued that levers should be sought which would give political factors in Austria a motive to change their position. In his words, Austrian transit transport should be better controlled – just as Austria wants. Velev added that in his opinion the country is not capitalizing on its geographical location. 

24 Chasa reports the interview under the headline “Business Organization Urges Boycot of Austrian Stores and Gas Stations, and Harassment of Austrian Trucks”. 
 
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Telegraph reports about trucks waiting for 48 hours at border checkpoints after the National Customs Agency tightened control on trucks traveling to Austria, which was required by the country as a condition to let Bulgaria join the Schengen area for air travel. The article adds that customs officers have thoroughly checked over 7,200 trucks using X-ray scanning systems and documentary controls in the course of six days. 
 
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Trud reports that the State Agency for National Security will be monitoring refugees via an integrated register. The matter is regulated through revisions to the Refuge Act. The government will also have to adopt an ordinance for determining the age of migrants who are undocumented and claim to be under 18 years of age in order to benefit from the preferential treatment for underage persons.
 
This paper also has on its front page a photo of nationalist leader Kostadin Kostadinov in a forested area and a caption quoting his post on social media saying that he went to visit the Bulgarian border with Turkiye and what he found there was “destruction, destruction and more destruction: dilapidating barracks, torn fence and migrants camps”. “What is sadder is that the patrols on the Bulgarian border are manned by Hungarians, Romanians, Greeks, Austrians and even Estonians. I asked the Bulgarian border police why they don’t go on patrols, they said, off the record, that they have no vehicles and equipment,” wrote Kostadinov.
 
CONSTITUTIONAL REVISIONS
 
The Tuesday media outlets write about the recent constitutional revisions a day after President Rumen Radev challenged them before the Constitutional Court. On the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), constitutional law professor Natalia Kiselova argued that they put too much power in the hands of Parliament. She said the idea that a permanent parliament – which is what the constitutional revisions essentially set in place by minimizing the hiatus between two legislatures - would bring back parliamentarianism, is wrong. Quote: "Parliamentarism returns when you have constant communication between the government and the National Assembly. Parliamentary scrutiny is constant communication and information. It is not summoning ministers and ordering them around or taking away powers from the government as we have seen in the last two years and the National Assembly deciding for the government."
 
POLITICS
 
The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) had an interview with former Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) member and ex-Agriculture Minister Mehmed Dikme, who commented MRF leader Ahmed Dogan’s proposal to have the party leadership shared between MPs Delyan Peevski and Djevdet Chakarov. Dikme argued that two leaders are too many for a single political formation. He believes that Dogan will remain the real and sole leader. Dikme noted that Peevski's presence in the party causes considerable tension, especially in the MRF-dominated constituencies. He was adamant that MRF is neither democratic nor free, and that dissenting opinion gets sanctioned. Dikme did not rule out the possibility of Peevski giving up the idea of becoming a MRF leader. He described the political situation in Bulgaria as “shameful” and added that the MRF is informally participating in the Government and that it is quite natural to form a coalition and sign an agreement so that they can responsibly govern together. "I don't think Bulgaria needs new parties. Bulgaria needs the existing parties to put forward good leaders so they can bring the country out of the crisis,” he noted.
 
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24 Chasa covers a poll commissioned by the Continue the Change party in December, according to which Parliament’s Deputy Chair Nikola Minchev gets 24% approval and just over 35% disapproval. He is followed by former Innovation and Growth Minister Daniel Lorer with 17% approval and ranking CC member Lena Borislavova with 15,4%. Borislavova has a 56.1% disapproval rate. Yes, Bulgaria! Party leader Hristo Ivanov gets 60% disapproval. One in six voters approves of the Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria MEP Radan Kanev.  Overall support for CC-DB stands at 19.1%. Support for the power-sharing coalition GERB-UDF stands at 24.3%; for Vazrazhdane party at 15.2% and for the MRF at 13.9%. BSP for Bulgaria and There Is Such a People are not mentioned in the report. It says that the poll shows an over 5% loss of voters for CC-DB. Voter turnout for the upcoming European elections is currently measured at 37.6%. One-fourth of Bulgarians are undecided and as many don’t want to vote. Some 24% of respondents would support CC and DB running together for the elections, 15% prefer CC to run on its own. 
 
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Dnevnik.bg runs an article saying that CC-DB is in for a tough time as a rotation of Parliament Chair is expected to take place in March along with the government. The coalition is yet to decide whether Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Atanas Atanasov or Continue the Change MP Nikola Minchev will become Parliament leader. The initial expectations were for Minchev to take the seat of Parliament chair Rosen Zhelyazkov. 

When the Cabinet was formed in June 2023, CC-DB and GERB-UDF agreed that Nikolay Denkov of CC-DB and Mariya Gabriel of GERB-UDF would rotate as prime minister and deputy prime minister over a nine-month period, starting with Denkov. This rotation will take place together with a handover of Parliament’s leadership between the two coalitions.

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Trud has a two-page interview with Vili Lilkov, a Sofia municipal councilor of Blue Sofia, where he says (and is used as a headline) that “the chaos in the Sofia Municipal Council should not last a day longer”. The interview comes a couple of days ahead of a sitting of the Municipal Council where it is expected to end the crisis caused by the failure the elect a Council Chair. The largest political group, CC-DB and Save Sofia, don’t have enough votes to secure support for their candidate, Boris Bonev, and are unwilling to seek a coalition with the second largest group, GERB-UDF. According to Lilkov, CC-DB and Save Sofia are likely to accept the idea of a rotational chair. He also says that Mayor Vassil Terziev “should make an effort to resolve the crisis and not fight with municipal councilors”.  
 
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In a very emotional and highly sarcastic front-page comment in Duma, journalist and former Socialist MP Alexander Simov writes about “the real motives” behind the recent constitutional revisions (which he calls “terrifying, shockingly stupid, absolutely hollow”). “They transpired on Monday when MP Atanas Atanassov [of CC-DB] announced that his two sons are American citizens and that the changes in the basic law make sure they will be able to participate in the Bulgarian political life. Obviously, daddy wants to make sure his heirs will raise high the flag of Euro-Atlanticism and […] get free drinks at the US Embassy on July 4 while waiting for the new instructions”.
 
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Mediapool reports that it is likely that the ruling majority will unite around two nominations for Constitutional Court judges from the parliamentary quota. One is GERB Floor Leader Desislava Atanasova and the other is former Supreme Court of Cassation judge and Bulgarian Judges Association Chairperson Borislav Belazelkov. In mid-December, Parliament opened a procedure for the election of two Constitutional Court judges from the parliamentary quota, setting January 11, 2024, as a deadline for making nominations. The Court has been functioning with a reduced lineup for over two years now because the National Assembly failed to elect two judges from its quota in 2021 and 2022. 
 
The Constitutional Court is composed of 12 judges. One third is elected by Parliament; one third is appointed by the President and one third is elected by the General Assembly of the judges of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court. 
 
ECONOMY
 
Duma writes that a new European regulation “is sneaking GMO into our food”. Civil and sectoral organizations are sounding an alarm and insist that Bulgaria should take a firm stance against it. 
 
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In the morning show of the Bulgarian National Television, Economy Minister Bogdan Bogdanov said that he expects the leadership of the Commission for Consumer Protection (CCP) to be changed within a week. Quote: “At the end of last year, I demanded the resignation of the entire leadership of the CCP because of obvious violations. In some consumer protection procedures, the CCP has acted repressively against certain businesses, very deliberately. Of all the lawsuits against CCP decision - 34 in total - the Commission has lost 31 and lost more than BGN 60,000 in fees. Businesses, consumers and I have lost confidence in CCP. I cannot change the leadership of the CPC single-handedly, there is an established mechanism for that. I propose the leadership and it is appointed by the government. At the moment, it is a question of taking a technical decision so that the image of the institution is not undermined. I hope that this problem will be resolved in the next week. I have the full support of both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister on this matter, and the new composition of the CCP is currently being considered. I expect a quick decision.”
Bodganov said that he is ready to keep his office after the government rotation in March and responded to attacks against his work. Bogdanov is among the ministers mentioned among those who are expected to be replaced in the rotation, especially after he was personally criticized by GERB leader Boyko Borissov, said the Bulgarian National Television. 

 
HEALTHCARE
 
On bTV, Prof. Iva Hristova,  director of the National Centre for Contageous and Parasitic Diseases, says that Bulgaria is amid a flu outbreak. The incidence of acute respiratory diseases is on the rise and it will stay like this for another month or two. The incidence of flu and COVID-19 is also on the rise, said the professor.
 
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On BNT, the head of the Bulgarian Medical Association (BMA), Dr Ivan Madzharov, calls for introduction of one-day hospitalizations and a 25% increase in the prices of clinical pathways. According to him, hospitals in the country are in different financial shape but "the overall picture is tragic in terms of payment for the work of medical specialists - doctors and nurses”.
 
SOCIETY
 

Dnevnik carries an interview with Stoil Tsitselkov, political analyst and cultural anthropologist, where he takes questions about the past year and his expectations for 2024. It is part of a series of interviews with philosophers, political and social analysts, writers, all with the same questions. Tsitselkov said his hope for the new year is for “a stable rotation in the government and mapping out of new priorities” and “start of peace talks in Ukraine and end to the West’s war over resources in Africa”. “But I am a hopeless romantic and on a rational level I don’t believe there is much likelihood for this to happen”.  His fears are for escalation of other smoldering conflicts between countries, such as Venezuela’s territorial claims against neighbouring Guyana, the conflicts in Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Central America will also be in the focus of attention. He does not expect the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to end but hopes for a ceasefire. The best thing that can happen, globally, is rethinking the role and function of international organizations to make them adequate to the present-day reality. The inevitable is widening of the gap between the rich and the poor, says Tsitselkov. 

RESEARCH, EDUCATION

Telegraph has a two-page interview with Prof. Ognyan Kolev, who has been working on NASA projects for over 20 years and is currently leading research aimed at establishing how man functions in an extreme environment as well as ways to mitigate the effects of weightlessness on astronauts. 

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Telegraph quotes Trade Union of Bulgarian Teachers Chairperson Yanka Takeva as saying that between 3,000 and 3,500 teachers and school principals retire every year. She adds that 2,500 of them tend to reenter the system. Takeva comments on the results of a survey conducted by Podkrepa's Education trade union, which reveals that more than 70% of respondents have said that principals who have reached retirement age should be timely retired under the Pre-school and School Education Act. She said that this situation should be tackled carefully. The poll was conducted among people aged between 50 and 60, 90.7% of which are teachers or principals and 2% are parents. 

CRIME

The news media reports extensively the brutal murder of a 49-year-old man, apparently over an unpaid loan. Kiril Rusev was kidnapped, tortured and then shot dead – and was found just before his body was about to be cremated on fake documents. Two men were arrested and charged for the murder. One of them is the son of former Finance Minister Stoyan Alexandrov and the other is the owner of a funeral agency. bTV showed that in 2016 it did an interview with the victim where he exposed Stoyan Alexandrov as a loan shark. The law-enforcers pressed changes against Alexandrov in 2018 but he died in 2020. 

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Dnevnik.bg covers a Bulgarian National Radio interview with former European Court of Human Rights judge and founder of the Bulgarian Lawyers for Human Rights organization Zdravka Kalaydjieva, who commented on police violence and a recent death of a 58-year-old man during a police pursuit. Kalaydjieva said that she is left with the impression that Bulgarian police officers are trained how to shoot and use violence instead of how to protect human life and public order. She noted that in most high-profile cases of police violence, the outcome is unknown and the public remains uninformed whether the culprits have faced trial, have been sentenced or have received a disciplinary penalty. Thus, Kalaydjieva argues, the police officers are often left with a sense of impunity and the public is left with the impression that the perpetrators have been covered up. She added that the reluctance to investigate is coupled with focus on less important investigating circumstances and a lack of identification marks on the police officers which makes it impossible to identify them.

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24 Chasa quotes former interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, who told bTV on Monday that Interior Ministry's Deputy Secretary General Dimitar Kangaldzhiev is involved in migrant smuggling. “I assure you that this information is available to the Austrian side as well as to all European partners," he said.