site.btaMedia Review: May 15

JUNE 9 ELECTIONS

Sega, 24 Chasa and Trud report that samples of ballots for the 2-in-1 elections on June for European Parliament and for a National Assembly, as well as voting machines, were presented on Tuesday at a briefing in the Central Election Commission (CEC). The paper ballots will be in a different colour on the front side. The ballot for the National Assembly will be green. The names of the political formations will also be in green. The ballot for the European Parliament will be in blue, explained CEC spokesperson Rositsa Mateva. She added that the preparations for the elections are going smoothly. A total of 418 candidates for MEPs and 6,114 candidates for MPs are registered in the CEC, 334 of which will run for both. 

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On Wednesday morning, bTV hosted the first pre-election debate for the June 9 elections for the 50th National Assembly on bTV. All parties currently represented Parliament attended (with the exception of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms): Ekaterina Zaharieva (GERB-UDF), Bogdan Bogdanov (CC-DB), Tsoncho Ganev (Vazrazhdane), Borislav Gutsanov (BSP for Bulgaria), Stanislav Balabanov (There Is Such a People).

 Zaharieva argued that there can be no coalition agreement under the rules of democracy which say that whoever wins the election will have to be the holder of the mandate and must have the largest Council of Ministers. She stressed that experiments with expert cabinets must stop because that is one of the reasons for the political crisis. Bogdanov talked about fighting corruption," the mafia", and freeing institutions occupied for personal and business interest for years. Ganev stressed that first and foremost, Bulgaria should not be included in any form in a military conflict in Ukraine, as well as  conduct a referendum on Bulgaria entering the Eurozone and question the necessity to have four American bases in Bulgaria. Gutsanov talked about "national treason" in the energy sector, namely giving away to Ukraine the equipment for the construction of the Belene NPP when it could have been set up and working if action was taken. Balabanov stressed the importance of not sending a single Bulgarian soldier to the front. The candidates also discussed reforms in the judicial system and the fight against corruption.

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Sega reports that nearly a dozen political formations, including the Civic Bloc Coalition, The Left! Coalition, the Rose Coalition, and the Here We Come party, have filed a court complaint stating that the state-allocated funds for an election campaign are insufficient, as there will be two votes on June 9, not just one.  The case concerns  so-called media packages. These are the funds that the budget provides to parties and coalitions that do not receive state subsidies. Any such formation that has registered candidates in all constituencies can purchase media advertising for its election campaign for the sum of up to BGN 40,000, which is paid out by the CEC. The idea is to support small formations, as the big ones have far greater financial opportunities and attract more media attention. However, doubts have been cast in the past that this practice allows draining the state budget.

POLITICS

Trud, Telegraph, Mediapool, 24 Chasa report that Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev has ordered the appointment of Tanya Mihaylova and Nikolay Vitanov as Deputy Ministers of Education and Science. Mihaylova has a long teaching career and served as deputy minister of education and science between 2017 and 2021. Prof. Nikolay Vitanov is and expert in quantum informatics, quantum mechanics, quantum optics, computers, sensors, etc. During the COVID-pandemic Vitanov, was a member of the National Operational Headquarters, dealing with the pandemic.

Telegraph reports that the caretaker Economy Minister made changes to the the Board of Directors of the State Consolidation Company, replacing Elena Boltadzhieva, Teodora Stoyanova and Desislava Chalemova with Stanimir Tsvetkov, Katerina Petrova and Mariyana Ignatova, as the former submitted an application to leave. Asen Nenchev and Konstantin Stoychev, who is also the Executive Director of the company, remained in the Board of Directors.

24 Chasa and Mediapool report that the Constitutional Court has opened a case an the request of deputies from Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) to declare the early release of the governor of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), Stanimir Mihailov, unconstitutional. According to the petitioners, the decision of the National Assembly of April 17 is unconstitutional due to a contradiction with the principle of the rule of law and the separation of powers.

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Mediapool, Sega, Trud, Telegraph report that at its meeting on May 14, the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute decided to update pensions by 11% from July 1, 2024. This was done at the suggestion of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and member of the Supervisory Board Ivaylo Ivanov. The funds envisaged for pension increase in the 2024 State Social Insurance Budget Act amount to BGN 1,110.7 million. The decision came after heated debates on the matter on Monday, and comments by multiple political forces, regarding weather the increase would be 10% or 11 %, which some dubbed a "storm in a teacup", as it was not that significant a difference. 

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Sega reports on a controversial decision by caretaker Economy Minister Petko Nikolov to surprisingly cancel a few days ago the results of a long-prepared and transparent competition conducted by the previous cabinet, during which commercial attaches were selected and appointed in 13 destinations around the world, including Berlin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dubai, Doha, Algeria, etc. The caretaker Minister gave no official reasons for his move, but pressed by the media he said that there was no "original legislative basis for conducting such a competition", and that there is no procedure for appealing the results. The the publication points out that procedures for the selection of commercial attaches have been carried out for decades, and so far not a single relevant minister, regular or caretaker, has had anything against them.  Nikolov stated that he was going to host a new competition. The publication noted that Nikolov seems to be trying to find something wrong with the competition, and has wasted the effort of those who went through it. Caretaker Prime Minsiter Glavchev has not commented on the matter.

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24 Chasa and Mediapool write that an extraordinary session of Parliament for the hearing of acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev will take place at the at the request of CC-DB regarding several controversies related to the caretaker Cabinet, including the issue with the commercial attaches, increase in the price of electricity, and most notably, the project to increase pensions from July 1 by 10%, and not by 11%, as provided for in the budget. The last matter was seemingly resolved, but apparently questions still linger.

HOME AFFAIRS 

Telegraph and Sega report that the Vazrazhdane party boasted on Facebook of a protest and an incident with a Ukrainian delegation at the Belene NPP, while the Ministry of the Interior remained silent and did not get involved. The incident happened on Monday, when specialists from the Ukrainian  nuclear operator Energoatom  were visiting the Belene NPP site. The visit was organized in fulfillment of a decision of the National Assembly from July 2023 to conduct negotiations for the potential sale of equipment intended for the Belene NPP Project. The process was launched last year, when the first concrete step to start the negotiation process was taken at a meeting between the Bulgarian and Ukrainian sides. A 20-minute video on social media shows how the car of the Ukrainian delegation is stopped by Vazrazhdane protectors, pushed out and driven back. Vazrazhdane leader  Kostadin Kostadinov defended these actions on social media, stressing that his party is protecting Bulgarian energy interests.

Trud, Mediapool, as well as the morning programme of Bulgarian national Television (BNT), report that the national taxi union organized a protest as a sign of disagreement with the closure of taxi stands in Sofia on Tuesday. An analysis shows that 40% of the taxi infrastructure in the centre zone and over 20% in zone one have been practically destroyed by the actions of the Sofia Municipality. Key places in the central city are left without any taxi infrastructure. This creates extreme difficulties in the work of those employed in taxi transport in Sofia.

24 Chasa quotes Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev, who said in a Facebook post that Sofia Minicipality has held meetings with representatives of major taxi companies in the city to consult on changes being made, and expressed confusion about the reasons behind the protest.

Trud, Mediapool, as well as the BNT and NOVA morning programmes, report that on May 20, all Bulgarian state universities and some private universities will remain closed in protest, except for activities of urgent nature. This was stated in an open letter by the Council of Rectors on the occasion of non-fulfillment of the commitments undertaken by the State in accordance with the Higher Education Act which provide for an increase in the salaries of the academic staff. The protest actions are unprecedented since 1989.
Telegraph reports on issues in the railway industry, including staff shortages, growing average age of the operating staff, the constant operation with a reduced staff, and in overtime.The reason behind these issues are the low wages in the sector, as well as unprofessional management.

Trud and Telegraph write  that the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology is ready for a protest on May 20. The demands of the branch organization are for higher remunerations.

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Trud reports that border authorities confiscated a large amount of undeclared branded packages for hookah tobacco at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint. 

Telegraph reports of a total of 2,228 kg of drugs discovered during two actions to combat drug trafficking at the Kapikule and Hamzabeyli border checkpoints on the border between Turkiye and Bulgaria. 

HEALTHCARE

Duma writes that about 50,000 Bulgarians suffer a stroke every year. This is nearly 7 times higher than the standards adopted on a global scale. The Association for Stroke and Aphasia explained that about 50 clinics in the country are prepared to carry out modern treatment, but the number of cases is very small, which means that people do not reach medical help in time. Some procedures allow effective intervention up to six hours after the onset of the stroke. The Association for Stroke and Aphasia recalls that Bulgaria is yet to prepare a national plan to fight strokes, as well as national screening of endangered groups. The Stroke and Aphasia Association is also pushing for a national standard to facilitate stroke patients in reaching  medical care within the therapeutic window.

Telegraph quotes the Ministry of Health that the first medical helicopter will be ready to perform real missions at the beginning of June. The pilots who will operate the air ambulance have already undergone training, but the medical teams are not yet ready to carry out missions. The Ministry of Health explained that their training will begin on May 15. The medical helicopter landed in Bulgaria at the end of January, and missions were expected to begin in March. 

ECONOMY

Sega quotes Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev, who said at the opening of a conference titled "Bulgaria in the eurozone, When?", taking place in Sofia, that  Bulgaria must finalize the process of its European integration by joining the eurozone the soonest possible. He was adamant that the damage from the delay will be worth billions. Radev argued that the main reasons for the delay are political instability and insufficient desire of the executive to finalize the process.

Telegraph also quotes Radev, who explained at the conference that the Bulgarian National Bank mint began the trial minting of 8 million Bulgarian euro coins. Euro banknotes for local needs are now being printed. The total amount of notes and coins needed weighs 12,300 tonnes. The BNB and the banks will be fully ready to join the eurozone before the end of this year, but the executive power still has a lot to do,  said Radev.

On BNT's morning programme on Wednesday, economists Petar Ganev and Vladimir Sirkarov discussed Bulgaria's chances for the Eurozone. Both agreed that that the country's political crisis is certainly a factor, as well as high Inflation, regardless of the political situation and technical preparation. Sirkarov added that BNB Governor Radev has repeatedly said there must be synchronization between monetary and fiscal policy, something that does not happen in Bulgaria, but does not happen outside of Bulgaria either.

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24 Chasa reports of an expected increase in electricity prices from July 1, between 4% and 10%. The increase was  confirmed by caretaker Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov due to a BGN 450 million deficit in the Electricity System Security Fund. By the end of June, the deficit would be around BGN 550 million. Household prices for the period from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025 will be set again by the the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, because the MPs postponed the full liberalization of the wholesale market by a year. The daily notes that which option for the price increase the regulator will choose will depend on whether it recognizes a deficit of BGN 550 million in the Electricity System Security Fund. So far, the opinion is that Energy and Water Regulatory Commission will not recognize it and the electricity price increase will be within 3-4%.

Mediapool and 24 Chasa report that although the price of natural gas is currently significantly lower than the value at which the current heating tariffs are set, only two of the companies in the country (in Sofia and Pleven) have requested a reduction in their prices from the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission. Thus, the situation from 2023 is repeated, when the blue fuel was also considerably cheaper, but the steam fuel became more expensive with the explanation that it was not calculated well for the previous year and the companies had uncollected revenues. Now, the significant inflation last year, which pumped up the operating costs of enterprises, is emerging as the reason.

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NOVA's morning programme quoted the latest report of the European Commission, which indicates that while on average less than 70% of Europeans live in their own home, in Bulgaria this percentage is 85% (7th in the EU).  Bulgaria is in first place in the ranking for the largest percentage of the population that cannot afford to heat their homes (22.5% compared to a 9% EU average). In Bulgaria, similarly to the EU, the distribution of those living in houses compared to those living in apartments is almost equal, with a slight prevalence of those living in houses.

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Telegraph reports that Bulgarian Food Safety Agency closed seven commercial establishments and banned the sale of nearly 200,000 eggs during extraordinary inspections carried out around Easter and St. George's Day. Nearly a tonne and a half of meat and 60 kg of food of non-animal origin were confiscated, the inspectors summarized. The most common violations were related to poor hygiene, expired food and undeclared country of origin of lamb meat.

TOURISM

Telegraph, as well as NOVA's morning programme, report that French President Emmanuel Macron made an unexpected advertisement for the maritime capital of Bulgaria, Varna. The sea city is listed in Macron's video of top tourist destinations in Europe, along with Rome, Salzburg, Split and Spanish Andalusia, followed by a number of other top tourist destinations on the Old Continent. Telegraph recalls that Emmanuel Macron together with his wife visited Varna on August 24, 2017. In the maritime capital, Macron spoke with President Rumen Radev and then-Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

Telegraph also notes that the French were the first tourists of the season to arrive at Varna airport this year from Paris on April 12. The direct air connection to the French capital runs every Friday until September and is operated by Transavia France. In April, Volotea's low-cost flights to Nantes and Lille also resumed from Varna airport.