site.btaMedia Review: September 12

POLITICS

The drama surrounding the two factions that split off from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and which one will prevail to register with the party name for the upcoming elections continues to be a major topic for Bulgarian media. 

"Thanks to SAC, Peevski Laid His Hand on the MRF Brand," reads Capital's headline.

The expectations that the case with the registration of MRF for the parliamentary elections will be resolved by the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) in favour of Delyan Peevski's camp have been justified. On Wednesday, hours before the deadline for the submission of documents for the registration of parties and coalitions to the Central Election Commission (CEC) expired, the Supreme [Administrative] Court overturned the refusal of the electoral body to register Peevski's Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning coalition, made up of three parties - MRF, New Leaders and Bulgarian Voice, and declared it unlawful. This means that in practice CEC has to register Peevski's alliance as its documents were submitted.

The reason for CEC's refusal to register Peevski's coalition was that the coalition did not comply with CEC's recommendation to remove MRF from its composition. The same recommendation was also given to the coalition surronding [Ahmed] Dogan, which is called Democracy, Rights and Freedoms - DPS [which in Bulgarian translates in to the same abbreviation - MRF] and which also includes three parties - MRF, SBOR and the Agriarian People's Union. However, both camps refused to comply with this recommendation because it meant removing the name of the movement or its abbreviation from the name of the coalition. If they had followedCEC's recommendation, Peevski's coalition should have been called only "New Beginning", while Dogan's should have been written without the abbreviation "MRF". The wing around the MRF co-chairman, sanctioned for corruption by the US [referring to Delyan Peevski, who has been sanctioned under the Magnitky Act by the US], appealed against the decision by which CEC refused to register the coalition "Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning" and the SAC ruled that it was illegal.

Trud contributes by writing that the Supreme Administrative Court has ruled in favour of Peevski when it comes to who will use the “MRF” brand.

After the SAC decision to allow the registration of Delyan Peevski's coalition, CEC refused the independent registration of the movement, requested by Dzhevdet Chakarov.

The MRF of Delyan Peevski goes to the elections with MRF - New Beginning, and that of Ahmed Dogan will try their luck with Alliance for Rights and Freedoms.

The ten-day dispute over which MRF should participate in the elections came to this decision.

First, late on Wednesday afternoon, the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the CEC to immediately register the MRF-New Beginning coalition to participate in the elections. The decision of judges Rumiana Borisova, Svetoslav Slavov and Tanya Damyanova is final and not subject to appeal. Late last night [Wednesday], CEC implemented it and voted to register MRF- New Beginning for participation in the elections. The decision was taken unanimously with 15 votes in favour.

And the SAC's decision earlier in the day came after three hours earlier, in open session, the court heard the case of Peevski's coalition's appeal against CEC's refusal to register it. It was ruled by the election commission on September 9.

bTV quotes CEC Vice Chairperson Rositsa Mateva as saying: "It is difficult to work calmly - at least because of all the opinions, but there is no political pressure over CEC's decisions. Politicians have not sought me out, nor have their cronies. Colleagues have not told me [they were pressured] either”. According to Mateva, the saga with the registration of the MRF is not over.

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Bulgarian National Radio leads with a story about how GERB leader Boyko Borissov described as unworkable the idea of CC-DB for a government headed by an expert prime minister, who is as distant as possible from political parties.

"If the leaders and the parties do not propose a government, how will a neutral person come in, manage programmes, choose ministers that nobody knows and start governing with a majority in Parliament," he argued in front of journalists in Parliament.

However, he refused to comment on the processes in the MRF.

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NOVA TV quotes President Rumen Radev, who was commenting the situation prior to the elections. "I believe that overcoming the political crisis requires the return of principles in politics and the parties to realise very clearly that trust is the stake for their success. And that comes from being honest with citizens. Repeating vows and promises in an election campaign and breaking them immediately after the elections destroys this trust," said President Rumen Radev. According to the head of State, it is very important that the parties themselves assist CEC and the [caretaker] Government in their efforts to organize fair elections. Responding to a question whether a gentlemen's agreement was possible after the elections, Radev said that any agreement must stem from what the public expects - for defending national interests to be at the core of any governing policy and for the fight against senior-level political corruption to begin.

ECONOMY – MORTGAGE LOANS

Mediapool: Three months after the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) announced that there is no overheating on the mortgage loan market, it still decided it will not do without taking at least some measures. Three restrictions are introduced on lending standards for mortage loans, which is the niche that has seen the most alarming growth. This was decided by central bank's Governing Council on September 11, and the restrictions themselves come into force on October 1. Existing loan contracts will not be affected, as the measures will only apply to new borrowers.

The ratio between the amount of current mortgage loan payments (the monthly instalment) and the borrower's monthly income at the time of granting may be up to a maximum of 50%, the BNB has determined. The loan amount cannot exceed 85% of the value of the property that serves as collateral. The maximum term of the loan agreement cannot be longer than 30 years, the BNB further decided. At this stage, the measures are quite cautious, and the BNB does not explain how it will monitor whether the restrictions will be circumvented. At the moment, banks in theory apply their own internal restrictions on mortgage lending, but in practice they are circumvented and make it possible to grant loans that fully cover the value of the property and even exceed it.

Sega contributes by writing that so far, the central has refrained from "pulling the reins" of banks, but the ongoing record-high mortgage lending has apparently worried BNB's leadership. Recently, another red signal came from the statistics, according to which instead of calming down, the pace [of mortgage lending] is rising - it turned out that the volume of mortgages this June was 25% higher than in June of 2023.

People's appetite to seek financing from banks for purchasing residential properties is being fueled by the unprecedented low interest rates in the country. On the other hand, deposits continue to grow, banks are flush with cash and are racing to tempt loan seekers. A Deloitte study showed that Bulgarian citizens are currently enjoying the cheapest loans in Europe. Even when interest rates are added to other payments, the so-called APR on new loans is below 3%. The fear is that sooner or later interest rates will start to rise noticeably, and then some of the banks' customers may find it difficult to make their payments. 

BULGARIA – CHINA – TRADE AND INVESTMENTS

Duma: Bulgaria has surpassed Poland in terms of trade with China last year. This was announced by China's Ambassador to Bulgaria Dai Qingli on Bulgarian National TV. Later at a press conference, she said that from 2015 to 2023, trade between Bulgaria and China has increased by USD 1.8 billion to USD 4.2 billion. Bulgaria has outranked Poland to become China's largest partner in agricultural trade in Central and Eastern Europe. The Ambassador noted that Chinese investment in the country has made promising progress in the fields of automobiles and spare parts, renewable energy, communications, agriculture and finance, and expressed confidence that even more fruitful results can be expected in the future.

A Bulgarian-Chinese business forum is planned to deepen cooperation between the two countries. The forum will be held from September 12 to 14 at the National Palace of Culture, where leading Chinese companies will introduce their products to Bulgarian citizens, it became clear at the press conference organized by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Bulgaria. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev is also expected to attend the event at the National Palace of Culture.

Some 60 companies, 24 of them Chinese, have registered their participation. They are involved in infrastructure construction, biotechnology, renewable energy, solar panels, etc.

Huawei, which has been in Bulgaria for 20 years, expressed their desire to deepen cooperation. The company said that besides selling mobile phones, they are now engaged in scientific activities. The company offers a youth development programme titled "Seeds of the Future", and so far more than 180 young people have received scholarships. Vulnerable groups, such as unemployed women, are also targeted. Since March 8 [International Women's Day], more than 200 women have been trained to work full-time.

The company is following with interest the success of the students in mathematics and has already sent several excellent students to continue their growth in China.

Of most interest to Bulgarian citizens will be the legal advice booth, where they will be able to find out how to draw up contracts, terms and conditions, etc. when they decide to cooperate with Chinese companies.

"Bulgaria plays a key role in the One Belt, One Road initiative," Ambassador Dai Qingli noted. Next year, Bulgaria celebrates ten years since joining President Xi Jinping's project. Bulgaria is now Beijing's main agricultural partner in Eastern and Central Europe, replacing Poland, the diplomat added. This is a good prerequisite for deepening trade relations and mutual benefit of the two countries, she concluded.

Business investors are expecting many contracts to be signed with Bulgaria. The forum is the first of its kind in the Balkans and will be open to citizens from 2 pm on September 12 to 2 pm on September 14.