site.btaMedia Review: December 6

The political impasse in Parliament and the economic situation in Bulgaria dominate Friday’s news media.

POLITICS

Trud has an interview with professor in constitutional law Plamen Kirov, who comments on the political impasse in the 51st National Assembly. Were the political forces sure they could form a regular government, they would not be playing these games and postponing the election of a National Assembly chair. According to Kirilov, should snap elections be held, the configuration in the next National Assembly will be different. In some coalitions, the partners cannot stand each other and will most probably participate in the next elections with new partners or independently, he argues, referring to Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria. The Alliance for Rights and Freedoms might not make it into the next parliament, and so might BSP-United Left, There Is Such a People, and MECh. In his words, there could still be many parties in the 52nd National Assembly, but they will have to start holding talks for a regular government even before the elections, because this time no one will forgive them for the political circus.

On Nova TV’s morning show, journalist Silviya Velikova and political analyst Georgi Harizanov commented on the upcoming 11th attempt of MPs to elect a National Assembly chair. They were pessimistic about the result of that vote, nothing that the political players cannot reach an agreement and only a miracle can make the election of Parliament chair happen. One of the nominees, Nataliya Kiselova of BSP-United Left, commented on Nova TV that the support for one candidate or another changes daily due to the lack of a clear majority in Parliament. "Our understanding is that there should be a clear majority in advance and a direction in which the National Assembly should go. It should be an uncontested vote. It will entail more difficult and complex dilemmas that we will face in the coming weeks, not only on the state budget, but also on other tasks", Kiselova said. She is against the proposal of GERB leader Boyko Borissov that should the MPs fail to elect a National Assembly chair, the parliamentary groups should be declared and the procedure with the cabinet-forming mandates should start. "No, this is the fastest way to snap elections. It is right to elect a chairperson and their deputies first," she said. The constitutional law expert commented that without a chairperson, one cannot go to elections.

On bTV’s morning show, Nikolay Denkov of Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and Rossen Zhelyazkov of GERB-UDF commented on their formations’ behaviour in the plenary hall on Thursday, when the 10th attempt was made to elect a Parliament chair. Denkov explained that for CC-DB, it is important that the candidate for National Assembly chair is backed by a majority which does not include MRF – New Beginning of Delyan Peevski. "We are trying to form a majority because that is the most natural solution. It is clear that this will not be a political decision like which party is more important, but it will be a decision that would open up Parliament for work. I do not know what will happen today [Friday] because I do not know who Borissov called last night and who Peevski pressured last night," Denkov commented. Zhelyazkov said that GERB had asked Democratic Bulgaria whether they would accept GERB’s support. “We consider General Atanas Atanasov [MP of CC-DB] a figure worth supporting to form a majority. Let us elect Gen. Atanasov with the agreement that we will talk about a majority,” Zhelyazkov said. According to him, if no chairperson is elected on Friday, other solutions should be sought, namely an interpretation of the Constitution as to whether the first cabinet-forming mandate could be handed to a parliamentary group without there being an elected chairperson of Parliament.

Bulgarian National Television’s morning show focused on the moves of Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF) in Parliament and how the war between MRF Honorary Chairman Ahmed Dogan and Peevski will end. ARF leader Dzhevdet Chakarov commented: "From the very first day of the 51st National Assembly, we have indicated that we are in favour of electing a chairperson of the National Assembly, as well as electing a regular government." The ARF is against that chairperson and government having an affiliation with MRF - New Beginning and Vazrazhdane. The ARF will support a government with a clear Euro-Atlantic orientation without participating in it, with clear programme and priorities, he explained.  

ECONOMY

24 Chasa has an interview with Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Governor Dimitar Radev, who argues that amidst the difficult domestic and external situation, banks achieve good results and the system is stable. The tests will continue, however, to factor in the new challenges. He described as such the insecurity caused by the political crisis in Bulgaria and the lack of clarity regarding the external conflicts and challenges and their impact on trade and economic activity. According to him, the banks are ready for the introduction of the euro, but it is up to politicians to make that happen. A successful exit from the political crisis could solve the budget challenges Bulgaria faces; he recommends urgent disciplining of the state budget both in terms of process and content.

24 Chasa also has an interview with Petia Dimitrova, CEO of Postbank and head of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria. She tells the daily that next year they will invest in modern technologies again as a guarantee of an effective transition to the euro. In her words, banks in Bulgaria remain optimistic for a stable government that will take the right decision and economic growth. She described 2024 as yet another strong year for the banking system, particularly when it comes to household loans. The first nine months of the year saw an increase by 24% of mortgage loans and by 16% of consumer loans year on year, which reflects the good state of the economy and the growth of real incomes. Business loans have decreased somewhat but not to a worrisome extent at the moment. Deposits too are growing faster than last year: households saved BGN 5.3 billion in January-September 2024, compared to BGN 4.7 billion in 2023, and businesses saved BGN 1.3 billion, compared to BGN 535 million a year earlier. Banks’ revenues are growing at a slower rate, which combined with the two-digit increase of expenditures results in the same financial result as in 2023.

On Bulgarian National Radio, economist Georgi Vuldjev from the Expert Club for Economics and Politics commented that Bulgaria will likely start 2025 without a new state budget, meaning that monthly revenues and expenditures will have to stay under 1/12 of those budgeted for 2024. "In recent years there have been quite dangerous policies, which are why we are in such a mess today that the deficit is really out of control", the economist warned. In his words, in any case government debt will be on the table, because no one is discussing a zero deficit scenario for next year. What the caretaker government is proposing is a continuation along the same inertia path of the last few years. Expenditure is growing much faster than revenues, Vuldjev underscored. The problem lies not in revenues, which are growing by 11-12% on an annual basis, but in expenditures outpacing them. Policies have been taken that in the long run raise current expenditures, he explained. In his opinion, for 2025, to set the budget around the 3% limit, an extraordinary taxation of banks' profits could be applied and again there could be a cut in the capital programme, but in the long term Bulgaria is heading towards more severe solutions: raising taxes and limiting current spending such as salaries and pensions. No caretaker cabinet wants to go there, Vuldjev commented on possible optimisations in the public administration. The situation will become more difficult financially, he concluded.

On Bulgarian National Television's morning show, Confederation of Independent Trade  Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) President Plamen Dimitrov commented that the draft state budget for 2025 has to go to Parliament for debate because there are a number of needs to be funded for next year. The measures proposed by the Finance Ministry are, for the most part, absolutely realistic and do not affect the raising of taxes, he said. The minimum wage should grow independently and this is its main function; it should be disconnected from any social payments, Dimitrov argued. He noted that the minimum wage is the income of low-skilled workers and should grow independently without burdening everyone else. The CITUB propose a raise of the maximum social insurance income by 10%.

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24 Chasa’s front-page article quotes statistics showing that while there is a drastic drop in the number of newborns in Europe (only 3.67 million), in Bulgaria that number has seen a slight increase. Young people do not think about having children due to climate change, political insecurity, inflation, and pandemics. In a related article, the daily reports that some 11,000 unaccompanied refugee children have sought asylum in Bulgaria. Those from Ukraine are always accompanied by an adult, while Syrian children arrive alone.

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Trud's front-page story reads that nearly 30,000 Bulgarians have invested their money in the dubious British company BETL, established less than a year ago in the UK. For its short life the company has opened many offices in Sofia and the country, promising quick profits to everyone, even though the company does not exist in Bulgaria's Trade Register, the daily's check shows. The company promises quick and easy money to anyone who decides to become an owner of their products - public charging stations for mobile phones. The presentation states that the devices in question are placed in shopping malls, restaurants and cafes to make it easy to charge your phone. From there, they assure their investors that the chargers are a preferred tool in China and it is time for that to happen in Bulgaria. "Profits from charging phones in China go directly to the crypto accounts of our investors and so they knock out their initial investment in a short time," the company claims. Investors' dividends are paid only in cryptocurrency, not into accounts at established banks. The company's lavish parties are held under strict control - no media are allowed, nor are curious citizens who want to learn more about the activities. A check on BETL's portal shows that the company is registered in the UK under the name Blue Electric Technology Limited and headquartered in London. The company was registered at the end of 2023 and filed a zero balance sheet for the year, indicating no real trading activity. Meanwhile, BETL is aggressively launching a product on social media that is neither new nor unique. Such portable power banks for charging mobile phones have been around for a long time and are not considered an innovation. The Sofia office manager categorically rejects the theory that this is a scam. Dozens of Bulgarians who have already invested and made real profits are convinced of the same. Some earn BGN 2,000 a month, others claim to take home more than BGN 30, 000-40,000.

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Telegraf’s front-page article is dedicated to the identified outbreak of ovine rinderpest (aka peste des petits ruminants or PPR) at a sheep farm in Velingrad (Southern Bulgaria). The case reached Brussels after local farmers and a protest of citizens from across Bulgaria refused to allow the animals to be culled, claiming they were healthy, while two tests commissioned by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency came out positive. 

Segabg.com presents the position on the issue of Ivan Hristanov, former deputy agriculture minister and former MP of Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria. He said the situation at the sheep farm shows the full degradation of institutions and statehood. In his words, the State-owned laboratory which tested the sheep twice actually does not have the necessary accreditation. The measures to limit the spread of PPR are a joke: a puddle with dry grass in it for disinfection, missing fences, and a deafening lack of state veterinary control on site, he argued. He described as madness that the Food Safety Agency and the Agriculture Ministry do not yet know where the disease came from at the farm in Velingrad and have sent a third set of samples for testing. The farmers were told they would be paid BGN 1.5 million in compensations, then that sum dropped to BGN 900,000, which is shameful given that there are clear rules on how such compensations are calculated should animals have to be culled, Hristanov explained.

Mediapool.bg reports that no animals from the farm in Velingrad will be killed, according to a joint statement of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Interior, published on Thursday evening. The farm remains under quarantine and temporary measures are in place to restrict the movement of small ruminants to and from Pazardzhik Region. However, representatives of animal breeder organizations argue that such a move carries a risk of the disease spreading to other farms and the EU introducing a ban on the export of Bulgarian sheep products. 

Capital Weekly writes that the case of a PPR hotspot in Velingrad and animal breeders’ protests are a diagnosis for a no less dangerous infectious disease: the mistrust in institutions. “No arguments of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency matter because that institution has long been infected with the bug of doubt. It comes from the multitude of mistrusted institutions and regulatory bodies. It is not like the Agency itself has not given cause for distrust through the constant jumping from scandal to scandal - the management of disinfection puddles, laboratories, mobile incinerators and whatnot being gifted to people known mostly by their nicknames. No matter what the experts say - from vets to ministers, wherever doubt is sown, it will sprout discontent and there will be politicians to water it. And the worst thing is that there is no easy cure. Euthanasia does not work in this case,” the analysis reads.

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Capital Weekly’s headline is “The New Drug”, referring to TikTok. Several articles present the Chinese platform for short videos as addictive and causing difficulty focusing and brain rot. TikTok is a political instrument used for manipulation but it is also a mechanism for social transformation giving rise to many social problems, the weekly argues. “The debate is endless, but at least so far it has been entirely theoretical. Results of the implementation of the recently adopted law in Australia prohibiting under-16-year-olds from using TikTok, positive or negative, will make it something of a huge clinical study. If the results are negative or insignificant, advocates of online freedom are likely to win the debate outright. If, however, banning social networks leads to fewer rotten brains, especially among those in their prime, the uncomfortable question will arise: what if technological and social progress do not walk hand in hand, and while algorithms become smarter, we become dumber?” one of the articles reads. Another article looks at the use of TikTok in Bulgaria, noting that it is among the countries in the world with most frequent and longest use of the application a month on average. The most used social media platform in Bulgaria is Facebook, which has 4.4 million users in this country, while TikTok is second with 2.3 million. In reality, however, users are probably more, as the platform does not provide data on the number of registrations of minors. More than half of Bulgarian Internet users between the ages of 16 to 24 years use it daily. In the second quarter of 2024, the largest share of young people in Bulgaria (70%) visited Instagram. Young people aged between 16 and 24 also spend the most time on digital platforms, and 17% of them spend three to four hours a day there, data show.

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Duma reports that an event titled "So Close, So Beautiful: Welcome to Hebei" was held in Sofia, organized jointly by the Hebei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the China Cultural Centre in Sofia, and the Confucius Institute in the Bulgarian capital. China Cultural Centre Director Hong Hai noted that the delegation from Hebei was the first to visit Bulgaria after the introduction of the new visa-free policy, and expressed hope that the event would give a new start to cooperation in the field of culture and tourism between the two countries. The event marked the official opening of a Hebei Culture and Tourism Promotion Centre in Sofia. Prior to the event, the delegation from Hebei and the Director of the China Cultural Centre held meetings with representatives of the Bulgarian government and local tourism agencies to discuss the prospects for developing tourism ties between the two countries.