site.btaMedia Review: January 3

POLITICS

In an interview for Nova TV, journalists Viktor Ivanov of 24 Chasa and Stoyana Georgieva of Mediapool.bg commented on the possibilities of forming a cabinet. Ivanov believes that the parliamentary parties were able to react well to caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev's proposed Security Cooperation Agreement with Ukraine, which covers a period of 10-plus years. Ivanov alleged that Glavchev's actual goal was to stir up discord between the pro-European GERB and Democratic Bulgaria (DB) on one hand and BSP - United Left on the other. The journalist added: "Now they have to go through the next steps: the budget extension bill and a possible freeze on the price of electricity. If they succeed, we might have a government."

Georgieva alleged that GERB may place DB in a tough spot by making commitments that they do not keep. She pointed out that the budget could become a first test for the formation of a coalition. In her words, the country needs to turn away from political populism and tackle the actual huge challenges we are facing.

ECONOMY

An article in Telegraph suggests that Bulgaria's economy needs some 250,000 workers for various industries. The most understaffed sectors are construction and healthcare.

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In an in-depth interview for 24 Chasa, Assoc. Prof. Teodora Peneva, economist at the Economic Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, argues that the adoption of the living wage indicator will bring more equity to income policy. She adds that only 20% to 30% of Bulgarians see their income increasing, while the poverty line remains the same. According to the expert, the poverty line raises only the threshold for access to social benefits and not their amount. This approach makes social assistance a "victim of political decisions".

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An article in Dnevnik.bg reports that 2024 saw the highest number of new cars and light commercial vehicles sold in the country, reaching nearly 60,000 vehicles, a nearly 16% increase from the previous year, according to data shared by the Traffic Police. The previous strongest year was 2006, when 42,625 new vehicles of the M1 and N1 categories were sold. One reason for the large number last year was the 2024 Sofia Motor Show, which offered numerous discounts and promotions. Another factor was the state, which purchased more than 1,000 cars mainly for the needs of various services of the Interior Ministry. Imported used passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (categories M1 and N1) totalled just over 249,000, of which 71%, or almost 177,000 were more than a decade old.

RELIGION

Trud's front page criticizes the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) for having legalized the "first private church" in Bulgaria, specifically the Old Calendar Orthodox Church. According to the daily, the court's decision contradicts the Religious Denominations Act, which states that the country's traditional religion is Orthodox Christianity represented by the autonomous Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate. Trud argues that by including the word 'Orthodox' in its title, the Old Calendar Orthodox Church, whose followers are no more than 1,000, poses illegal competition to the traditional church.

SOCIETY

In an op-ed published by Trud, Dr Iliya Iliev discusses data released by Eurostat, according to which an increasing number of Europeans aged 20 to 34 are becoming NEETs, an acronym for Not in Education, Employment, or Training. The article suggests that some 20% of young people in Bulgaria fit that label. Iliev reports that 46% of young people in England said that they developed mental and physical health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic that left them unemployed. That percentage is similar for the EU. The article continues:

"Young people want to work hard, they are capable of achieving high results in the professional field. With their inflated demands, what millennials and zoomers actually want is to avoid the mistakes of their parents who devoted their lives to an unpleasant profession. They [the millennials and zoomers] are looking for the Well-being System, automation of routine processes, a comfortable working environment, high corporate and social responsibility. Well, they suffer from the 'missed benefit syndrome'.

"They are like that, demanding. According to a survey by Sparks & Honey, 60% of zoomers want their activities to have a positive impact on the world around them. And they are put off by bureaucracy, strict management, the unattractive image of the hiring company, and the ban on using social media during work hours. [...]

"Such arrogant people who have given up self-realization are present in our country too. Sometimes they work but invisibly to the authorities, in the grey economy, without contracts and, therefore, without taxes. Most of them live in Sofia or in some of the bigger cities. They rely mainly on their parents [...]. Their typical feature is their childhood stretching like an elastic band, the upper limit of which has exceeded 25 and is chasing the 30s."

ROADS AND RAILWAYS

Trud reports on data released by the Ministry of Interior and distributed by the Road Safety Institute (RSI), according to which 479 people died in traffic accidents in 2024, or 46 people fewer compared to the previous year. 24 Chasa specifies that this is the lowest number registered in the country for the past 35 years. Another 9,046 were injured, which is again an improvement on 2023's 9,101. Paradoxically, the number of severe traffic accidents increased from 6,993 in 2023 to 7,159 in 2024. The RSI reports: "Benchmarking shows us an unstable transport system where risk management of severe road traffic accidents is either lacking or utilizes inappropriate tools to influence road traffic injury." The institution continues to criticize the State Agency Road Safety, the ministries of interior, of transport and of regional development for failing to function as a system for managing the risk of severe crashes and to limit the number of casualties. The article conclusion is: "Why should crash statistics be kept by the Ministry of Interior at all? Why is every one of these 7,000-plus crashes a year not recorded in a single public register that shows exactly how many people are injured? Yes, the police are the first to record every single serious crash, but then all data disappears."

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An article in Telegraph suggests that introducing the bonus-malus system for drivers could not take place earlier than 2026, according to regulatory activity programme of the Financial Supervision Commission adopted at the end of last year. Introducing the bonus-malus system and assessing the risk of each driver based on their individual performance were among the demands raised by taxi drivers who rallied last year, after a substantial increase in the price of the mandatory third-party liability insurance.

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After four people died in a train car that caught on fire at Sofia Central Railway Station on December 31, 2024, 24 Chasa reports on the institutions responsible for safeguarding the trains operated by the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ). The Ministry of Transport suggested that guarding the Central Railway Station, which includes the platforms and tracks, is the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior, as the Station is a site of national security. Nikolay Kamberov, head of the National Railway Infrastructure Company's Sofia regional centre, said: "There is a private security company for the entrance building that uses video surveillance to monitor the building. The gendarmerie also guards the building." Guarding smaller stations is the responsibility of the BDZ staff. The Interior Ministry on the other hand argues that their responsibility is the protect train stations and the immediate area around them, while protecting the cars and tracks should be done by the BDZ and the National Railway Infrastructure Company, who are also authorized to hire private companies to perform this task.

ENVIRONMENT

An article on bTV's website reports that concentrations of fine particulate matter above the permissible levels was registered in five Bulgarian cities (Sofia, Pernik, Plovdiv, Shumen and Pleven) overnight and this morning. Serious air pollution was reported in the foggy areas of the country over the last few days. Experts point out that high humidity is trapping fine particulate matter in the air.

NARCOTICS

An article in Trud entitled Drug in Vape Pushed Boy to Death looks into a tragic accident that took place in Pleven, North Central Bulgaria, on January 1. Pulmonologist Alexander Simidchiev told the daily that the 14-year-old's fall from the seventh floor in Pleven was caused by consuming a high dose of one of the cannabis ingredients present in the e-cigarette liquid. The drug either caused the teenager's blood pressure to drop or triggered severe dizziness. The healthcare expert specified: "A common side effect of all cannabis ingredients may be associated with a change in the so-called cognitive function, i.e. confusion and dizziness. He showed up at the window and fell down. That is how I interpret what happened." While lawmakers banned the sale and use of vapes by minors in September 2024, as well as advertising vapes on TV and radio, with fines ranging between BGN 1,000 and 5,000, Simidchiev believes that the current levels of control are subpar. He concludes: "We have a huge problem with our education system, because we are trying to ban vaping by law, however, we would be unable to solve this problem, until people understand the huge health risks of vaping. With low controls, vapes are still being used by children. The same goes for laughing gas." Psychiatrist Veselin Gerev told Telegraph that was most likely experiencing hallucinations that had him perceive the window as a door.

Addictions expert Dr Aleksandar Kanchelov told Nova TV that vaping can cause addiction. Psychologist Dr Plamen Dimitrov shared: "We conducted a survey in October among people between the ages of 15 and 29. Some 36% already have an addiction. This is the third generation to have exposure to such substances. Obtaining them is extremely easy."