site.btaMedia Review: January 27

THE HEADLINES

The news that the Bulgarian bulk carrier Vezhen, sailing under the Maltese flag, has been detained by Swedish authorities, dominates Monday's news media. It is suspected that the vessel damaged an optical cable on the seabed of the Baltic Sea, connecting Latvia and Sweden.

Dnevnik.bg reports that the cargo ship was escorted into Swedish waters by a Swedish Coast Guard vessel on Sunday evening. Following initial reports of the detention, the Swedish Prosecution Authority linked the incident to an earlier investigation into sabotage.

The Bulgarian National Television (BNT) said that two days prior to the incident, which is suspected to be an act of sabotage, the ship had departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga. According to the specialized portal MarineTraffic, the Vezhen was traveling from Sweden to Denmark.

The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported that a spokesperson for the Swedish Coast Guard declined to comment on the position of Vezhen or the Coast Guard vessel.

According to Alexander Kalchev, Executive Director of Navigation Maritime Bulgare, the company that is the owner of the bulk carrier, there were strong winds and waves in the area where the cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea. "This occurred in the evening when it was not possible to inspect Vezhen. In the morning, it was found that the left anchor had "slipped" and was dragging along the seabed after its chain stopper had been damaged. It is possible that the ship caused a break in the optical cable, as it did pass over it, but I do not believe this was an act of sabotage, " he said, as quoted by Nova TV.

Segabg.com, Mediapool.bg, bTV, the Focus news agency, among other leading media also cover the topic.

POLITICS

In bTV’s morning talk show, Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) co-leader and former finance minister Assen Vassilev said that he will not take political responsibility if Bulgaria does not join the Eurozone on January 1, 2026, because, according to him, the last criterion – inflation – was already met in December 2024. Vassilev was adamant that there is no reason for the state budget deficit to exceed the minimum requirement of 3%. He stated that there are no bombs planted for his successors in the state budget for 2025, after the newly formed government of Rosen Zhelyazkov described the situation with public finances in Bulgaria as tragic, while his party GERB blamed Assen Vassilev.

According to Vassilev, the Ministry of Finance needs to provide a very clear explanation as to why they believe a deficit will emerge. "If we do not request a convergence report for joining the Eurozone, this will be extremely harmful to Bulgarian businesses and Bulgarian citizens," he warned.

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In an interview with BNR, CC-DB MP Martin Dimitrov, who is a member of the parliamentary Finance Committee, claimed that if there is political will, the budget deficit can be controlled, as it has been many times before. "The greatest risk to the deficit comes from the actions GERB undertook outside budgetary rules—specifically, the salary increase in the Interior Ministry. This was done by GERB, BSP, MRF, with the helpful support of Vazrazhdane," he said.

According to him, the beginning of the sabotage of Bulgaria's entry into the Eurozone started with the rejection of the Bulgarian National Bank bill submitted by the caretaker government. "Out of the entire parliament, only CC-DB voted in favour of this expert bill—one of the last legislative issues for entering the Eurozone. GERB not only did not support it but also failed to explain why they acted this way. In this case, neither the deficit nor anything else could have been an obstacle. This was a very important vote. It marked the start of the actual sabotage by GERB and the government against entering the Eurozone."

"Joining the Eurozone does not just mean more investments. Workers will benefit from it. Other countries with currency boards, like Estonia and Lithuania, adopted the euro and benefited significantly. We must not lose this opportunity, especially because the times are challenging, and it’s uncertain when our next chance will come," Dimitrov warned. He described as "concerning" the fact that, based on the same inflation data, it has been first announced that an extraordinary convergence report would be requested, only for it later to be stated that it would not be requested. "We have a chance for January 2026," he concluded.

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The topic was also discussed in Nova TV’s morning talk show by journalist Emilia Milcheva and political scientist Stoycho Stoychev.

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In a BNT interview, former Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader, prime minister, and Party of European Socialists leader Sergei Stanishev expressed serious concerns about the current management of BSP and the priorities set in the party's policies. Stanishev is among the seventeen candidates competing for the position of BSP leader.

He emphasized that the left-wing party has moved away from its core promises made during the election campaign. "BSP did not set clear conditions when entering the government and may pay a high price for this," said Stanishev. "Demography was outlined as the number one priority, but we don't see that at all. The whole campaign was about the [abandoned] Belene [nuclear power plant] project, but that is also missing. BSP slid into the government without explaining what goals and policies it was doing this for," Stanishev believes.

He opined that the government could have been supported by BSP, but without entering into a governing coalition. According to him, such a move, without clear explanations, only benefits GERB. Stanishev criticized the lack of a clear national goal in the current government and stressed the importance of specific policies. "The Eurozone is a goal, but it is only a tool for achieving deeper integration within the EU. It does not unite society the way EU membership did back then," explained Stanishev.

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Dnevnik.bg shares data from a study conducted by the Open Society Institute – Sofia, according to which one in five Bulgarian citizens believes that the entire party system in Bulgaria is under the influence of foreign powers. According to others, almost two-thirds or many of political forces are affected by foreign influence.

However, this interference is not universally assessed as a phenomenon with negative consequences – for about one-third of the respondents, this judgment depends on the context of the interference. Such beliefs are a strong precondition for low trust in political parties, but hardly discourage participation in elections. However, for Bulgarians with higher education, information about Russian interference in elections would significantly increase their willingness to vote, motivated by a desire to prevent individuals promoting Russian influence from coming to power.

The Institute's study was conducted between November and December 2024, using a methodology developed by the institute and the University of Gothenburg. The research evaluates the perceptions of Bulgarian voters regarding hypothetical interference from the European Union (EU) and Russia in the democratic process.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The 24 Chasa daily has an interview with Bulgarian MEP Elena Yoncheva (MRF), who actively participated in negotiating the release of the two Bulgarian crew members of the hijacked ro-ro vessel Galaxy Leader, who were released by Yemen's Houthis on Wednesday after spending 14 months in captivity. On Thursday, Captain Lyubomir Chanev and First Officer Danail Veselinov arrived at Sofia Airport from Muscat, Oman, and were welcomed by relatives. "The Houthis were respectful, and I had the opportunity to speak with their representatives at various levels. I conducted more than 50 hours of conversations. I emphasized that Bulgaria and Yemen have had good relations. They listened to me, asked questions, and I listened to them carefully as well," Yoncheva shares in the interview. According to her, the case was resolved successfully because Bulgarian institutions worked together and utilized every opportunity that could contribute to bringing the Bulgarian sailors back home. "We united our efforts regardless of the our political affiliation," she says. Yoncheva also highlights that she made repeated appeals in the European Parliament to draw attention to the case of the detained European sailors, but she realized that the EU lacks a mechanism to intervene in such situations.

EDUCATION

The Trud daily features an interview with Prof. Georgi Valchev, Rector of the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. He outlined that higher education institutions in the country are already working on priority topics and issues, aiming to find solutions through policies and legislative changes. This initiative stemmed from a meeting between university rectors and the newly appointed Minister of Education and Science, Krasimir Valchev. According to the Sofia University Rector, key priorities for higher education in Bulgaria include its modernization, tightening the requirements for university applicants, and implementing much more active policies to attract international students. "Bulgaria needs a well-educated, capable, and knowledgeable elite," Prof. Georgi Valchev emphasized.

NATIONAL REVENUE AGENCY DISTRIBUTES MILLIONS IN BONUSES

Segabg.com publishes an article stating that in 2024, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) distributed a record BGN 35 million in bonuses, but the salary and bonuses of the Agency's Executive Director, Rumen Spetsov, remain a secret. The information comes from responses the NRA provided to the BOEC civic movement under the Access to Public Information Act. The exact amount of bonuses in the NRA for 2024 is BGN 35,500,000, which is the largest in history, according to calculations by BOEC, cited by Segabg.com. The average salary of regular tax officers was BGN 2,618, with an additional nearly BGN 400 each month to round the total to BGN 3,000. The average salary at the NRA's central office was over BGN 3,050, where they were also receiving monthly bonuses of BGN 560, the daily’s article further reads.

HEALTH

Speaking on Nova TV, Prof. Iva Christova, Director of the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, stated that 40% of the samples sent for testing at the Centre have returned positive results for flu-related illnesses, signaling that the peak of the flu wave in Bulgaria has arrived. As of January 27, a flu epidemic has been declared in the regions of Vidin, Vratsa, Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Shumen, Dobrich, Varna, Yambol, Haskovo, Plovdiv, and Blagoevgrad. "Flu and acute respiratory diseases are always registered together. The tests we perform at the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases show that 40% of the samples sent are positive for the flu. Just a month ago, they were only 10%," said Prof. Christova. According to her, there needs to be a balance between the quality of education and the anti-epidemic measures in schools to prevent the spread of flu among students. "As an epidemiologist, I would immediately recommend online education to stop the spread of the infection," she stressed. Prof. Christova also said that all anti-flu medications have a weak effect. "These are not specific antiviral drugs. Local disinfection measures are applicable in the early stages of the illness," she also told Nova TV.