site.btaMedia Review: January 28

DAMAGED FIBRE OPTIC CABLE BETWEEN SWEDEN AND LATVIA

In an interview for Nova TV quoted by Dnevnik.bg, retired captain 1st rank Vassil Danov, member of the leadership of the Atlantic Council of Bulgaria and of the Association of the Officers of the Reserve, expressed doubt that the underwater fibre optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland had been damaged by the Bulgarian ship Vezhen on purpose. The crew of the ship, including eight Bulgarians, was detained by Swedish authorities on Monday on the suspicion of having dragged one of the ship's anchors across the seabed on the night against Monday, which damaged the cable. Danov said: "Neither the commanding officer, nor the crew, nor the shipowners have any interest in committing such a crime."

On the other hand, Dnevnik also quoted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who, during a meeting with the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday, highlighted the incident as a reminder of the persistent danger posed by Russia's "shadow fleet".

POLITICS

In an interview for the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) quoted by 24 Chasa, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria MP Venko Sabrutev said: "We are watching the actions of the supposedly Euro-Atlantic party GERB. We are waiting to see the actions of this government. We cannot ask for a vote of no confidence before we see clear, unequivocal signs that they are abandoning the euro area." Sabrutev suggested that government will suffer a vote of no confidence from the people and added: "I am sure that if [GERB leader Boyko] Borissov pretends to be distracted, does not request a convergence report and does not continue the direction for Bulgaria's integration in the euro area, people will take to the streets. They will show him a vote of no confidence, and this will be yet another one of his governments that will be brought down in a disgraceful way."

The MP said that GERB is currently serving the interests of the pro-Russian parties that are in its coalition and added: "At the moment, it is actually doing a favour to Vazrazhdane, BSP and TISP [There Is Such a People]." He accused TISP Floor Leader Toshko Yordanov of being one of the factors that harmed Bulgaria, after TISP brought down the Petkov government. Sabrutev described that government as "the only government that could operate without GERB and without the MRF [Movement for Rights and Freedoms]".

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According to Mediapool.bg, the Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DRF) parliamentary group is demanding deputy ministerial positions in the newly formed government, headed by Rosen Zhelyazkov. The DRF is part of the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms coalition and composed of members who remained loyal to Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) founder Ahmed Dogan following the MRF split in 2024. The DRF has already expressed preferences for specific ministries and submitted names for consideration, Mediapool.bg reported.

Unofficially, the DRF has proposed candidates for deputy minister roles in the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environment and Water, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. Alizan Yahova has been suggested for the position of Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food. Yahova has extensive expertise in agriculture and European policies in the sector and previously represented the MRF as the deputy chair of the parliamentary Agriculture and Food Committee in the 50th National Assembly.

It is reported that securing influence over the Ministry of Agriculture was pivotal for DRF’s support of the Zhelyazkov cabinet. Interestingly, caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Georgi Tahov, retained his post in Rosen Zhelyazkov's regular government. Tahov's name has gained attention in recent days after Mediapool.bg sources from DRF (Mediapool.bg did not disclose their identities in its publication) claimed that Tahov is associated with MRF - New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski. This connection reportedly led to last-minute debates over whether to back the forming of a government.

ECONOMY

In an interview for bTV quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), GERB MP and Chair of the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance Delian Dobrev warned that the gap in the state budget is some BGN 18 billion, which, head specified, is not 3% but 9% of the GDP. He added: "Greece went bankrupt with 9% budget deficit." Dobrev criticized the right-leaning parties in Parliament for having voted in favour of the far-left budgets that had been tabled by Continue the Change over the past three years, which in turn led to a spike in the inflation. The MP said: "GERB voted in favour of the last budget of Asen Vassilev because the country needed to have a government, and we participated in it. We as a party supported Vassilev as Finance Minister. Now it turns out that this was a huge mistake, but my colleagues realized this subsequently."

The Chair of the Budget Committee proposed that petrol stations should use the receipts they issue to record the licence plates of the vehicles that refuel there. He said this would be one way to combat practices of the grey economy, as many stations keep receipts for fuel that has not actually been consumed. Later on, invoices are issued to companies that did not really fill up. He said the proposed measure was expected to add some BGN 250 million to the state budget.

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Podkrepa Labour Confederation President Dimitar Manolov said in an interview for BNT that trade unions expressed concern about the date by which the state budget is expected to be tabled. In a letter sent to the responsible institutions, Podkrepa proposed the introduction of a tax-free minimum, an update of the minimum and maximum insurance incomes, an analysis and update of the minimum wage, and a wage increase of at least 10% for workers in the public sector. Manolov reported that while all party leaders agree off the record that a tax-free minimum on the minimum wage and a tiered scale of income taxation should be introduced, so far they all lack the "strength" to table the necessary legislation.

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Former interior minister, former justice minister and expert at the Anti-Corruption Fund Andrey Yankulov told the BNR that when anti-trust legislation does not work well, it leads to higher prices with cartels present and no one to react. He specified that those who pull the strings from behind the scenes aim to avoid reforms, as reforms could erode their power.

Commenting on the support for the government offered by Democracy, Rights and Freedoms, Yankulov said: "It [the support] was born out of a desire to have law enforcement leave their members alone. We have seen serious actions by the CCUAAFC [Counter-Corruption and Unlawfully Acquired Assets Forfeiture Commission] and the prosecution service. And it is more than logical that since they [the DRF] support the government, blows from the state's repressive authorities against them will decrease."

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An article in Trud reports that the Bulgarian people's favourite pastime that they hope would earn them money is gambling. In 2024, Bulgarians earned nearly BGN 1.4 billion from gambling after having bet approximately BGN 2.8 billion, according to estimates made by Trud News based on data from the National Revenue Agency. There has been a growing interest in games that offer the chance for quick winnings. The money spent on gambling in 2024 was about BGN 2.8 billion compared to about BGN 2.6 billion in 2023. Bulgarians spend the most on online gambling. Last year, the state treasury's revenues from fees paid by online gambling operators under the Gambling Act amounted to just over BGN 239 million.

DEFENCE

Vessela Tcherneva, Deputy Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said in an interview for the BNR that European security needs to be not just strengthened but, in some sense, re-founded. "Europe cannot continue to rely on American military protection. Europe's big problem is that it cannot replace the withdrawal of American capacity. Just creating a defence commissioner will not do," she added. According to Tcherneva, most NATO member states will start aiming for 3% of GDP as a realistic threshold, when it comes to spending on defence.

Talking about US President Donald Trump's threats of tariffs on the EU, Canada and other partners of the US, Tcherneva noted that so far, these threats seem to be vastly exaggerated. She added: "Trump promised 60% tariffs on China but is imposing only 10%. If there was a common coalition prepared with a reciprocal response, that would change the situation. At least there would be some kind of plan, we would not just sit defenceless."