site.btaMedia Review: April 9

ROAD SAFETY MEASURES

Following Tuesday’s government meeting to improve road safety, Cabinet will consider on Wednesday a report with 37 new measures to address the problem, BNT and other media report. This comes a day after a meeting dedicated to fighting the war on roads.

The phased repair of 36 critical road sections in the country is also expected to begin.

The aim is to reduce road deaths by 20% reduction in road deaths and injuries in the country.

A body is to be set up to investigate serious accidents.

In order to reduce incidents and more control on the road, the systems of the NRA, Border Police, toll management, and the Road Infrastructure Agency will be linked.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov told Nova TV that Bulgaria has yet to see strict road safety measures with clear deadlines and responsible ministers to implement them.

Karadjov showed a table indicating the responsible minister, the resources needed, and the deadline for the implementation of each of the 37 new measures. He said that one of the expected legislative changes provides that recordings from cameras of municipalities and the toll system will be admitted as evidence in court. 

The Transport Minister is adamant that it is corruption that kills people on the roads, which is the thesis of the protesters following the death of 12-year-old Siyana. "It’s high time we restored law, order, and discipline," Karadjov said.

He also commented on the foreign driver offenders in the country. "Before our entry into Schengen, tolls and fines for violations were paid at border crossings. Now foreigners can throw the tickets they get out of the window," the Transport Minister said. According to him, six round-the-clock posts are being equipped, where the motor vehicle inspectorate, the Ministry of Interior, NRA, and forest rangers will be on duty along the routes of international trucks.

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Nova TV and other media report that the CC-DB coalition has demanded the resignation of Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) head Yordan Valchev because of false information regarding the repair of the unfortunate section where Siyana died.

"The reasons are dissemination of false and misleading information about the state of the national road I-3, in the section between the villages of Telish and Radomirtsi, on which a Bulgarian child lost her life on March 31," said CC-DB MP Andrey Tsekov on the sidelines of the National Assembly.

He explained that as early as 2022, the RIA found that this section was in a bad condition and needed to be repaired. In October that year, a public procurement tender was announced. The contract was awarded in January 2023, executed and paid in full by the spring of 2024. Since 2024, there has been a technical project for a major renovation, the MP said.

"After the accident in which Siyana died, the RIA came out with false information. First, they said the road was in good condition because it had undergone routine repairs in the autumn of 2024. One week later, the agency gave another false piece of information: that the road was in poor condition because no routine repairs had been carried out," Tsekov said, adding that because of Valchev's "deliberate inaction and irresponsible behaviour", he should be dismissed from office.

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BNT reports that on April 9 and 10, the Road Infrastructure Agency will be gradually restricting traffic in two sections of the Trakia motorway in the Sofia lane near Stara Zagora for sampling of the asphalt layer before the expiry of the warranty period of the section after the repair in 2021.

TRADE WAR

European stock markets resumed their decline at the start of Wednesday's trading after Donald Trump's massive reciprocal tariffs came into force, including duties of 20% on European goods imported into the US, which reinforced fears about the economic damage that will be caused by the trade war, BNR reports.

Meanwhile, the European Commission is considering retaliatory tariffs of up to 25% on some EUR 22.1 billion worth of US exports. Escalating trade tensions are increasing worries about a potential recession and boosting demand for safe haven assets.

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Trud runs an interview with economist Prof. Boyan Durankev. He comments on US President Trump’s new tariffs and what they could entail for Bulgaria. Following are a few excerpts.

Donald Trump has an iron character and follows his economic logic, even if it is superficial and in many ways - false. "You win from me, therefore I lose! That's why I'm going to impose the tariff and that's how America will become great again!" is, in short, the entire current economic paradigm of the US ruling elite. An analogy from medicine: we will treat the cough - which is heard and seen, not the pneumonia.

Bulgaria is not a big exporter to the US (only about 1% of our total exports), so the direct hit will be weak even now. However, some firms exporting metals or machinery may suffer lost profits. But the indirect hit will certainly be much stronger. If European companies (e.g. German car manufacturers) are affected by the new US tariffs, this will certainly reduce orders to Bulgarian suppliers. If the EU responds with tariffs, imports of US goods (machinery, soya, etc.) could become more expensive. If world trade slows down due to the trade wars that will inevitably develop, Bulgaria could suffer losses from a reduction in global demand, including a reduction in projected GDP growth of 1-3 percentage points this year and next. When the lions fight for leadership, the grass beneath them gets trampled, even though it is not fighting. However, the losses from Trump's raised tariffs for Bulgaria will be much smaller than the annual losses through domestic corruption.

One big problem for the US - tariffs are calculated not as a trade war countermove by country and region, but as a ratio to the specific US foreign trade deficit. This error reveals the weaker US position in future "bargaining", Durankev says.

GREECE

President Rumen Radev will participate in the tenth edition of the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece, BNT and Nova TV report. The event brings together heads of state and government, representatives of the business and non-governmental sectors to discuss the prospects for sustainable development and competitiveness.

During his stay, President Radev will meet with his Greek counterpart, President Constantine Tassoulas, as well as with representatives of international organizations and business.

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Meanwhile, the country is blocked by a 24-hour nationwide strike. Transport is suspended. There will be demonstrations across the country on Wednesday, BNT and Nova TV report.

Greek trade unions have again staged a major nationwide strike. All trains have been stopped. No ferries or cargo ships are running. SKY express and Aegean Airlines are cancelling flights to and from Vasil Levski Airport - Sofia on April 9. Government offices are closed.

Municipal employees are also not working in protest. Many schools will remain closed due to active participation in the teachers' protests. State hospitals are only accepting emergency cases.

The reasons for the protests are demands for more funds for education and health care. The transport sector is demanding fleet renewal, more employees, and higher wages.

Pensioners are also taking part in the protests, demanding higher pensions and a reduction in the prices of essential goods and medicines.

Opposition parties have expressed support for the strike. MPs will join the protest demonstrations across the country. Police are urging residents and tourists to avoid visiting places where demonstrations are taking place.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry advises Bulgarian citizens to plan their travel carefully, if possible to allow for alternative routes, and to find out if there are any changes to timetables.

MISCELLANEOUS

Mediapool runs an interview with former interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, who comments on a recent suspicious case involving contraband cigarettes and suspected police protection for the smugglers.

A raid of the Plovdiv police seized a large amount of smuggled cigarettes, but the operation nearly failed. Just before the arrests began, the policemen were ordered by their superior to stand down. This is one of the most outrageous cases in recent years. It is a stark demonstration of the state's umbrella over lawlessness. And it probably would not have been found out about and would have sunk into oblivion, Mediapool writes. 

The outlet spoke to former interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, who put the puzzle together with his story. He was the man who first spoke about the case. Relevant chats histories and video footage were brought to light by the BOEC civic movement. And even though the issue is now in the public spotlight, both the Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor's Office continue to do nothing. There will probably be no prosecutions, much less charges. Apparently, they are relying on silence and short public memory.

“There was a serious danger that the police officers involved in the raid would be punished. Even some of them to be fired. There was no reaction to their tip-off. They, in addition to doing their job of intercepting the smuggled cigarettes, also blew the whistle on all that happened there. And because events unfolded in November and there was no follow-up to that tip-off, I raised the case in March. I decided that this case should be raised and highlighted because it is important not only in itself because of the record amount of cigarettes seized. It is also important as a message to police officers: will they be allowed to work for the good of society, or will their work be hampered by private interests?” Demerdzhiev said.

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The District Court in Dupnitsa, Western Bulgaria, confirmed a fine of BGN 140,000 on the Bobov Dol power plant for air pollution in the area, BNR reports. The eco-inspection's decree is from January 8, and the company is appealing.

During an emergency and unscheduled inspection carried based on a tip-off, on June 7, 2024 at the nearby Golemo Selo site of the company, untreated emissions of yellow-brown colour were found to be released into the air.

The untreated emissions formed in the combustion chambers contained sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, CO and other substances, which were dispersed in the air, deteriorating the air quality in the surrounding area, including in the nearby settlement of Golemo Selo.

On the same date, a clean air measuring station was located in Golemo Selo, some 700 metres from the plant. 

According to the eco-association "Razmetanitsa", Bobov Dol has been fined more than once over the last five years.

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A national protest of restaurateurs and hoteliers is scheduled for Wednesday, BNT and other outlets report.

The discontent is against the returned 20% VAT, as the industry insists that the rate should be 9%.

In Sofia, the protest will be held in Battenberg Square, and restaurants will close for five hours, the organizers said.

According to the industry, the current 20% VAT rate will lead to bankruptcies, layoffs, and a drop in turnover.