site.btaMedia Review: April 24

HEADLINES

Not a single topic dominates the front pages of print media on Thursday. The morning programmes of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), bTV, and Nova TV feature discussion studios on political themes. The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) has interviews on the topics of economy, energy and politics.

POLITICS

Former Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Korneliya Ninova told the morning programme of BNT about her new party that she is about to establish. In her words, this party will be different and will be an alternative to the current government and majority. She explained that in the new party they do not put bans on who can be a member - everyone is welcome and from the BSP, but she would not make an alliance with the current leadership of the BSP, who are now in government. “We are making a left-wing, centre-left, people's party. All those who I said shared our views are welcome. At the moment the left is not represented,” Ninova noted.

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The morning programmes of the BNT, bTV and Nova TV hosted discussion studios on the government’s first 100 days in power. bTV highlighted the cigarette smuggling ring case in  Plovdiv and how there still has not been a hearing in Parliament of the policemen who busted the smuggling ring by disobeying orders.

ECONOMY

Association for Affordable and Quality Food Chairman Andrey Velchev appeared on the morning programme of BNT and gave an interview for BNR following a case of a fine of more than BGN 1 million for two dairies for cow's milk found in sheep's cheese. The sanction was imposed by the Commission for Protection of Competition after publications of the BNR and the Association. "The CPC imposes this fine because the competition right of the representatives of this industry has been violated," Andrey Velchev said. He told BNR that it is not to be rejoiced at this small temporary victory until the final decision is out. "If you consult the CPC website, besides being able to find out the names of the violators, you will find out that the CPC fines start from 1%. We can calculate - if that is the fine, how much is the profit of these two enterprises, respectively, to understand that they have made quite large profits. They got stung a little bit, but not enough to scare them," he said.

Duma has a headline on the topic on its frontpage, the topic leads on the frontpage of Trud.

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Another frontpage topic in Trud is about electricity prices. The headline reads that the rules for the electricity prices are changing. January 1, 2026 no longer is the deadline for the start of the free electricity market for households. The price of electricity for households from July 1 will be determined by a political decision - by Parliament or by the Council of Ministers. This is clear from the draft amendment to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Bulgaria, which has been adopted by the Council of Ministers and submitted to the European Commission. The government has not abandoned the full liberalization of the electricity market for households, but proposes to the European Commission (EC) that there is no end date for this.

ENERGY

Greenpeace International has consistently opposed nuclear power, describing it as dangerous, expensive, polluting and incompatible with a sustainable future. Greenpeace-Bulgaria, however, is in favour of keeping the equipment of the Belene NPP in Bulgaria and, if the technologies are compatible, to use this equipment in the operating units of the Kozloduy NPP. "There is no contradiction. We are consistent in our position", Hristo Panchev from Greenpeace-Bulgaria said in an interview with BNR. "The old reactors should operate as long as they are safe and necessary for our energy system," he said. And about the deal with Ukraine Panchev stated that they are clear: "Russian equipment, steam generators could be used as spare parts for Kozloduy NPP units V and VI. [...] Last year, Unit VI had a failure in the steam generator. It would be very stupid for us to give away the steam generator and next year have to wait for a new one from Rosatom, which is actually a terrorist organisation. We cannot do normal business with such a contractor". He said many questions regarding both the idea of new capacity and this deal have no answers. There is also no analysis of the economic necessity of new reactors and of the management of spent nuclear fuel. The repository is an extremely expensive investment, Panchev stressed, and reminded that we are subject to EU sanctions because we do not comply with the regulations for storing this fuel. Regarding the decarbonization in Bulgaria, Hristo Panchev expressed the opinion that what is being observed is "complete carelessness by each successive government". In his opinion, Bulgaria is fatally lagging behind in renewable energy. At the same time, alternatives are getting cheaper, he stressed.

ENVIRONMENT

European Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra appeared on the morning programme of bTV. He said that his field is quite broad and complex, but if one looks at the climate part, he thinks that decarbonisation requires a climate strategy, it requires a company competitiveness strategy and an independence strategy. Hoekstra expressed hope that in 5 years Europe will be much more secure, with much better defence than what there is today. He expressed confidence that Europe can improve its competitiveness, provide more funding for the important things in people's lives - education, healthcare, safety. According to him, the problem of climate change will not go away - things will get worse before they get better. Hoekstra said that the bad news is that Europe is warming by 3 degrees Celsius - twice as fast and that is why we are seeing more and more weather anomalies. Europe cannot cope on its own, countries from outside Europe should also be involved. In his words, energy must be transformed and investments in clean technologies must be made. "Solar and renewables will be much more competitive in the future," Hoekstra said, noting that the transition must be fair.

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The frontpage headline of 24 Chasa reads that “Lyme disease outpaces the heat, drones spray against mosquitoes”. Earlier than in previous years, treatments of green areas and areas around water pools against ticks and mosquitoes have started. The reason is that since the beginning of the year, cases of Lyme disease have doubled, with 45 patients registered by April. In the same period last year there were 22, the daily writes.