site.btaMedia Review: October 8

All media outlets continue to write about the recent floods in coastal towns and the Sofia waste crisis. 

SOFIA WASTE CRISIS

Sega.bg reported that Elin Pelin and Botevgrad have offered to lend Sofia two bin trucks each, while Panagyurishte has pledged one, to help cover gaps in waste collection after the specialized company taking over services in Sofia's Lyulin and Krasno Selo districts proved to have insufficient capacity, Deputy Mayor Nadezhda Bobcheva said. Sofia Municipality is prioritizing the rapid mobilization or purchase of additional large compacting trucks. According to the public tender, 12 vehicles are needed for the two districts—seven for Lyulin and five for Krasno Selo—along with eight pieces of specialized equipment for bulky waste, as the treatment plant’s ten smaller machines cannot handle the required volume. City and district officials differ on whether the situation constitutes a crisis or a temporary inconvenience. Police are investigating four waste trucks with Turkish plates that were set alight in Sofia on July 29, while civic groups and councillors have called on the city to strengthen municipal capacity.

bTV Novinite reported that GERB leader Boyko Borissov commented on the waste management crisis in Lyulin and Krasno Selo, drawing parallels with a similar situation during his tenure as mayor. He urged Mayor Vassil Terziev to act immediately and proposed that Parliament adopt an emergency law allowing him to purchase trucks and hire staff without public procurement procedures. Borissov recalled that when the Suhodol landfill was closed and bins removed under then-Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev, he “stood up, prevailed, and Sofia became the cleanest capital in Europe for years.”

Nova TV cited Mayor Terziev as saying that the waste collection situation in Sofia is gradually normalizing, with conditions becoming "more normal by the day.” Speaking before a round table Urban Waste Management: Crime, Corruption and Environmental Security, he noted that citizens are actively reporting irregularities, including improper waste disposal and overflowing containers. Terziev also thanked volunteers and companies from other municipalities that joined the clean-up efforts, assisting Sofia Municipality in restoring normal waste management operations.

FLOODS

Telegraph.bg reported on the ongoing heavy rainfall under the headline “No End to the Misery: Warning for Heavy Rain Issued!” The outlet noted that an orange weather alert has been declared for several regions expecting the heaviest downpours, with forecasters warning of potential flooding and hazardous travel conditions. Authorities have urged drivers to exercise caution as intense rainfall is forecast to continue throughout the day.

Speaking on bTV’s morning programme, Sabin Popov, Chair of the Regional Chamber of Architects in Burgas, said that in many cadastral maps, rivers are entered as farmland, and he is uncertain whether this is a mistake or intentional. Popov noted that 127 sites in Bulgaria have been identified as flood-risk areas, but Elenite is not among them. He recalled that the Chamber of Architects had issued a statement attributing the recent floods along the Black Sea coast to uncontrolled construction, environmental degradation, and institutional inaction.

Mediapool.bg highlighted that Vetko Arabadzhiev and Nikolay Dimitrov have been repeatedly mentioned in recent days in connection with the flooded Elenite resort complex. Arabadzhiev was the privatizer and owner of the complex, while Dimitrov is the mayor of Nessebar, under whose jurisdiction the resort falls. This means that the municipal administration led by Dimitrov for nearly 20 years had approved construction at the site, now cited as a contributing factor to the disaster.

A major feature in 24 Chasa traced the history of businessman Vasil “Vetko” Arabadzhiev and his assets, including an interview with his lawyer. Under the headline “Vetko and Marinela - the Torpedoes of the Transition, Had Nothing to Do with Elenite, Only Privatized It,” the report follows the couple’s trajectory from the collapse of Hebros Bank and the privatization era to the recent flooding at the Elenite resort. The article notes that the current owner of the resort is a Cypriot resident acting through a Seychelles offshore company, while Arabadzhiev’s lawyer maintains that his client has no ongoing connection to Elenite, having served only as its director.

EURO ADOPTION

Sega.bg reports that from October 8, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) and the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) will start imposing sanctions on retailers who fail to comply with the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria Act. Violations include not displaying prices in both levs and euros, failing to update fiscal devices to show totals in both currencies on receipts, or unjustified price increases.

Telegraph.bg highlighted the severity of the measures in a headline, "No More Excuses: Fines for Euro Violations Begin!", noting that penalties may reach up to BGN 7,000 for a first violation and BGN 14,000 for repeat violations. Since August, CPC inspectors have conducted nearly 600 checks across the country, identifying more than 70 breaches, most commonly missing or incorrectly displayed euro prices, and issued dozens of warnings, primarily to large retail chains.

POLITICS

The leading story on Dnevnik.bg focuses on the upcoming early local elections in Pazardzhik under the headline “Pazardzhik before the Elections: Parties Don’t Matter, Only Business Interests.” The elections were called after the Supreme Administrative Court annulled the 2023 vote for municipal councillors due to irregularities in 52 polling stations. The article highlights the continuing local influence of MRF-New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski, who traditionally runs in the Pazardzhik constituency but is not actively campaigning. Previous elections showed strong support for GERB, while Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria, represented by incumbent Mayor Petar Kulenski, won the mayoral race but held only a limited number of seats in the fragmented municipal council.

bTV Novinite reported that MRF-New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski described a recent Wall Street Journal article according to which Boyko Borissov sought to leverage Donald Trump Jr.’s visit to Eastern Europe in April to seek relief from Magnitsky Act sanctions on his allies in exchange for Bulgarian assets. Speaking in Parliament, Peevski questioned the origin of the report and blame it on Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria and "some media correspondents". Asked to comment a proposal to bar the president from political activity for two years, he said he opposed it and wanted the head of state “on the field.”

ECONOMY

The leading story in 24 Chasa daily reports that the government has proposed to the European Commission a new energy efficiency support scheme under which building renovations will be fully subsidised if at least 50% of the residents are low-income. The publications note that, according to the latest data, over 65,000 fewer Bulgarians now struggle to pay their electricity and heating bills compared to previous years.BNR.bg aired an interview with economist Dimitar Chobanov from the Expert Club for Economics and Politics in its morning programme under the headline “Dimitar Chobanov: Taxes Should Not Be Raised, but Expenditures Adjusted.” In the interview, Chobanov argued that increasing taxes will not solve the problems in the national budget as long as public spending remains inefficient. He said it is a mistake to “put the cart before the horse” by raising incomes first and then wondering where to find the money to fund them. According to him, what matters is not only how much the state collects in revenue but also what taxpayers receive in return. Chobanov emphasised that Bulgaria continues to face serious inefficiencies in budget spending, which, in his view, is the real issue rather than the level of taxation.

ROAD TRANSPORT ADMINISTRATION SCANDAL

Trud.bg runs a cover story alleging that Minister Grozdan Karadjov has become the target of a revived corruption complaint. The publication presents a screenshot of communication between Road Transport Administration (RTA) inspector Dimitar Dimitrov and Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria MP Ivo Mirchev, alongside an interview with Dimitrov, a central figure in the “RTA–Robbie Williams” scandal. He claims he was drawn into an attempt to remove Minister Karadjov.

In his interview with Trud Daily, Dimitrov said that his internal report had been distorted and used to fabricate a political scandal. According to him, RTA officials and CC–DB politicians pressured him to appear before Parliament and make statements against Karadjov and his advisers, even preparing talking points for him. Dimitrov said he refused to participate, describing himself as “deeply disturbed,” in poor health, and unwilling to maintain contact with those involved. He characterised the incident as an effort to manipulate his name and testimony for political ends.

JUSTICE

In an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) morning programme, Ivan Bregov of the Institute for Market Economics said that the current tensions within the judicial system stem from “the few remaining living elements of the Bulgarian judiciary”, judges in the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) who, in his view, continue to resist external pressure and defend judicial independence. He rejected claims of judicial activism, describing the judges’ actions instead as a refusal to comply with “requests from incompetent figures.” Bregov argued that the SCC has effectively declared acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov’s position “null and void,” while Sarafov continues to exercise powers that no longer belong to him, thereby obstructing the institution’s work. He recalled that legislative amendments adopted on January 21, 2025, limited the term of an acting Prosecutor General or president of the SCC and the Supreme Administrative Court to six months, a period that expired on July 21. A rejected provision, he said, would have allowed Sarafov to step down earlier. According to Bregov, GERB and MRF “always stay one step ahead” in judicial affairs, and the logical outcome of the current situation should be a new election of the Supreme Judicial Council.

Sega.bg reported that the Sofia City Prosecution Office has completed and submitted to court the indictment against former justice minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, according to entries in the prosecution and court registers. Demerdzhiev is accused of deliberately signing an unfavourable amendment to a contract related to the national ID document system in June 2023, allegedly in breach of the Public Procurement Act and internal ministry rules. He dismissed the charges as politically motivated and legally unfounded, linking them to his public criticism of MP Delyan Peevski’s influence over the Interior Ministry and the prosecution.

Nova TV’s morning programme reported that two Bulgarians have been implicated in a large-scale British scheme involving the theft and resale of tens of thousands of smartphones. International media said the group smuggled stolen mobile phones from the United Kingdom to China. British police described the operation as extensive, with around 40,000 devices stolen and exported over the past year. Investigators noted that such crimes have become more profitable than drug trafficking due to lower risks and lighter penalties.