site.btaCulture and Media Committee Adopts Budget at First Reading

The parliamentary Culture and Media Committee adopted Tuesday at first reading the bill on the State Budget for 2023. Seven MPs voted in favour and five against. There were no abstentions.

The presentation of the draft budget was attended by the Culture Minister Krastyu Krastev, the Deputy Ministers of Culture Viktor Stoyanov and Chavdar Georgiev, Bulgarian News Agency Director General Kiril Valchev, Bulgarian National Television Director General Emil Koshlukov, Bulgarian National Radio Director General Milen Mitev, as well as Council for Electronic Media Chair Sonya Momchilova.

BTA's budget this year is as planned three years ago, Valchev said and argued that the BTA currently ranks among the most modern news agencies in the world.

He stated that open access was BTA’s first project goal. "The second is to invest in people," he added. Valchev said that with the funds it has, the agency has invested in individual training. The agency’s Director General pointed out that BTA is supporting financially people, who are willing to invest in their own education. “They commit to work for a certain period of years in the BTA. If they quit - to return these funds," explained Valchev.

He pointed out that the agency's third goal is "more knowledge, more sources of information." "This year's budget will allow for the completion of a full-fledged network of correspondents and national press clubs in Bulgaria," Valchev said and expressed hope that in 2024 the network of correspondents in the neighbouring countries will be completed. He added that the next step in the agency’s development could be the opening of press clubs in the other Balkan countries, as well as in countries neighbouring Bulgaria across the Black Sea.

Valchev added that BTA received funding for electric vehicles, which are expected by the end of the year. The agency will become the first institution in Bulgaria relying only on electric cars with very few exceptions for longer journeys during which hybrid cars will be used, the Director General noted.

BTA’s last strategic goal is related to the memory, relocation and digitalization of the BTA archive, Valchev pointed out.

The BTA Director General also raised the issue of remuneration and insurance of journalists, which, according to him, are promoting professional journalism over non-professional dissemination of information by bloggers and influencers.

"The important thing is to have a plan for the next three years," said Valchev. He stated that it is necessary to think about investing in the stability of the news agency with a 24-hour and seven days a week mode of operation when discussing the budget for 2024.