Bulgarian Press Review, July 30, 2009

Press Review
Sofia, July 30 (BTA)

ECONOMY

The budget "gap" of 2,500 million leva announced Wednesday by Finance Minister Simeon Djankov is a front-page news item in all of the Thursday dailies. The previous projections were for a deficit of 1,500 to 2,000 million leva, "Troud" writes. Instead of a 4.7 per cent growth of the Gross Domestic Product as provided for in the budget, the first half of the year saw a reduction of 6.7 per cent, meaning the difference between projections and real results is 11 per cent. Net proceeds to the budget dropped by 16 per cent. The newspapers quote Djankov as saying that the situation is a lot more difficult than what was said to be. The Finance Minister said that the deficit can be covered through spending cuts and extra revenues in equal proportion. The budget will not be updated, the reports stress.

"Dnevnik" writes that the new cabinet projects that the economy will shrink by 6.3 per cent in 2009.

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"Douma" writes, quoting Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, that the cabinet will annul the decree with which the Sergei Stanishev government reduced by 15 per cent the salaries of ministers, deputy ministers and agency heads. Saving of money in the cabinet will be achieved by the lesser number of deputy ministers, Tsvetanov said, quoted in "Douma". "Monitor" comments the news under a headline "New Ministers with Old Salaries".

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"Pari" writes that 163 companies declared bankruptcy in the first half of 2009, with the greatest share in agriculture and construction.

The press reports that inter-company debt rose 32 per cent in January-May 2009 from the like period a year ago, and 2.5 per cent more companies have been adjudicated bankrupt, according to figures released by Coface Bulgaria Credit Management Services EOOD.

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"Sega" writes, quoting experts, that halting the project for the Belene nuclear power plant at the moment will cost more than 400 million Euros. What is more, the agreement for the construction of the N-plant cannot be terminated without the consent of the shareholder, the German RWE, says the report.

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"Dnevnik" and "Klassa" write in leading reports that the European Commission has included new 98 Bulgarian projects under SAPARD in a list of debtors and has required from this country to return 65 million leva paid out under SAPARD. These new projects with suspected irregularities were reported by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and are outside the 101
projects which the Paying Agency, the State Agriculture Funds, had submitted for investigation to the prosecuting magistracy at the end of 2008, the newspapers write. The information emerged after a meeting Wednesday between Directorate General Agriculture, OLAF and the new team of the Agriculture and Foods Ministry.

"24 Chassa" leads on the news that OLAF investigates a Bulgarian supplier of equipment to meat packers. Forty-four meat packing companies will have to return money they had received from SAPARD as it is suspected that the equipment purchased by them was at inflated prices. "24 Chassa" says that the biggest Bulgarian meat packing firms which purchased their equipment from the Bourgas, on the Black Sea, based Sidorenko FoodTech company, are affected by the measure. The SAPARD subsidy received under different projects totals 65 million leva, which will have to be returned together with interest so that the total amount becomes 140 million leva, head of the Association of Meat Packers Kostadin Chorbadjiiski said, quoted in "24 Chassa". This means the entire sector will go bankrupt, he said.


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In a "Troud" interview Agriculture and Foods Minister Miroslav Naidenov says that a total review of the system is more than pressing and that the administration of the ministry will have
to be cut drastically. Naidenov says he will work to win back the confidence of the EU. A primary task will be to establish a guarantee fund to lend a helping hand to funding to farmers, which will be a commitment of the entire cabinet, he says. The fund is expected to be set up within three months.

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Transport, Information Technologies and Communications Minister Alexander Tsvetkov gives an interview to "Standart News" where he says that he has ordered a check into all big transactions and projects in the sector. "Trains and Buses Will Not be Rivals" caps the interview.

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In a "Dnevnik" interview Regional Development and Public Works Minister Rossen Plevneliev says that the Road Agency did not play in one team with Brussels. The newspapers comments that Plevneliev is faced with one of the heaviest task, to become a world champion in motorway construction, which proved a stumbling block to all of his predecessors Plevneliev says that the stalled Trakiya motorway "will happen" only if a transparent bidding procedure is organized.

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"Sega" says in a headline that the first heavy fight of the cabinet will be with the army of jobless people.


THE HOME SCENE

"Troud" says in a leading report that the first dismissals in power are already a fact. At its first regular meeting on July 29 the new cabinet relieved from his post director of the Forestry Agency Stefan Yuroukov and appointed Georgi Kostov at Yuroukov's place. The motive for Yuroukov’s dismissal is losses to the state exceeding 500 million leva from the exchange of forest lands. Two senior officials resigned on their initiative: Shirin Mestan, as head of the Child Protection Agency, and Volodya Kirov, as head of the Road Administration Agency. "Troud" says also that the GERB government mulls closing of embassies. The report quotes Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva as saying that the network of Bulgarian representations abroad will be streamlined.

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"24 Chassa" interviews head of the political office of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov Roumyana Buchvarova who says that a strong leader as the prime minister does not allow the presence of grey cardinals. Buchvarova says also that transparency is the most important thing for a government that wants to do away with the old schemes of doing things.

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Former President Zhelyu Zhelev tells "24 Chassa" that he trusts the new prime minister. "I consider him a sincere person, and one that firmly intends to deliver on his promises," says Zhelev. According to Zhelev, a cabinet of minority, instead of a coalition government, was the better option for Borissov. Zhelev argues that the form of state governance should be changed, from a parliamentary into a presidential republic. "If Borissov is able to solve all big and difficult tasks he has committed himself to, and to amend the Constitution, let him become a president too," Zhelev says.

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Leader of Union of Democratic Forces Martin Dimitrov tells "Klassa" that his party wants a full check into the billions of leva spent by the parties in the outgoing three-party ruling coalition: the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, and the National Movement for Surge and Stability.

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All of the Thursday dailies write how Parliament turned down a proposal by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms to elect Delyan Peevski as a member of the committee combatting corruption and conflict of interest. Peevski, a deputy minister of emergency situations in the previous cabinet, was for some time suspended and then reinstated at his post, as he was investigated for involvement in dubious privatization deals.

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Three prominent lawyers, Ivan Todorov, Ognyan Gerdjikov and Yavor Notev, tell "24 Chassa" which legal amendments and bills are "a must", namely: a bill on public-private partnership; amendments to the Penal Code to formulate more precisely the criminalization of the so-called instigation to bribery; and amendments to the Road Traffic Act.

SOCIETY

"Monitor" says in a front-page report that United States President Barack Obama, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have sent congratulatory
letters to Prime Minister Boiko Borissov.
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"24 Chassa" quotes Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov as saying that together with the Traffic Police he will devise a new plan of traffic police posts along the road between Sliven and Bourgas, Eastern Bulgaria, in a bid to prevent huge traffic congestions as the one during the past weekend. Tsvetanov said the traffic police along this stretch of the road will be closely monitored whether they aid the traffic properly.


Links to some Bulgarian info websites in English:


• http://www.bta.bg/site/en/indexe.shtml
• http://www.novinite.com/index.php
• http://www.focus-fen.net/


Most discussed topics of the day – July 30, 2009


• “There is a problem concerning the overlapping of the functions of the services with the Interior Ministry and those given to the State Agency for National Security (SANS) and this problem should be solved as soon as possible”, said today Ivan Kostov, co-chairperson of the Blue Coalition and chairperson of the standing parliamentary committee for control on the State Agency for National Security. According him, the power of the special services depends on their deep integration into the executive and judicial power.

• “The restoration of the Chief Directorate for Combating Organized Crime is a short- term goal”, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said after the working meeting with the officers of the Directorate for Combating Organized and Heavy Crime.

• There is information against the businessman Grisha Ganchev at the committee for detection of monopoly in the gambling business and money laundering in the football sector. Thus, the companies around this businessman will be investigated, said today Yane Yanev, leader of OLJ and new chairperson of the Committee for Combating Corruption.