Press Review
Sofia, August 31 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
Several former ministers will be interrogated about scandalous deals and violations at the Prosecution Office in the following days, "Standart News" writes. According to the paper, former social minister Emilia Maslarova will be first and she will be followed by at least five of her former colleagues.
***
Healthcare is faced with collapse, "Dnevnik" writes in frontpage story. The daily quotes Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev as saying that the sector is likely to report a deficit of about 350 million leva by the year's end. Nanev was present at a meeting with Finance Minister Simeon Djankov and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov but concrete measures for going out of the serious situation have not been announced. Separately, the hospitals have already accumulated debts of about 300 million
leva, which are traditionally covered by the state, the dailies write. The deficit of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) totals about 130 million leva and further expenditures of 70 million leva are expected by end-2009. The deficit is mostly due to the new Positive Drug List, Nanev is quoted as saying.
"We have fallen into a trap similar to the one with the pensions. The Positive Drug List contains a higher number of medicines and a higher number of people, entitled to them. This is good but there is no money. This has been a populist act: an expenditure has been budgeted without ensuring the necessary funding for it," the Minister says cited by the press.
Minister Nanev will propose laying off of part of the NHIF senior staff, "Klassa" writes.
***
"24 Chassa" writes that the decision to extend monthly welfare benefits only in the course of one year will probably be cancelled due to an August 6 decision of the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) that this would violate the European Social Charter. According to ECSR, the access to benefits may not be limited in time and the state should support everyone in need. The limitation was introduced in 2008 by ex-social minister Emilia Maslarova with a view of preventing abuses. As a result of this measure persons, entitled to such benefits, dropped from 230,000 to about 50,000. "If we do not comply, we are facing trials," Deputy Social Minister Valentina Simeonova is quoted as saying. Control over the provision of welfare benefits will be reportedly tightened. An unemployed, who refuses twice a job proposal, will no longer be entitled to such benefits.
***
Bulgaria may lose about 250 million leva under PHARE, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Rosen Plevneliev says in an interview for "Pari". Eight lots of motorways of a total value of about 900 million euro will be set into operation by the year's end. "We will try to extend the ISPA programme but we cannot hope for more than six months," says he.
***
The Interior Ministry will have to pay at least 58 million leva in compensation, if it wants to terminate the scandalous contract on the new ID documents, "Standart News" writes. Two proceedings have already been launched regarding the non-transparent way in which Siemens won the tender, the daily says.
***
The Bulgarian Energy Holding, which the Prime Minister wants to close down, has signed a big deal for the purchase of 77 luxury cars, "Sega" writes. The holding has circumvented the Public Procurement Act and negotiated directly the purchase of the vehicles on leasing.
***
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov will seek assistance from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to unfreeze blocked EU funding for Bulgaria, "Standart News" writes. The two will have one-to-one talk in Gdansk.
"When we settle the technical problems with Brussels, this would have a political effect," EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva says in an interview for "Sega".
***
Interviewed by the "24 Chassa" paper, Ivan Kostov, Leader of Democrats for Strong Bulgaria and former prime minister, says that he does not share GERB's optimism that recovery will begin in the middle of 2010. "Mr. Djankov will prove right for the world crisis but there have been very serious causes of the domestic crisis," says he. Kostov cites the following reasons: first, the acute budgetary crisis; second, the serious credit crisis in this country; and third, the likely restriction of state expenditures due to the non-fulfillment of the revenue part of the budget.
***
The same paper publishes an interview with businessman and Socialist Georgi Gergov. At this stage the Bulgarian Socialist Party is not mature enough for any reform, not to speak about replacement of its leader, says he.
***
The exposing of the "witches" by the GERB ministers may be a populist move but, thus, they develop the perspective from which the society will look upon their own performance from now on, Boiko Penchev writes in "Dnevnik". In his view this is the way to form a public environment of intolerance to the attempts at non-transparent governance and, if, at a certain point, this environment becomes detrimental to GERB, so much the worse about them, the author states. In his view, however, the idea about a Day of Genocide against Bulgarians is also populist and it would not lead to anything rational. It is only a form of cultivating a sufferer's self-consciousness.
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
The National Revenue Agency (NRA) has developed a special computer system that would automatically trace companies, involved in complex financial fraud. The software will conduct searches of the NRA archives to establish possible trade relations between companies, registered under VAT, "Troud" writes. For this purpose, preliminary criteria will be set, such as obligations, VAT refund in large amounts, transfers to several owners. If a suspicious company is tracked down, the system will relay a signal for conducting an inspection. The software has been developed with PHARE funding. In 2008 auditors established undeclared obligations to the amount of 1,438,155,846 leva, "Troud" also writes. VAT-related obligations have the biggest share of some 69 per cent.
***
Within a week 2.141 million litres of base oil without excise duty entered the country via the Koulata checkpoint alone, says Gen. Vanyo Tanov, Director of the Customs Agency, in an interview for "Troud". Import of base oil dropped over 60-fold during the inspection, compared with the same time in July. Base oil import stood at slightly over 34,000 litres during the time of the inspection. In the course of 20 years it was the mafia that determined what the Customs would be: weak so as to be controlled. Asked how such a high number of customs officers were controlled, Tanov replied: "There is not any customs officer, who, as part of a smaller or bigger team, has not performed any violation. This why they are easy-to-control. They are paid to be obedient."
***
"Troud" quotes Justice Minister Margarita Popova as saying that practicing jurists insist on amending the Code of Criminal Procedure and a large part of these demands are justified. The proposals are already summarized and analyzed within a working group.
ECONOMY
Food prices are heading towards their 2006 levels, according to a survey of the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Whole-sale Markets cited by "Troud". In the last months almost all foods were cheaper compared to July. Most tangible was the drop of prices of cooking oil by 41 per cent, of flour by 25 per cent and of dairy products by 15 per cent on the average.
***
Madonna may not have the best voice but proved that she is unsurpassed master of the show, "Novinar" writes commenting on the pop singer's concert Saturday evening. She performed in front of over 50,000 people at the Vassil Levski Stadium.
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 – August 31, 2009
• Bulgaria's new finance minister has announced plans to close all state agencies, to be replaced by directorates with the ministries, it emerged on Monday. "Bulgaria currently has a dozen agencies, all of which are located in the capital Sofia. We will shut down all of them, outsourcing some of the services across the country. The state officials are not expected to just sit behind their desks all day, they should go in the province and do some real work there," Minister Simeon Djankov told the morning broadcast of national bTV channel. "I have discussed this proposal with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who welcomed the idea," the minister said. He pledged that the new government will implement reforms that have been badly needed but not executed for the last twenty years.
• Bulgaria is still analyzing the possible options for the future of Belene NPP. It will announce its next steps in the project in September. Up to now Bulgaria has not held talks with potential investors, including from Arab countries, said Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traycho Traykov, the ministry’s press center announced. The minister’s statement comes as a reply to media reports about planned talks with officials with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf to discuss opportunities for Arab investors to participate in the construction of the nuclear power plant. If Bulgaria decides to continue the project, it will look for potential investors and could address all countries that show interest.
• Crime-busters have carried out checks in the area around the southwestern village of Krandzhilitsa, municipality of Petrich, Gergana Moralieva, spokeswoman for the District Police Directorate – Blagoevgrad, told FOCUS – Pirin Radio. The police checked woodland owned by the State Forestry Fund and found a field of cut cannabis. They seized 1,540 kg of the drug. Pre-trial proceedings have been opened.
mandag den 31. august 2009
fredag den 28. august 2009
Bulgarian Press Review, August 28, 2009
Press Review
Sofia, August 28 (BTA)
FOREIGN POLICY
"Borissov, Putin Arrange Meeting by Phone," reads a front-page headline in "Troud". "24 Chassa" headlines its item "Borissov Invites Putin to Negotiations in Sofia." "Insiders say that the initiative came from the Bulgarian Prime Minister, and the idea was to dispel doubts that the strategic energy projects, subjected to scrutiny by the new Government, will be shelved," the paper adds.
* * *
Ariana Hoxha-Zherka has been appointed the new Ambassador of Kosovo to Bulgaria, writes "24 Chassa", quoting "New Kosova Report". She was singled out among 20 candidates and after passing a test of Kosovo's Foreign Ministry. She is a lawyer and has been working with UNMIK for more than five years.
THE HOME SCENE
The top story of "Telegraf" is headlined "Comprehensive Audit of Stanishev." "Monitor" leads on a story entitled "Two Commissions to Probe Stanishev Cabinet". "Novinar" quotes Blue Coalition Co-Chairman and National Assembly Economic Committee Chairman Martin Dimitrov as saying that during its last week in office, the Stanishev Cabinet spent between 500 and 650 million leva. "We must check how this money was spent and on what," he argues.
"It is dangerous that GERB should limit istelf to bringing out the dirty linen," Zhivko Georgiev of BBSS Gallup International told "Novinar." He also fears attempts of making Bulgaria a police state.
* * *
"Troud" reports on its front page that the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute has approved a draft amendment to the Social Insurance Code scrapping the requirement
to quit work and stop paying social insurance in order to retire on pension. From now on, people of retirement age will have no problem retiring and continuing to work, receiving both their pension and wage.
Homework will be recognized as full-time work at the office, according to draft revisions of the Labour Code, "Standart News" reports on its front page. The idea is to enable people on employment contracts to telework, Labour and Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov told the daily.
* * *
"Bulgarska Armiya" reproduces the list of positions opened to competition for 848 vacancies in the Land Forces.
* * *
Education Minister Yordanka Fandakova says in an interview for "Sega" that "this year education will be spared changes." Career development in the teaching profession will be introduced in October, she also says.
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
More than 79 owners and managers of companies which have systematically evaded taxation have been barred from leaving the country, "Novinar" writes in a front-page item. They have been sanctioned because of a build-up of liabilities amounting to 72.2 million leva, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) said.
The smuggling of goods has slumped after the information systems of the NRA and the customs were linked up, NRA Executive Director Krassimir Stefanov says in a "Monitor" interview.
* * *
"Troud", "Sega" and "24 Chassa" frontpage the news that in July Diana Tsenkova, an assistant notary at the office of National Assembly Legal Affairs Committee Chair Iskra Fidossova, certified a power of attorney by which fraudsters attempted to sell a property worth millions in central Sofia. The assistant notary was misled by the fraudster who presented a false identity card bearing his photograph and the particulars of the real owner of the property. "Notaries have no way of checking whether the identity document is false," Fidossova said.
* * *
Companies which were not admitted to the sale of Turgovishte Airport (Northeastern Bulgaria) are challenging the transaction in court, "24 Chassa" reports. They argue that the actual value of the airport is ten times the price at which it was sold. The Transport Ministry is delaying the signature of the final contract with the buyer until the legality of the procedure has been checked, Deputy Transport Minister Kamen Kichev explained. The airport was purchased for 480,000 leva by a company incorporated on July 29, 2009 under the name "Turgovishte Airport 2009" by 20-year-old Ivo Petrov. The money is for the two-story passenger terminal, a restaurant of a floor area of 845 sq m and a 216 sq m technical service building. The facility occupies 943,388 sq m near the Village of Bouhovtsi. The new owner is planning to build an aviation centre for light aircraft. "The transaction was concluded under Stanishev but is not politically motivated," says Petrov's father, a building contractor who was fifth on the Dobrich candidates list of Coalition for Bulgaria.
* * *
"24 Chassa" reports that each owner of a luxury car, who is fined for illegal parking in front of Sofia's poshest night clubs, will be referred to the competent tax service for a check of his income. If these rich persons are suspected of having committed a crime or breaking the law, they will be handed over to the economic police as well, the Interior Ministry explained. More than 110 affluent owners of SUVs and other expensive vehicles misparked in downtown Sofia have been fined over the last two weeks, the paper writes. There are at least 2,000 parking spaces around Sofia's discos where visitors can leave their cars without interfering with traffic, "24 Chassa" found.
* * *
"We have forgotten conventional crime, and it is stifling people," Justice Minister Margarita Popova says in a "24 Chassa" interview. "There are elaborate procedures which we will simplify. In certain hypotheticals, investigators must write a heap of pages just to initiate a criminal proceeding. Nothing revolutionary will be done, the guild will not be subjected to yet another professional stress," she notes.
"How long changes in justice will be having a zero effect and will even change things for the worse," Petya Vladimirova asks in "Dnevnik."
"Troud" has interviewed Velin Hadjolov, who recently resigned as director of the Special Actions Department at the State Agency for National Security.
ECONOMY
Sofianites are the worst paid Europeans, according to a study conducted by Swiss bank UBS, quoted by "Troud." "Bulgarians earn 17 times less than Germans," "Zemya" writes in its report. The study covers 73 capitals and large cities worldwide. Top of the list is Zurich, followed by Geneva. The net pay per hour there is 22.6 and 20.4 US dollars. For Sofia, the hourly pay is 2.6
dollars, and for Bucharest, 2.9 dollars.
* * *
Lending and deposit rates started gradually to slide down, "Klassa" reports on its front page. The interest on new consumer credits in leva has eased by 0.07 points to 14.15 per cent, the daily adds.
"The deposit war is subsiding," "Dnevnik" comments. According to central bank figures, household deposits have decreased in July for a second month running. Some experts see this as an
indication that banks are starting to rely less on raising financial resources from depositors. Others, though, argue it is still too early to speak of a sustained tendency. The effective annual interest on household lev deposits has decreased by 16 basis points to 7.99 per cent. The interest rate on deposits in euro has dropped by 18 basis points to 6.34 per cent. The interest on company deposits in leva has declined to 6.36 per cent, whereas the interest on company deposits in euro has edged up to 4.4 per cent.
In July, over 250,000 Bulgarians travelled abroad on business, "Klassa" reports. This accounts for more than half of the trips abroad reported last month. Just 25 per cent left the country for a holiday, official statistics show. On the whole, trips abroad increased by 14.2 per cent, year on year. A large part of the business trips were to neighbouring countries.
"Bulgarians' holidays in Greece show record high," writes "Dnevnik". In July trips to Greece topped 205,000, and 51,000 of them were for the purpose of tourism. In July 2008, 126,000 visits to Greece were made, including 31,000 for tourism and holidays. Trips to Macedonia increased as well, by 30 per cent, year on year, to 6,000. Trips to Tirkey showed a 7.5 per cent rise to 14,500 in July.
Sixty per cent of Bulgaria's canned foods exports go to Russia, writes "Pari" on its front page. At present, the export has contracted by 70 per cent, and sales in Bulgaria have dropped by a third because of the high retail markups, the paper notes.
* * *
"168 Chassa" writes on its front page that negotiations are allegedly under way between the Holy Synod and the breakaway Synod of Inokentii about the replacement of Patriarch Maxim by
Metropolitan Galaktion of Stara Zagora. According to the weekly, this was the price at which the breakaways were prepared to give up part of the 672 million euro damages awarded to them by the European Court of Human Rights. The item does not mention the sources of its information.
Under the heading "Can Christians Watch Madonna," Valeri Naidenov reasons in "24 Chassa": "Communists have no problem, but believers should cross themselves more often."
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 – August 28, 2009
• Parliament voted on first reading amendments and supplements to the Road Traffic Act, FOCUS News Agency reporter informed. The MPs would consider the draft bill on second reading after a couple of weeks. According to former deputy Prime Minister for EU funds Adoption Meglena Plugchieva the Act does not envisage defense of expert staff of the agency, which would be provided financial resort at the amount of BGN 1.2 bln. According to her these amendments should have passed through the Council of Ministers and that it had to table the Act in the Parliament.
• Bulgaria's recently elected prime minister has announced plans to close the mega-structure Bulgarian Energy Holding that groups all big state-owned energy firms. "The Bulgarian Energy Holding will be shut down as this is a structure that nobody needs," Boyko Borisov told the morning broadcast of Nova TV channel on Friday morning. In his words the mega structure, which was set up in September last year by the previous Socialist-led government, will cease to exist "in a week or two". The holding is a sole owner joint-stock company with a 100% Bulgarian state ownership.
• Bulgaria's business sentiment index dropped 1,3 percentage points in August on a monthly basis, hitting a record-low since the beginning of the economic crisis, data from the National Statistics Institute (NSI) showed on Friday. Except for the industry sector, whose sub-index marked a slight increase over the previous month, managers from all other sectors described the business climate as bad or at least said their expectations are moderate or not optimistic. This is the first time since the financial crisis of the 90s that pessimistic expectations are so firmly entrenched in Bulgarian business, experts commented.
Sofia, August 28 (BTA)
FOREIGN POLICY
"Borissov, Putin Arrange Meeting by Phone," reads a front-page headline in "Troud". "24 Chassa" headlines its item "Borissov Invites Putin to Negotiations in Sofia." "Insiders say that the initiative came from the Bulgarian Prime Minister, and the idea was to dispel doubts that the strategic energy projects, subjected to scrutiny by the new Government, will be shelved," the paper adds.
* * *
Ariana Hoxha-Zherka has been appointed the new Ambassador of Kosovo to Bulgaria, writes "24 Chassa", quoting "New Kosova Report". She was singled out among 20 candidates and after passing a test of Kosovo's Foreign Ministry. She is a lawyer and has been working with UNMIK for more than five years.
THE HOME SCENE
The top story of "Telegraf" is headlined "Comprehensive Audit of Stanishev." "Monitor" leads on a story entitled "Two Commissions to Probe Stanishev Cabinet". "Novinar" quotes Blue Coalition Co-Chairman and National Assembly Economic Committee Chairman Martin Dimitrov as saying that during its last week in office, the Stanishev Cabinet spent between 500 and 650 million leva. "We must check how this money was spent and on what," he argues.
"It is dangerous that GERB should limit istelf to bringing out the dirty linen," Zhivko Georgiev of BBSS Gallup International told "Novinar." He also fears attempts of making Bulgaria a police state.
* * *
"Troud" reports on its front page that the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute has approved a draft amendment to the Social Insurance Code scrapping the requirement
to quit work and stop paying social insurance in order to retire on pension. From now on, people of retirement age will have no problem retiring and continuing to work, receiving both their pension and wage.
Homework will be recognized as full-time work at the office, according to draft revisions of the Labour Code, "Standart News" reports on its front page. The idea is to enable people on employment contracts to telework, Labour and Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov told the daily.
* * *
"Bulgarska Armiya" reproduces the list of positions opened to competition for 848 vacancies in the Land Forces.
* * *
Education Minister Yordanka Fandakova says in an interview for "Sega" that "this year education will be spared changes." Career development in the teaching profession will be introduced in October, she also says.
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
More than 79 owners and managers of companies which have systematically evaded taxation have been barred from leaving the country, "Novinar" writes in a front-page item. They have been sanctioned because of a build-up of liabilities amounting to 72.2 million leva, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) said.
The smuggling of goods has slumped after the information systems of the NRA and the customs were linked up, NRA Executive Director Krassimir Stefanov says in a "Monitor" interview.
* * *
"Troud", "Sega" and "24 Chassa" frontpage the news that in July Diana Tsenkova, an assistant notary at the office of National Assembly Legal Affairs Committee Chair Iskra Fidossova, certified a power of attorney by which fraudsters attempted to sell a property worth millions in central Sofia. The assistant notary was misled by the fraudster who presented a false identity card bearing his photograph and the particulars of the real owner of the property. "Notaries have no way of checking whether the identity document is false," Fidossova said.
* * *
Companies which were not admitted to the sale of Turgovishte Airport (Northeastern Bulgaria) are challenging the transaction in court, "24 Chassa" reports. They argue that the actual value of the airport is ten times the price at which it was sold. The Transport Ministry is delaying the signature of the final contract with the buyer until the legality of the procedure has been checked, Deputy Transport Minister Kamen Kichev explained. The airport was purchased for 480,000 leva by a company incorporated on July 29, 2009 under the name "Turgovishte Airport 2009" by 20-year-old Ivo Petrov. The money is for the two-story passenger terminal, a restaurant of a floor area of 845 sq m and a 216 sq m technical service building. The facility occupies 943,388 sq m near the Village of Bouhovtsi. The new owner is planning to build an aviation centre for light aircraft. "The transaction was concluded under Stanishev but is not politically motivated," says Petrov's father, a building contractor who was fifth on the Dobrich candidates list of Coalition for Bulgaria.
* * *
"24 Chassa" reports that each owner of a luxury car, who is fined for illegal parking in front of Sofia's poshest night clubs, will be referred to the competent tax service for a check of his income. If these rich persons are suspected of having committed a crime or breaking the law, they will be handed over to the economic police as well, the Interior Ministry explained. More than 110 affluent owners of SUVs and other expensive vehicles misparked in downtown Sofia have been fined over the last two weeks, the paper writes. There are at least 2,000 parking spaces around Sofia's discos where visitors can leave their cars without interfering with traffic, "24 Chassa" found.
* * *
"We have forgotten conventional crime, and it is stifling people," Justice Minister Margarita Popova says in a "24 Chassa" interview. "There are elaborate procedures which we will simplify. In certain hypotheticals, investigators must write a heap of pages just to initiate a criminal proceeding. Nothing revolutionary will be done, the guild will not be subjected to yet another professional stress," she notes.
"How long changes in justice will be having a zero effect and will even change things for the worse," Petya Vladimirova asks in "Dnevnik."
"Troud" has interviewed Velin Hadjolov, who recently resigned as director of the Special Actions Department at the State Agency for National Security.
ECONOMY
Sofianites are the worst paid Europeans, according to a study conducted by Swiss bank UBS, quoted by "Troud." "Bulgarians earn 17 times less than Germans," "Zemya" writes in its report. The study covers 73 capitals and large cities worldwide. Top of the list is Zurich, followed by Geneva. The net pay per hour there is 22.6 and 20.4 US dollars. For Sofia, the hourly pay is 2.6
dollars, and for Bucharest, 2.9 dollars.
* * *
Lending and deposit rates started gradually to slide down, "Klassa" reports on its front page. The interest on new consumer credits in leva has eased by 0.07 points to 14.15 per cent, the daily adds.
"The deposit war is subsiding," "Dnevnik" comments. According to central bank figures, household deposits have decreased in July for a second month running. Some experts see this as an
indication that banks are starting to rely less on raising financial resources from depositors. Others, though, argue it is still too early to speak of a sustained tendency. The effective annual interest on household lev deposits has decreased by 16 basis points to 7.99 per cent. The interest rate on deposits in euro has dropped by 18 basis points to 6.34 per cent. The interest on company deposits in leva has declined to 6.36 per cent, whereas the interest on company deposits in euro has edged up to 4.4 per cent.
In July, over 250,000 Bulgarians travelled abroad on business, "Klassa" reports. This accounts for more than half of the trips abroad reported last month. Just 25 per cent left the country for a holiday, official statistics show. On the whole, trips abroad increased by 14.2 per cent, year on year. A large part of the business trips were to neighbouring countries.
"Bulgarians' holidays in Greece show record high," writes "Dnevnik". In July trips to Greece topped 205,000, and 51,000 of them were for the purpose of tourism. In July 2008, 126,000 visits to Greece were made, including 31,000 for tourism and holidays. Trips to Macedonia increased as well, by 30 per cent, year on year, to 6,000. Trips to Tirkey showed a 7.5 per cent rise to 14,500 in July.
Sixty per cent of Bulgaria's canned foods exports go to Russia, writes "Pari" on its front page. At present, the export has contracted by 70 per cent, and sales in Bulgaria have dropped by a third because of the high retail markups, the paper notes.
* * *
"168 Chassa" writes on its front page that negotiations are allegedly under way between the Holy Synod and the breakaway Synod of Inokentii about the replacement of Patriarch Maxim by
Metropolitan Galaktion of Stara Zagora. According to the weekly, this was the price at which the breakaways were prepared to give up part of the 672 million euro damages awarded to them by the European Court of Human Rights. The item does not mention the sources of its information.
Under the heading "Can Christians Watch Madonna," Valeri Naidenov reasons in "24 Chassa": "Communists have no problem, but believers should cross themselves more often."
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 – August 28, 2009
• Parliament voted on first reading amendments and supplements to the Road Traffic Act, FOCUS News Agency reporter informed. The MPs would consider the draft bill on second reading after a couple of weeks. According to former deputy Prime Minister for EU funds Adoption Meglena Plugchieva the Act does not envisage defense of expert staff of the agency, which would be provided financial resort at the amount of BGN 1.2 bln. According to her these amendments should have passed through the Council of Ministers and that it had to table the Act in the Parliament.
• Bulgaria's recently elected prime minister has announced plans to close the mega-structure Bulgarian Energy Holding that groups all big state-owned energy firms. "The Bulgarian Energy Holding will be shut down as this is a structure that nobody needs," Boyko Borisov told the morning broadcast of Nova TV channel on Friday morning. In his words the mega structure, which was set up in September last year by the previous Socialist-led government, will cease to exist "in a week or two". The holding is a sole owner joint-stock company with a 100% Bulgarian state ownership.
• Bulgaria's business sentiment index dropped 1,3 percentage points in August on a monthly basis, hitting a record-low since the beginning of the economic crisis, data from the National Statistics Institute (NSI) showed on Friday. Except for the industry sector, whose sub-index marked a slight increase over the previous month, managers from all other sectors described the business climate as bad or at least said their expectations are moderate or not optimistic. This is the first time since the financial crisis of the 90s that pessimistic expectations are so firmly entrenched in Bulgarian business, experts commented.
torsdag den 27. august 2009
Bulgarian Press Review August 27, 2009
Press Review
Sofia, August 27 (BTA)
BULGARIA-EU
Bulgaria may be brought to court in Luxembourg in October over continuing violations of EU environmental protection law, EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said on Wednesday. "Troud" quotes her as saying that Sofia has no EU-compliant standards for waste storage and processing. The commissioners are holding a regular meeting on infringement procedures against member states on September 30. The European Commission is expected to announce its decisions about Bulgaria in early October, Kuneva said. A case may last up to two years. If things come to this, it would be the first case against Bulgaria in nearly three years since it joined the EU.
The dailies report that Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has dismissed Raika Ontsova, Executive Director of the Audit of EU Funds Executive Agency, as ordered by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. Letters dated August 12 and 13 by which the European Commission rejected compliance assessment reports on the operational programmes "Technical Assistance", "Transport" and "Competitiveness" were not submitted to Borissov for nearly two weeks, "Klassa" says on its front page. The rejection became known in Bulgaria only when EC Spokesman for Regional Policy Dennis Abbott made a statement on August 24.
In a "Klassa" interview Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva says there are plans for the prime minister to make his first foreign visit to Brussels and to meet representatives of all EU institutions there. He will be accompanied by eight ministers.
Yuliana Nikolova, who will become secretary of the Council of EU Funds Management in September, says in "Klassa" that the rejection of the compliance assessment reports will delay the absorption of EU funds, which is a major problem. An evaluation scheduled to start in mid 2010 will check which country has used how much and will be followed by a redistribution of funding, she says.
Evgeni Angelov, Deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, says in "Troud" he has received numerous complaints about EU-financed projects. Talking about the Kremikovtzi iron and steel mill, he says it should not be allowed to run new debts to state-owned companies. It should be seen first if a new rehabilitation plan would work there.
Former Bavarian Prime Minister Guenther Beckstein says in a "24 Chassa" interview that motorway construction should make progress. To this end EU money should be unblocked, he says, adding that what he heard made him believe that Bulgaria was striding in this direction and the necessary reforms had begun.
***
Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Justice Minister Margarita Popova, the State Agency for National Security's Chairman Tsvetlin Yovchev, Stanimir Florov, head of the Organized Crime Directorate, and Prosecutor General Boris Velchev will visit the United States in late September, "Standart News" reports. The daily describes this as "Washington's invitation to Boyko Borissov's anti-Mafia team".
***
Three Bulgarians were arrested in Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy, on charges of credit card cloning, "24 Chassa" writes. The three men, who do not live in Italy, were caught while installing an ATM skimming device. More such devices, 3,000 euro, a laptop and satellite navigation devices were found in their Bulgarian-registered BMW. The police in Abruzzo reportedly said that Bulgarians were increasingly becoming the perpetrators this type of fraud, previously committed mostly by Romanians.
***
Bojidar Dimitrov, the minister responsible for Bulgarians abroad, says in a "24 Chassa" interview that a rapprochement between Bulgaria and Macedonia depends solely on the government in Skopje.
ECONOMY
The dailies report that when passed, amendments to the Commercial Code approved by the government on Wednesday would lower the minimum capital for establishing a limited liability
company from 5,000 leva to 2 leva (about one euro) as GERB promised during its election campaign. The first reduction in the minimum capital needed for registering the most widespread type of company was from 50,000 leva to 5,000 leva. International studies show that there is no minimum requirement for company registration in 75 countries including Britain, "Troud" says.
Social insurance contributions will fall by 2 percentage points in 2010 after the cabinet approved a medium-term fiscal programme for 2010-2013, "Pari" says. A cut by a further 1 percentage point is planned for 2011-2013. VAT may be reduced by a total of 5 per cent in the course of 2010. This will be discussed on June 15, 2010, and the decisions will depend on the state of the economy. The finance minister says the fiscal framework is based on a 2 per cent drop in GDP in 2010.
Quoting the prime minister, who presented the macroeconomic framework of the budget, "Monitor" reports that 500 million leva will be allocated for pensions and a further 220 million leva for survivor pensions in 2010. "Zemya" quotes Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov as saying that wages, pensions and welfare benefits will increase only after mid-June 2010.
HOME SCENE
"24 Chassa" publishes a Gallup International poll showing that Boyko Borissov started his term in office with 64 per cent approval, higher even than the rating of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha at the start of his term as prime minister. President Georgi Purvanov is second with 52 per cent, followed by Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov with 47 per cent and EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva with 46 per cent. Ex-premier Sergei Stanishev is 13th with 20 per cent approval. The Bulgarian Socialist Party is going through one of its worst crises, the proportion of sympathizers being 13.8 per cent of Bulgarians in August. GERB's sympathizers are 46.3 per cent.
***
"Troud" reports that 20 auditors will check the previous government's accounts. The Audit Office started two audits ordered by Parliament at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. They will check the financial management of the budget and the implementation of the Council of Ministers' budget in 2009 until the time GERB took office.
***
Bozhidar Danev, President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, says in "Troud" that harmful emissions should be sold for 1,000 million euro to fill the budget shortfall. He also calls for stronger pressure on shady businesses.
***
A gang tried to sell a building in central Sofia owned by Agrohold using a counterfeit power of attorney, "24 Chassa". Agrohold is owned by Vassil Zlatev, father of businessman Valentin Zlatev. No one at the Interior Ministry or the prosecution office was available for comment on this particular attempted fraud after it was officially announced on Wednesday that a real estate fraud gang had been caught while closing another transaction in a notary's office.
***
Interviewed by "Troud", humanitarian worker Danka Panchova, who was kidnapped in Somalia last November and returned home on August 19, says that life in captivity is fraught with fear, hunger and helplessness. She declined to give details about the abduction so as not to harm other people. SN/DD
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 – August 27, 2009
• Minimum wage in most West European countries has increased despite the economic crisis. About 20 European countries have legally defined minimum wage as in most of them their level has increased since the beginning of 2009. Thus minimum wage in Luxemburg tops the list of highest salaries-EUR 9.73 per hour, followed by France-EUR 8.92, Ireland-EUR 8.65, Netherlands- EUR 8.65 and Belgium-EUR 8.41. Despite minimum wage in the UK is the lowest in West Europe, EUR 6.41 per hour, it is much higher than minimum wages in Bulgaria and Romania, respectively EUR 0.71 and EUR 0.83.
• A 43-year-old Bulgarian was shot dead in front of a Greek coffee house in the Aspropyrgos area in the Western part of Attica region. This accident happened around 5.30 pm local time on Wednesday. The man was immediately taken to the hospital in Elefsina, where he died of his wounds. According to the police, the perpetrator, who ran away from the crime scene by a motorcycle, knew the victim, and had a bone to pick with the Bulgarian man.
• A total of seventy members of parliament from the ruling GERB party and their right-wing allies have proposed that a commission be set up to probe deals, expenses and appointments made during the last year of the ousted Socialist government term. The news comes a week after Bulgaria's MPs approached the National Audit Office to make an audit of how the previous cabinet of Socialist leader Sergey Stanishev handled its finances and property over the last year and seven months.
Sofia, August 27 (BTA)
BULGARIA-EU
Bulgaria may be brought to court in Luxembourg in October over continuing violations of EU environmental protection law, EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said on Wednesday. "Troud" quotes her as saying that Sofia has no EU-compliant standards for waste storage and processing. The commissioners are holding a regular meeting on infringement procedures against member states on September 30. The European Commission is expected to announce its decisions about Bulgaria in early October, Kuneva said. A case may last up to two years. If things come to this, it would be the first case against Bulgaria in nearly three years since it joined the EU.
The dailies report that Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has dismissed Raika Ontsova, Executive Director of the Audit of EU Funds Executive Agency, as ordered by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. Letters dated August 12 and 13 by which the European Commission rejected compliance assessment reports on the operational programmes "Technical Assistance", "Transport" and "Competitiveness" were not submitted to Borissov for nearly two weeks, "Klassa" says on its front page. The rejection became known in Bulgaria only when EC Spokesman for Regional Policy Dennis Abbott made a statement on August 24.
In a "Klassa" interview Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva says there are plans for the prime minister to make his first foreign visit to Brussels and to meet representatives of all EU institutions there. He will be accompanied by eight ministers.
Yuliana Nikolova, who will become secretary of the Council of EU Funds Management in September, says in "Klassa" that the rejection of the compliance assessment reports will delay the absorption of EU funds, which is a major problem. An evaluation scheduled to start in mid 2010 will check which country has used how much and will be followed by a redistribution of funding, she says.
Evgeni Angelov, Deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, says in "Troud" he has received numerous complaints about EU-financed projects. Talking about the Kremikovtzi iron and steel mill, he says it should not be allowed to run new debts to state-owned companies. It should be seen first if a new rehabilitation plan would work there.
Former Bavarian Prime Minister Guenther Beckstein says in a "24 Chassa" interview that motorway construction should make progress. To this end EU money should be unblocked, he says, adding that what he heard made him believe that Bulgaria was striding in this direction and the necessary reforms had begun.
***
Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Justice Minister Margarita Popova, the State Agency for National Security's Chairman Tsvetlin Yovchev, Stanimir Florov, head of the Organized Crime Directorate, and Prosecutor General Boris Velchev will visit the United States in late September, "Standart News" reports. The daily describes this as "Washington's invitation to Boyko Borissov's anti-Mafia team".
***
Three Bulgarians were arrested in Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy, on charges of credit card cloning, "24 Chassa" writes. The three men, who do not live in Italy, were caught while installing an ATM skimming device. More such devices, 3,000 euro, a laptop and satellite navigation devices were found in their Bulgarian-registered BMW. The police in Abruzzo reportedly said that Bulgarians were increasingly becoming the perpetrators this type of fraud, previously committed mostly by Romanians.
***
Bojidar Dimitrov, the minister responsible for Bulgarians abroad, says in a "24 Chassa" interview that a rapprochement between Bulgaria and Macedonia depends solely on the government in Skopje.
ECONOMY
The dailies report that when passed, amendments to the Commercial Code approved by the government on Wednesday would lower the minimum capital for establishing a limited liability
company from 5,000 leva to 2 leva (about one euro) as GERB promised during its election campaign. The first reduction in the minimum capital needed for registering the most widespread type of company was from 50,000 leva to 5,000 leva. International studies show that there is no minimum requirement for company registration in 75 countries including Britain, "Troud" says.
Social insurance contributions will fall by 2 percentage points in 2010 after the cabinet approved a medium-term fiscal programme for 2010-2013, "Pari" says. A cut by a further 1 percentage point is planned for 2011-2013. VAT may be reduced by a total of 5 per cent in the course of 2010. This will be discussed on June 15, 2010, and the decisions will depend on the state of the economy. The finance minister says the fiscal framework is based on a 2 per cent drop in GDP in 2010.
Quoting the prime minister, who presented the macroeconomic framework of the budget, "Monitor" reports that 500 million leva will be allocated for pensions and a further 220 million leva for survivor pensions in 2010. "Zemya" quotes Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov as saying that wages, pensions and welfare benefits will increase only after mid-June 2010.
HOME SCENE
"24 Chassa" publishes a Gallup International poll showing that Boyko Borissov started his term in office with 64 per cent approval, higher even than the rating of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha at the start of his term as prime minister. President Georgi Purvanov is second with 52 per cent, followed by Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov with 47 per cent and EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva with 46 per cent. Ex-premier Sergei Stanishev is 13th with 20 per cent approval. The Bulgarian Socialist Party is going through one of its worst crises, the proportion of sympathizers being 13.8 per cent of Bulgarians in August. GERB's sympathizers are 46.3 per cent.
***
"Troud" reports that 20 auditors will check the previous government's accounts. The Audit Office started two audits ordered by Parliament at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. They will check the financial management of the budget and the implementation of the Council of Ministers' budget in 2009 until the time GERB took office.
***
Bozhidar Danev, President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, says in "Troud" that harmful emissions should be sold for 1,000 million euro to fill the budget shortfall. He also calls for stronger pressure on shady businesses.
***
A gang tried to sell a building in central Sofia owned by Agrohold using a counterfeit power of attorney, "24 Chassa". Agrohold is owned by Vassil Zlatev, father of businessman Valentin Zlatev. No one at the Interior Ministry or the prosecution office was available for comment on this particular attempted fraud after it was officially announced on Wednesday that a real estate fraud gang had been caught while closing another transaction in a notary's office.
***
Interviewed by "Troud", humanitarian worker Danka Panchova, who was kidnapped in Somalia last November and returned home on August 19, says that life in captivity is fraught with fear, hunger and helplessness. She declined to give details about the abduction so as not to harm other people. SN/DD
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 – August 27, 2009
• Minimum wage in most West European countries has increased despite the economic crisis. About 20 European countries have legally defined minimum wage as in most of them their level has increased since the beginning of 2009. Thus minimum wage in Luxemburg tops the list of highest salaries-EUR 9.73 per hour, followed by France-EUR 8.92, Ireland-EUR 8.65, Netherlands- EUR 8.65 and Belgium-EUR 8.41. Despite minimum wage in the UK is the lowest in West Europe, EUR 6.41 per hour, it is much higher than minimum wages in Bulgaria and Romania, respectively EUR 0.71 and EUR 0.83.
• A 43-year-old Bulgarian was shot dead in front of a Greek coffee house in the Aspropyrgos area in the Western part of Attica region. This accident happened around 5.30 pm local time on Wednesday. The man was immediately taken to the hospital in Elefsina, where he died of his wounds. According to the police, the perpetrator, who ran away from the crime scene by a motorcycle, knew the victim, and had a bone to pick with the Bulgarian man.
• A total of seventy members of parliament from the ruling GERB party and their right-wing allies have proposed that a commission be set up to probe deals, expenses and appointments made during the last year of the ousted Socialist government term. The news comes a week after Bulgaria's MPs approached the National Audit Office to make an audit of how the previous cabinet of Socialist leader Sergey Stanishev handled its finances and property over the last year and seven months.
onsdag den 26. august 2009
Bulgarian Press Review August 26, 2009
Press Review
Sofia, August 26 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
"Troud" reports that the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry has suspended the transfer of money for construction projects to 43 municipalities. "Douma" reports that the Ministry has suspended the implementation of 60 big projects. "We are applying crisis management," Regional Development and Public Works Minister Rosen Plevneliev told "Troud." By July 31, the Ministry had spent 87 per cent of the money budgeted for capital expenditures, which is 87 million
leva for 2009. Each one of the projects will be analyzed and the ones which are vital for the lives and health of the population will be completed.
* * *
The promotion of Bulgaria and Bulgarian-made goods round the world will cost about 50 million leva, "Dnevnik" writes referring to Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov. The money comes from Operative Programme Competitiveness of the European Fund for Regional Development. Traikov has signed contracts with the Executive Agency for Promotion of SMEs and the Bulgarian Investment Agency which applied for funding submitting projects under Priority Axis 4 УStrengthening the international market positions of Bulgarian economy.Ф The budget for this axis totals 55 million leva, including 26 million for popularizing the investment climate in Bulgaria and 25 million for the successful presentation of Bulgarian enterprises on the international markets; the rest is designed for improvement of the standardization system.
* * *
The results of a poll on the first month in office of the incumbent government show that 43 per cent of respondents trust it and 31 per cent do not. The poll, conducted by Gallup International, was commissioned by "Klassa."
Prime MInister Boyko Borissov has delivered on his promise to work in full transparence and as of Tuesday deciphered shorthand transcripts of the cabinet's meetings are available from the Council of Ministers' information system in the Internet - something which no one of the previous governments dared to do," 24 Chassa" notes.
* * *
"We have absorbed only 1.5 per cent of [the funds from] Operative Programme Transport," Transport, IT and Communications Minister Aleksandar Tsvetkov says in "Klassa." "It is our ambitious task to eliminate the black market in driving licences," he says.
According to incomplete data about the situation of the National Road Infrastructure Agency (NRIA), as at July 30 it had a deficit of 60 million leva, NRIA Executive Director Dimiter Ivanov says in "Dnevnik." In his words, the previous management of the agency had stipulated discriminating conditions in the tender documents for the Trakiya motorway.
* * *
Politicians should better not intervene in the State Fund Agriculture, the new executive director of the Fund, Kalina Ilieva, warns in an interview for "Troud."
* * *
"We are drafting an effective strategy for tourism until 2025," Economy, Energy and Tourism Deputy Minister Ivo Marinov says in "Monitor."
* * *
As many as 99 per cent of cultural landmarks in Bulgaria do not have title deeds for property, Deputy Culture Minister Todor Chobanov says in "Sega."
* * *
The Podkrepa Labour Confederation proposes that everybody receiving a monthly income in excess of 5,000 leva be levied an additional tax, "Standart News" writes in its leading story. Podkrepa also demands the imposition of a one-time tax on yachts, aircraft and other expensive acquisitions of the rich.
* * *
The statutory requirements for issuing licences and permits and coordination of economic activities should be drastically reduced, Prof. Borislav Borissov, Rector of the University of National and World Economics, says in "24 Chassa." There are 500-600 such requirements in Bulgaria, while they are only 50-60 on the average in the other EU member states. In his opinion, all statutory acts should specify timeframes for the performance of all activities they regulate, envisaging sanctions for not observing the deadlines.
* * *
The findings of the prosecution magistracy show that the most serious and frequent offences during the July 5 parliamentary elections were committed by the district electoral commissions in Turkey, "Dnevnik" reports. Last week a massive investigation was launched reacting on an alert by the Foreign Ministry. Prosecutors will conduct a second investigation into possible double voting - once in Turkey and then in Bulgaria.
* * *
Enyo Petrov, deputy manager of the municipal enterprises Gradini i Parkove (Gardens and Parks) in Plovdiv, drives an Audi Q7 which costs 150,000 leva, "24 Chassa" says. Until recently
local leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and municipal councillor, Petrov gets a monthly salary a little over 600 leva, as the manager of the enterprise, Stanka Stamatova said. The Audi jeep has been registered in the name of Shtastliva Zvezda EOOD, a company owned by Petrov's wife. In 2005 the company bought at an auction a municipal pavilion of 176 sq m for 12,100 leva.
ECONOMY
Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov proposes that the 250 million euro loan received from BNP Paribas for the construction of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant Project be repaid from the fiscal reserve, "Pari" says in an item headlined "The Lamia Belene." "Klassa" also gives prominence to the issue.
* * *
"Now that I know Dimiter Angelov is going to be the new executive director, I do not worry about the future of the [Kozloduy nuclear] power plant," Ivan Genov, until recently holder of this position, says in an interview for "Troud." "We sold the electricity at the best prices," he says.
* * *
The price of heating and cogenerated electricity will not be changed as of October 1 if the request of Bulgargaz for a 4.4 per cent increase of the price of natural gas is preserved, "Monitor" says referring to State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission Chairman Konstantin Shoushoulov.
* * *
The airport of Turgovishte has been sold for 480,000 leva to a 20-year-old man as third-grade farming land, "Telegraf" and "Troud write. The new owner of the airport is Ivo Petrov from Dobrich, manager and single owner of the company Airport Turgovishte 2009 registered on August 7, 2009. The tender for the land was held only two weeks later, on August 20.
* * *
A plot of 315 sq m opposite the National Opera House in Sofia has been sold for 3,255,000 euro, "Troud" reports. Such prices are rare even in world centres such as London and Paris, the daily observes. The price of 10,333 euro per square metre has broken the record for most expensive plot in Sofia. The previous one was 8,355 euro per square metre for a plot in Todor Alexandrov Blvd. sold to a Greek company.
* * *
Referring to the Real Estate Bulgaria agency, "Express" writes that the prices of real estates in Bulgaria's coastal areas have fallen by 30 per cent for those near the beach to 70 per cent for property that is farther from the beach. "Troud" says that a studio of 25 sq m in Sunny Beach can be purchased for 9,750 euro, or 390 euro per sq m, as a check in the Internet showed.
* * *
There was a drop of 35 per cent in wine sales on the domestic market, Branimir Botev, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Rozova Dolina Winery, says in "Pari."
* * *
A super computer will show where and what structure should be built so that it is not damaged by quakes, "24 Chassa" reports. The IBM Blue Gene/P hardware was purchased by the government late last year; the software is nearly ready. It is at the State Agency for Information technologies. Thanks to a detailed undersoil map, the system will show where to construct power plants, dams and gas storages and how to refurbish old buildings so as to sustain quakes.
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 – August 26, 2009
• The National Assembly Wednesday re-elected Ivan Iskrov Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) for a six-year term of office, effective October 10, 2009. The motion was carried, 195 voting in favour, 1 Blue Coalition MP voting against, and another 12 Blue Coalition MPs, 1 Coalition for Bulgaria MPs and 1 Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP abstaining.
• Next year, there will be BGN 720 million more money for pensions. This is our will, this is what I have ordered to the minister of finance and this is the request of the minister of social policy”, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said after today’s sitting of the Council of Ministers, FOCUS News Agency reporter informs. Boyko Borisov declared that in the first month after the new government came into power there is 9% increase in the pension, which is some BGN 48 million, and will reach BGN 288 million by the end of the year.
• 11.4% unemployment rate is expected for next year, Minister of Labor and Social Policy Totyu Mladenov announced, FOCUS News Agency reporter informs.The minister explained there will be increase in the minimum working salaries, pensions and social payments after June 15, 2010. Minister Mladenov added no cuts in the unemployment compensations are envisaged in the fiscal framework of Budget 2010-2013.
• The pine wood of the St. Vlas seaside holiday resort is on fire, the Interior Ministry press office announced. According to initial information, around 300 decares of coniferous trees are on fire. The firefighters managed to master the flames and stop fire’s spreading to the villa area. The signal over the incident was filed at around 10.45 a.m. The Varna-Burgas road in the section near the St. Vlas resort is closed over the smoke.
Sofia, August 26 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
"Troud" reports that the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry has suspended the transfer of money for construction projects to 43 municipalities. "Douma" reports that the Ministry has suspended the implementation of 60 big projects. "We are applying crisis management," Regional Development and Public Works Minister Rosen Plevneliev told "Troud." By July 31, the Ministry had spent 87 per cent of the money budgeted for capital expenditures, which is 87 million
leva for 2009. Each one of the projects will be analyzed and the ones which are vital for the lives and health of the population will be completed.
* * *
The promotion of Bulgaria and Bulgarian-made goods round the world will cost about 50 million leva, "Dnevnik" writes referring to Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov. The money comes from Operative Programme Competitiveness of the European Fund for Regional Development. Traikov has signed contracts with the Executive Agency for Promotion of SMEs and the Bulgarian Investment Agency which applied for funding submitting projects under Priority Axis 4 УStrengthening the international market positions of Bulgarian economy.Ф The budget for this axis totals 55 million leva, including 26 million for popularizing the investment climate in Bulgaria and 25 million for the successful presentation of Bulgarian enterprises on the international markets; the rest is designed for improvement of the standardization system.
* * *
The results of a poll on the first month in office of the incumbent government show that 43 per cent of respondents trust it and 31 per cent do not. The poll, conducted by Gallup International, was commissioned by "Klassa."
Prime MInister Boyko Borissov has delivered on his promise to work in full transparence and as of Tuesday deciphered shorthand transcripts of the cabinet's meetings are available from the Council of Ministers' information system in the Internet - something which no one of the previous governments dared to do," 24 Chassa" notes.
* * *
"We have absorbed only 1.5 per cent of [the funds from] Operative Programme Transport," Transport, IT and Communications Minister Aleksandar Tsvetkov says in "Klassa." "It is our ambitious task to eliminate the black market in driving licences," he says.
According to incomplete data about the situation of the National Road Infrastructure Agency (NRIA), as at July 30 it had a deficit of 60 million leva, NRIA Executive Director Dimiter Ivanov says in "Dnevnik." In his words, the previous management of the agency had stipulated discriminating conditions in the tender documents for the Trakiya motorway.
* * *
Politicians should better not intervene in the State Fund Agriculture, the new executive director of the Fund, Kalina Ilieva, warns in an interview for "Troud."
* * *
"We are drafting an effective strategy for tourism until 2025," Economy, Energy and Tourism Deputy Minister Ivo Marinov says in "Monitor."
* * *
As many as 99 per cent of cultural landmarks in Bulgaria do not have title deeds for property, Deputy Culture Minister Todor Chobanov says in "Sega."
* * *
The Podkrepa Labour Confederation proposes that everybody receiving a monthly income in excess of 5,000 leva be levied an additional tax, "Standart News" writes in its leading story. Podkrepa also demands the imposition of a one-time tax on yachts, aircraft and other expensive acquisitions of the rich.
* * *
The statutory requirements for issuing licences and permits and coordination of economic activities should be drastically reduced, Prof. Borislav Borissov, Rector of the University of National and World Economics, says in "24 Chassa." There are 500-600 such requirements in Bulgaria, while they are only 50-60 on the average in the other EU member states. In his opinion, all statutory acts should specify timeframes for the performance of all activities they regulate, envisaging sanctions for not observing the deadlines.
* * *
The findings of the prosecution magistracy show that the most serious and frequent offences during the July 5 parliamentary elections were committed by the district electoral commissions in Turkey, "Dnevnik" reports. Last week a massive investigation was launched reacting on an alert by the Foreign Ministry. Prosecutors will conduct a second investigation into possible double voting - once in Turkey and then in Bulgaria.
* * *
Enyo Petrov, deputy manager of the municipal enterprises Gradini i Parkove (Gardens and Parks) in Plovdiv, drives an Audi Q7 which costs 150,000 leva, "24 Chassa" says. Until recently
local leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and municipal councillor, Petrov gets a monthly salary a little over 600 leva, as the manager of the enterprise, Stanka Stamatova said. The Audi jeep has been registered in the name of Shtastliva Zvezda EOOD, a company owned by Petrov's wife. In 2005 the company bought at an auction a municipal pavilion of 176 sq m for 12,100 leva.
ECONOMY
Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov proposes that the 250 million euro loan received from BNP Paribas for the construction of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant Project be repaid from the fiscal reserve, "Pari" says in an item headlined "The Lamia Belene." "Klassa" also gives prominence to the issue.
* * *
"Now that I know Dimiter Angelov is going to be the new executive director, I do not worry about the future of the [Kozloduy nuclear] power plant," Ivan Genov, until recently holder of this position, says in an interview for "Troud." "We sold the electricity at the best prices," he says.
* * *
The price of heating and cogenerated electricity will not be changed as of October 1 if the request of Bulgargaz for a 4.4 per cent increase of the price of natural gas is preserved, "Monitor" says referring to State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission Chairman Konstantin Shoushoulov.
* * *
The airport of Turgovishte has been sold for 480,000 leva to a 20-year-old man as third-grade farming land, "Telegraf" and "Troud write. The new owner of the airport is Ivo Petrov from Dobrich, manager and single owner of the company Airport Turgovishte 2009 registered on August 7, 2009. The tender for the land was held only two weeks later, on August 20.
* * *
A plot of 315 sq m opposite the National Opera House in Sofia has been sold for 3,255,000 euro, "Troud" reports. Such prices are rare even in world centres such as London and Paris, the daily observes. The price of 10,333 euro per square metre has broken the record for most expensive plot in Sofia. The previous one was 8,355 euro per square metre for a plot in Todor Alexandrov Blvd. sold to a Greek company.
* * *
Referring to the Real Estate Bulgaria agency, "Express" writes that the prices of real estates in Bulgaria's coastal areas have fallen by 30 per cent for those near the beach to 70 per cent for property that is farther from the beach. "Troud" says that a studio of 25 sq m in Sunny Beach can be purchased for 9,750 euro, or 390 euro per sq m, as a check in the Internet showed.
* * *
There was a drop of 35 per cent in wine sales on the domestic market, Branimir Botev, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Rozova Dolina Winery, says in "Pari."
* * *
A super computer will show where and what structure should be built so that it is not damaged by quakes, "24 Chassa" reports. The IBM Blue Gene/P hardware was purchased by the government late last year; the software is nearly ready. It is at the State Agency for Information technologies. Thanks to a detailed undersoil map, the system will show where to construct power plants, dams and gas storages and how to refurbish old buildings so as to sustain quakes.
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 – August 26, 2009
• The National Assembly Wednesday re-elected Ivan Iskrov Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) for a six-year term of office, effective October 10, 2009. The motion was carried, 195 voting in favour, 1 Blue Coalition MP voting against, and another 12 Blue Coalition MPs, 1 Coalition for Bulgaria MPs and 1 Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP abstaining.
• Next year, there will be BGN 720 million more money for pensions. This is our will, this is what I have ordered to the minister of finance and this is the request of the minister of social policy”, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said after today’s sitting of the Council of Ministers, FOCUS News Agency reporter informs. Boyko Borisov declared that in the first month after the new government came into power there is 9% increase in the pension, which is some BGN 48 million, and will reach BGN 288 million by the end of the year.
• 11.4% unemployment rate is expected for next year, Minister of Labor and Social Policy Totyu Mladenov announced, FOCUS News Agency reporter informs.The minister explained there will be increase in the minimum working salaries, pensions and social payments after June 15, 2010. Minister Mladenov added no cuts in the unemployment compensations are envisaged in the fiscal framework of Budget 2010-2013.
• The pine wood of the St. Vlas seaside holiday resort is on fire, the Interior Ministry press office announced. According to initial information, around 300 decares of coniferous trees are on fire. The firefighters managed to master the flames and stop fire’s spreading to the villa area. The signal over the incident was filed at around 10.45 a.m. The Varna-Burgas road in the section near the St. Vlas resort is closed over the smoke.
tirsdag den 25. august 2009
Bulgarian Press Review August 25, 2009
Press Review
Sofia, August 25 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
The proposals of the Finance Ministry for tightening of the belts in the income policy due to the crisis has triggered the first clashes in the government, "Dnevnik" writes on its front page. According to the paper, Social Minister Totyu Mladenov objected against the freezing of the minimum working wage and the welfare pension planned within the medium-term fiscal framework for the 2010-2013 period. Monday the employer organizations within the Tripartite Council (emplo) backed the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon
Djankov while the trade unions - of Minister Mladenov.
"Dnevnik" writes that Prime Minister Boyko Borissov did not find any misunderstanding between the two saying it is normal that the Social Minister would insist on an increase of pensions and salaries, otherwise he would not be a typical social minister. "At the same time, thinking realistically, the Finance Minister finds this impossible for the time being," Borissov is further quoted as saying. At its Wednesday meeting the Cabinet will adopt the final version of the framework. The document envisages that the 2010 public-financed sector incomes would keep their level as of the previous year while in the following years the wages will grow proportionally to the increase of the gross domestic product. Freezing of the pensions is planned for next year as well given that this year they increased by 19.7 per cent. This is one of the few budget expenditures, which the new cabinet promised not to curtail despite of the deficit, which is expected to be inherited from the previous government. However, the incumbents are planning to reduce compensations for unemployment by over 10 per cent as the new levels will be 110-220 leva, given that now they are 120-256 leva, "Dnevnik" further writes.
"Troud" gives prominence to the news that 70,000 white-collar workers are to be laid off. The paper cites Finance Minister Simeon Djankov as saying that the ministers will have to reduce
their staff by about 15 per cent as of January 1, 2010 as the beginning of a large-scale administrative reform.
In June a total of 199 officials received remuneration higher than the Prime Minister's pay; ex-finance minister Plamen Oresharski ranked 37th in terms of salaries, bonuses and royalties within his Ministry, "24 Chassa" writes referring to a report ordered by Finance Minister Djankov. The system of payments and bonuses is wrong and will be replaced, the Finance Minister says cited by the paper. A full analysis of the public administration in terms of structure, functions, human
resources, salaries and bonuses will be made within several months.
Pensions account for about 22 per cent of all public expenditures in the country, writes Georgi Stoev of "Industry Watch" in an article published by "24 Chassa". In 2009 alone they equalled about 6,500 million leva. The social security system cannot be self-financing, i.e. the revenues from contributions do not suffice to cover the current expenditures for pensions, he notes. In his view the public debt to the pensioners should begin to be reduced and the state should openly recognize this as its obligation.
The crisis will reach its peak next year, when unemployment is expected to reach 11.4 per cent and 2011 will see economic growth, "Standart News" writes. The paper publishes these figures referring to the Finance Ministry's medium-term fiscal framework 2010-2013.
A purge is about to be launched in the energy sector, "Pari" writes on its front page. The CEOs of the National Electric Company (NEK) Lyubomir Velkov and Mardik Papazyan are about to be dismissed for inaction, the daily notes. The same paper writes that Kozloduy N-plant chief Ivan Genov has also tendered his resignation and Bulgarian Energy Holding Deputy Chairman
Tencho Popov has promised to held them liable.
BULGARIA - EU
This is the second time that Brussels halts funds within Operational Programme Transport that were about to be used for the completion of the Trakiya Motorway and sections of other motorways, "Standart News" writes. The reasons are persisting weaknesses in the building up of the central electronic system for payment management and control.
The government is discussing two possibilities to "save" funding under the operational programmes, "Sega" writes. It transpired on Monday that the European Commission has rejected four out of seven operational programme compliance assessment reports submitted by Bulgaria. The plans are to revise quickly the already submitted compliance assessment reports or draft new
ones. This may be done by November, when the Commission will finally decide on the reports. If they are rejected again, Bulgaria would have to reimburse already absorbed funds, the daily writes.
***
"24 Chassa" runs an interview with EU Commissioner for consumer policy Meglena Kuneva. According to her, Bulgaria's Permanent Representation to the EU should outline concrete steps for the following weeks. "We have very difficult coordination among the ministries; there is a problem with the assuming of responsibility," says Kuneva. She also notes that Bulgaria may face trial at the European Court of Justice due to the delay of the construction of the waste plant in Sofia.
***
The EU funds still remain inaccessible for Bulgaria as Brussels does not believe that the country may handle them, writes Svetoslav Terziev in an analysis in "Sega".
***
All EU-related projects of the Education Ministry will be published on the Internet, says Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Science Svetlana Lomeva, in an interview for "Sega". She lists out citizens' education in schools and incentives for first employment of youth as priorities in her work.
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
There are 194 skilful safebreakers in this country, of whose operation the police is aware, "24 Chassa" writes. They conduct six strikes against the safes of rich people weekly and steal 50
to 200,000 leva.
"I do not want to be a judge in Bulgaria," says Helmut Palder [name may be misspelt] in charge of international relations at the Justice Ministry of the State of Bavaria in an interview granted for the "Troud" paper. In his view there is no political climate, in which magistrates may feel well rather than sweating and trembling, when investigating the high echelons of power, that their work is undesired.
***
The Holy Synod declares itself against the concert of Madonna in Sofia on August 29, the dailies write. In a special address the Synod says it wants to prevent people from temptation on the day, when the church marks the beheading of John the Baptist. "In almost all of its concerts Louise Ciccone has shown disrespect for the believing Christians," reads the statement. "Troud" writes that Madonna is coming to Sofia together with her children. Her escort and she will fly on two private aircraft.
***
Every year, a total of 35,000 children, students and veterans will spend a holiday at the International Children's Camp in Kamchiya, owned by the government in Moscow, the Varna edition of "24 Chassa" writes. The facility should be completed by mid-2012.
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 – August 25, 2009
• Several fires have been raging in Bulgaria over the past 24 hours. The biggest one – close to the southern town of Simeonovgrad – has been already contained. A locomotive and rose plantation caught fire in the municipality of Plovdiv. The dry and hot weather is a prerequisite for fires. Because of the situation in Greece, Bulgarian-Greek border is being closely monitored.
• One of the reasons for the poor financial condition of the National Electricity Company (NEK) is the EUR 270 million credit agreement, said State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) Chairman Konstantin Shushulov, cited by FOCUS News Agency. The agreement was signed to construct Belene NPP. Shushulov says that the irregular repayment of installments and rise in interest rate from 4.5% to approximately 5% are some of the reasons for the company’s poor financial condition. He added the state would suffer losses of more than 10-11%, between EUR 8 million and EUR 20 million. He noted that if the conditions were not met, the loan would become executable immediately.
• The deadline for the positive completion assessments on the European Union operational programs that Bulgaria is working on is October 21. This has been announced Monday by Bulgaria's ex-Vice Prime Minister, Meglena Plugchieva, in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio. "The EC is returning these completion assessments in order the latest lapses to be corrected, so theses schemes can be accepted as working with positive evaluation", Plugchieva said. The dead line until which Bulgaria must receive positive correspondence evaluation for the operative programs is October 21. This is the data when the two-year accreditation of the programs expires. Two year ago the first advance payment were made, too.
• Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov said Tuesday that Dimiter Angelov will be appointed as the new Executive Director of the Kozloduy N-Plant. Angelov has held various positions at the nuclear plant and is currently chief engineer.
Sofia, August 25 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
The proposals of the Finance Ministry for tightening of the belts in the income policy due to the crisis has triggered the first clashes in the government, "Dnevnik" writes on its front page. According to the paper, Social Minister Totyu Mladenov objected against the freezing of the minimum working wage and the welfare pension planned within the medium-term fiscal framework for the 2010-2013 period. Monday the employer organizations within the Tripartite Council (emplo) backed the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon
Djankov while the trade unions - of Minister Mladenov.
"Dnevnik" writes that Prime Minister Boyko Borissov did not find any misunderstanding between the two saying it is normal that the Social Minister would insist on an increase of pensions and salaries, otherwise he would not be a typical social minister. "At the same time, thinking realistically, the Finance Minister finds this impossible for the time being," Borissov is further quoted as saying. At its Wednesday meeting the Cabinet will adopt the final version of the framework. The document envisages that the 2010 public-financed sector incomes would keep their level as of the previous year while in the following years the wages will grow proportionally to the increase of the gross domestic product. Freezing of the pensions is planned for next year as well given that this year they increased by 19.7 per cent. This is one of the few budget expenditures, which the new cabinet promised not to curtail despite of the deficit, which is expected to be inherited from the previous government. However, the incumbents are planning to reduce compensations for unemployment by over 10 per cent as the new levels will be 110-220 leva, given that now they are 120-256 leva, "Dnevnik" further writes.
"Troud" gives prominence to the news that 70,000 white-collar workers are to be laid off. The paper cites Finance Minister Simeon Djankov as saying that the ministers will have to reduce
their staff by about 15 per cent as of January 1, 2010 as the beginning of a large-scale administrative reform.
In June a total of 199 officials received remuneration higher than the Prime Minister's pay; ex-finance minister Plamen Oresharski ranked 37th in terms of salaries, bonuses and royalties within his Ministry, "24 Chassa" writes referring to a report ordered by Finance Minister Djankov. The system of payments and bonuses is wrong and will be replaced, the Finance Minister says cited by the paper. A full analysis of the public administration in terms of structure, functions, human
resources, salaries and bonuses will be made within several months.
Pensions account for about 22 per cent of all public expenditures in the country, writes Georgi Stoev of "Industry Watch" in an article published by "24 Chassa". In 2009 alone they equalled about 6,500 million leva. The social security system cannot be self-financing, i.e. the revenues from contributions do not suffice to cover the current expenditures for pensions, he notes. In his view the public debt to the pensioners should begin to be reduced and the state should openly recognize this as its obligation.
The crisis will reach its peak next year, when unemployment is expected to reach 11.4 per cent and 2011 will see economic growth, "Standart News" writes. The paper publishes these figures referring to the Finance Ministry's medium-term fiscal framework 2010-2013.
A purge is about to be launched in the energy sector, "Pari" writes on its front page. The CEOs of the National Electric Company (NEK) Lyubomir Velkov and Mardik Papazyan are about to be dismissed for inaction, the daily notes. The same paper writes that Kozloduy N-plant chief Ivan Genov has also tendered his resignation and Bulgarian Energy Holding Deputy Chairman
Tencho Popov has promised to held them liable.
BULGARIA - EU
This is the second time that Brussels halts funds within Operational Programme Transport that were about to be used for the completion of the Trakiya Motorway and sections of other motorways, "Standart News" writes. The reasons are persisting weaknesses in the building up of the central electronic system for payment management and control.
The government is discussing two possibilities to "save" funding under the operational programmes, "Sega" writes. It transpired on Monday that the European Commission has rejected four out of seven operational programme compliance assessment reports submitted by Bulgaria. The plans are to revise quickly the already submitted compliance assessment reports or draft new
ones. This may be done by November, when the Commission will finally decide on the reports. If they are rejected again, Bulgaria would have to reimburse already absorbed funds, the daily writes.
***
"24 Chassa" runs an interview with EU Commissioner for consumer policy Meglena Kuneva. According to her, Bulgaria's Permanent Representation to the EU should outline concrete steps for the following weeks. "We have very difficult coordination among the ministries; there is a problem with the assuming of responsibility," says Kuneva. She also notes that Bulgaria may face trial at the European Court of Justice due to the delay of the construction of the waste plant in Sofia.
***
The EU funds still remain inaccessible for Bulgaria as Brussels does not believe that the country may handle them, writes Svetoslav Terziev in an analysis in "Sega".
***
All EU-related projects of the Education Ministry will be published on the Internet, says Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Science Svetlana Lomeva, in an interview for "Sega". She lists out citizens' education in schools and incentives for first employment of youth as priorities in her work.
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
There are 194 skilful safebreakers in this country, of whose operation the police is aware, "24 Chassa" writes. They conduct six strikes against the safes of rich people weekly and steal 50
to 200,000 leva.
"I do not want to be a judge in Bulgaria," says Helmut Palder [name may be misspelt] in charge of international relations at the Justice Ministry of the State of Bavaria in an interview granted for the "Troud" paper. In his view there is no political climate, in which magistrates may feel well rather than sweating and trembling, when investigating the high echelons of power, that their work is undesired.
***
The Holy Synod declares itself against the concert of Madonna in Sofia on August 29, the dailies write. In a special address the Synod says it wants to prevent people from temptation on the day, when the church marks the beheading of John the Baptist. "In almost all of its concerts Louise Ciccone has shown disrespect for the believing Christians," reads the statement. "Troud" writes that Madonna is coming to Sofia together with her children. Her escort and she will fly on two private aircraft.
***
Every year, a total of 35,000 children, students and veterans will spend a holiday at the International Children's Camp in Kamchiya, owned by the government in Moscow, the Varna edition of "24 Chassa" writes. The facility should be completed by mid-2012.
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 – August 25, 2009
• Several fires have been raging in Bulgaria over the past 24 hours. The biggest one – close to the southern town of Simeonovgrad – has been already contained. A locomotive and rose plantation caught fire in the municipality of Plovdiv. The dry and hot weather is a prerequisite for fires. Because of the situation in Greece, Bulgarian-Greek border is being closely monitored.
• One of the reasons for the poor financial condition of the National Electricity Company (NEK) is the EUR 270 million credit agreement, said State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) Chairman Konstantin Shushulov, cited by FOCUS News Agency. The agreement was signed to construct Belene NPP. Shushulov says that the irregular repayment of installments and rise in interest rate from 4.5% to approximately 5% are some of the reasons for the company’s poor financial condition. He added the state would suffer losses of more than 10-11%, between EUR 8 million and EUR 20 million. He noted that if the conditions were not met, the loan would become executable immediately.
• The deadline for the positive completion assessments on the European Union operational programs that Bulgaria is working on is October 21. This has been announced Monday by Bulgaria's ex-Vice Prime Minister, Meglena Plugchieva, in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio. "The EC is returning these completion assessments in order the latest lapses to be corrected, so theses schemes can be accepted as working with positive evaluation", Plugchieva said. The dead line until which Bulgaria must receive positive correspondence evaluation for the operative programs is October 21. This is the data when the two-year accreditation of the programs expires. Two year ago the first advance payment were made, too.
• Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov said Tuesday that Dimiter Angelov will be appointed as the new Executive Director of the Kozloduy N-Plant. Angelov has held various positions at the nuclear plant and is currently chief engineer.
mandag den 24. august 2009
Bulgarian Press Review August 24, 2009
Press Review
Sofia, August 24 (BTA)
THE HOME SCENE
Monday's press leads on the news that the European Commission is expected to reject for a second time the compatibility assessments of several operational programmes and funding under
them will be suspended.
On its front page, "Troud" quotes Prime Minister Boyko Borissov as saying in Nessebur that the European Commission is refusing to coordinate all projects of the agencies under the EU funds.
The PM specified that the documents were sent fro approval by the previous cabinet. In this connection, Borissov will lead a large delegation to Brussels on September 9 and 10 to ask for a
delay so that the new government could show what it has done and what legacy it has found. Borissov learnt the "terrible news" about Brussels' refusal from EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, who will be on the delegation, "Troud" also reports.
"The EU did not relent and again refused to unfreeze the money for Bulgaria," "Sega" writes on its front page. Five of the operational programmes are problematic, and there is hope only for Environment and Regional development, the daily says. So far Bulgaria has received only advance payments under the operational programmes. "The 323 million euro blocked under Phare are also under question mark, and this country will most probably lose a large part of them," "Sega" adds. The paper recalls that the compatibility assessments were already rejected once last year, on account of a lack of administrative capacity of the Audit Unit.
"Standart News" reports on its front page that Bulgaria not only risks forfeiting 6,000 million euro for roads, environment and agriculture, but may also have to return the 600 million euro received in advance. The daily quotes Juliana Nikolova, who is expected to be appointed head of the EU funds control unit on Monday.
* * *
"Troud" writes on its front page that customs and tax officers will be checking all goods entering or exiting Bulgaria from or to the EU countries. The round-the-clock checks will be made at all nine crossings on the country's border with Greece and Romania. Since the beginning of 2007, the movement of goods between Bulgaria and the rest of the Member States has not been subject to customs control, which leads to tax abuse and concealment of turnovers. The customs and tax teams will be reporting on a weekly basis directoy to National Revenue Agency Executive Director Krassimir Stefanov and to National Customs Agency Director Vanyo Tanov. The move is expected to bring in at least 500 million leva in extra revenue to the public purse.
* * *
The papers quote Justice Minister Margarita Popova as saying that Bulgaria lacks an adequate penal policy. "Zemya" writes on its front page that procedures are starting for changes of the overall penal policy. "24 Chassa" quotes Popova as saying that the Government envisages harsher sentences for terrorism, crimes against children and against the interests of the State. As from 2011, Bulgaria's penal sanctions for high-level corruption and for fraud involving EU funds will be the same as all over Europe, Popova told "Monitor". The Justice Minsitry will not rush the adoption of an entirely new Penal Code, the paper says.
* * *
"Troud" and "24 Chassa" trace the construction of the Water Mirror in Kurdjali about which Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said that its cost increased nearly nine-fold over eight years. "In five years, an ambitious project in Kurdjali soared from 9 to 77 million leva," "Troud" notes. "Experts have described the Mirror as one of the most up-to-date hydraulic engineering facilities in Bulgaria, but it is actually a correction of the Arda river bed," the paper says. Kurdjali Regional Governor Ivanka Taushanova and GERB MP Tsveta Karayancheva promised a comprehenisve check into the implementation of the project.
* * *
Under the heading "Ministers Halt Their Predecessors' Tenders", "Sega" sums up the terminated public procurement procedures at the central-government department. Finance Minister Simeon
Djankov terminated a EU-financed procurement for training in operational programme management. Defence Minister Nickolay Maldenov and Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva have also suspended public procurement procedures announced by the previous cabinet.
* * *
"Telegraf" quotes Finance Minister Simeon Djankov as saying that every year 8,000 million leva are lost due to ineffectiveness and corruption. Most money, 3,000-4,000 million leva annually, is stolen from the customs and the energy industry, Djankov said in an interview that appeared in barekov.com. The full text of the interview is reproduced in "Monitor".
* * *
"The new budget will be severely restricted, it will freeze the growth of wages and pensions," ex-prime minister and Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Sergei Stanishev predicted, quoted in "24 Chassa." He told a gathering of nearly 2,000 supporters in Mt Rila that the new budget will cut 40 million leva from education. "Troud" writes that until his party's congress in October, Stanishev will be going round the country to hear the grassroots proposals for a change in the Socialist Party.
ECONOMY
"Klassa" leads on the news that, according to a version of the medium-term fiscal framework for the 2010-2013 period, the tax rates will not be changed in 2010 and the GDP will contract by a further 1.2 per cent next year.
"Standart News" learnt that the 2010 draft budget envisages an increase of excise duties on cigarettes and on industrial electricity in line with Bulgaria's commitments to the EU. On Monday the draft is to be discussed with the trade unions and the employers at the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation. For its part, "Troud" reports that under the 2013 draft framework of the budget, the minimum monthly wage will not be changed from its present level of 240 leva until 2013, and the minimum pension of 136 leva and the social pension of 100.86 leva will not be increased over the next four years, either.
"Sega" writes on its front page that employers delay wage payments ever more frequently. In the first half of 2009, the General Labour Inspectorate detected 8,555 violations of pay for work, which is nearly 50 per cent more than in the like period of 2008.
"24 Chassa" has interviewed Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov. Asked about the "time bombs" that have to be defused in his Ministry, he lists a 250 million euro loan of the National Electric Company, used for the Belene Nuclear Power Plant, which risks becoming immediately repayable, the commitments to the major energy projects, and problems
surrounding the Maritza East 1 TPP.
The papers also quote Traikov as saying that whether the construction of the Belene N-Plant will go ahead or will be suspended will become clear in September. He added that betweem 8,200 and 9,000 million leva are allocated for this mammoth project, "Douma" writes in a front-page story.
According to Traikov, a small part of the Kremikovtzi iron and steel works may remain in operation. "Sega" quotes the Minister as saying that this may happen even if it comes to a liquidation of the existing enterprise. "Standart News" writes that Trustee in Bankruptcy Tsvetan Bankov said that the company's nearly 1,500 million leva debts will be swapped for equity. This is
approximately the amount of the claims of the creditors which have stated an intention to become shareholders in Kremikovtzi.
SOCIETY
The papers report the demise of Alexander Boshkov, deputy prime minister and industry minister in Stefan Sofiyanski's caretaker cabinet and in the Ivan Kostov government. "One of the symbols
of the new time, the politician and economist Alexander Boshkov, died yesterday after a prolnged illness," "24 Chassa" writes. "His 'Soul Music', as was the title of the show that Boshkov hosted on Darik Radio, went silent at Sofia's Military Hospital at noon on Sunday."
"Bulgaria is the only country in the world (except the African states) where doctors outnumber nurses," "Dnevnik" writes on its front page. In 2008 alone, 1,831 nurses left the country, and the exodus has continued at the same pace this year, said Prof. Stanka Markova, President of the Association of Health Care Professionals, quoted by the paper.
A front-page headline in "Novinar" reads: "AIDS Explosion on Seaside. Three Bulgarians Contract HIV Every Week."
"Troud" warns that a dangerous Asian tiger mosquito, which transmits deadly diseases such as malaria and encephalitis, has arrived from the tropics to the Bulgarian-Greek border. Experts say the inspect can thrive in the Strouma River valley, in the areas of Petrich, Sandanski, Blagoevgrad and the southeasternmost parts of the country.
"24 Chassa" front-pages a picture of part of the 84 heavy-duty trucks that arrived in Sofia under police escort on Sunday, carrying sound equipment for the August 29 concert of Madonna at the Vassil Levski National Stadium. Twelve hundred workers hired by the organizers of the show are building the stage, the paper says.
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 – August 24, 2009
• The network of Bulgarian diplomatic missions abroad will be optimized, Foreign Minister Rumyana Zheleva said at a press conference. She noted optimization did not necessarily mean reduction or enlargement. She added that the Foreign Ministry would work out a code of ethics for Bulgarian diplomats and amend Diplomatic Service Act to define precisely the term ‘political appointment.’ Rumyana Zheleva’s political cabinet comprises of professional diplomats who have been appointed in absolute compliance with the Diplomatic Service Act. Deputy Foreign Minister Marin Raykov will be in charge of political decisions and bilateral relations, Deputy Foreign Minister Milen Lyutskanov – of consular ties, and Deputy Foreign Minister Krasimir Kostov – of European affairs. Dimitar Kyumyurdzhiev will be head of the minister’s cabinet and Dragovest Goranov retains the post of Foreign Ministry Spokesperson.
• Bulgarian administration has not yet submitted the assessments of conformity under two of the biggest operational programs, Regional Development and Environment, European Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva says in an interview with FOCUS News Agency. The conformity assessments for the other operational programs have been submitted to the European Commission, but they have not been returned yet. The results are to be announced by the Bulgarian finance ministry, said Kuneva and specified the EC had made some changes. “Brussels sends some changes with very good intentions. I hope the faults will be fixed. I would like to call on the finance ministry to pay much attention to them,” said Meglena Kuneva. On Sunday she met Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to discuss the topic.
• Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has offered his Greek counterpart Kostas Karamanlis Bulgaria's technical and medical assistance in extinguishing the fires in the region of Athens, the government information office said. The offer was delivered through diplomatic channels.
Sofia, August 24 (BTA)
THE HOME SCENE
Monday's press leads on the news that the European Commission is expected to reject for a second time the compatibility assessments of several operational programmes and funding under
them will be suspended.
On its front page, "Troud" quotes Prime Minister Boyko Borissov as saying in Nessebur that the European Commission is refusing to coordinate all projects of the agencies under the EU funds.
The PM specified that the documents were sent fro approval by the previous cabinet. In this connection, Borissov will lead a large delegation to Brussels on September 9 and 10 to ask for a
delay so that the new government could show what it has done and what legacy it has found. Borissov learnt the "terrible news" about Brussels' refusal from EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, who will be on the delegation, "Troud" also reports.
"The EU did not relent and again refused to unfreeze the money for Bulgaria," "Sega" writes on its front page. Five of the operational programmes are problematic, and there is hope only for Environment and Regional development, the daily says. So far Bulgaria has received only advance payments under the operational programmes. "The 323 million euro blocked under Phare are also under question mark, and this country will most probably lose a large part of them," "Sega" adds. The paper recalls that the compatibility assessments were already rejected once last year, on account of a lack of administrative capacity of the Audit Unit.
"Standart News" reports on its front page that Bulgaria not only risks forfeiting 6,000 million euro for roads, environment and agriculture, but may also have to return the 600 million euro received in advance. The daily quotes Juliana Nikolova, who is expected to be appointed head of the EU funds control unit on Monday.
* * *
"Troud" writes on its front page that customs and tax officers will be checking all goods entering or exiting Bulgaria from or to the EU countries. The round-the-clock checks will be made at all nine crossings on the country's border with Greece and Romania. Since the beginning of 2007, the movement of goods between Bulgaria and the rest of the Member States has not been subject to customs control, which leads to tax abuse and concealment of turnovers. The customs and tax teams will be reporting on a weekly basis directoy to National Revenue Agency Executive Director Krassimir Stefanov and to National Customs Agency Director Vanyo Tanov. The move is expected to bring in at least 500 million leva in extra revenue to the public purse.
* * *
The papers quote Justice Minister Margarita Popova as saying that Bulgaria lacks an adequate penal policy. "Zemya" writes on its front page that procedures are starting for changes of the overall penal policy. "24 Chassa" quotes Popova as saying that the Government envisages harsher sentences for terrorism, crimes against children and against the interests of the State. As from 2011, Bulgaria's penal sanctions for high-level corruption and for fraud involving EU funds will be the same as all over Europe, Popova told "Monitor". The Justice Minsitry will not rush the adoption of an entirely new Penal Code, the paper says.
* * *
"Troud" and "24 Chassa" trace the construction of the Water Mirror in Kurdjali about which Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said that its cost increased nearly nine-fold over eight years. "In five years, an ambitious project in Kurdjali soared from 9 to 77 million leva," "Troud" notes. "Experts have described the Mirror as one of the most up-to-date hydraulic engineering facilities in Bulgaria, but it is actually a correction of the Arda river bed," the paper says. Kurdjali Regional Governor Ivanka Taushanova and GERB MP Tsveta Karayancheva promised a comprehenisve check into the implementation of the project.
* * *
Under the heading "Ministers Halt Their Predecessors' Tenders", "Sega" sums up the terminated public procurement procedures at the central-government department. Finance Minister Simeon
Djankov terminated a EU-financed procurement for training in operational programme management. Defence Minister Nickolay Maldenov and Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva have also suspended public procurement procedures announced by the previous cabinet.
* * *
"Telegraf" quotes Finance Minister Simeon Djankov as saying that every year 8,000 million leva are lost due to ineffectiveness and corruption. Most money, 3,000-4,000 million leva annually, is stolen from the customs and the energy industry, Djankov said in an interview that appeared in barekov.com. The full text of the interview is reproduced in "Monitor".
* * *
"The new budget will be severely restricted, it will freeze the growth of wages and pensions," ex-prime minister and Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Sergei Stanishev predicted, quoted in "24 Chassa." He told a gathering of nearly 2,000 supporters in Mt Rila that the new budget will cut 40 million leva from education. "Troud" writes that until his party's congress in October, Stanishev will be going round the country to hear the grassroots proposals for a change in the Socialist Party.
ECONOMY
"Klassa" leads on the news that, according to a version of the medium-term fiscal framework for the 2010-2013 period, the tax rates will not be changed in 2010 and the GDP will contract by a further 1.2 per cent next year.
"Standart News" learnt that the 2010 draft budget envisages an increase of excise duties on cigarettes and on industrial electricity in line with Bulgaria's commitments to the EU. On Monday the draft is to be discussed with the trade unions and the employers at the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation. For its part, "Troud" reports that under the 2013 draft framework of the budget, the minimum monthly wage will not be changed from its present level of 240 leva until 2013, and the minimum pension of 136 leva and the social pension of 100.86 leva will not be increased over the next four years, either.
"Sega" writes on its front page that employers delay wage payments ever more frequently. In the first half of 2009, the General Labour Inspectorate detected 8,555 violations of pay for work, which is nearly 50 per cent more than in the like period of 2008.
"24 Chassa" has interviewed Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov. Asked about the "time bombs" that have to be defused in his Ministry, he lists a 250 million euro loan of the National Electric Company, used for the Belene Nuclear Power Plant, which risks becoming immediately repayable, the commitments to the major energy projects, and problems
surrounding the Maritza East 1 TPP.
The papers also quote Traikov as saying that whether the construction of the Belene N-Plant will go ahead or will be suspended will become clear in September. He added that betweem 8,200 and 9,000 million leva are allocated for this mammoth project, "Douma" writes in a front-page story.
According to Traikov, a small part of the Kremikovtzi iron and steel works may remain in operation. "Sega" quotes the Minister as saying that this may happen even if it comes to a liquidation of the existing enterprise. "Standart News" writes that Trustee in Bankruptcy Tsvetan Bankov said that the company's nearly 1,500 million leva debts will be swapped for equity. This is
approximately the amount of the claims of the creditors which have stated an intention to become shareholders in Kremikovtzi.
SOCIETY
The papers report the demise of Alexander Boshkov, deputy prime minister and industry minister in Stefan Sofiyanski's caretaker cabinet and in the Ivan Kostov government. "One of the symbols
of the new time, the politician and economist Alexander Boshkov, died yesterday after a prolnged illness," "24 Chassa" writes. "His 'Soul Music', as was the title of the show that Boshkov hosted on Darik Radio, went silent at Sofia's Military Hospital at noon on Sunday."
"Bulgaria is the only country in the world (except the African states) where doctors outnumber nurses," "Dnevnik" writes on its front page. In 2008 alone, 1,831 nurses left the country, and the exodus has continued at the same pace this year, said Prof. Stanka Markova, President of the Association of Health Care Professionals, quoted by the paper.
A front-page headline in "Novinar" reads: "AIDS Explosion on Seaside. Three Bulgarians Contract HIV Every Week."
"Troud" warns that a dangerous Asian tiger mosquito, which transmits deadly diseases such as malaria and encephalitis, has arrived from the tropics to the Bulgarian-Greek border. Experts say the inspect can thrive in the Strouma River valley, in the areas of Petrich, Sandanski, Blagoevgrad and the southeasternmost parts of the country.
"24 Chassa" front-pages a picture of part of the 84 heavy-duty trucks that arrived in Sofia under police escort on Sunday, carrying sound equipment for the August 29 concert of Madonna at the Vassil Levski National Stadium. Twelve hundred workers hired by the organizers of the show are building the stage, the paper says.
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 – August 24, 2009
• The network of Bulgarian diplomatic missions abroad will be optimized, Foreign Minister Rumyana Zheleva said at a press conference. She noted optimization did not necessarily mean reduction or enlargement. She added that the Foreign Ministry would work out a code of ethics for Bulgarian diplomats and amend Diplomatic Service Act to define precisely the term ‘political appointment.’ Rumyana Zheleva’s political cabinet comprises of professional diplomats who have been appointed in absolute compliance with the Diplomatic Service Act. Deputy Foreign Minister Marin Raykov will be in charge of political decisions and bilateral relations, Deputy Foreign Minister Milen Lyutskanov – of consular ties, and Deputy Foreign Minister Krasimir Kostov – of European affairs. Dimitar Kyumyurdzhiev will be head of the minister’s cabinet and Dragovest Goranov retains the post of Foreign Ministry Spokesperson.
• Bulgarian administration has not yet submitted the assessments of conformity under two of the biggest operational programs, Regional Development and Environment, European Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva says in an interview with FOCUS News Agency. The conformity assessments for the other operational programs have been submitted to the European Commission, but they have not been returned yet. The results are to be announced by the Bulgarian finance ministry, said Kuneva and specified the EC had made some changes. “Brussels sends some changes with very good intentions. I hope the faults will be fixed. I would like to call on the finance ministry to pay much attention to them,” said Meglena Kuneva. On Sunday she met Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to discuss the topic.
• Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has offered his Greek counterpart Kostas Karamanlis Bulgaria's technical and medical assistance in extinguishing the fires in the region of Athens, the government information office said. The offer was delivered through diplomatic channels.
fredag den 21. august 2009
Bulgarian Press Review August 21, 2009
Press Review
Sofia, August 21 (BTA)
THE HOME SCENE
The Friday papers got their front-page stories at an extraordinary meeting of Parliament on Thursday and changes at the Interior Ministry.
"24 Chassa" gives prominence to the resignation of central bank governor Ivan Iskrov ("Iskrov Resigns to Be Reelected"). It says that Iskrov asked to step down three months after getting
re-elected for a second term as governor of the National Bank of Bulgaria and 50 days before the expiration of his first term. Parliament adopted the resignation but GERb immediately
nominated him again for the job.
"Dnevnik" writes that Iskrov's nomination by GERB will keep unchanged things in the high corridors of the central bank but the party shows that the last-minute decisions by the three-party coalition of the previous government will not be tolerated, especially if they go against the law and are technically challengeable. This paper quotes GERB sources as saying that the political arguments were in favour of Iskrov and that the decision to nominate him again was a courtesy bow to the National Movement for Surge and Stability who were behind
him.
"Dvenik" writes further than GERB wish to have somebody they trust in the office of central bank Vice Governor and Nikolai Nenovskit who takes it now, is considered to be close to former
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and his Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski.
"24 Chassa" frontpages Parliament's decision to ask the National Audit Office to audit the previous government's management of finances and property ("Government Went Spending 2 Mln a Day
around Christmas"). The audit is to be implemented by September 30 and must be presented to Parliament by October 30. The resolution was passed by 201 votes in favour, with none against
and no abstentions.
A front-page story in "Troud" reports the replacement of Border Police chief Gen. Krassimir Petrov and quotes Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov as saying that having spoken to people in the Interior Ministry unit working on corruption at the border crossings, he knows that he has made the right decision.
"24 Chassa" quotes Tsvetanov as saying that Petrov's replacement is also over problems and unfinished work in preparation of Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area.
The Friday papers also report a meeting Thursday of Prosecutor General Boris Velchev, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and with State Agency for National Security (SANS) Chairman Tsvetlin Yovchev and the subsequent announcement that mixed teams of the three institutions will start work in September to investigate high-profile cases.
A headline sampler: "New SANS Chief: Agency Should Keep a Low Profile" ("Dnevnik"); "Courts to Admit Information Collected by Special Surveillance Means before Start of Police Investigation" ("24 Chassa"); "SANS Chief: We Are a Secret Weapon" ("Troud").
"Dnevnik" quotes Yovchev as saying that SANS could be the government's secret weapon against corruption and that the Agency needs to shed the image it has acquired in the past year and should not be involved in public operations. He also said that the visions of the Interior Ministry and SANS differ on how the Agency should carry its duties but he is optimistic that
the right decision will be made.
Yovchev repeats that in a "Monitor" interview where he also says that a priority in the work of SANS should be fighting international terrorism.
"24 Chassa" highlights Boris Velchev's call for a change in the legislation to allow in court information collected by wiretapping and other special surveillance means before the start of the pre-trial investigation.
Dwelling on the mixed teams of prosecutors, police and SANS agents, Interior Minister Tsvetanov said that their task will be to collect quality proofs to secure good sentences against crime bosses and corrupt civil servants. The team members will be asked to forget their routine work and focus on the high-profile cases, he reportedly said.
***
In an interview run by several papers on Friday, Prime Minister Borissov says that he and President Georgi Purvanov have always been able to find "the right tone" so far.
Borissov says that GERB will have its own candidate for the mayoral elections in Sofia in November and will not back Martin Zaimov. Zaimov has said that he would run for the mayor's office if GERB agree to support him.
***
Bozhidar Dimitrov proposes that 60,000 applicants for Bulgarian citizenship be given passports right away, "Troud" reports. Some 60,000 people are on the waiting list for Bulgarian citizenship
every year and giving them passports in a one-off act will "unclog the system", Dimitrov argues. An added benefit is dealing with the population crisis: a large part of these people want to live and work in Bulgaria, says the paper.
***
A front-page story in "Sega" reports that the army has been involved in an unlawful hotel business. An audit of the former Military Clubs and Information Agency found outrageous contracts for millions of leva signed in violation of the rules and regulations.
***
In a "Troud" interview, Deputy Labour and Social Policy Minister Valentina Simeonova says everybody will get their welfare and child benefits. Commenting the delay of such payments in August, she says that the new ministry leadership found the budget for such payments used up when it took office earlier this month.
***
"24 Chassa" reports that before the end of this year the Sofia traffic police will put an end to the long lines of waiting people by offering a chance for booking a service on the Internet or by a text message on the telephone. "Troud" says that the Sofia traffic police now have a website where one can check how many people are waiting before him for a certain
administrative service.
***
"24 Chassa" says that the Recording Agency has proposed restrictions on the access to the commercial register as a measure against the increasingly frequent abductions of business people and company thefts.
FOREIGN POLICY
"Troud" carries a front-page story with the latest in a high-profile dispute between a Bulgarian father and a Polish mother over the custody of their two children. In a new development on Thursday, the second child, too, was taken by the mother with the assistance of Bulgarian police close to three months after she took the first child. "Troud" reports the Thursday events in great details.
***
"Novinar" reports that Bulgarian national Spaska Mitrov has got a new ten-month conditional sentence for insulting the Macedonian judges trying her custody case.
Mitrova, 23, who lives in Gevgelija, Southwestern Macedonia, was recently sentenced to three months' imprisonment and a large fine for refusing to provide accommodation at her parents' house
for her ex-husband to visit their six-months-old daughter. The child was separated from her mother, and Mitrova was taken to the Idrizovo Prison in Skopje to serve her sentence. The case
has got a lot of media attention.
The new sentence against Mitova was confirmed by the Foreign Ministry, writes "Novinar".
ECONOMY
"Klassa" reports on its front page that an IMF team is coming to Bulgaria to inspect the budget receipts and expenditures. Deputy Finance Minister Ana Mihailova is quoted as saying that a
possible agreement with the IMF will not hurt Bulgaria's chances for joining the euro-zone. Mihailova says further that with its very establishment the new government has helped lower
by more than 1.5 per cent the political and financial risk for the whole nation.
***
The losses the public purse sustains from illegal fuel trade total over 350 million leva a year, the petrol and gas association said Thursday as quoted by "24 Chassa". They say that there were attempts in the recent days to play down the problem with fuel smuggling.
***
"Standard News" reports on its front page that Bulgarians work an hour to earn for a BigMac. This places Bulgaria last among the European countries, according to a UBS survey in 73 major world cities.
***
"Dnevnik" quotes a remark by Economy Minister Traicho Traikov who said that the Belene N-plant is not vital for Bulgaria's generating capacity. He also said that bulgaria does not need this N-plant to secure its electricity supplies until 2020.
SOCIETY
"Novinar" reports a ban on crisps and cakes that is freshly introduced in school cafeterias. The ban will be effective from the start of the new school year and is aimed to discourage unhealthy eating habits. Offenders will be fined 100 to 5,000 leva.
"Monitor" reports that too many of the first-graders are hypertonics and/or diebetic. Use of medications for children has gone up 19 per cent since 2004, according to Health Ministry figures.
***
"24 Chassa" carries an interview with Danka Panchova of the French humanitarian organization Action against Hunger, who returned to Bulgaria on Wednesday after nine months in Somali captivity. She says she never felt her life was hanging by a thread but admits that she would never go back to Somalia and that she has not decided yet whether to stay in Bulgaria or go
somewhere else.
Panchova was kidnapped in Somalia on November 5, 2008, by heavily armed rebels from an airport near the town of Dhuusamareeb in central Somalia. She was released on August 11, 2009 together with another five hostages - two French, a Belgian and two Kenyans.
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 – August 21, 2009
• Until the end of September there will be a clear idea of the faith of the Bulgarian Belene Nuclear Power Plant. The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Traicho Traikov, announced that the future of the project, whether it will be continues, or not, and if continued under what conditions will be decide in a month. In his words, is not a vital power resource, but rather a business project, and there are several opportunities for the power plant construction. One of the possibilities is the project to be completed under the current conditions - 51% of Belene are owned by the Bulgaria State Electric Company (NEK), and the other 49% are in the German RWE hands. Another options is to reduce the state share and another investor, who will complete the project, to be found. In this way Bulgaria will have blocking amount of shares, and will use them in taking decisions later. In this way the responsibility will be decreased, too, experts say.
• The insurance business in Bulgaria has not been affected by the global economic crisis, and even shows some growth. According to statistics of the Financial Supervision Commission, the profit of that sort of business increased by 1,2% in the first half of 2009 year-on-year, the Pari Daily reported. The data shows that the gross premium income of the insurance companies in the first six months of 2009 was BGN 735,6 M, and the claims were for BGN 359,223 M. There is a serious increase in the voluntary health insurance. The incomes of the insurance companies were for BGN 23,15 M in 2009's first half, compared to BGN 15,118 M for the same period in 2008. The claims paid in 2009 amounted BGN 10,349 M. The health insurance reserves increased by 24,7% in the first half of 2009 year-on-year.
• MPs from the ruling GERB party will propose the creation of two Parliament Committees to investigate the previous Bulgarian government. The MPs started Thursday collecting signatures in order to file a bill for the creation of the committees, the Sega (Now) Daily reported. "The first committee will investigate why at some places abroad were opened many evoting sections, and at others there were almost none. In Spain and Germany, for example, many people were not able to cast their votes", Alexander Nenkov from GERB said. The previous government earlier explained that the voting sections were opened on request from the voters, and in some countries like Germany, no voting urns were allowed outside diplomatic missions. If this committee is created, it will be the third authority that investigates the elections abroad.
Sofia, August 21 (BTA)
THE HOME SCENE
The Friday papers got their front-page stories at an extraordinary meeting of Parliament on Thursday and changes at the Interior Ministry.
"24 Chassa" gives prominence to the resignation of central bank governor Ivan Iskrov ("Iskrov Resigns to Be Reelected"). It says that Iskrov asked to step down three months after getting
re-elected for a second term as governor of the National Bank of Bulgaria and 50 days before the expiration of his first term. Parliament adopted the resignation but GERb immediately
nominated him again for the job.
"Dnevnik" writes that Iskrov's nomination by GERB will keep unchanged things in the high corridors of the central bank but the party shows that the last-minute decisions by the three-party coalition of the previous government will not be tolerated, especially if they go against the law and are technically challengeable. This paper quotes GERB sources as saying that the political arguments were in favour of Iskrov and that the decision to nominate him again was a courtesy bow to the National Movement for Surge and Stability who were behind
him.
"Dvenik" writes further than GERB wish to have somebody they trust in the office of central bank Vice Governor and Nikolai Nenovskit who takes it now, is considered to be close to former
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and his Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski.
"24 Chassa" frontpages Parliament's decision to ask the National Audit Office to audit the previous government's management of finances and property ("Government Went Spending 2 Mln a Day
around Christmas"). The audit is to be implemented by September 30 and must be presented to Parliament by October 30. The resolution was passed by 201 votes in favour, with none against
and no abstentions.
A front-page story in "Troud" reports the replacement of Border Police chief Gen. Krassimir Petrov and quotes Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov as saying that having spoken to people in the Interior Ministry unit working on corruption at the border crossings, he knows that he has made the right decision.
"24 Chassa" quotes Tsvetanov as saying that Petrov's replacement is also over problems and unfinished work in preparation of Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area.
The Friday papers also report a meeting Thursday of Prosecutor General Boris Velchev, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and with State Agency for National Security (SANS) Chairman Tsvetlin Yovchev and the subsequent announcement that mixed teams of the three institutions will start work in September to investigate high-profile cases.
A headline sampler: "New SANS Chief: Agency Should Keep a Low Profile" ("Dnevnik"); "Courts to Admit Information Collected by Special Surveillance Means before Start of Police Investigation" ("24 Chassa"); "SANS Chief: We Are a Secret Weapon" ("Troud").
"Dnevnik" quotes Yovchev as saying that SANS could be the government's secret weapon against corruption and that the Agency needs to shed the image it has acquired in the past year and should not be involved in public operations. He also said that the visions of the Interior Ministry and SANS differ on how the Agency should carry its duties but he is optimistic that
the right decision will be made.
Yovchev repeats that in a "Monitor" interview where he also says that a priority in the work of SANS should be fighting international terrorism.
"24 Chassa" highlights Boris Velchev's call for a change in the legislation to allow in court information collected by wiretapping and other special surveillance means before the start of the pre-trial investigation.
Dwelling on the mixed teams of prosecutors, police and SANS agents, Interior Minister Tsvetanov said that their task will be to collect quality proofs to secure good sentences against crime bosses and corrupt civil servants. The team members will be asked to forget their routine work and focus on the high-profile cases, he reportedly said.
***
In an interview run by several papers on Friday, Prime Minister Borissov says that he and President Georgi Purvanov have always been able to find "the right tone" so far.
Borissov says that GERB will have its own candidate for the mayoral elections in Sofia in November and will not back Martin Zaimov. Zaimov has said that he would run for the mayor's office if GERB agree to support him.
***
Bozhidar Dimitrov proposes that 60,000 applicants for Bulgarian citizenship be given passports right away, "Troud" reports. Some 60,000 people are on the waiting list for Bulgarian citizenship
every year and giving them passports in a one-off act will "unclog the system", Dimitrov argues. An added benefit is dealing with the population crisis: a large part of these people want to live and work in Bulgaria, says the paper.
***
A front-page story in "Sega" reports that the army has been involved in an unlawful hotel business. An audit of the former Military Clubs and Information Agency found outrageous contracts for millions of leva signed in violation of the rules and regulations.
***
In a "Troud" interview, Deputy Labour and Social Policy Minister Valentina Simeonova says everybody will get their welfare and child benefits. Commenting the delay of such payments in August, she says that the new ministry leadership found the budget for such payments used up when it took office earlier this month.
***
"24 Chassa" reports that before the end of this year the Sofia traffic police will put an end to the long lines of waiting people by offering a chance for booking a service on the Internet or by a text message on the telephone. "Troud" says that the Sofia traffic police now have a website where one can check how many people are waiting before him for a certain
administrative service.
***
"24 Chassa" says that the Recording Agency has proposed restrictions on the access to the commercial register as a measure against the increasingly frequent abductions of business people and company thefts.
FOREIGN POLICY
"Troud" carries a front-page story with the latest in a high-profile dispute between a Bulgarian father and a Polish mother over the custody of their two children. In a new development on Thursday, the second child, too, was taken by the mother with the assistance of Bulgarian police close to three months after she took the first child. "Troud" reports the Thursday events in great details.
***
"Novinar" reports that Bulgarian national Spaska Mitrov has got a new ten-month conditional sentence for insulting the Macedonian judges trying her custody case.
Mitrova, 23, who lives in Gevgelija, Southwestern Macedonia, was recently sentenced to three months' imprisonment and a large fine for refusing to provide accommodation at her parents' house
for her ex-husband to visit their six-months-old daughter. The child was separated from her mother, and Mitrova was taken to the Idrizovo Prison in Skopje to serve her sentence. The case
has got a lot of media attention.
The new sentence against Mitova was confirmed by the Foreign Ministry, writes "Novinar".
ECONOMY
"Klassa" reports on its front page that an IMF team is coming to Bulgaria to inspect the budget receipts and expenditures. Deputy Finance Minister Ana Mihailova is quoted as saying that a
possible agreement with the IMF will not hurt Bulgaria's chances for joining the euro-zone. Mihailova says further that with its very establishment the new government has helped lower
by more than 1.5 per cent the political and financial risk for the whole nation.
***
The losses the public purse sustains from illegal fuel trade total over 350 million leva a year, the petrol and gas association said Thursday as quoted by "24 Chassa". They say that there were attempts in the recent days to play down the problem with fuel smuggling.
***
"Standard News" reports on its front page that Bulgarians work an hour to earn for a BigMac. This places Bulgaria last among the European countries, according to a UBS survey in 73 major world cities.
***
"Dnevnik" quotes a remark by Economy Minister Traicho Traikov who said that the Belene N-plant is not vital for Bulgaria's generating capacity. He also said that bulgaria does not need this N-plant to secure its electricity supplies until 2020.
SOCIETY
"Novinar" reports a ban on crisps and cakes that is freshly introduced in school cafeterias. The ban will be effective from the start of the new school year and is aimed to discourage unhealthy eating habits. Offenders will be fined 100 to 5,000 leva.
"Monitor" reports that too many of the first-graders are hypertonics and/or diebetic. Use of medications for children has gone up 19 per cent since 2004, according to Health Ministry figures.
***
"24 Chassa" carries an interview with Danka Panchova of the French humanitarian organization Action against Hunger, who returned to Bulgaria on Wednesday after nine months in Somali captivity. She says she never felt her life was hanging by a thread but admits that she would never go back to Somalia and that she has not decided yet whether to stay in Bulgaria or go
somewhere else.
Panchova was kidnapped in Somalia on November 5, 2008, by heavily armed rebels from an airport near the town of Dhuusamareeb in central Somalia. She was released on August 11, 2009 together with another five hostages - two French, a Belgian and two Kenyans.
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 – August 21, 2009
• Until the end of September there will be a clear idea of the faith of the Bulgarian Belene Nuclear Power Plant. The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Traicho Traikov, announced that the future of the project, whether it will be continues, or not, and if continued under what conditions will be decide in a month. In his words, is not a vital power resource, but rather a business project, and there are several opportunities for the power plant construction. One of the possibilities is the project to be completed under the current conditions - 51% of Belene are owned by the Bulgaria State Electric Company (NEK), and the other 49% are in the German RWE hands. Another options is to reduce the state share and another investor, who will complete the project, to be found. In this way Bulgaria will have blocking amount of shares, and will use them in taking decisions later. In this way the responsibility will be decreased, too, experts say.
• The insurance business in Bulgaria has not been affected by the global economic crisis, and even shows some growth. According to statistics of the Financial Supervision Commission, the profit of that sort of business increased by 1,2% in the first half of 2009 year-on-year, the Pari Daily reported. The data shows that the gross premium income of the insurance companies in the first six months of 2009 was BGN 735,6 M, and the claims were for BGN 359,223 M. There is a serious increase in the voluntary health insurance. The incomes of the insurance companies were for BGN 23,15 M in 2009's first half, compared to BGN 15,118 M for the same period in 2008. The claims paid in 2009 amounted BGN 10,349 M. The health insurance reserves increased by 24,7% in the first half of 2009 year-on-year.
• MPs from the ruling GERB party will propose the creation of two Parliament Committees to investigate the previous Bulgarian government. The MPs started Thursday collecting signatures in order to file a bill for the creation of the committees, the Sega (Now) Daily reported. "The first committee will investigate why at some places abroad were opened many evoting sections, and at others there were almost none. In Spain and Germany, for example, many people were not able to cast their votes", Alexander Nenkov from GERB said. The previous government earlier explained that the voting sections were opened on request from the voters, and in some countries like Germany, no voting urns were allowed outside diplomatic missions. If this committee is created, it will be the third authority that investigates the elections abroad.
mandag den 17. august 2009
Bulgarian Press Review August 17, 2009
Press Review
Sofia, August 17 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
In a few weeks the government will adopt a decision changing the form and responsibility zone of the Bulgarian troops in Kabul, Defence Minister Nikolay Mladenov says in an interview for "24 Chassa" headlined "Our Rangers in Kabul Go into Action." A company will be sent to guard the outer perimeter of the airport of Kabul, replacing the mechanized company and the guarding platoon which are now there. In Mladenov's words, this was planned by the previous government but the adoption of the respective decision was put off deliberately until after the elections. "I delayed the decision to assure myself that our contingent is prepared for its new task and that everything is agreed with our allies," he says. The defence minister pledges that everything possible will be done and that the military will get their remuneration. At the moment, the Defence Ministry team is reviewing the rearmament contracts for which there is not enough money in the budget.
* * *
"Tsacheva Checks Sergei's Spending," "Standart News" writes on its front page. Referring to National Assembly Chairperson Tsetska Tsacheva, other dailies report that the National Audit
Office will be asked to audit the financial management and operation of Sergei Stanishev's cabinet. The audit proposal has been approved by the National Assembly Budget and Finance Committee. The latest audit, which did not find serious irregularities, was conducted last year and covered 2007, "24 Chassa" recalls.
* * *
In January-July the Commission for Identifying Criminal Assets Acquisition ensured the distraint of property in 128 cases totalling 98 million leva, "Douma" says on its front page. The press quotes Commission Chairman Stoyan Koushlev who says that their greatest success was the seizure of the property of drug boss Dimiter Zhelyazkov, aka Mityo Ochite (Mityo the Eyes).
* * *
The Culture Ministry has utilized almost 70 per cent of its budget and all contracts have been signed - mainly for capital investment, Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov says in an interview for "Troud." The problem is that the Ministry will have to reduce the remainder of the budget by 15 per cent, or 8 million leva, as all other ministers have to do, he says.
* * *
"24 Chassa" carries an interview with Ex-President Peter Stoyanov (1996-2001) who has called Macedonian President Macedonian President Gjorgje Ivanov to discuss the Spaska Mitrova case. Appealing Mitrova's sentence will be a lengthy process and in the meantime her three-month prison term will end; that is why the only possible way of helping her is that she be pardoned by the Macedonian president, Stoyanov says. "Standart News" notes that Mitrova, who holds a dual citizenship - Macedonian and Bulgarian - and is in the Skopje prison, may be released for good behaviour before the expiration of her term. This is what Minister without Portfolio Bojidar Dimitrov expects.
* * *
"Novinar" announces that Macedonian and Moldovan citizens have been trading illegally Bulgarian passports. Minister without Portfolio Bojidar Dimitrov told the paper there were companies in Moldova and Macedonia which offered people to provide them with Bulgarian citizenship within three months against payment.
* * *
According to the new director of the National Customs Agency (NCA), Gen. Vanyo Tanov, statutory and structural changes should be made to guarantee the performance of the tasks involved in the elimination of smuggling rings. This is what Tanov says in an interview which "24 Chassa" publishes under the headline "I Am Not Afraid of the Monteray Circle [mob-like group believed to be ruling Bulgaria]. I Am Removing Their People." In his words, different customs offices are under the protection of individual circles. A purge has started at the customs and two deputy directors of the NCA have been dismissed. "Standart News" says that the two dismissed deputy directors, Roumen Bozhinov and Hristo Abadjiev, are suspected of assisting smuggling. The fate of Tanov's third deputy director, Krassimir Nikolov, will be decided next week; he is investigated by the prosecution authorities. The NCA Chief Secretary, Chavdar Vassev, is also expected to be relieved of his duties, "Standart News" says. The head of the Kremikovtsi Customs Office, Daniela
Petrova, has been dismissed, Tanov says.
* * *
Interviewed for "Dnevnik," Deputy Economy, Energy and Tourism Ivo Marinov says it is planned to draft a new law on tourism introducing standards for the quality of tourist products, in particular for hydrotherapy, spa, cultural and rural tourism.
* * *
Rural tourism is on its way of replacing sun-and-sea tourism, "Monitor" reports. Referring to the Bulgarian Village Agency, it says that this summer there is an at least 20 per cent increase in the demand for rural tourism offers.
* * *
"Troud" gives special prominence to abuses at the Agency for Social Assistance. An inspection of the Agency showed that companies offer hearing aids to people with impaired hearing at 5.15 US dollars a piece and then get a refund of 406 leva from the State.
* * *
The Swiss company Arvex has sold to the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) old wagons for 16 million leva, "Standart News" reports in its leading story. Valentin Mollov, the owner of First Private Bank that went bankrupt, arranged the purchase of the wagons, made in the 1970s, from Germany where they were to be used as scrap. The price charged is by 2,800 per cent higher.
JUDICIARY, INTERIOR MINISTRY
The National Investigation Service (NIS) has instituted legal proceedings against an unknown perpetrator acting on a tip-off of an attempt to extract a bribe of 600,000 leva by an officer of the Economy and Energy Ministry. The bribe was to be paid by Mladen Moutafchiyski, a businessman, for obtaining approval of project under Operative Programme Competitiveness
of Bulgarian economy.
* * *
There should be a little change in the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing the hearing of a case within a week, NSI Director Boyko Naydenov says in an interview for "Standart News." Legal actions have been brought against eleven magistrates, most of them over corruption charges.
* * *
There are two cases of instituting pre-trial proceedings for scandalous land swaps made in the past seven of eight years; they are expected to be completed in two months, Deputy Sofia Prosecutor Roman Vassilev says in an interview given to "Monitor." He also says that investigations have been launched at the defence Ministry and the Labour and Social Policy
Ministry.
* * *
All aspects of the Galeria [Gallery] investigative case will be carefully examined by the National Bureau for Special Surveillance Means (SSM) Control to establish whether the State
Agency for National Security (SANS) used them lawfully, the deputy chairman of the Bureau, Anton Stankov, told "Dnevnik." Galeria was an operation involving the wiretapping of politicians and journalists had been wiretapped as part of the Galeria case and this seriously undermined the prestige of SANS.
ECONOMY
Plants hit by the crisis are put up for sale, "Dnevnik" says in its leading story. Private law-enforcement officers are selling industrial property totalling over 45 million leva. Four hotels, estimated at over 16 million leva, are also sold for debts.
* * *
The expenditure side of the budgets of ministries and state agencies have been reduced by 15.15 per cent, or nearly 367 million leva, "Troud" writes.
* * *
"Sega" says on its front page that the prices of flats have fallen down to their prime cost. The decline in the prices of vacation property is steepest; housing units in Sofia remain the most expensive ones.
* * *
Despite the crisis there is interest in the market of farming land, "Dnevnik" notes. The difference is that supply exceeds demand and it is buyers who dictate the prices. This is what a survey "Dnevnik" conducted among big land traders showed.
* * *
The National Revenue Agency (NRA) is going to establish mobile groups to curb VAT frauds, "Standart News" writes. The groups will exercise preventive control of companies seeking VAT
registration or those already VAT-registered. In another item the daily reports that NRA has uncovered a VAT siphoning scheme involving employees of the NRA directorate in Sliven. The
irregularities there included also conflict of interest and nepotism.
* * *
The Directorate for National Construction Control issued 470 orders for removal of unlawful structures in january-June, "Standart News" says referring to Ivan Simidchiev who head the
Directorate. A total of 247 structures were demolished, 219 of which by their owners.
* * *
The prices of all basic vegetables fell last week, "24 Chassa" says. The price drop coincided with the mass inspections conducted by tax inspectors and mobile customs groups at large
commodity exchanges and warehouses.
* * *
Bulgarian companies have 1,714 bank accounts with over 4 million leva in them, "Standart News" says quoting data of the National Bank of Bulgaria (BNB). The crisis emptied the Bulgarian companies' bank accounts; largest are the ones held by automobile and motorcycle traders.
BULGARIA - EU
"Klassa" reports that nearly 79 million leva will be granted to businesses under Operative Programme "Human Resources" in support of the measure for part-time workers assistance, Labour and Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov told the daily.
* * *
So far only 1.2 per cent of the 13,200 million euro provided by the EU have been absorbed by Bulgarian beneficiaries, "Monitor" reports referring to the Deputy Chairman of the National Chamber of Enterprise and Crafts, Yossif Avramov. In his view, a state-owned or a joint public-private consortium of companies should be established to draft projects for European funding in a centralized way, which will increase the absorption rates.
SOCIETY
Archaeologist Diana Dimitrova has uncovered an extremely rich Roman tomb at the village of Kroushare, Sliven region, "Standart News" reports. A unique gold wreath headpiece was found in a mound which will be called Kitov Mound" after the name of Prof. Georgi Kitov, a prominent Bulgarian archaeologist.
* * *
"24 Chassa" says on its first page that at least 200 Bulgarians use old cooking oil as fuel for their motor cars; it costs them maximum 2 leva per 100 km.
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 – August 17, 2009
• Express estimations of gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2009 show a decline in the economy by 4.8 percent compared to the corresponding period of previous year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) informed.
According to express quarterly estimates of NSI the actual decline in GDP was 4.8 percent for the second quarter of 2009 compared to the same period of previous year. In nominal terms GDP reached 15 826 million euro in current prices.
• The Bulgarian engineer, Konstantino Alexandro, who was murdered last week in the Dominican Republic, was allegedly not killed for the money he was carrying. Santo Domingo newspaper, El Nacional, reported that Alexandro was carrying 22 500 Dominican Pesos, USD 203, a golden ornament and a gun but none of them were taken by the attackers. El Nacional cited Police Deputy Director, Cesar Ramirez. Workers at the car wash at which Alexandro had left his car were witnesses to the event as he was attacked just after he took money out of a local ATM. The report concluded that it is not yet clear what Alexandro was doing in the Dominican Republic. El Caribe stated that his body is currently in the National Medical Institute and has not been looked for by any relatives or friends. They added that the autopsy results are due later Monday. Ten people have been questioned by the Dominican police so far on the case of Alexandro who was murdered in Bella Vista Mall area last week.
• Between 300 000 and 400 000 people have been taken in the grey economy, Minister of Labor and Social Policy Toyu Mladenov said during a sudden check in a fast food restaurant on Vitosha blvd in the capital, FOCUS News Agency reporter informed. Mladenov stated that the check is being carried out after a signal.
Sofia, August 17 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
In a few weeks the government will adopt a decision changing the form and responsibility zone of the Bulgarian troops in Kabul, Defence Minister Nikolay Mladenov says in an interview for "24 Chassa" headlined "Our Rangers in Kabul Go into Action." A company will be sent to guard the outer perimeter of the airport of Kabul, replacing the mechanized company and the guarding platoon which are now there. In Mladenov's words, this was planned by the previous government but the adoption of the respective decision was put off deliberately until after the elections. "I delayed the decision to assure myself that our contingent is prepared for its new task and that everything is agreed with our allies," he says. The defence minister pledges that everything possible will be done and that the military will get their remuneration. At the moment, the Defence Ministry team is reviewing the rearmament contracts for which there is not enough money in the budget.
* * *
"Tsacheva Checks Sergei's Spending," "Standart News" writes on its front page. Referring to National Assembly Chairperson Tsetska Tsacheva, other dailies report that the National Audit
Office will be asked to audit the financial management and operation of Sergei Stanishev's cabinet. The audit proposal has been approved by the National Assembly Budget and Finance Committee. The latest audit, which did not find serious irregularities, was conducted last year and covered 2007, "24 Chassa" recalls.
* * *
In January-July the Commission for Identifying Criminal Assets Acquisition ensured the distraint of property in 128 cases totalling 98 million leva, "Douma" says on its front page. The press quotes Commission Chairman Stoyan Koushlev who says that their greatest success was the seizure of the property of drug boss Dimiter Zhelyazkov, aka Mityo Ochite (Mityo the Eyes).
* * *
The Culture Ministry has utilized almost 70 per cent of its budget and all contracts have been signed - mainly for capital investment, Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov says in an interview for "Troud." The problem is that the Ministry will have to reduce the remainder of the budget by 15 per cent, or 8 million leva, as all other ministers have to do, he says.
* * *
"24 Chassa" carries an interview with Ex-President Peter Stoyanov (1996-2001) who has called Macedonian President Macedonian President Gjorgje Ivanov to discuss the Spaska Mitrova case. Appealing Mitrova's sentence will be a lengthy process and in the meantime her three-month prison term will end; that is why the only possible way of helping her is that she be pardoned by the Macedonian president, Stoyanov says. "Standart News" notes that Mitrova, who holds a dual citizenship - Macedonian and Bulgarian - and is in the Skopje prison, may be released for good behaviour before the expiration of her term. This is what Minister without Portfolio Bojidar Dimitrov expects.
* * *
"Novinar" announces that Macedonian and Moldovan citizens have been trading illegally Bulgarian passports. Minister without Portfolio Bojidar Dimitrov told the paper there were companies in Moldova and Macedonia which offered people to provide them with Bulgarian citizenship within three months against payment.
* * *
According to the new director of the National Customs Agency (NCA), Gen. Vanyo Tanov, statutory and structural changes should be made to guarantee the performance of the tasks involved in the elimination of smuggling rings. This is what Tanov says in an interview which "24 Chassa" publishes under the headline "I Am Not Afraid of the Monteray Circle [mob-like group believed to be ruling Bulgaria]. I Am Removing Their People." In his words, different customs offices are under the protection of individual circles. A purge has started at the customs and two deputy directors of the NCA have been dismissed. "Standart News" says that the two dismissed deputy directors, Roumen Bozhinov and Hristo Abadjiev, are suspected of assisting smuggling. The fate of Tanov's third deputy director, Krassimir Nikolov, will be decided next week; he is investigated by the prosecution authorities. The NCA Chief Secretary, Chavdar Vassev, is also expected to be relieved of his duties, "Standart News" says. The head of the Kremikovtsi Customs Office, Daniela
Petrova, has been dismissed, Tanov says.
* * *
Interviewed for "Dnevnik," Deputy Economy, Energy and Tourism Ivo Marinov says it is planned to draft a new law on tourism introducing standards for the quality of tourist products, in particular for hydrotherapy, spa, cultural and rural tourism.
* * *
Rural tourism is on its way of replacing sun-and-sea tourism, "Monitor" reports. Referring to the Bulgarian Village Agency, it says that this summer there is an at least 20 per cent increase in the demand for rural tourism offers.
* * *
"Troud" gives special prominence to abuses at the Agency for Social Assistance. An inspection of the Agency showed that companies offer hearing aids to people with impaired hearing at 5.15 US dollars a piece and then get a refund of 406 leva from the State.
* * *
The Swiss company Arvex has sold to the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) old wagons for 16 million leva, "Standart News" reports in its leading story. Valentin Mollov, the owner of First Private Bank that went bankrupt, arranged the purchase of the wagons, made in the 1970s, from Germany where they were to be used as scrap. The price charged is by 2,800 per cent higher.
JUDICIARY, INTERIOR MINISTRY
The National Investigation Service (NIS) has instituted legal proceedings against an unknown perpetrator acting on a tip-off of an attempt to extract a bribe of 600,000 leva by an officer of the Economy and Energy Ministry. The bribe was to be paid by Mladen Moutafchiyski, a businessman, for obtaining approval of project under Operative Programme Competitiveness
of Bulgarian economy.
* * *
There should be a little change in the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing the hearing of a case within a week, NSI Director Boyko Naydenov says in an interview for "Standart News." Legal actions have been brought against eleven magistrates, most of them over corruption charges.
* * *
There are two cases of instituting pre-trial proceedings for scandalous land swaps made in the past seven of eight years; they are expected to be completed in two months, Deputy Sofia Prosecutor Roman Vassilev says in an interview given to "Monitor." He also says that investigations have been launched at the defence Ministry and the Labour and Social Policy
Ministry.
* * *
All aspects of the Galeria [Gallery] investigative case will be carefully examined by the National Bureau for Special Surveillance Means (SSM) Control to establish whether the State
Agency for National Security (SANS) used them lawfully, the deputy chairman of the Bureau, Anton Stankov, told "Dnevnik." Galeria was an operation involving the wiretapping of politicians and journalists had been wiretapped as part of the Galeria case and this seriously undermined the prestige of SANS.
ECONOMY
Plants hit by the crisis are put up for sale, "Dnevnik" says in its leading story. Private law-enforcement officers are selling industrial property totalling over 45 million leva. Four hotels, estimated at over 16 million leva, are also sold for debts.
* * *
The expenditure side of the budgets of ministries and state agencies have been reduced by 15.15 per cent, or nearly 367 million leva, "Troud" writes.
* * *
"Sega" says on its front page that the prices of flats have fallen down to their prime cost. The decline in the prices of vacation property is steepest; housing units in Sofia remain the most expensive ones.
* * *
Despite the crisis there is interest in the market of farming land, "Dnevnik" notes. The difference is that supply exceeds demand and it is buyers who dictate the prices. This is what a survey "Dnevnik" conducted among big land traders showed.
* * *
The National Revenue Agency (NRA) is going to establish mobile groups to curb VAT frauds, "Standart News" writes. The groups will exercise preventive control of companies seeking VAT
registration or those already VAT-registered. In another item the daily reports that NRA has uncovered a VAT siphoning scheme involving employees of the NRA directorate in Sliven. The
irregularities there included also conflict of interest and nepotism.
* * *
The Directorate for National Construction Control issued 470 orders for removal of unlawful structures in january-June, "Standart News" says referring to Ivan Simidchiev who head the
Directorate. A total of 247 structures were demolished, 219 of which by their owners.
* * *
The prices of all basic vegetables fell last week, "24 Chassa" says. The price drop coincided with the mass inspections conducted by tax inspectors and mobile customs groups at large
commodity exchanges and warehouses.
* * *
Bulgarian companies have 1,714 bank accounts with over 4 million leva in them, "Standart News" says quoting data of the National Bank of Bulgaria (BNB). The crisis emptied the Bulgarian companies' bank accounts; largest are the ones held by automobile and motorcycle traders.
BULGARIA - EU
"Klassa" reports that nearly 79 million leva will be granted to businesses under Operative Programme "Human Resources" in support of the measure for part-time workers assistance, Labour and Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov told the daily.
* * *
So far only 1.2 per cent of the 13,200 million euro provided by the EU have been absorbed by Bulgarian beneficiaries, "Monitor" reports referring to the Deputy Chairman of the National Chamber of Enterprise and Crafts, Yossif Avramov. In his view, a state-owned or a joint public-private consortium of companies should be established to draft projects for European funding in a centralized way, which will increase the absorption rates.
SOCIETY
Archaeologist Diana Dimitrova has uncovered an extremely rich Roman tomb at the village of Kroushare, Sliven region, "Standart News" reports. A unique gold wreath headpiece was found in a mound which will be called Kitov Mound" after the name of Prof. Georgi Kitov, a prominent Bulgarian archaeologist.
* * *
"24 Chassa" says on its first page that at least 200 Bulgarians use old cooking oil as fuel for their motor cars; it costs them maximum 2 leva per 100 km.
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 – August 17, 2009
• Express estimations of gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2009 show a decline in the economy by 4.8 percent compared to the corresponding period of previous year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) informed.
According to express quarterly estimates of NSI the actual decline in GDP was 4.8 percent for the second quarter of 2009 compared to the same period of previous year. In nominal terms GDP reached 15 826 million euro in current prices.
• The Bulgarian engineer, Konstantino Alexandro, who was murdered last week in the Dominican Republic, was allegedly not killed for the money he was carrying. Santo Domingo newspaper, El Nacional, reported that Alexandro was carrying 22 500 Dominican Pesos, USD 203, a golden ornament and a gun but none of them were taken by the attackers. El Nacional cited Police Deputy Director, Cesar Ramirez. Workers at the car wash at which Alexandro had left his car were witnesses to the event as he was attacked just after he took money out of a local ATM. The report concluded that it is not yet clear what Alexandro was doing in the Dominican Republic. El Caribe stated that his body is currently in the National Medical Institute and has not been looked for by any relatives or friends. They added that the autopsy results are due later Monday. Ten people have been questioned by the Dominican police so far on the case of Alexandro who was murdered in Bella Vista Mall area last week.
• Between 300 000 and 400 000 people have been taken in the grey economy, Minister of Labor and Social Policy Toyu Mladenov said during a sudden check in a fast food restaurant on Vitosha blvd in the capital, FOCUS News Agency reporter informed. Mladenov stated that the check is being carried out after a signal.
fredag den 14. august 2009
Bulgarian Press Review August 14, 2009
Press Review
Sofia, August 14 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
The government will hold a competition to select a bank that will provide the best lending terms to all people waiting for transplants, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov says in a "24 Chassa" interview. He also says that when Socialist Roumen Petkov asked him for a meeting about Bulgaria's hosting an F1 round, Borissov immediately met with him and suggested the military
airport at Dobroslavtsi as the venue.
The National Public Opinion Centre found in a survey that half of Bulgarians approve Borissov's first steps as prime minister, and 70 per cent are hopeful about the new power-holders,
"Standart News" writes.
"Dnevnik" says the new team at the Health Ministry is set to launch long-awaited reforms in health care by introducing a second pillar of health insurance. The basic package of medical services financed by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is to be reduced, and private health insurance funds should build up on this. Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev suggests that they should use part of the NHIF reserve with the National Bank or get a state subsidy. The health insurance contribution will remain unchanged at 8 per cent in 2010. Representatives of the health insurance industry said the ambition to change things was "something good". In a "Monitor" interview, Nanev says clinical pathways will not be reduced in number.
***
The dailies quote Rosen Plevneliev, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, as saying that Bulgaria may have to pay back between 500 and 700 million leva from January 2011.
This is funding under the ISPA Programme which may not be absorbed by the closing date December 31, 2010. The most problematic ISPA-financed projects are administered by the
Transport Ministry: the second bridge over the Danube and the electrification of the Plovdiv-Svilengrad railway, the minister told "Troud" last week.
"We will seek subsidies equal to the rest of the EU," Deputy Agriculture Minister Tsvetan Dimitrov says in a "Pari" interview. He adds that small farmers will be brought to light
from the grey economy and will be saved from middlemen.
***
"Monitor" says that GERB's parliamentary group wants to scrap the majoritarian voting in the election of MPs introduced this year.
The National Assembly's new secretary, Ivan Slavchov, says in "Troud" there will be no new limos for the MPs.
***
"Standart News" says at least eight people will run in the mayoral by-election in Sofia on November 15. It will be held because mayor Boyko Borissov became prime minister.
THE ECONOMY
Foreign direct investments (FDI) shrank to their lowest level since 2005, "Klassa" writes, quoting the central bank's first-half preliminary data about foreign capital. FDI stood at 1,560 million euro (4.6 per cent of GDP) in January-June 2009, down from 3,270 million euro (9.6 per cent of GDP) a year earlier. The largest investments were attracted from the Netherlands (15.9 per cent of the total), followed by Austria (14 per cent) and Germany (10.3 per cent). In terms of attracted
investments, financial agency tops the list with 530 million euro, followed by trade, repairs and technical services (332 million euro) and real estate transactions (213.8 million euro).
***
Tax inspectors are watching companies across the country both secretly and openly, "24 Chassa" reports. The teams, usually made up of two people, hold information about companies of the same industry, often located side by side, one of which reports a turnover between 10 and 100 times smaller than the other. The inspectors start by secretly counting the visitors to the shop suspected of underreporting its turnover, and then openly enter it and find out the real sales in the course of a few days.
Deputy Economy Minister Ivo Marinov, who is responsible for tourism, says in "Monitor" that the ministry is mulling giving a tax break to every Bulgarian who has spent at least six days in
a Bulgarian resort, hotel or other legitimate accommodation. The details are yet to be discussed.
INTERIOR MINISTRY, JUDICIARY
Quoting sources from the prosecuting magistracy, "Standart News"says businessman Hristo Kovachki will be brought to justice in early September after an investigation into massive tax evasion was completed. Kovachki is the owner of coal mines and thermal power plants and of a foodstore chain. His LEADER Party ran in the recent parliamentary elections.
"Troud" runs an interview with Prosecutor General Boris Velchev, who says he has been interacting very well with the interior minister and, in the last few days, with the new director of the State Agency for National Security. Velchev says he shares some strategic views with the two, including on legislation. People who defrauded the public purse should be treated no less aggressively than those who committed EU money fraud, Velchev says.
***
"Sega" frontpages a story about what it says is the first lobbying scandal in the new parliament. At its first meeting Parliament's Legal Committee discussed who is to sit in for a notary who has been elected MP, "Troud" says. This was because the Committee's Chair, Iskra Fidossova (GERB) is a notary in Montana. It was proposed to amend the Notaries Act to stipulate that when the notary is away because he or she was elected MP, mayor or President, the deputy notary can deputize for him or her. The two-year limit to the term of deputizing for the notary should be dropped, probably because MPs are elected for four years, the daily says. The Legal Committee asked the Justice
Minister for an opinion. The ex-justice minister, Miglena Tacheva, rejected these proposed amendments in the previous parliament.
***
"Novinar" reports that a psychopath has been stabbing children in Sofia with syringes. Quoting Interior Ministry reports, the daily says this happened to four children, mostly in the Lyulin
and Obelya residential districts, in the first seven months of the year.
***
"Troud" devotes a story to Bulgarian actors and musicians in Hollywood. Of all Bulgarians, former European karate champion Stephanie Cheeva (born Stefka Georcheva) has been most in demand. She appeared in films including "The Last Eve", "Spawn: Armageddon", "Exorcism ", "The Ultimate Game", "Martial Law", "Nash Bridges", "VIP", "Good Versus Evil" and "Tequila Express". She also features in the voiceover of computer games (Armageddon, Star Trek and Star Wars).
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 – August 14, 2009
• It is undignified for the members of the Stanishev cabinet to conceal their failures and abuses in the field of capital expenses by citing demands of the social partners, including the trade unions, the Executive Board of the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour said in a declaration, a copy of which was received at BTA on Friday. The union said that on Thursday former finance minister Plamen Oresharski tried to explain the 30 per cent excess in spending in the capital expenses of Budget 2009 by the insistence of trade unions and employers to finance certain facilities.
• Bulgaria's energy tycoon Hristo Kovachki is allegedly due to appear in court in early September charged with massive tax evasion. Prosecutors are currently preparing the final charges which will be announced soon according to legal sources cited by Bulgarian daily newspaper Standart. The investigation against Kovachki has been completed the sources added but the final charges are still being debated by the prosecutors who have a short deadline in which to prepare a detailed case. Before the case is sent to the court Kovachki will be given the opportunity to get acquainted with the materials so as to prepare his defense, court sources confirmed.
• The leader of the ethnic Turkish party DPS, Ahmed Dogan will be sanctioned for not showing at four out of five of the Bulgaria Parliament sessions in July. This has been announced Friday by the National Assembly's Chair, Tsetska Tsacheva, BGNES reported. Dogan's salary will be cut by 2/3ds as a fine for his absences in July, Tsacheva said. The leader of the DPS party has been a Member of every Parliament since 1990, and is known for not showing on sessions of the assembly. Dogan only visits the Parliament when there is non-confidence vote, a new government or National Assembly Chairs are being elected, sources from the Parliament commented. It turned out on Friday that Ahmed Dogan will be fined for his estate in the capital Sofia. The Bulgarian authorities established that the wall, the BBQ, and the guardhouse were illegal.
Sofia, August 14 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
The government will hold a competition to select a bank that will provide the best lending terms to all people waiting for transplants, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov says in a "24 Chassa" interview. He also says that when Socialist Roumen Petkov asked him for a meeting about Bulgaria's hosting an F1 round, Borissov immediately met with him and suggested the military
airport at Dobroslavtsi as the venue.
The National Public Opinion Centre found in a survey that half of Bulgarians approve Borissov's first steps as prime minister, and 70 per cent are hopeful about the new power-holders,
"Standart News" writes.
"Dnevnik" says the new team at the Health Ministry is set to launch long-awaited reforms in health care by introducing a second pillar of health insurance. The basic package of medical services financed by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is to be reduced, and private health insurance funds should build up on this. Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev suggests that they should use part of the NHIF reserve with the National Bank or get a state subsidy. The health insurance contribution will remain unchanged at 8 per cent in 2010. Representatives of the health insurance industry said the ambition to change things was "something good". In a "Monitor" interview, Nanev says clinical pathways will not be reduced in number.
***
The dailies quote Rosen Plevneliev, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, as saying that Bulgaria may have to pay back between 500 and 700 million leva from January 2011.
This is funding under the ISPA Programme which may not be absorbed by the closing date December 31, 2010. The most problematic ISPA-financed projects are administered by the
Transport Ministry: the second bridge over the Danube and the electrification of the Plovdiv-Svilengrad railway, the minister told "Troud" last week.
"We will seek subsidies equal to the rest of the EU," Deputy Agriculture Minister Tsvetan Dimitrov says in a "Pari" interview. He adds that small farmers will be brought to light
from the grey economy and will be saved from middlemen.
***
"Monitor" says that GERB's parliamentary group wants to scrap the majoritarian voting in the election of MPs introduced this year.
The National Assembly's new secretary, Ivan Slavchov, says in "Troud" there will be no new limos for the MPs.
***
"Standart News" says at least eight people will run in the mayoral by-election in Sofia on November 15. It will be held because mayor Boyko Borissov became prime minister.
THE ECONOMY
Foreign direct investments (FDI) shrank to their lowest level since 2005, "Klassa" writes, quoting the central bank's first-half preliminary data about foreign capital. FDI stood at 1,560 million euro (4.6 per cent of GDP) in January-June 2009, down from 3,270 million euro (9.6 per cent of GDP) a year earlier. The largest investments were attracted from the Netherlands (15.9 per cent of the total), followed by Austria (14 per cent) and Germany (10.3 per cent). In terms of attracted
investments, financial agency tops the list with 530 million euro, followed by trade, repairs and technical services (332 million euro) and real estate transactions (213.8 million euro).
***
Tax inspectors are watching companies across the country both secretly and openly, "24 Chassa" reports. The teams, usually made up of two people, hold information about companies of the same industry, often located side by side, one of which reports a turnover between 10 and 100 times smaller than the other. The inspectors start by secretly counting the visitors to the shop suspected of underreporting its turnover, and then openly enter it and find out the real sales in the course of a few days.
Deputy Economy Minister Ivo Marinov, who is responsible for tourism, says in "Monitor" that the ministry is mulling giving a tax break to every Bulgarian who has spent at least six days in
a Bulgarian resort, hotel or other legitimate accommodation. The details are yet to be discussed.
INTERIOR MINISTRY, JUDICIARY
Quoting sources from the prosecuting magistracy, "Standart News"says businessman Hristo Kovachki will be brought to justice in early September after an investigation into massive tax evasion was completed. Kovachki is the owner of coal mines and thermal power plants and of a foodstore chain. His LEADER Party ran in the recent parliamentary elections.
"Troud" runs an interview with Prosecutor General Boris Velchev, who says he has been interacting very well with the interior minister and, in the last few days, with the new director of the State Agency for National Security. Velchev says he shares some strategic views with the two, including on legislation. People who defrauded the public purse should be treated no less aggressively than those who committed EU money fraud, Velchev says.
***
"Sega" frontpages a story about what it says is the first lobbying scandal in the new parliament. At its first meeting Parliament's Legal Committee discussed who is to sit in for a notary who has been elected MP, "Troud" says. This was because the Committee's Chair, Iskra Fidossova (GERB) is a notary in Montana. It was proposed to amend the Notaries Act to stipulate that when the notary is away because he or she was elected MP, mayor or President, the deputy notary can deputize for him or her. The two-year limit to the term of deputizing for the notary should be dropped, probably because MPs are elected for four years, the daily says. The Legal Committee asked the Justice
Minister for an opinion. The ex-justice minister, Miglena Tacheva, rejected these proposed amendments in the previous parliament.
***
"Novinar" reports that a psychopath has been stabbing children in Sofia with syringes. Quoting Interior Ministry reports, the daily says this happened to four children, mostly in the Lyulin
and Obelya residential districts, in the first seven months of the year.
***
"Troud" devotes a story to Bulgarian actors and musicians in Hollywood. Of all Bulgarians, former European karate champion Stephanie Cheeva (born Stefka Georcheva) has been most in demand. She appeared in films including "The Last Eve", "Spawn: Armageddon", "Exorcism ", "The Ultimate Game", "Martial Law", "Nash Bridges", "VIP", "Good Versus Evil" and "Tequila Express". She also features in the voiceover of computer games (Armageddon, Star Trek and Star Wars).
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 – August 14, 2009
• It is undignified for the members of the Stanishev cabinet to conceal their failures and abuses in the field of capital expenses by citing demands of the social partners, including the trade unions, the Executive Board of the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour said in a declaration, a copy of which was received at BTA on Friday. The union said that on Thursday former finance minister Plamen Oresharski tried to explain the 30 per cent excess in spending in the capital expenses of Budget 2009 by the insistence of trade unions and employers to finance certain facilities.
• Bulgaria's energy tycoon Hristo Kovachki is allegedly due to appear in court in early September charged with massive tax evasion. Prosecutors are currently preparing the final charges which will be announced soon according to legal sources cited by Bulgarian daily newspaper Standart. The investigation against Kovachki has been completed the sources added but the final charges are still being debated by the prosecutors who have a short deadline in which to prepare a detailed case. Before the case is sent to the court Kovachki will be given the opportunity to get acquainted with the materials so as to prepare his defense, court sources confirmed.
• The leader of the ethnic Turkish party DPS, Ahmed Dogan will be sanctioned for not showing at four out of five of the Bulgaria Parliament sessions in July. This has been announced Friday by the National Assembly's Chair, Tsetska Tsacheva, BGNES reported. Dogan's salary will be cut by 2/3ds as a fine for his absences in July, Tsacheva said. The leader of the DPS party has been a Member of every Parliament since 1990, and is known for not showing on sessions of the assembly. Dogan only visits the Parliament when there is non-confidence vote, a new government or National Assembly Chairs are being elected, sources from the Parliament commented. It turned out on Friday that Ahmed Dogan will be fined for his estate in the capital Sofia. The Bulgarian authorities established that the wall, the BBQ, and the guardhouse were illegal.
torsdag den 13. august 2009
Bulgarian Press Review August 13, 2009
Press Review
Sofia, August 13 (BTA)
ECONOMY
Today's dailies give front-page prominence to the data about the national budget published by the Finance Ministry. "Dnevnik" writes in a headline that there is budget hole for the first time in the past 65 months; "Monitor": The Treasury Is Empty, Boiko Calls Stanishev"; "Sega": "Stanishev Blew The Budget Surplus in a Month"; "24 Chassa": Borissov Send Stanishev and Oresharski for Face-off with Djankov"; "Troud": "Budget Deficit of 372,400, 000 Leva."
"Troud" says that in July alone the budget deficit exceeded 550 million leva year-on-year. Angered by the deficit, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said that ex-prime minister Sergei Stanishev and ex-finance minister Plamen Oresharski would be asked to come to the Finance Ministry to give an account of the situation at the Treasury in the presence of the media.
"Dnevnik" says that Oresharski has accepted the invitation and today is meeting with his successor Simeon Djankov. Stanishev's government spent the budget surplus posted in January 2009 to the last penny, the daily notes. Reacting to the accusations of the new government, Oresharski stated that the buffers envisaged in the budget totalled 3,900 million leva and that "only a clairvoyant could predict exactly how the processes would unfold this year."
"I was not surprised by the deficit but by its amount which increased due to pre-election spending," Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov says in an interview for
"Pari." Djankov expects larger budget revenues from excise duties, the collectability of which should be ensured by the National Customs Agency; from VAT - responsible for VAT compliance is the National Revenue Agency; and from the energy sector. Djankov expects a drop of 2 per cent in Bulgaria's GDP in 2010, saying that after the deep crisis the Bulgarian economy will grow significantly, increasing by nearly 8 per cent in 2011-2012. "Employers' organizations want a reduction in social insurance contributions by 5 per cent and I support this rate but believe that the reduction should be a step-by-step one: 2 per cent in 2010, and 1 per cent each in the following two years," Djankov says.
HOME SCENE
"Douma" announces that the State Agency for National Security (SANS) will launch a probe investigating the procedure involved in approving school textbooks. "Express" writes that according to Education, Youth and Science Yordanka Fandakova she received a lot of reports about irregularities in the approval of textbook and that is why she asked SANS to conduct a check. "Troud" reports that the government will allocate 26 million leva for schools and kindergartens applying successfully the system of delegated budgets.
* * *
Under the headline "1,000 Million Down the Drains" "Standart News says that 1,000 projects for construction of village sewerage systems that cost between 500,000 leva and 4 million leva have been approved by the Enterprise for Management of Environmental Conservation Activities with the Ministry of Environment and Water and the European funds. The daily refers to Environment and Water Minister Nona Karadjova, who says that 720 million leva from the budget have been spent in the last four years for providing small settlements with sewerage systems, while only 1 per cent of the money went to the construction of waste-water treatment plants for towns with over 10,000 population.
* * *
The press reports about the appointment of 18 new regional governors: of Blagoevgrad, Bourgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Haskovo, Kurdjali, Montana, Pernik, Plovdiv, Rousse, Silistra, Smolyan, Sofia City, Sofia Region, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo and Vratsa. They are described in the following way: "municipal councillors and leaders of GERB's local chapters, a mayor, and former officers, some of them agents of the former State Security Committee" ("Dnevnik"); "counterintelligence officers, municipal councillors and people having serious businesses" ("24 Chassa"); "Lawyer Takes Sofia, Teacher - Blagoevgrad" ("Standart News"). The government is yet to decide who the governors of the remaining 10 regions would be.
* * *
"Pirinski Clears Himself for Repair of MPs' Dwellings," "24 Chassa" says in a headline. Commenting on reports about abuse and uncontrolled spending of money by the administration of the 40th National Assembly, "Troud" writes that according to former National Assembly chairman Georgi Pirinski (of the Bulgarian Socialist Party), a special 800,000 leva public procurement contract was awarded for the repair of MPs' dwellings due to a SANS position on security presented in writing.
"Douma" quotes Pirinski as saying that the major facts about the four-year term of the previous government should not be misrepresented.
* * *
"State Plucks Up Courage, Declares Part of Dogan's Property Unlawful," "Sega" says in a front-page headline. The National Directorate for Construction Control has opened a file checking
the legality of a real estate Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Ahmed Dogan hold in Sofia's Boyana Borough, "Troud" reports. Most of the other dailies discuss the same theme.
INTERIOR MINISTRY, JUDICIARY
The dailies report about the replacement of senior officials at the Interior Ministry announced by Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov. The government has proposed to the President to relieve Pavlin Dimitrov of his duties as Commissioner General of the Interior Ministry and to appoint the head of Criminal Police General Directorate, Kalin Georgiev, to this position.
* * *
Referring to Interior Minister Tsvetanov, "24 Chassa" writes on its front page that policemen will use combat bullets instead of hollow-point ones.
* * *
"Dnevnik" says that the Interior Ministry, the National Customs Agency and the National Revenue Agency are investigating 16 companies for fuel smuggling acting on information from operatives and tip-offs.
* * *
"Troud" carries an interview with the interior minister who says that according to data of international organizations, there were 610,000 crimes committed in Bulgaria in 2008 but only 20 per cent of them got registered as crime victims rarely inform the Interior Ministry about them.
* * *
A commission of the Belene prison allowed the transfer of Dimiter Zhelyazkov, aka Mityo Ochite (Mityo the Eyes), convicted on charges of organized crime and drug trafficking, to an open prison facility situated in Kazichene, near Sofia, "Dnevnik" writes. However, Zhelyazkov spent only three days in Kazichene and was sent back to Belene. Deputy Justice Minister Hristo Angelov failed to explain why allowing Zhelyazkov's transfer the commission had not taken into account the fact that the former drug boss is pending trial on other charges, too.
"Troud" front-pages a photo which the paper has been sent and which shows that Zhelyazkov was spotted outside the Kazichene prison facility on August 9.
SOCIETY
The theme of today's issue of "Troud" is the reform of education. According to an extensive item, the academic year will start without any surprises but the lack of a law on secondary education makes doubtful the optimization of the school network and the operation of the new system of decentralized financing. The new Education, Youth and Science Minister Yordanka Fandakova will not use velvet gloves as her predecessors did when the reforms of education are at stake, "Troud" says quoting Fandakova. The education minister has got to cope with four tasks: giving weight to school leaving examinations; proving that the so-called "external assessments"
(examinations held at the end of every academic year) are real tests showing the condition of education; reversal of Bulgaria's decline in international literacy grading; providing teachers with such status as to prevent their being seen any more as people who teach at school because they have no better choice.
* * *
"Dnevnik" publishes an interview with Dr Tsvetan Raychinov, recently elected President of the Bulgarian Medical Association, who says that without legalized out-of-pocket payments there cannot be quality health care at this stage in Bulgaria.
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 – August 13, 2009
• As of 1 January 2010 Bulgaria might have to return between EUR 500 million and EUR 700 million in ISPA funds because of its failure to implement projects or because of delays, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Rosen Plevneliev says in an interview with FOCUS News Agency. This is the conclusion Minister Plevneliev has come to after examining the documents he has received since he took over the post. For example, the risk is high with the integrated water project in the northern municipality of Ruse because the delays are enormous. The delay of Lot 2 is a year and 5-6 months. The work done is 4%, instead of 75-76%. So the risk is enormous, he says. If by the end of 2010 the project is not accomplished in compliance with ISPA rules, Bulgaria starts returning large sums, he says and notes that the government is aware of that risk and starts taking measures.
• Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov has set a date for partial local elections in capital Sofia and northwestern municipality of Vratsa – 15 November, the press service of the President’s Office announced.
In compliance with article 98, item 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and in connection with article 106, paragraph 1 of the Local Elections Act, President Georgi Parvanov determined that on 15 November 2009 the municipalities of Sofia and Vratsa will hold partial mayoral elections.
• Bulgaria PM Boyko Borisov has asked for a speedy investigation by the prosecutor's office into decisions made by the previous government. Borisov was talking at the opening of a 2,5 km renovated section of road between Boulevard G.M. Dimitrov and the Sofia Ring Road. He said; "For years huge surpluses were talked, and now these surpluses are gone and we do not have roads." Borisov added that given the abuse of major budget items he had asked the Chief Prosecutor to shorten the time limits on investigations into the decisions taken by the former PM Sergey Stanishev's cabinet. Asked about the words of former Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski, who suggested that the hole in the budget is not that large, Borisov stated that it depends on you point of view and whether you care about the country. Oresharski, has accepted the invitation of his successor Simeon Djankov, and PM Borisov for a meeting.
Sofia, August 13 (BTA)
ECONOMY
Today's dailies give front-page prominence to the data about the national budget published by the Finance Ministry. "Dnevnik" writes in a headline that there is budget hole for the first time in the past 65 months; "Monitor": The Treasury Is Empty, Boiko Calls Stanishev"; "Sega": "Stanishev Blew The Budget Surplus in a Month"; "24 Chassa": Borissov Send Stanishev and Oresharski for Face-off with Djankov"; "Troud": "Budget Deficit of 372,400, 000 Leva."
"Troud" says that in July alone the budget deficit exceeded 550 million leva year-on-year. Angered by the deficit, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said that ex-prime minister Sergei Stanishev and ex-finance minister Plamen Oresharski would be asked to come to the Finance Ministry to give an account of the situation at the Treasury in the presence of the media.
"Dnevnik" says that Oresharski has accepted the invitation and today is meeting with his successor Simeon Djankov. Stanishev's government spent the budget surplus posted in January 2009 to the last penny, the daily notes. Reacting to the accusations of the new government, Oresharski stated that the buffers envisaged in the budget totalled 3,900 million leva and that "only a clairvoyant could predict exactly how the processes would unfold this year."
"I was not surprised by the deficit but by its amount which increased due to pre-election spending," Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov says in an interview for
"Pari." Djankov expects larger budget revenues from excise duties, the collectability of which should be ensured by the National Customs Agency; from VAT - responsible for VAT compliance is the National Revenue Agency; and from the energy sector. Djankov expects a drop of 2 per cent in Bulgaria's GDP in 2010, saying that after the deep crisis the Bulgarian economy will grow significantly, increasing by nearly 8 per cent in 2011-2012. "Employers' organizations want a reduction in social insurance contributions by 5 per cent and I support this rate but believe that the reduction should be a step-by-step one: 2 per cent in 2010, and 1 per cent each in the following two years," Djankov says.
HOME SCENE
"Douma" announces that the State Agency for National Security (SANS) will launch a probe investigating the procedure involved in approving school textbooks. "Express" writes that according to Education, Youth and Science Yordanka Fandakova she received a lot of reports about irregularities in the approval of textbook and that is why she asked SANS to conduct a check. "Troud" reports that the government will allocate 26 million leva for schools and kindergartens applying successfully the system of delegated budgets.
* * *
Under the headline "1,000 Million Down the Drains" "Standart News says that 1,000 projects for construction of village sewerage systems that cost between 500,000 leva and 4 million leva have been approved by the Enterprise for Management of Environmental Conservation Activities with the Ministry of Environment and Water and the European funds. The daily refers to Environment and Water Minister Nona Karadjova, who says that 720 million leva from the budget have been spent in the last four years for providing small settlements with sewerage systems, while only 1 per cent of the money went to the construction of waste-water treatment plants for towns with over 10,000 population.
* * *
The press reports about the appointment of 18 new regional governors: of Blagoevgrad, Bourgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Haskovo, Kurdjali, Montana, Pernik, Plovdiv, Rousse, Silistra, Smolyan, Sofia City, Sofia Region, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo and Vratsa. They are described in the following way: "municipal councillors and leaders of GERB's local chapters, a mayor, and former officers, some of them agents of the former State Security Committee" ("Dnevnik"); "counterintelligence officers, municipal councillors and people having serious businesses" ("24 Chassa"); "Lawyer Takes Sofia, Teacher - Blagoevgrad" ("Standart News"). The government is yet to decide who the governors of the remaining 10 regions would be.
* * *
"Pirinski Clears Himself for Repair of MPs' Dwellings," "24 Chassa" says in a headline. Commenting on reports about abuse and uncontrolled spending of money by the administration of the 40th National Assembly, "Troud" writes that according to former National Assembly chairman Georgi Pirinski (of the Bulgarian Socialist Party), a special 800,000 leva public procurement contract was awarded for the repair of MPs' dwellings due to a SANS position on security presented in writing.
"Douma" quotes Pirinski as saying that the major facts about the four-year term of the previous government should not be misrepresented.
* * *
"State Plucks Up Courage, Declares Part of Dogan's Property Unlawful," "Sega" says in a front-page headline. The National Directorate for Construction Control has opened a file checking
the legality of a real estate Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Ahmed Dogan hold in Sofia's Boyana Borough, "Troud" reports. Most of the other dailies discuss the same theme.
INTERIOR MINISTRY, JUDICIARY
The dailies report about the replacement of senior officials at the Interior Ministry announced by Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov. The government has proposed to the President to relieve Pavlin Dimitrov of his duties as Commissioner General of the Interior Ministry and to appoint the head of Criminal Police General Directorate, Kalin Georgiev, to this position.
* * *
Referring to Interior Minister Tsvetanov, "24 Chassa" writes on its front page that policemen will use combat bullets instead of hollow-point ones.
* * *
"Dnevnik" says that the Interior Ministry, the National Customs Agency and the National Revenue Agency are investigating 16 companies for fuel smuggling acting on information from operatives and tip-offs.
* * *
"Troud" carries an interview with the interior minister who says that according to data of international organizations, there were 610,000 crimes committed in Bulgaria in 2008 but only 20 per cent of them got registered as crime victims rarely inform the Interior Ministry about them.
* * *
A commission of the Belene prison allowed the transfer of Dimiter Zhelyazkov, aka Mityo Ochite (Mityo the Eyes), convicted on charges of organized crime and drug trafficking, to an open prison facility situated in Kazichene, near Sofia, "Dnevnik" writes. However, Zhelyazkov spent only three days in Kazichene and was sent back to Belene. Deputy Justice Minister Hristo Angelov failed to explain why allowing Zhelyazkov's transfer the commission had not taken into account the fact that the former drug boss is pending trial on other charges, too.
"Troud" front-pages a photo which the paper has been sent and which shows that Zhelyazkov was spotted outside the Kazichene prison facility on August 9.
SOCIETY
The theme of today's issue of "Troud" is the reform of education. According to an extensive item, the academic year will start without any surprises but the lack of a law on secondary education makes doubtful the optimization of the school network and the operation of the new system of decentralized financing. The new Education, Youth and Science Minister Yordanka Fandakova will not use velvet gloves as her predecessors did when the reforms of education are at stake, "Troud" says quoting Fandakova. The education minister has got to cope with four tasks: giving weight to school leaving examinations; proving that the so-called "external assessments"
(examinations held at the end of every academic year) are real tests showing the condition of education; reversal of Bulgaria's decline in international literacy grading; providing teachers with such status as to prevent their being seen any more as people who teach at school because they have no better choice.
* * *
"Dnevnik" publishes an interview with Dr Tsvetan Raychinov, recently elected President of the Bulgarian Medical Association, who says that without legalized out-of-pocket payments there cannot be quality health care at this stage in Bulgaria.
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 – August 13, 2009
• As of 1 January 2010 Bulgaria might have to return between EUR 500 million and EUR 700 million in ISPA funds because of its failure to implement projects or because of delays, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Rosen Plevneliev says in an interview with FOCUS News Agency. This is the conclusion Minister Plevneliev has come to after examining the documents he has received since he took over the post. For example, the risk is high with the integrated water project in the northern municipality of Ruse because the delays are enormous. The delay of Lot 2 is a year and 5-6 months. The work done is 4%, instead of 75-76%. So the risk is enormous, he says. If by the end of 2010 the project is not accomplished in compliance with ISPA rules, Bulgaria starts returning large sums, he says and notes that the government is aware of that risk and starts taking measures.
• Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov has set a date for partial local elections in capital Sofia and northwestern municipality of Vratsa – 15 November, the press service of the President’s Office announced.
In compliance with article 98, item 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and in connection with article 106, paragraph 1 of the Local Elections Act, President Georgi Parvanov determined that on 15 November 2009 the municipalities of Sofia and Vratsa will hold partial mayoral elections.
• Bulgaria PM Boyko Borisov has asked for a speedy investigation by the prosecutor's office into decisions made by the previous government. Borisov was talking at the opening of a 2,5 km renovated section of road between Boulevard G.M. Dimitrov and the Sofia Ring Road. He said; "For years huge surpluses were talked, and now these surpluses are gone and we do not have roads." Borisov added that given the abuse of major budget items he had asked the Chief Prosecutor to shorten the time limits on investigations into the decisions taken by the former PM Sergey Stanishev's cabinet. Asked about the words of former Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski, who suggested that the hole in the budget is not that large, Borisov stated that it depends on you point of view and whether you care about the country. Oresharski, has accepted the invitation of his successor Simeon Djankov, and PM Borisov for a meeting.
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