Bulgarian Press Review September 28, 2009

Press Review
Sofia, September 28 (BTA)


THE HOME SCENE

The dailies give prominence to a decision of Socialist ministers of the Stanishev cabinet to waive the amnesty for former senior officials, which is opposed by the ruling GERB party. Ten Socialists who answer this description - the former ministers of the Left and ex-premier Sergei Stanishev, who are now MPs, will declare to Prosecutor General Boris Velchev this week that they will waive protection under the Amnesty Act if charges are brought against them. This decision was made at a Socialist Party seminar over the weekend. "Dnevnik" recalls that the government recently asked the Constitutional Court to pronounce on provisions which, according to the new power-holders, give immunity to politicians who held senior jobs. The Bulgarian Socialist Party countered by saying that GERB was looking for excuses because there was no evidence of any offences.

"24 Chassa" reports that the participants in the seminar also decided to call for a minimum wage of 280 leva instead of 240 leva now, or for a tax threshold of 240 leva. Either measure would offset the higher excise duty on fuels from January 1, which will hit worst the lowest income groups, the Socialists argued. They claimed, however, that they were not backpedalling on the flat personal income tax rate introduced by the Stanishev cabinet.

A commentary in "Troud" says that now that it is in opposition, the Socialist Party is much more concerned about the lowest income groups than when it was in office.

"Troud" has interviewed Kasim Dal, deputy leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), who says the party's worst problem now, is that it is almost fully isolated and should do something about this. He also says the MRF will not name a mayoral candidate in Sofia's byelection but will back one of the nominees.

Yane Yanev, leader of the Order, Lawfulness, Justice Party, has opposed the newly established Muslim Democratic Union party, invoking the Constitution which bans parties based on religion or ethnic origin, "24 Chassa" reports. Yanev will ask the State Agency for National Security and the prosecuting magistracy to question the party founders. "Standart News" says the Ataka party also called on the prosecutors to probe the new party. The "Ataka" newspaper quotes Ataka leader Volen Siderov as saying that the new party is a provocation through which the MRF wants to undermine the new government.

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"Troud" leads with a story headlined "Brussels Provides Money for Second Line of Underground Railway". The European Commission has approved 185 million euro in financing for a line linking
the Nadezhda road junction in the northeast of the city to Cherni Vruh Boulevard in the southern Lozenets Quarter via the Central Railway Station, Sveta Nedelya Square and the National Palace of Culture, the daily says, quoting Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. He stressed that this is the largest amount of financing that Bulgaria has ever received for an infrastructure project. "Standart News" says the new line should go into operation in 2012 and 3,000 jobs will be created during its construction.

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"Monitor" reports that the National Revenue Agency is launching massive conflict of interest checks on inspectors and their spouses in October.

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"Standart News" reports that 500 employees of the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) staged a protest at Gorna Oryahovitsa railway station. They are angry at the irregular payment of wages and railway service closures. The rally was held despite Transport Minister Aleksandar Tsvetkov's pledge that wages would be regularly paid once the backlog of back wages was cleared at the end of October. "Douma" says that more than 300 protestors gathered. The company owes about 30 million leva to nearly 30,000 BDZ employees, and July wages have already been paid.

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

In a front-page story headlined "Policemen: Laws in Bulgaria Vindicate Mafia", "Troud" covers a protest staged by Interior Ministry employees. Hundreds of policemen gathered in central Sofia to call for harsher punishments for assault on policemen. "Standart News" says a memorial service was held for policemen killed in the line of duty. Deputy Interior Minister Vesselin Vouchkov, who attended it, promised that legal amendments would be drafted by the end of October to guarantee protection to policemen.

"Dnevnik" quotes Dimiter Tanev, head of the Chamber of Notaries, as saying that all notaries will be linked in an information network from October 17 as a tool against property fraud.

In the last ten years 40,180 Bulgarians did or are doing time in over 100 prisons around the world, "Standart News" reports, quoting the first ever statistics about Bulgarian prisoners abroad. Most prisoners were convicted of ATM fraud. The number of Bulgarian prisoners is largest in Germany and Greece.

THE ECONOMY

A day after the newspapers wrote about a planned increase in the excise duty on cigarettes, "Dnevnik" says that the Finance Ministry is mulling a higher excise duty on fuels from the beginning of 2010. Government sources have said the reason is the need to increase revenues in 2010 as the draft budget is being discussed at the Finance Ministry.

"Klassa" leads with a story about the 2010 draft budget. The daily learned from the financial decentralization adviser to the National Association of Municipalities that state transfers to the municipalities would be at least 10 per cent lower than in 2009.

A World Bank analysis shows that stamp duty in Bulgaria rose 60 per cent between 2005 and 2008 but it is unclear if this increased budget revenues, "Dnevnik" writes. The World Bank found that the fees for administrative services generate income which is often spent on the clerks' bonuses, although the law requires that citizens pay just the cost incurred by the State in issuing a licence. The fee-setting policy is described as uncoordinated, inconsistent and non-transparent, "Dnevnik" says.

"Troud" writes that businesses are not optimistic that the crisis will end in the near future, judging from a business climate survey of the National Statistical Institute. One in two companies has problems with economic uncertainty, one in five has financial problems, and almost one in four is planning job cuts, the Institute's Chair Mariana Kotseva says. Construction managers are most pessimistic about the next six months.

Roumyana Mihailova, Executive Director of the Chief Labour Inspectorate, says a proposal will be made to change fines so as to reflect the seriousness of the violation, the attenuating circumstances and the offender's financial status.

"Sega" reports that the Supreme Administrative Court will decide the fate of the Kremikovtzi steel mill at the end of January. On January 29, the court is to pronounce whether 700 million leva in state aid should be added to the company's debts.

In a "Novinar" interview, EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva says that new rules become effective in the EU as of November 1 concerning bank account transfers. It will be banks, not clients, who will have to transfer all documents when a client switches to a different bank.

"Troud" recalls the most scandalous sell-offs in a Top 10 list of privatizers under suspicion 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 – September 28, 2009


• The newly formed Muslim-Democratic party is anti constitutional: PM Boyko Borisov said. He had assigned the authorities to check the issue, which would be solved in compliance with the Constitution.

• PM Boyko Borisov will attend the opening of the 65th International Technical Fair in the town of Plovdiv. The International Technical Fair is the biggest exhibit forum of investment goods and technologies in Southeastern Europe. The International Technical Fair exhibits the latest developments of the world's leading companies in machine building, automobiles, transport, information technologies, software, electronics, electrical engineering, construction, chemistry, power engineering, ecology, etc. Over 1900 firms from 44 countries will take part in the exhibition.

• The fate of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project will be clear at the end of October, PM Borissov told journalists on Monday. He added that he had discussed the project with the General Manager of Germany's RWE Power AG, a strategic partner in a joint venture for the implementation of the project to build and operate Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant. The german company RWE wants to continue its involvement in NPP project "Belene", despite the financial difficulties which we have, PM elaborated.