Bulgarian Press Review, October 23, 2009

Press Review
Sofia, October23 (BTA)
HOME SCENE

The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) decided that magistrates and SJC members who were in contact with businessman Krassimir Georgiev eroded the judiciary's reputation, "Troud" writes. The SJC voted on Thursday that having talked with Georgiev, who allegedly helped magistrates secure senior appointments for large payoffs, Council members Stoiko Stoev and Ivan Dimov cast a doubt on the judiciary's independence. The SJC indicated that the two could not belong either to the SJC or to the judiciary. However, the SJC refused to freeze the remaining about 100 senior appointments until the truth about Georgiev's contacts becomes known. Prosecutor General Boris Velchev made a proposal to this effect, linking it with the need to regain public confidence in the Council. Despite calls by the Union of Judges, the Association of Prosecutors and European Commission Spokesperson Mark Gray, none of those involved resigned on Thursday.

"Sega" says that an investigation by the SJC showed that a 27-year-old man with an unimpressive income can appoint and dismiss magistrates. The SJC members brought shame on themselves through their contacts with the young man with the gold chains, who turned out to be a broker of judicial positions. Thursday's SJC meeting is unprecedented because magistrates with dubious contacts were named for the first time. One cannot expect Stoev and Dimov to be brought to justice. This is a matter of ethics, the daily says.

"Dnevnik" comments that when a state body set up to fight corruption is itself suspected of corruption, many things can happen abroad, including dismissals, criminal proceedings, sentences and ethical sanctions, but nothing happens in Bulgaria. Given the contacts revealed at the top of the judiciary, one wonders about the contacts and payoffs of ordinary judges, prosecutors and investigators. This obviously calls for a crash course in international anti-corruption legislation, which has been ratified by Bulgaria and takes precedence over national law.

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Businesses are concerned about the leakage of information from the Interior Ministry, "Sega" writes on its front page. Business representatives raised the issue with Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who assured them that the Ministry and the government had taken steps to enhance the security of citizens and business representatives against kidnappings. However, he refused to take advice from security firms, stating that the Interior Ministry would not help those firms lure new clients.

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"Troud" reports that the National Assembly closed the National Bureau for Control of Special Surveillance Means on Thursday through an amendment supported by GERB and Ataka. From now on the use of special surveillance means will be controlled by a subcommittee comprising representatives of all political forces. It will be set up with the Parliamentary Legal Committee.

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"24 Chassa" reports that the majority in Parliament rejected a report of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination despite an earlier draft resolution that it would be approved for information purposes. A clear signal was sent that the Committee Chairman, Kemal Eyup, is about to be replaced. MPs from GERB went even further by saying that the whole committee is superfluous. "You cannot wait to appoint people close to you, but if you replace the chairman on ethnic grounds, this will be discrimination and will be cynical," said Maya Manolova from the Bulgarian Socialist Party.



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In a "Troud" interview former justice minister Miglena Tacheva says that when she took that position, the Ministry was 350 million leva in the red. She explains that two years ago, when the procedure for two contracts for construction of court buildings in Varna and Sofia was launched, no one expected a financial crisis. "The planned budget for capital expenditures at the end of 2007 was 26 million leva and I asked for a further 30 million leva, which made it possible to buy the building of the Inspectorate and the Administrative Court of Sofia City," Tacheva says. The new justice minister should make an effort and get the necessary budget in the next two years because building two palaces of justice is different from building a dog house, Tacheva says.

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Yordanka Fandakova, GERB's candidate for the November 15 mayoral by-election in Sofia, says in "Monitor" that she will quicken the pace set by former mayor Boyko Borissov. She adds that if she is elected, teams of experts will be set up to make proposals on any matter, while in her capacity as mayor Fandakova will refer the proposals to various institutions and will defend them.

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Roumen Ovcharov, leader of the Sofia branch of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), says in a "Troud" interview that the party leader, former Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, is acting out someone else's scenario. "That someone does not want to quit his post and is ready to sacrifice his party is something that will pass. The congress sent a serious signal to Stanishev as 40 per cent of the delegates did not back him. Eleven months ago nearly 100 per cent supported him. This victory is not a triumph, it is a warning," Ovcharov says. He adds that Stanishev is a pawn in someone else's scenario.

THE ECONOMY

"Troud" reports that the construction of Lot 2 of the Trakia Motorway (between Stara Zagora and Nova Zagora) has been greenlighted as announced by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. He gave a news conference on Thursday in the presence of European Commissioner for Regional Policy Pawel Samecki. Borissov said that he asked for construction to start in advance and that the Bulgarian side managed to convince the Commissioner that all procedures would be properly completed. Samecki said that 6,400 million euro has been allocated for infrastructure modernization in Bulgaria.

"Troud" says that the South Stream gas pipeline is certain to cross Bulgaria, as confirmed by Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov on Thursday. He met in Moscow with Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko and with Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Sobyanin, co-chairman of the Bulgarian-Russian intergovernmental commission. Talks are in progress on the other two energy projects - the Bourgas-Alexandropoulis oil pipeline and the Belene nuclear power plant.

"Sega" reports that all cash registers will be linked up with the tax authorities from July 2011, according to a decision of the Parliamentary Budget Committee.


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 – October 23, 2009

• Bulgaria PM Boyko Borisov has proposed that the punishment for should be 30 years in prison. Borisov stated that “these people should not be left to return to the streets again”. He added that if the victims are injured or killed a life sentence for the kidnappers is the only option. Borisov said that the new Kidnapping Act is now ready. It has been prepared by the Interior Ministry and will be presented next week.

• The police in the northern Bulgarian municipality of Pleven found a baby who has been sold from its own grandparents, District Police Directorate – Pleven announced. On June 19 the mother took the baby from a social care institution until the court terminates the girl’s stay in a children’s social institution. Then the grandmother (33) and grandfather (40), who was convicted several times, decided to sell the child for BGN 1,350.

• An 11-year-old girl gave birth to a healthy baby girl in the southeast Bulgarian city of Sliven Thursday night. The news has been confirmed by the head of the maternity ward in the Sliven Hospital, who also said the youngest mothers the ward had seen earlier were aged 12.