Bulgarian press review, November 3, 2009

Press Review
Sofia, November 3 (BTA)

HOME SCENE

According to 63 per cent of Bulgarians the activities of the incumbent government raise hopes, 23 per cent say they are disappointing, showed the results of a poll reprinted by "Troud." Voters' attitudes almost mirror the situation of eight years ago but now Boyko Borissov is in the role of the then prime minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Sergei Stanishev appears in that of Ivan Kostov, then opposition leader in parliament, sociologists Andrei Raychev and Kuncho Stoychev say.

"The greatest achievement of the government in its first 100 days is that it has returned the names in politics to the places they belong and quickly translated the catastrophe caused by Stanishev's governance in figures," political scientist Evgenii Daynov observes in "24 Chassa." In his opinion, one of the incumbents' problems is that they do not know what to do with the secret services and the Russian projects.
MBMD Director Mira Radeva expresses the view that the strengths of the incumbent government include broad parliamentary and public support and regained confidence of the European institutions and funds; the bad thing is, she notes however, that the incumbents' focus is rather on their media image than on the battle for survival of the economy.
"The incumbents are energetic but their allying with Ataka and distancing themselves from the Blue [Coalition] is a mistake," Andrei Raychev of Gallup International says.

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"From European point of view, I have not heard anything negative about the Bulgarian government so far - if it goes on along its pro-European road, the government will enjoy support," German MEP Elmar Brok of the European People's Party says in an interview for "Troud."

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"Standart News" headlines an interview with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov "Europe Got Me Ready for the Power." In his words, the Commission for Identifying Criminal Assets Acquisition (popularly known as the Koushlev Commission after the name of its chairman Stoyan Koushlev) should have a legal instrument allowing it to seize property acquired by criminal means. "The GERB candidate for Sofia mayor [Yordanka Fandakova, currently Education, Youth and Science Minister] should go on working for what is within her competence - education," Borissov says.

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"We are planning extensions and construction of schools on money from the budget and from European programmes," Fandakova says in an interview for "24 Chassa." Opening 2-3,000 vacancies in kindergartens over the next two or three years can resolve the problem with kids, she says.

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There is a big hole in Sofia Municipality's budget - about 180 million leva in taxes and fees will remain uncollected this year, "Douma" quotes Georgi Kadiev as saying. Kadiev is the candidate of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) for mayor of Sofia.

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"Economic circles have been trying to work their way to the government and become factors in determining the global economic trends by bringing under their control the most dangerous zones of public governance," Order, Lawfulness, Justice leader Yani Yanev says in "Standart News." In his words, there is a group seeking to provoke a monetary crisis.

INTERIOR MINISTRY, JUSTICE

"In the aftermath of mass layoffs stemming from the economic crisis, abductions of high-positioned officials are expected," "Novinar" writes referring to the international association for self-defence, bodyguard and security services. Former employees may vengeance for being left without incomes by kidnapping their ex-bosses. The association recommends that attention be paid to the new motives for abduction in applying measures for its prevention. Starting Monday, the "Prepared Is Protected" campaign is aimed to inform people about the types of and motives for abduction and the risk groups. The association warns that subject to abduction are not only the reach but people of the middle class, too.

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Bulgaria is placed third by tax evasion in the EU, "Sega" says referring to a grading of the Association of Italian Taxpayers. The association got the data from the tax authorities in the EU member states. According to the data, 39.3 per cent of Bulgarians are tax evaders. Italy is first, with 51.2 per cent tax evaders, Romania is next.

ECONOMY

The stock exchange has got to quickly change its delisting rules, Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) Deputy Chair Ralitsa Agayn-Guri says in an interview for "Pari."

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Foreign investments in Bulgaria will shrink by 50 per cent in 2009 compared with the previous year when they totalled 6,500 million euro, analysts forecast in "Pari" based on data for the first half of the year released by the National bank of Bulgaria (BNB).

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As much as 1,400 million leva would enter Bulgaria's economy if it had an electronic government. The introduction of such services will cost several hundred million leva but the investment will help pull this country out of the economic crisis, Bulgarian Industrial Association President Bozhidar Danev is quoted as saying by "Klassa."

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"The establishment of the National Revenue Agency and the institutionalization of the tax administration have been appreciated as a very good step by the World Bank. That is why [Finance Minister] Simeon Djankov is in the difficult position to criticize areas which the institution he used to work for described as well reformed," former finance minister Plamen Oresharski says in an interview for "Troud."

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Erhard Busek, former Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, commends in an interview granted to "Telegraf" to give up the Belene nuclear power plant project. In his view, Bulgaria should construct hydroelectric power plants and wind parks for which there are excellent conditions in it.


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 – November 3, 2009

· It can be said Bulgaria's state budget is already balanced as a surplus of BGN 52 M has been achieved for October 2009. This was announced Tuesday by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov during the Fourth Annual Meeting of Government and Business organized together with the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG). Borisov declared that securing financial stability by reducing the deficit that emerged in the summer of 2009 and balancing the budget is the most crucial achievement of the government in its first 100 days.
As another major achievement of his first 100 days in office he pointed to the unblocking of frozen EU funds.
Borisov stressed the importance of financial stability and security as a top priority of his government, and announced that he had formed a special council of economy experts to advise him on financial matters. The newly formed council includes Kristalina Georgieva, Vice-President of the World Bank; Lyubomir Hristov, former advisor of the World Bank President, and Professor Iliyan Mihov.
"The Ministers have had it really tough with what they have discovered in their ministries. They cannot stop talking about that because either there is no money, or there are contracts leaving their institutions deeply in debt,” the Prime Minister said.

· The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office is going to demand that one Member of Parliament be stripped of his immunity over the investigation of a recently leaked top secret intelligence report. This was announced Tuesday by the Sofia City Prosecutor, Nikolay Kokinov. He did not mention explicitly the name of the former Prime Minister but Stanishev is the only Member of Parliament who has been interrogated over the secret intelligence report which disappeared in October 2008.

· Police detained a criminal group over carjacking last night in the capital, Chief Prosecutor Nikolay Kokinov stated today. In the crime were involved not only a civil citizens but also a policemen and one military man. They were detained in a stolen car last nigh in Sofia.