Bulgarian press review, January 19, 2010

Press Review
Sofia, January 19(BTA)


THE HOME SCENE

"Troud" leads with the Monday meeting of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the leadership of the Interior Ministry, the prosecuting magistracy and the State Agency for National Security (SANS), on the efforts against organized crime groups in Bulgaria. The story quotes the Prime Minister as saying that there are 250-300 people who harass Bulgaria and 70,000 policemen, investigators, prosecutors and SANS agents are trying to crush them. It also highlights the words of Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov who said that no adequate action was taken against these 250-300 major crime figures in the past, and that this situation will change now. Prosecutor General Boris Velchev reportedly said that they get full cooperation from the Interior Ministry and SANS and have a strong will to do away with organized crime in Bulgaria.

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"Troud" reports that MP Hristo Bisserov (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) has put forward amendments to the Electronic Communications Act whereby Internet and phone operators will charge the law-enforcing services a fee for the printouts with their clients' communications. The idea of introducing a fee cropped up during a public debate last week when mobile phone operators complained that no other European country has a deadline of 2 hours within which cell phone providers are required to produce a printout of a user's phone calls upon the law-enforcers' request. The minimum required time for this is between 3 and 5 workdays, they said.

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"Sega" runs a commentary ("Unions to Burn Down in the Flames of the Riot") on the situation in the railway sector and says that last week's protest of railway workers was spontaneous and took by surprise the trade union headquarters. The author believes that civil society in Bulgaria is changing its structure and official trade unions are losing their meaning. "Authentic leaders stand out and self-organizing communities come into being. Official structures go gradually down." The author goes on to comment that this is a sad conclusion because workers need reliable protection and employers need experienced mediators in resolving labour disputes.

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In a "Troud" interview, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) President Nikola Subotinov says that the number of institutes with the Academy will be halved and the whole Academy will have a new structure. Decisions on whether to keep or lose institutes will be based on an international evaluation, the number of researchers capable of valuable research work, and the needs of society. The goal is to shed redundant administration, streamline the coordination procedures and improve the economic efficiency of research, the BAS President says.

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A story in "Standard News" ("Phantoms in the Hospitals") says that hospitals facing closure are offering up to 3,000 leva under the table to medics to sign a contract with them only to secure the requisite number of medical specialists without actually using their services - or else get imminent closure and bankruptcy. The alarm for this new trick was sounded by the director of the municipal hospital in the Northern town of Byala Slatina.

In a "Monitor" interview, Dr Stoyan Alexandrov of the Health Ministry says that the restructuring of hospital services will help improve conditions for patients. He says that by January 20 it will be clear which hospitals will stay and which will be restructured - because they wonТt be shut down but will be transformed into facilities for follow-up treatment or hospices.

ECONOMY

Money invested in Bulgaria in 2009 totalled 2.6 billion euro, "Troud" writes quoting the head of InvestBulgaria Agency, Stoyan Stalev ("EUR2.6Bln Despite the Crisis"). Stalev used central bank premilinary figures. The like figure in 2008 was 6 billion euro. Bulgarians living and working abroad contributed over 2 billion leva last year, which is 38 per cent of the reported total investment. Indeed, last year's investment was smaller than before but even that was good, considering the circumstances, Stalev commented.

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Another front-page story in this paper says that Bulgarians will have the freedom to choose when to retire instead of having to follow mandatory retirement age rules - if an idea which is being considered by an advisory board on pension reform is pushed through. The idea is to set an extended period of time (between the age of 60 and 65, or 63 and 65, for example) during which people can choose to retire or continue to work. It will make it easier for them to accept the change and will make them take the best decision about when to retire, the paper says quoting experts from the advisory board.

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"Sega" reports estimates by the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) that one in five Bulgarians will be out of job in 2010 and that real unemeployment will go up to 19-20 per cent. This is much higher than the government's forecast of 13.7 per cent of unemployed people this year. BIA says that this level was reached in late 2009 when 530,000 - 540,000 people were jobless. The Employment Agency reported 9.13 per cent unemployment in December which means that 338,000 Bulgarians were out of job at the time.

BULGARIA - EU

Most papers have updates on the procedure for the approval of EU Commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva by the European Parliament. "Brussels Concludes than Jeleva Is Clean" is a headline in "Standard News" which cites an opinion by the EP Legal Service quoted by Deutsche Welle Monday evening. According to this paper, this opinion ended the dispute over the Bulgarian commissioner-designate.

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"Troud" says that the battle is "to at least save Jeleva's honour". Joseph Daul of the European People's Party Monday against called upon those who had questioned Jeleva's integrity, to appologize to her. "Many saw in his persistence an attempt to save Jeleva's honour and that of the EPP, in case they are unable to push through her designation. Everybody but her own party is against the Bulgarian [candidate] and she seems to stand in the way of Barroso Commission 2 to getting the majority they need for their approval," writes the "Troud" correspondent in Brussels.

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In "24 Chassa", Justice Minister Margarita Popova says one shouldnТt go as far as finding fault with the Bulgarian legislation in his wish to say how strongly he dislikes a particular EU Commissioner-designate. It was Popova's comment to criticism by Bulgarian lawyers against a legal opinion by her Ministry which said that Jeleva broke no law with her declarations of financial interests. The Justice Minister further said that it makes sense to consider revisions to the law on the election of Bulgarian representatives to the EU and introduce the same rules for MEPs as those that apply for MPs. "But until then the restriction in the parliamentary rules of procedure which does not allow MPs to participate in companies, does not apply to MEPs," popova says.

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"Sega" reports that Bulgaria is no longer the poorest EU nation. Latvia has the largest proportion of its population (26 per cent) threatened by poverty. Next is Romania with 23 per cent and only then comes Bulgaria with 21 per cent, according to Eurostat. The Czech Republic and Slovakia have the fewest poor (9 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively).

FOREIGN POLICY

"Sega" says that Bulgaria "tried to lift the Greek blockade with quiet diplomacy" but didnТt succeed. This emerged Monday when some of the checkpoints on the Bulgarian-Greek border remained sealed by protesting Greek farmers. Bulgarian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dragovest Goranov says (on Bulgarian National Radio), "Our country has not received an official reply from the Greek authorities further to our expression of concern over the blocked border. We will first take the matter to the European Commission but at this stage we are trying to find other opportunities for a political agreement with the Greek government."

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 – Sofia, January 19, 2010

· Bulgarian commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva has withdrawn her candidature and has resigned as foreign minister after pressure for her removal mounted both on the European and home front. Prime Minister Borisov received a letter from Zheleva, in which she wants to withdraw her candidacy as EU Commission and as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria. Bulgarian Prime Minister has refused to accept the resignation of Rumiana Jeleva as foreign minister. Sofia plans to send Kristalina Georgieva, currently a vice-president of the World Bank, as its replacement candidate. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also "took note" of Jeleva's decision and welcomed the "swift reaction of the Bulgarian government to this situation."

· Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, has requested EUR 10 M from the European Union for the ongoing blockade of the Bulgaria-Greek border by Greek farmers. He have sent a letter to the President of the European Commission Jose Barroso, seizing the Commission over violation of Articles 30-36 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community and Regulation 2679/98. Regarding to this Prime Minister insist on the European Commission to undertake urgent measures. Borisov said categorically that he wanted the border to be unblocked and that Bulgaria should not be punished for problems inside another EU country.