Bulgarian press review, March 19, 2010

Press Review
Sofia, March 19 (BTA)


The Government has started massive downsizing of state administration jobs, "Troud" reports on its front page. This week alone, some 50 people in the Education Ministry were made redundant (and important directors were summarily dismissed). The Defence Ministry will reportedly eliminate 500 tenured positions from its administration and another 300 or so from the Social Activities Directorate. At the Foreign Ministry, the staff size was reduced by 226 positions and diplomats returning after a tour abroad will be forced to take unpaid leave until a vacancy falls open at the head office in Sofia. The Transport Ministry has shed 336 jobs. As part of the anti-crisis measures, the Health Ministry is contemplating a merger of the Regional Health Centres (with some 500 employees) with the Regional Inspectorates for Public Health Protection and Control (with over 3,330 employees). The Finance Ministry is the top achiever in redundancies: 15 per cent or 98 tenured positions have been eliminated, "Troud" notes. The National Revenue Agency, too, has not been spared: at 7,335, tax officers are 641 fewer than before.

"This time in front of the National Theatre we will not be smoking or drinking water: we will be shouting to be heard as far away as in Europe," Ivan Slavov, Chairman of the Control Commission of the Interior Ministry Staff Trade Union Federation, told "Troud". "Why have the election campaign promises to the police vanished? Why are we used as a scare, showing people how we pin some guy to the ground? We are depoliticized, why do they get us involved in political games?" he asks. "Our colleagues in Sofia cope somehow: they moonlight as tile fixers after work. But policemen in the provinces are desperate. And they are armed. If anything happens, let the Prime Minister know that we, the trade unions, have not organized it. But we can't stop it, either," Savov notes.

"Bulgarska Armiya" quotes Defence Minister Anyu Angelov as saying that servicepersons' pay will not be allowed to drop.

The National Revenue Agency (NRA) is contemplating a relaxed regime for rescheduling corporate debts, "Dnevnik" learnt. The effective ordinance, dating from 2006, is exceedingly restrictive and the mechanism is practically unworkable for a large part of the companies which are experiencing difficulties due to the crisis. The effect of the hostile market conditions is compounded by the build-up of the State's debts to companies.

The NRA has registered a 600 million leva decline in revenue collection since the beginning of the year compared to the same period of 2009, NRA Executive Director Krassimir Stefanov said, quoted in the top story of "Douma." The NRA has 6,500 million leva uncollected receivables from debtors that have built up over the years. Stefanov said that for January 2010 alone, the employment contracts registered at his Agency were 100,000 fewer than in January 2009. He sees this as an indication of the loss of 100 jobs.

Bulgaria ranks third among the countries of Southeastern Europe as an attractive destination of foreign direct investment, Ernst & Young found in a survey of 203 business leaders of international companies at the end of 2009, "Klassa" reports on its front page. The most attractive invesment destination in the region is Croatia, with 40 per cent of the respondents, followed by Romania, 39 per cent, Bulgaria, 34 per cent, and Serbia, 33 per cent. As many as 54 per cent of the investors are positive that Bulgaria can increase its attractiveness over the next three years. According to Ernst & Young Bulgaria Country Managing Partner John Mystakidis, Bulgaria is probably the only EU Member State together with Cyrpus which meets all Maastricht criteria and this is an excellent recommendation for business, especially after the raging fiscal crisis in Greece.

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"I like [Finance Minister] Simeon Djankov's ideas, I support his views about fiscal stability and reforms; the problem is that especially recently he hasn't been receiving the necessary support," former finance minister Milen Velchev says in a "Troud" interview. He also approves that an increase of tax rates is not proposed, the idea not to assume new obligations before paying the old ones, and the temporary withdrawal of civil servants' privileges. Velchev favours the idea of the Bulgarian National Bank issuing bonds for development of the international markets, so as to provide cheaper loans for business.

"At present, pensioners have an absolutely unfair competitive advantage on the labour market over people who are not of retirement age," Center for Liberal Strategies Programme Director Georgi Ganev says in a "Klassa" interview. He also argues that the fact that civil servants so far have not been paying their share of social and health insurance contributions but taxpayers have had to pay it for them is food for thought.

"I wouldn't stpport at least half of the 28 proposals cited in the press," economist Georgi Angelov, who allegedly came up with the proposals, told "Troud". Under the heading "If We Go Bankrupt, the Measures Will Seem All Too Lenient," he notes that the politically easier approach would be to cut all public spending by the same percentage. If the budget deficit is 1,000 million leva, everybody will be told to reduce their expenditures by 4-5 per cent, he reasons. "If we are to reform the administration, let us introduce new incentives for civil servants: give them bonuses when they do their job; if they don't, fine them and fire them," he suggests. He has an idea that a market should be sought for the carbon emissions that the other countries sell. In his opinion, the Government must take a harder line because "since the elections everybody who has started a protest has got some money. Which encourages the rest to demand as well." "Under trade union pressure, all reforms have been halted and now they will have to pay a ten-fold larger price," Angelov argues.

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"The power-holders banned GMOs under public pressure," "Sega" writes on its front page. "GERB took a U-turn on the matter after the resolute intervention of Prime Minister Borissov," the daily notes. "After three months of stormy debate in Parliament, in the media and after street protests, the MPs of GERB and Ataka yesterday gave up all radical revisions of the Genetically Modified Organisms Act. The parliamentary majroity banned GMO cultivation and experiments for scientific purposes in the protected areas and within 30 km from them. The GMO Act, which was passed conclusively, prohibited the cultivation of GMOs within 7 km from organically farmed areas and within 10 km from beehives. At the opening of the plenary sitting, the ruling party also withdrew its motion on imposition of a five-year moratorium on GMOs within Bulgarian territory."

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"Bribes in the judicial system are codenamed as tropical fruits," Deputy Prime Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said on Thursday, cited on the "Monitor" front page. The magistrates would not mention any money and bribes when talking on their mobile phones. All they would say is that they wanted a specific quantity of oranges or bananas. Judges know perfectly well how to avoid being implicated in corruption.

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Tomislav Donchev, who was elected minister in charge of EU funding management, told "Standart News" that 24 per cent of the resources from the EU have been contracted and 3.2 per cent have been paid. He believes that the bureacratic burden should be relieved without loosening controls.


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"South Stream will be the only gas pipeline that will be built," Prof. Gerhard Mangott, energy security expert and political scientist of Innsbruck University, told "Novinar" in an interview.

"Troud" carries an article by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu entitled "Bulgaria and Turkey Have Common Past and Future".

CULTURE

"The most expensive performing art in Bulgaria is operate. The largest money-maker, though, is theatre," "Troud" writes in its analysis. There are 42 state-owned theatres in Bulgaria, employing 1,883 people. Last year the Government spent more than 24 million leva on their labour costs and utility expenses. Theatres earned about of quarter of their keep by ticket sales: 5.8 million leva, with an average price per admission of 5.95 leva.

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Most papers report that the 6th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, initiated and organized by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and the Association of Bulgarian Media Worldwide, will take place in Vienna between May 16 and 20, 2010. The meeting will focus on the evolution of the terms "East" and "West" and the new East-West relationship in economic, social, cultural and media terms.

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 – March 19, 2010

· Motives for the impeachment of the Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov are ready, the speaker of the National Assembly Tsetska Tsacheva told journalists, Focus News Agency reporter informs. Tsacheva noted the parties reached and agreement on the motives for President’s impeachment. The speaker of the National Assembly did not specify the motives for the impeachment.

· Finance Minister Simeon Djankov will familiarize the National Assembly with the government's anti-crisis package after the social partners approve it and the Council of Ministers adopts it. Djankov said that a team of representatives of most ministries was working on additional measures in support of Bulgarian businesses and the people. The measures are expected to be drawn up by the end of this week. They are to be discussed with employers and trade unions in the National Council of Tripartite Cooperation next Monday. After the government discusses the package, the Finance Minister will familiarize the National Assembly with it.


· Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and Greek Citizens Protection Minister Mihalis Chrysohoidis Friday inaugurated a Contact Centre for Police and Customs Cooperation at the Promachonas border crossing, on Bulgaria's border with Greece. The sides signed the rules of organization and procedure for the Centre, which will have a Greek and a Bulgarian manager. The Centre will allow Bulgarian and Greek border police and customs officials to cooperate in real time and to solve problems related to transborder crime.

· The design of the Bulgarian part of the Nabucco gas pipeline should be ready in late 2011. According to the final report on the pipeline route, the Bulgarian section will be 412 km, said Kirkor Topakbashiyan, head of Marketing and Commercial Operations Department of Chimcomplecт Engineering which is the local engineer for the Nabucco project. All details of the Bulgarian route will be clear in October or November this year. The pipeline is scheduled to be commissioned in late 2014 or early 2015.