Press Review
Sofia, April 13 (BTA)
THE HOME SCENE
"Troud" comments that GERB is entering a difficult parliamentary session. The author notes that the spring session of the National Assembly will be dominated by two topics: the anti-crisis measures and the effectiveness of the judiciary, both of them urgent and complex. From a political point of view, most urgent is the response to the President's veto of the amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure concerning the so-called backup defence lawyer and the secret witness. The author suggests that it would not be a bad idea if in addition to the President's reasoning for the vetoed amendments, the parliamentary Legal Committee also consider the objections to the provisions of leading human rights organizations.
In the economy, most urgent is the passage of legal amendments to enforce part of the 59 anti-crisis measures of the cabinet. The author says this will be no easy job since the effect of most of the measures is not that apparent, time is short, the expertpotential, limited, the consensus among the parliamentary represented parties is somewhere beyond the horizon while the President will not waste the opportunity to veto the more controversial legal amendments. In this complicated situation the parliamentary majority will either cope with the challenges or this will be its last spring session in Parliament, the author concludes.
* * *
"24 Chassa" writes about a suggestion coming from MPs under which ministers will have to "sit an exam" each week without knowing the test questions. The proposal is to be tabled at the beginning of the spring session of the National Assembly. The idea, coming from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), is to invite cabinet ministers to report during Question Time in Parliament without knowing the questions they will have to answer beforehand and without having a time to prepare their answers. MRF MP Lyutvi Mestan says that such a quick Question Time with surprise questions will demonstrate the real competence of the ministers. A similar idea about a new type of Question Time in Parliament was made a month ago by Borislav Tsekov of the Institute for Modern Politics.
* * *
In "Troud" Justice Minister Margarita Popova comments the President's veto of the amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure saying that the state must put an end to endless prolonging of court trials. Popova denied that misuses will be possible in indictments and sentences based only on information collected by special surveillance means and testimony by a secret witness. According to Popova, the bills are reformist and concern the opportunity of the state to have at its disposal resources to fight corruption and organized crime.
* * *
"Piecemeal Laws, Piecemeal Vetoes" caps an analysis in "24 Chassa" which says that in Bulgaria the formula "everything is a crime" is growing ever more and makes the prosecuting magistracy into an all-competent and all-powerful institution. without control. The comment says that criminal proceedings have turned into a way to "settle accounts". The controversial amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot solve these problems. What is more, the amendments will create additional difficulties. It is perplexing that, according to what top officials have said, the secret witness and the special surveillance means will be only used in high-profile cases, i.e. they will not affect "the ordinary honest average defendant". But the law is for everyone. The implications that it will be for the "worst guys" and that the Interior Ministry will decide who they are, is a cause of concern, says the author of the comment.
* * *
"Troud" quotes Monday's statement by Ivan Kostov, co-chairman of the Blue Coalition and leader of the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB), that the rightist formations and GERB will come further apart if the latter fail to push through reforms. "If GERB gives up on reforms, we will lose our role of a guarantor of the reforms and the distance between us will grow even further," Kostov said, commenting a statement by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov which implied that first the cabinet will plug the leakages of public money and only after that tackle reforms. "GERB can no longer sink in the quagmire of populism if the party wants to keep its leading position," said Kostov and promised that DSB will try to influence the course GERB is taking.
* * *
"BSP Leader Targets MRF's Electorate" reads a headline in "Sega". The daily says that leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and former prime minister Sergei Stanishev made a surprise move announcing the start of his party's active policy in the areas with mixed (Bulgarian and Turkish) population, especially the Rhodope Mountains. "The target are the voters of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF)," the author writes. At the end of last week BSP's Executive Bureau had a meeting in Kurdjali, Southern Bulgaria (one of the strongholds of MRF) and decided to invite the MRF leadership to "an open talk on all problems". Stanishev formulated new tasks for the BSP, among which is to invite Bulgarian Turks to join BSP, and to elect such people in municipal and national leading bodies in a greater scale if BSP wants to see its influence growing.
ECONOMY
All of the Tuesday dailies write about the gap of 1,200 million leva in the budget revenue target . "Sega" notes that the problem with revenue becomes "deeper still". The government expects to have in the public purse 1,200 million leva less than planned, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov told a news briefing here Monday. The incumbents are of the opinion that the problem is mainly due to the economic downturn while the opposition argues that the government is ruining business.
* * *
The Bulgarian Energy Holding, which managers eight state-owned companies, will be closed by the end of June and all relevant procedures will be complied with, "Pari" says, quoting Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov. Initially, the eight companies will function as independent entities, but other ideas are being discussed as well, Traikov said. One option is to group the gas companies in one, another is to have the commercial companies under one umbrella, and the assets, under another. Traikov also said that options are being considered forthe privatization of the National Electric Company (NEC) or parts of it, or offering NEC shares on the stock exchange.
* * *
Interviewed by "Standart News" Chairman of the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) Angel Semerdjiev says that a serious review has started into electricity distributing companies (EDCs) and from now on any cost that is taken into account in the determination of electricity prices will be carefully investigated. He hopes that opportunities will be found to reduce costs. SEWRC will be ever more demanding vis-a-vis and will check all data which the EDCs provide to it. Also, there are ideas to bind the EDCs' performance with prices so that when a company does not meet certain indicators, price hikes will not be allowed, but just the opposite, prices will be cut, Semerdjiev says.
* * *
"Sega" informs that a "budget detective" will be sent to look for information about the so-called secret annexes to some 150 contracts concluded by 13 ministries in the previous cabinet whose recent "discovery" increased the budget deficit for 2009 from 1.9 to 3.7 per cent. The problem is that a unified and consistent system for budget accounting is absent, says "Sega". Financier Emil Hursev says that a single institution: the state treasury, should report and manage all available assets, property and obligations of the state, irrespective of where they are located and which entity is their owner.
* * *
"Troud" writes that the United Democratic Forces (UDF) have found out that in 2008 the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry spent 1,111 million leva without primary accounting documents. The report says that the 2008 audit of the Ministry is invalid as it has not been signed by the person in the National Audit Office in charge of the Ministry in question, Hyussein Chaoush. UDF said that Chaoush did not sign the audit on account of missing documents to support the spending of the money.
* * *
In an interview in "Klassa" Labour and Social Policy Minister Toty Mladenov says that the Council for Tripartite Cooperation (made up by employers, trade unions and the cabinet) will discuss the pension reform by May 31. Mladenov stressed that the pension reform has not stopped, as implied by some recently. He says that there are ways to encourage the longer stay of a person on the labour market. Mladenov assures that after the expert talks at the Council for Tripartite Cooperation there will be an orderly system for pension reform which will be a consensus document.
* * *
"Troud" writes that the National Revenue Agency (NRA) and all Directorates for Social Assistance are launching cross checks of incomes of more well-to-do parents who also draw child benefits. Nearly 30,000 families will be checked whose members' occupations: lawyers, doctors, dentists, etc., suggest that they receive higher incomes that what they state.
* * *
"Troud" reports that in the early summer season 50 leva will be enough for a person to pay for his accommodation, food and drink for a day at the seaside. The report says that the downturn has sobered hotel owners, forcing them to consider the Bulgarian tourists "who are the most loyal of clients and the most prompt of payers," according to the author. High-end hotels along the Northern Black Sea have offers for 50 leva per day all-inclusive. Prices offered by four-star hotels along the Southern Black Sea coast vary from 27 leva per day to 56 leva at the peak of the season, says the report. BTA
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 – April 13
· The funeral for Polish President Lech Kaczynski on Sunday will be attended by President Georgi Purvanov and Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Vessela Cherneva said at a regular briefing on Thursday in the wake of the plane crash near Smolensk, in which many representatives of Poland's political elite were killed.
· Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov Tuesday launched symbolically the first stage of the development of a Contemporary Museum Centre in downtown Sofia. The museum will be completed by the middle of 2012.
· Minister in charge of EU funds Tomislav Donchev said that funds will be reallocated between projects within EU operational programmes and that the government has no current plans to abandon motorway construction projects. Funds will be reallocated within the same operational programme. When a project under the OP Transport fails to be implemented within the budget period, allocated funds could be spent on road rehabilitation, said Donchev, specifying that in EC terms rehabilitation means an overhaul and not patching up potholes.
tirsdag den 13. april 2010
torsdag den 8. april 2010
Bulgarian Press Review, April 8, 2010
Press Review
Sofia, April 8 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
"Standart News" writes on its front page that private distributors sell electricity to consumers at double prices. The National Electricity Company (NEK) sells electricity 44 per cent cheaper than the price at which it is purchased from thermal power stations, "Klassa" notes. According to the daily, it is contemplated to terminate the privatization contracts with CEZ, E.ON and EVN. "Boyko wants dividends from CEZ, E.on and EVN - or nationalization," "24 Chassa" writes. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has poured his anger on the electricity distribution enterprises and NEK although the prices of electric power are regulated by a state commission, "Sega" observes. "Troud" leads with the headline "Boyko Targets Electricity Distributors." NEK, the state-controlled energy company, is being milked dry - this is yet another disclosure about shady deals in this country PM Borissov made on Wednesday. NEK buys electricity from producers at 90 leva/MWH on the average and sells it at 88 leva to distributors. At the same time, electricity distributors sell it at 146 leva/MWH to end users, Borissov said. "An end will be put to this, whatever the cost," the prime minister stated angrily. Asked if this means that the privatization contracts with electricity distributors will be terminated, he answered: "Yes, I am thinking about all possible options. This scheme will be discontinued." The prime minister has ordered to be presented a report on energy, the press says. Then all materials will be submitted to the prosecuting
authority "to bring it all out of anonymity" and name the culprits for milking NEK dry.
"The CEZ Image in Bulgaria Has Been Seriously Impaired," "24 Chassa" says in the headline of an interview with CEZ Bulgaria Regional Manager Jan Vavera. He admits that the company management has made mistakes that include the numerous legal actions brought against the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation. In his words, the rumours that CEZ is withdrawing from Bulgaria may be politically motivated.
* * *
PM Borissov has instructed Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov to claim between 5 million and 6 million leva from the German-based company Siemens in compensation for a problem in printing the new identity documents of Bulgarians, "24 Chassa" reports. Due to a software problem of the system, the first express orders for passports with biometric data placed on Tuesday could not be carried out. Working all the night, experts managed to issue only 630 identity documents in Sofia, Tsvetanov said. The IDs will be sent to the regional centres where the applications were filed using the services of courier companies with Siemens covering the expenses involved. "24 Chassa" quotes Doychin Cholakov, head of Corporate Communications at Siemens, who says that the experts are actively working to optimize the system and make up for the delay and that he hopes this will happen by the end of the week. According to him, the problem has occurred as a result of the enormous interest in getting new IDs - the applications are three times more than projected and the time limit for printing the documents is too short, he said. Siemens had only six months after signing the contract to develop the extremely sophisticated system. Late on Tuesday Italian specialists arrived in Bulgaria to help cope with the problem.
* * *
"Americans Bite 0.3 ha Off Government Residence," "24 Chassa" says in its highlights. Part of the land belonging to the Lozenets Government Residence went into private hands. The defence Ministry, which owned this piece of property, has confirmed the news. The court awarded two lots of nearly 0.3 ha within the premises of the Lozenets Residence to the Bulgarian-American venture Lozenets Development Company. A procedure for the physical partition of the land will follow, "24 Chassa" writes. There are 23 former owners claiming parts of the attractive property, too. If their claims are granted, the State will lose half of the Lozenets Residence. The Defence Ministry keeps silent about the fate of the underground command post of the army established there.
* * *
Under the headline "Ghettos for Children" psychologist Ivan Igov writes in "Standart News" that it is a wide-spread practice to place healthy children and mentally deficient children in the same institutional care facility and that the methods used to evaluate the children's health status are inefficient.
* * *
This year for the first time the external evaluation of students and the high school entrance exams will be held as one exam consisting of two modules, "Troud" writes referring to Asen Alexandrov, advisor to Education, Youth and Science Minister Sergei Ignatov for secondary education. The first module, designed to evaluate students learning outcomes in general, is mandatory; the second one is for the students willing to enroll in elite high schools.
* * *
The press reports that the cabinet has nominated Professor Anna-Maria Borissova as health minister. The new health minister will start her term by ordering inspections, "Monitor" writes. The Sofia chapter of the Bulgarian Medical Association (BMA) questions the qualities of the nominee for health minister, "Dnevnik" notes. "I don't know what a woman minister without any experience could do," the chairman of the BMA Sofia chapter, Dr Metodi Madjarov, is quoted as saying. "It seems that the prime minister did not have much choice, given that he named as [Bozhidar] Nanev's successor a doctor without any vision about health care but with a lot of experience in advertising medicines," "Sega" says.
* * *
It is contemplated to establish an animal police force devoted to fighting crimes against animals amending the Penal Code accordingly; the idea has been proposed by NGOs, the Agriculture Ministry told "Novinar." The first thing to do is to see whether funds could be allocated for the implementation of the idea at a time of crisis; the next thing is to decide who should be assigned the functions of such police. According to Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov, the required amendments to the Penal Code have already been drafted. They envisage one to three years' imprisonment and fines from 5,000 to 15,000 leva for cruel treatment of animals leading to death or permanent disability. Repeated cruelty or performing the cruel act in the presence of children or harming third persons would be liable to one to five years' imprisonment and a fine from 10,000 to
30,000 leva. "We hope that the amendments will pass in the National Assembly," Naydenov said.
* * *
Journalist Iva Nikolova will run for mayor of Gabrovo as the candidate of the Blue Coalition, "24 Chassa" reports on its front page. The news has been confirmed by the local United Democratic Forces leader Viktor Spassov and municipal councillor Dobromir Valachev (Democrats for Strong Bulgaria). Nikolova was born in Gabrovo; she is the daughter of eminent Bulgarian painter Nikola Nikolov.
ECONOMY
No fiscal measures can replace the structural reforms, Stoyan Mavrodiev, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly economic Committee, says in "Klassa." He is against increasing the burden of taxes - both direct and indirect.
* * *
The price of petrol will go up by 7 per cent if crude oil reaches 90 US dollars per barrel, "Klassa" writes. In the first quarter of 2010, consumption of petrol for private automobiles shrank by 8 per cent and by nearly 20 per cent for vehicles used for business purposes.
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
"If you really think I am a criminal, shoot me!" This is what former defence minister Nikolai Tsonev said when he was arrested in the Academy of Military Medicine on April 1, according to "Troud." However, this part of the video posted on the Interior Ministry web site has been cut off.
FOREIGN POLICY
Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov will be the first to be welcomed by Barack Obama at the official dinner with the US President in Prague this evening. It will be attended by 11 state and government leaders of countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It is specified that the leaders will enter the hall in the residence of the US ambassador in Prague in alphabetical order. Borissov, faced with problems in the Bulgarian health care system, is expected to congratulate Obama for ushering a sweeping health reform in the US.
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 – April 8
· Bulgaria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food has filed to the Prosecution Office a list of around 5,000 swap deals for state-owned terrains realized in 2006-2007. The news broke at a press conference of the ministry.Only five of these deals have harmed the state with EUR 8.481 million, Minister of Agriculture and Food Miroslav Naydenov announced. The matter in point concerns five land swaps from the State Land Fund in the areas of Kamchiya (403 decares), Perelik (1,965 decares), Separeva Banya (1,761 decares), Burgas (101 decares) and Kavarna (288 decares).
· The meeting in Prague is of great importance. Of course, the focus will be put on security issues and the challanges, which all of us are facing, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov said in interview to BNT.In Mladenov’s words, the current situation in Kyrgyzstan will be also tabled for discussion, as Afghanistan will be one of the topics in the meeting.The situation in Iran and Iran’s nuclear program will be another topic for discussion, as well as the strategy for NATO’s development, the minister added. “The meeting between the US president and the presidents and prime ministers of the countries in Central and East Europe comes right after the signing of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which is of historical importance not only for the US – Russia relations but also for everyone’s security and it shows the clear will of the US allies to strengthen the transatlantic connection with the European partners, especially with those in Central and East Europe,” Minister Mladenov remarked.
· Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry has been keeping constant contact with our embassy to Kazakhstan, which is the closest one to Bishkek and has been getting in touch with Bulgarians who are now in Kyrgyzstan, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov said. According to initial data, there are around 700 Bulgarians in Kyrgyzstan, part of them are from mixed marriages. “We have officers at the representations of the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Bishkek. According to latest information – there are no Bulgarian nationals injured in the clashes,” Minister Mladenov said.
Sofia, April 8 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
"Standart News" writes on its front page that private distributors sell electricity to consumers at double prices. The National Electricity Company (NEK) sells electricity 44 per cent cheaper than the price at which it is purchased from thermal power stations, "Klassa" notes. According to the daily, it is contemplated to terminate the privatization contracts with CEZ, E.ON and EVN. "Boyko wants dividends from CEZ, E.on and EVN - or nationalization," "24 Chassa" writes. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has poured his anger on the electricity distribution enterprises and NEK although the prices of electric power are regulated by a state commission, "Sega" observes. "Troud" leads with the headline "Boyko Targets Electricity Distributors." NEK, the state-controlled energy company, is being milked dry - this is yet another disclosure about shady deals in this country PM Borissov made on Wednesday. NEK buys electricity from producers at 90 leva/MWH on the average and sells it at 88 leva to distributors. At the same time, electricity distributors sell it at 146 leva/MWH to end users, Borissov said. "An end will be put to this, whatever the cost," the prime minister stated angrily. Asked if this means that the privatization contracts with electricity distributors will be terminated, he answered: "Yes, I am thinking about all possible options. This scheme will be discontinued." The prime minister has ordered to be presented a report on energy, the press says. Then all materials will be submitted to the prosecuting
authority "to bring it all out of anonymity" and name the culprits for milking NEK dry.
"The CEZ Image in Bulgaria Has Been Seriously Impaired," "24 Chassa" says in the headline of an interview with CEZ Bulgaria Regional Manager Jan Vavera. He admits that the company management has made mistakes that include the numerous legal actions brought against the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation. In his words, the rumours that CEZ is withdrawing from Bulgaria may be politically motivated.
* * *
PM Borissov has instructed Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov to claim between 5 million and 6 million leva from the German-based company Siemens in compensation for a problem in printing the new identity documents of Bulgarians, "24 Chassa" reports. Due to a software problem of the system, the first express orders for passports with biometric data placed on Tuesday could not be carried out. Working all the night, experts managed to issue only 630 identity documents in Sofia, Tsvetanov said. The IDs will be sent to the regional centres where the applications were filed using the services of courier companies with Siemens covering the expenses involved. "24 Chassa" quotes Doychin Cholakov, head of Corporate Communications at Siemens, who says that the experts are actively working to optimize the system and make up for the delay and that he hopes this will happen by the end of the week. According to him, the problem has occurred as a result of the enormous interest in getting new IDs - the applications are three times more than projected and the time limit for printing the documents is too short, he said. Siemens had only six months after signing the contract to develop the extremely sophisticated system. Late on Tuesday Italian specialists arrived in Bulgaria to help cope with the problem.
* * *
"Americans Bite 0.3 ha Off Government Residence," "24 Chassa" says in its highlights. Part of the land belonging to the Lozenets Government Residence went into private hands. The defence Ministry, which owned this piece of property, has confirmed the news. The court awarded two lots of nearly 0.3 ha within the premises of the Lozenets Residence to the Bulgarian-American venture Lozenets Development Company. A procedure for the physical partition of the land will follow, "24 Chassa" writes. There are 23 former owners claiming parts of the attractive property, too. If their claims are granted, the State will lose half of the Lozenets Residence. The Defence Ministry keeps silent about the fate of the underground command post of the army established there.
* * *
Under the headline "Ghettos for Children" psychologist Ivan Igov writes in "Standart News" that it is a wide-spread practice to place healthy children and mentally deficient children in the same institutional care facility and that the methods used to evaluate the children's health status are inefficient.
* * *
This year for the first time the external evaluation of students and the high school entrance exams will be held as one exam consisting of two modules, "Troud" writes referring to Asen Alexandrov, advisor to Education, Youth and Science Minister Sergei Ignatov for secondary education. The first module, designed to evaluate students learning outcomes in general, is mandatory; the second one is for the students willing to enroll in elite high schools.
* * *
The press reports that the cabinet has nominated Professor Anna-Maria Borissova as health minister. The new health minister will start her term by ordering inspections, "Monitor" writes. The Sofia chapter of the Bulgarian Medical Association (BMA) questions the qualities of the nominee for health minister, "Dnevnik" notes. "I don't know what a woman minister without any experience could do," the chairman of the BMA Sofia chapter, Dr Metodi Madjarov, is quoted as saying. "It seems that the prime minister did not have much choice, given that he named as [Bozhidar] Nanev's successor a doctor without any vision about health care but with a lot of experience in advertising medicines," "Sega" says.
* * *
It is contemplated to establish an animal police force devoted to fighting crimes against animals amending the Penal Code accordingly; the idea has been proposed by NGOs, the Agriculture Ministry told "Novinar." The first thing to do is to see whether funds could be allocated for the implementation of the idea at a time of crisis; the next thing is to decide who should be assigned the functions of such police. According to Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov, the required amendments to the Penal Code have already been drafted. They envisage one to three years' imprisonment and fines from 5,000 to 15,000 leva for cruel treatment of animals leading to death or permanent disability. Repeated cruelty or performing the cruel act in the presence of children or harming third persons would be liable to one to five years' imprisonment and a fine from 10,000 to
30,000 leva. "We hope that the amendments will pass in the National Assembly," Naydenov said.
* * *
Journalist Iva Nikolova will run for mayor of Gabrovo as the candidate of the Blue Coalition, "24 Chassa" reports on its front page. The news has been confirmed by the local United Democratic Forces leader Viktor Spassov and municipal councillor Dobromir Valachev (Democrats for Strong Bulgaria). Nikolova was born in Gabrovo; she is the daughter of eminent Bulgarian painter Nikola Nikolov.
ECONOMY
No fiscal measures can replace the structural reforms, Stoyan Mavrodiev, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly economic Committee, says in "Klassa." He is against increasing the burden of taxes - both direct and indirect.
* * *
The price of petrol will go up by 7 per cent if crude oil reaches 90 US dollars per barrel, "Klassa" writes. In the first quarter of 2010, consumption of petrol for private automobiles shrank by 8 per cent and by nearly 20 per cent for vehicles used for business purposes.
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
"If you really think I am a criminal, shoot me!" This is what former defence minister Nikolai Tsonev said when he was arrested in the Academy of Military Medicine on April 1, according to "Troud." However, this part of the video posted on the Interior Ministry web site has been cut off.
FOREIGN POLICY
Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov will be the first to be welcomed by Barack Obama at the official dinner with the US President in Prague this evening. It will be attended by 11 state and government leaders of countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It is specified that the leaders will enter the hall in the residence of the US ambassador in Prague in alphabetical order. Borissov, faced with problems in the Bulgarian health care system, is expected to congratulate Obama for ushering a sweeping health reform in the US.
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 – April 8
· Bulgaria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food has filed to the Prosecution Office a list of around 5,000 swap deals for state-owned terrains realized in 2006-2007. The news broke at a press conference of the ministry.Only five of these deals have harmed the state with EUR 8.481 million, Minister of Agriculture and Food Miroslav Naydenov announced. The matter in point concerns five land swaps from the State Land Fund in the areas of Kamchiya (403 decares), Perelik (1,965 decares), Separeva Banya (1,761 decares), Burgas (101 decares) and Kavarna (288 decares).
· The meeting in Prague is of great importance. Of course, the focus will be put on security issues and the challanges, which all of us are facing, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov said in interview to BNT.In Mladenov’s words, the current situation in Kyrgyzstan will be also tabled for discussion, as Afghanistan will be one of the topics in the meeting.The situation in Iran and Iran’s nuclear program will be another topic for discussion, as well as the strategy for NATO’s development, the minister added. “The meeting between the US president and the presidents and prime ministers of the countries in Central and East Europe comes right after the signing of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which is of historical importance not only for the US – Russia relations but also for everyone’s security and it shows the clear will of the US allies to strengthen the transatlantic connection with the European partners, especially with those in Central and East Europe,” Minister Mladenov remarked.
· Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry has been keeping constant contact with our embassy to Kazakhstan, which is the closest one to Bishkek and has been getting in touch with Bulgarians who are now in Kyrgyzstan, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov said. According to initial data, there are around 700 Bulgarians in Kyrgyzstan, part of them are from mixed marriages. “We have officers at the representations of the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Bishkek. According to latest information – there are no Bulgarian nationals injured in the clashes,” Minister Mladenov said.
tirsdag den 6. april 2010
Bulgarian Press Review, April 6, 2010
Press Review
Sofia, April 6 (BTA)
HEALTH CARE
Hospitals will fall into three categories, “Troud” writes, quoting amendments to the Treatment Facilities Act. This will stop the siphoning of funds as patients go from one doctor to another because when the law is amended, they will promptly see the specialist they need. The third level of competence will comprise high-tech hospitals performing state-of-the-art surgery. Those hospitals will sign contracts with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for all clinical pathways. The former regional hospitals will make up the second level of competence. All other hospitals, e.g. municipal ones, will form the first level. They will sign contracts for one to three clinical pathways, depending on the available specialists and equipment.
“Troud” also says that a National Health Map will be introduced. It will show the hospitals which meet people’s needs and which alone will be financed by the NHIF. The rest will treat fee-paying patients.
“24 Chassa” reports that the National Revenue Agency admitted that errors in the health insurance database caused Bulgarians studying abroad to lose their entitlement to subsidized health care for the time when the State was supposed to pay their contributions. People who worked abroad have complained that although they filed declarations, they still owed contributions. To mend the situation, people have to go to a National Revenue Agency office with the relevant documents.
Figures for 2009 quoted in “Sega” show that money is siphoned from the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) through long-term sickness benefits. Their amount increased by 45.9 per cent from 2008 to 773.6 million leva. The largest amount, up 26 per cent from 2008, was spent on benefits for general disease, looking after an ill person and non-work injuries. All this despite the fall in sickness reports by about 36,000. Trade union representatives explain that hard-up employers force employees to take sick leave, for which they are paid benefits by the NSSI instead of wages.
“Standart News” says medicines in Bulgaria are way more expensive than in the neigbouring countries, and some Bulgarians have been making special trips to the chemist’s shops of the other Balkan countries.
Anna Maria Borissova, Chair of the Bulgarian Society of Endocrinology, has been tipped as the new health minister, “24 Chassa” and “Dnevnik” say.
HOME SCENE
Deputy Environment Minister Evdokia Maneva says in a "Troud" interview that in 2010 Bulgaria can trade up to 40 million emission units of its greenhouse gas allowance. At 9 to 11 euro per unit, this will yield 400 million euro at the most.
***
Deputy Transport Minister Ivailo Moskovski says in “Sega” that construction of the Trakia Motorway stretch between Stara Zagora and Nova Zagora cannot start before the autumn. The project will cost 138 million leva and the contract was won by Bulgarian consortium Magistrala Thrace. Financing will become available from Operational Programme Transport. Moskovski’s statement is at odds with a statement by the Deputy Minister of Regional Development Georgi Pregyov, who promised that construction would start in May. The problem is that the European Commission needs six months to approve the application form for the road section, and it has not been sent to Brussels yet. The delay will likely push up the price of the project as Magistrala Thrace CEO Nikolai Mihailov warned recently.
In “Klassa” Bozhidar Yotov, Chair of the Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency, says some 60 million euro is needed for repairs of 60 dangerous bridges.
***
Political analyst Evgenii Dainov says in “Troud” that if the government starts losing ground, the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) and the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) will not tumble down with it because they showed early and resolutely that they are free of GERB’s ailments: indecision, hesitation, lack of a clear strategy and identity. This is the first time since the UDF split up that the benefits of two right-wing parties are evident: DSB is a stable right-wing, conservative, anti-communist party, while the UDF has the capacity to represent people’s concerns, including Liberal causes, by which it partly makes up for the missing centre in politics. The right-wing parties have a huge experience to share with the government, according to Dainov.
“Monitor” says that the Sofia City Court has struck off 206 ghost parties in the last two years. Proceedings are under way to expunge 13 more parties which do not meet the requirements. Any party which has not run in an election for five years must be struck off. The same applies to parties which have not held congresses or have not submitted financial statements to the Audit Office for more than two years.
THE ECONOMY
Deliberate bankruptcies caused banks to lose 50 million leva last year, “Klassa” says. Companies hide their debts to third parties or defraud creditors through offshore companies. Under the Commercial Code a company manager has one month to declare the company insolvent in court. However, many bankruptcies are moved to a time predating the loan. No manager has been sentenced for failing to meet the one-month deadline to declare the company insolvent.
The new EU members, including Bulgaria, cannot hope for lasting recovery before the second half of 2011, according to a World Bank report on the East European economies quoted in “Dnevnik”. Experts attribute at least half of budget deficit growth in 2007-2009 in the ten countries under review to structural factors, such as unreformed public finances and ineffective spending, and not to recession. However, Bulgaria is the only country in which recession deepened quarterly in 2009, while the crisis bottomed out in the other economies.
***
“Telegraph” writes that pawnbrokers charge over 30 per cent interest a month, although the Finance Ministry has set a 3 per cent cap. Breaking the rules, pawnbrokers charge all kinds of loan issue and management fees. Thus the annual interest on a loan may reach 400 per cent.
***
“Klassa” has commissioned a Gallup International poll, which shows that 17 per cent of Bulgarians spend an average of one hour a day in social networks. They are 40 per cent of the active Internet users.
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
A bribe which was to be paid to scupper the investigation against former defence minister Nikolai Tsonev was agreed at six meetings between him and investigator Petyo Petrov, who blew the whistle on Tsonev, “24 Chassa” learned from investigators.
Presumably the meetings were videoed and documented by the special services. Acting through Sofia City Court judge Peter Santirov and former Finance Ministry chief secretary Tencho Popov, Tsonev offered a 60,000 euro bribe to stop the collection
of evidence against himself. There is compelling evidence that Popov was arrested in his wife’s notarial office seconds after he gave 20,000 euro to the investigator Petyo Petrov, “Troud” says.
***
High-profile lawyer Daniela Dokovska writes in “Troud’ that questioning is the only way to collect evidence from a defendant; any stratagems intended to skirt the law and elicit evidence through eavesdropping betray procedural ignorance and an inability to investigate by lawful means, she argues. Using special surveillance means is too expensive. It also sets a trap and investigators are the first to fall into it as the persons under surveillance say what they want to say or seize the opportunity to say what they think of the power holders.
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 – April 6, 2010
· Bulgaria hopes to find a strategic investor for the Belene Nuclear Power Plant very shortly, Economy Minister Traicho Traikov has stated during his working visit to the USA.“The construction of the Belene NPP might start in 2011 if it is possible to execute all planned tasks,” declared Traikov after he presented Bulgaria’s investment potential at a forum organized by the US Atlantic Council, as cited by the Russian agency ITAR-TASS.Traikov joined the Atlantic Council on April 5 for a Roundtable on Growth, Energy, and Sustainability in Bulgaria and the Region. The Bulgarian Minister has made it clear that the government keeps looking for a new investor and even said he hoped to have more clarity on this issue by the end of April 2010. ITAR-TASS reminds that the Russian government is a major proponent of the Belene project and that it is ready to provide close to EUR 2 B in two years in the form of a loan so that the construction of the second Bulgarian NPP is not delayed any longer. With respect to another Russian-sponsored project in Bulgaria, the South Stream gas transit pipeline, Traikov said it was up to its shareholders to decide when they would form a joint venture for its realization.
· A new Forestry Bill which is being prepared by the the Agriculture and Foods Ministry will provide for the establishment of an indepenent authority to fight illegal logging, Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov said here Tuesday. He was speaking at the opening of the Forest Week 2010. Agriculture Minister Naydenov commented that his predecessor Valeri Tsvetanov, former SFA chief Stefan Youroukov, as well as the whole previous government are also responsible for illegal swap of woodland from the state land stock with private land. Such swaps - usually under-priced - frequently preceded a change in the purpose of the land and start of development projects.Naydenov believes that the purpose of use of swapped land should be based on market price levels and that whereever possible, the swaps should be cancelled.
· Aleydin Aliev, a.k.a. Alcho, who is suspected to be a leader of a criminal group in the northern city of Lovech, enjoyed protection from all political parties that were in power, says Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov.
“I would not specify a political party. I can say that Alcho enjoyed the protection of all political parties that were in power in the past 20 years,” the minister said at a press conference after the national meeting of the ministry’s leadership
Sofia, April 6 (BTA)
HEALTH CARE
Hospitals will fall into three categories, “Troud” writes, quoting amendments to the Treatment Facilities Act. This will stop the siphoning of funds as patients go from one doctor to another because when the law is amended, they will promptly see the specialist they need. The third level of competence will comprise high-tech hospitals performing state-of-the-art surgery. Those hospitals will sign contracts with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for all clinical pathways. The former regional hospitals will make up the second level of competence. All other hospitals, e.g. municipal ones, will form the first level. They will sign contracts for one to three clinical pathways, depending on the available specialists and equipment.
“Troud” also says that a National Health Map will be introduced. It will show the hospitals which meet people’s needs and which alone will be financed by the NHIF. The rest will treat fee-paying patients.
“24 Chassa” reports that the National Revenue Agency admitted that errors in the health insurance database caused Bulgarians studying abroad to lose their entitlement to subsidized health care for the time when the State was supposed to pay their contributions. People who worked abroad have complained that although they filed declarations, they still owed contributions. To mend the situation, people have to go to a National Revenue Agency office with the relevant documents.
Figures for 2009 quoted in “Sega” show that money is siphoned from the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) through long-term sickness benefits. Their amount increased by 45.9 per cent from 2008 to 773.6 million leva. The largest amount, up 26 per cent from 2008, was spent on benefits for general disease, looking after an ill person and non-work injuries. All this despite the fall in sickness reports by about 36,000. Trade union representatives explain that hard-up employers force employees to take sick leave, for which they are paid benefits by the NSSI instead of wages.
“Standart News” says medicines in Bulgaria are way more expensive than in the neigbouring countries, and some Bulgarians have been making special trips to the chemist’s shops of the other Balkan countries.
Anna Maria Borissova, Chair of the Bulgarian Society of Endocrinology, has been tipped as the new health minister, “24 Chassa” and “Dnevnik” say.
HOME SCENE
Deputy Environment Minister Evdokia Maneva says in a "Troud" interview that in 2010 Bulgaria can trade up to 40 million emission units of its greenhouse gas allowance. At 9 to 11 euro per unit, this will yield 400 million euro at the most.
***
Deputy Transport Minister Ivailo Moskovski says in “Sega” that construction of the Trakia Motorway stretch between Stara Zagora and Nova Zagora cannot start before the autumn. The project will cost 138 million leva and the contract was won by Bulgarian consortium Magistrala Thrace. Financing will become available from Operational Programme Transport. Moskovski’s statement is at odds with a statement by the Deputy Minister of Regional Development Georgi Pregyov, who promised that construction would start in May. The problem is that the European Commission needs six months to approve the application form for the road section, and it has not been sent to Brussels yet. The delay will likely push up the price of the project as Magistrala Thrace CEO Nikolai Mihailov warned recently.
In “Klassa” Bozhidar Yotov, Chair of the Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency, says some 60 million euro is needed for repairs of 60 dangerous bridges.
***
Political analyst Evgenii Dainov says in “Troud” that if the government starts losing ground, the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) and the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) will not tumble down with it because they showed early and resolutely that they are free of GERB’s ailments: indecision, hesitation, lack of a clear strategy and identity. This is the first time since the UDF split up that the benefits of two right-wing parties are evident: DSB is a stable right-wing, conservative, anti-communist party, while the UDF has the capacity to represent people’s concerns, including Liberal causes, by which it partly makes up for the missing centre in politics. The right-wing parties have a huge experience to share with the government, according to Dainov.
“Monitor” says that the Sofia City Court has struck off 206 ghost parties in the last two years. Proceedings are under way to expunge 13 more parties which do not meet the requirements. Any party which has not run in an election for five years must be struck off. The same applies to parties which have not held congresses or have not submitted financial statements to the Audit Office for more than two years.
THE ECONOMY
Deliberate bankruptcies caused banks to lose 50 million leva last year, “Klassa” says. Companies hide their debts to third parties or defraud creditors through offshore companies. Under the Commercial Code a company manager has one month to declare the company insolvent in court. However, many bankruptcies are moved to a time predating the loan. No manager has been sentenced for failing to meet the one-month deadline to declare the company insolvent.
The new EU members, including Bulgaria, cannot hope for lasting recovery before the second half of 2011, according to a World Bank report on the East European economies quoted in “Dnevnik”. Experts attribute at least half of budget deficit growth in 2007-2009 in the ten countries under review to structural factors, such as unreformed public finances and ineffective spending, and not to recession. However, Bulgaria is the only country in which recession deepened quarterly in 2009, while the crisis bottomed out in the other economies.
***
“Telegraph” writes that pawnbrokers charge over 30 per cent interest a month, although the Finance Ministry has set a 3 per cent cap. Breaking the rules, pawnbrokers charge all kinds of loan issue and management fees. Thus the annual interest on a loan may reach 400 per cent.
***
“Klassa” has commissioned a Gallup International poll, which shows that 17 per cent of Bulgarians spend an average of one hour a day in social networks. They are 40 per cent of the active Internet users.
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
A bribe which was to be paid to scupper the investigation against former defence minister Nikolai Tsonev was agreed at six meetings between him and investigator Petyo Petrov, who blew the whistle on Tsonev, “24 Chassa” learned from investigators.
Presumably the meetings were videoed and documented by the special services. Acting through Sofia City Court judge Peter Santirov and former Finance Ministry chief secretary Tencho Popov, Tsonev offered a 60,000 euro bribe to stop the collection
of evidence against himself. There is compelling evidence that Popov was arrested in his wife’s notarial office seconds after he gave 20,000 euro to the investigator Petyo Petrov, “Troud” says.
***
High-profile lawyer Daniela Dokovska writes in “Troud’ that questioning is the only way to collect evidence from a defendant; any stratagems intended to skirt the law and elicit evidence through eavesdropping betray procedural ignorance and an inability to investigate by lawful means, she argues. Using special surveillance means is too expensive. It also sets a trap and investigators are the first to fall into it as the persons under surveillance say what they want to say or seize the opportunity to say what they think of the power holders.
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 – April 6, 2010
· Bulgaria hopes to find a strategic investor for the Belene Nuclear Power Plant very shortly, Economy Minister Traicho Traikov has stated during his working visit to the USA.“The construction of the Belene NPP might start in 2011 if it is possible to execute all planned tasks,” declared Traikov after he presented Bulgaria’s investment potential at a forum organized by the US Atlantic Council, as cited by the Russian agency ITAR-TASS.Traikov joined the Atlantic Council on April 5 for a Roundtable on Growth, Energy, and Sustainability in Bulgaria and the Region. The Bulgarian Minister has made it clear that the government keeps looking for a new investor and even said he hoped to have more clarity on this issue by the end of April 2010. ITAR-TASS reminds that the Russian government is a major proponent of the Belene project and that it is ready to provide close to EUR 2 B in two years in the form of a loan so that the construction of the second Bulgarian NPP is not delayed any longer. With respect to another Russian-sponsored project in Bulgaria, the South Stream gas transit pipeline, Traikov said it was up to its shareholders to decide when they would form a joint venture for its realization.
· A new Forestry Bill which is being prepared by the the Agriculture and Foods Ministry will provide for the establishment of an indepenent authority to fight illegal logging, Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov said here Tuesday. He was speaking at the opening of the Forest Week 2010. Agriculture Minister Naydenov commented that his predecessor Valeri Tsvetanov, former SFA chief Stefan Youroukov, as well as the whole previous government are also responsible for illegal swap of woodland from the state land stock with private land. Such swaps - usually under-priced - frequently preceded a change in the purpose of the land and start of development projects.Naydenov believes that the purpose of use of swapped land should be based on market price levels and that whereever possible, the swaps should be cancelled.
· Aleydin Aliev, a.k.a. Alcho, who is suspected to be a leader of a criminal group in the northern city of Lovech, enjoyed protection from all political parties that were in power, says Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov.
“I would not specify a political party. I can say that Alcho enjoyed the protection of all political parties that were in power in the past 20 years,” the minister said at a press conference after the national meeting of the ministry’s leadership
torsdag den 1. april 2010
Bulgarian Press Review, April 1, 2010
Press Review
Sofia, April 1 (BTA)
THE HOME SCENE
The defeated motion in Parliament for opening a procedure for the impeachment of President Georgi Purvanov is the most commented topic in the Thursday press. The vote was 155 in favour (6 short of the two-thirds majority required for passage of the motion), 72 against, and no abstentions.
“Order, Lawfulness and Justice Party Leader Yanev Reverses Impeachment,” runs the headline of a front-page report in “24 Chassa” which notes that Order, Lawfulness and Justice (OLJ) party leader Yane Yanev decided at the last moment to withdraw his party’s support for the motion. Yanev said that his party will not take part in this “farce” since, according to the OLJ leader, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov replaced the motives for the impeachment, turning the debate in a vote of confidence in the government. Yanev demanded Borissov’s resignation and said that OLJ has a plan for toppling the cabinet which will be announced at the end of April.
Social analyst Kuncho Stoichev tells “Troud” that by deciding to move the proposal for opening a procedure for the President’s impeachment Borissov created more unnecessary enemies for himself. Stoichev says that with the debate of the impeachment motion politics was once against displaced by political intrigues. According to Stoichev, Borissov fell victim to a personal illusion which has befallen many a leader in history - this is the illusion that when at the peak of power one thinks that the gravest mistake is the absence of enough power which thus makes the person clean space around him/herself in order to win more power. In the end, Borissov won more enemies, which, Stoichev says, was totally unnecessary since at the present moment Bulgaria needs a successful term of office of the incumbent cabinet. The wasting of social and political resources is even more unnecessary and harmful for the country, Stoichev concludes.
“Pari” writes that the defeated impeachment motion means that the serious debate about the President failed to take place so that Purvanov emerges as the winner. After some time, everyone will remember nothing but the failed impeachment procedure. Even Yane Yanev, who reversed his position, will not be remembered as the culprit for the failed impeachment, says the daily.
* * *
All of the April 1 newspapers write about the arrest of the Chairman of the Municipal Council of Varna (on the Black Sea), Borislav Goutsanov, who was detained Wednesday on suspicions of fraudulent transactions which caused damage to the city’s transport and the municipal budget. So far police have arrested four persons in the operation codenamed Medusa (Jellyfish):
Goutsanov, a man identified as D.S., known as Dido “The Jean”, Municipal Road Transport Director Pencho Penchev and the Public Transport company’s chief financial officer Ioanna Dimova. Another individual, a citizen of the Netherlands, is wanted for involvement with the crime ring.
Six charges were pressed against the detainees, “Troud” writes, saying that they concern three deals closed by the Varna Public Transport company between 2003 and 2007 for the purchase of recycled buses from France and Germany worth about 2 million euros. Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov told journalists that just one third of that amount was paid to the seller, while the remainder ended up in the accounts of individuals he did not name. The four detainees have been charged with participating in a crime ring for malfeasance in office, said district prosecutor Vladimir Chavdarov. They also face charges of mismanagement, gross embezzlement, issuing false documents and instigation to perjury.
“Operation Jellyfish targets corruption in the local power and is not politically motivated,” Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov is quoted as saying.
Socialist Party leader Sergei Stanishev said Goutsanov’s arrest was “the latest political order”. High-profile police operationsare carried out daily and it is no chance that this is happening on the same day as the debate on the impeachment motion against President Georgi Purvanov, Stanishev said, quoted by the press.
* * *
The Thursday newspapers report on the sitting of the Sofia City Court which examined an appeal by Former State Agency for National Security (SANS) officer Alexei Petrov against the precautionary measure securing his appearance. After a sitting which went on for 10 hours, the Court ruled that Petrov and another detainee arrested in Operation Octopus, Marchelo Djotolov, are to remain in custody.
“Monitor” says that three new charges were pressed against Petrov at the Wednesday sitting of the Court: for disclosure of a state secret, racketeering and extortion.
Petrov, who was adviser to then SANS Chairman Petko Sertov until August 2009, and 13 other persons were arrested on the night of February 9 to 10 in an operation codenamed “Octopus”. They were charged, as an organized crime allegedly headed by Petrov, with blackmailing, forcible debt collection and racketeering, inducement to prostitution, drug pushing, influence trading, money laundering, concealment of income, tax evasion and fraudulent recovery of VAT input tax. On February 19 the appellate court released five of the detainees and left only Petrov and Djotolov in custody. They had appealed the measure.
* * *
Commenting the resignation of Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev and its acceptance Wednesday by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, “ 24 Chassa” says that the Prime Minister expressly told Nanev not to by the antiviral medicines for which he was charged with intentional conclusion of an unprofitable transaction representing a particularly grave case and inflicting damage of a particularly large amount, nearly 2.5 million leva.
In a comment in “Troud” headlined “Scapegoat, Thief or Next Victim of the Healthcare Reform,” social analyst Kolyu Kolev comments that Nanev was a “foretold victim” - a person with too many enemies and no allies. According to Kolev, Nanev’s mistake was that he believed himself that he will be allowed to carry out the reform in the health sector. Such a step - to close the money tap of doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies which have attached themselves leech-like to the healthcare system, is doomed to failure from the very beginning, Kolev says. This is a huge power that will crush any minister, he says. The social analyst predicts that GERB will not lose from Nanev’s resignation but the healthcare reform will be stalled.
ECONOMY
The other most commented topic in the Thursday press is the package of anti-crisis measures approved by the cabinet.
“Cabinet Decides to Tackle Crisis without Making Reforms” caps a report in “Standart News”, noting that privatization and sale of greenhouse gases are the important measures to shore up the 2010 budget. The measures are expected to fetch nearly 1,600 million leva in aggregate. However, many experts think that the planned revenue has been overestimated, and expenditure, rather big, so that the effect on the public purse is dubious. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was not optimistic about the budget and implied that the VAT may have to be upped, after all.
“Sega” comments that the crisis will be there for much more time but not so reforms and lists several significant shortcomings in the anti-crisis package of the government, trade unions and employers. In the first place, the plan continues to have too many question marks and unknowns. The plan promises that by June 30 public procurement contractors will get their overdue payments but it is not known where the hundreds of millions of leva needed for this will come from by that time. The second shortcoming is that the measures are too general. Next, it is not clear who is responsible for them. The author of the comment says that on the whole, the combination of ideas triggers mixed feelings. Some of the ideas are good, others, unclear, some additionally burden the budget instead of filling its gaps, still others bear no relation whatsoever to the most critical months.
Three experts comment in “24 Chassa” the 60 steps against the crisis endorsed by the cabinet. Banker Emil Hursev says that with the approved package of measures, all chances to overcome the budget deficit are there. Luchezar Bogdanov of the Industry Watch think thank says that the most significant measures require the most difficult decisions. For example, proceeds from privatization can come provided that the cabinet shows will and sells participating interests owned by the state despite the pressure against the privatization coming from different lobbies. Former labour minister Ivan Neikov says that the measures require at least 25 legal amendments, so that the ball now is in Parliament which will have to act swiftly. Naikov says that much hope is pinned on the sale of CO2 emission but warns that Bulgaria has no experience in this and it is not clear whether the administration is ready.
“Dirty Air, Land to Fill Budget” caps an interview with Deputy President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria Plamen Dimitrov in “Triud”. He dwells on four of the 60 measures expected to bring proceeds to the budget. The first is the sale of greenhouse gas emission units under the Kyoto Protocol, expected to fetch 500 million leva. Another 450 million leva are expected to come from spending cuts in the state-financed sector. The privatization of minority residual shareholding in companies through the Bulgarian Stock Exchange is expected to bring 250 million leva. Putting up to 90,000 ha of land for long-term lease with pre-paid rent and sale of 10,000 ha at public auctions should fetch 164 million leva.
Interviewed by “24 Chassa” former finance minister Plamen Oresharski says he sees the end of the 12 years of financial stability. Oresharski describes the cabinet’s measures not as anti-crisis but as measures to save the budget which will have a pro-crisis impact on the economy. “The negative effects on the real economy are a fact. Since the second half of 2009 they multiplied and together with the external causes now there are local ones as well which aggravate the crisis,” he says.
FOREIGN POLICY
“Sega” runs a comprehensive interview with United States Ambassador to Sofia James Warlick who says that the Bulgarians are fed up with corruption and crime. The Ambassador says that there have been arrests of various persons suspected of being involved with organized crime. However, things do not end here, he says. Now it is the turn of the judiciary which has to guarantee that there is fair administration of justice, the
diplomat says. The judiciary now has to assume its responsibility and do so that those who are guilty are convicted and sent to prison. Ambassador Warlick voices a hope that the Bulgarian institutions will emerge stronger after the debates on the motion to open a procedure of impeachment against the President. PG /ZH/
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 – April 1, 2010
· The number of unemployed people declined by 4,000 in March, according to Employmen Agency statistics made public by the Labour Ministry Thursday. This has been the first time in the past one-and-a-half years that their number is dropping. The unemployment rate was 10.14 per cent. Over 375,000 jobless were registered with the job centres in March.
· Former Defence Minister Nikolai Tsonev has been arrested, investigative sources told BTA. News of the arrest came shortly after the reported arrest of a judge in Sofia City Court, Peter Santirov, who allegedly asked a payoff to secure a favourable outcome for a case in which Tsonev is a defendant. Tsonev was Defence Minister from April 2008 to the end of the previous government’s term in the summer of 2009. On November 20, 2009, he was charged with official malfeasance in connection with the purchase of a mobile hangar-making plant and with effecting a dubious transaction for the purchase of aircraft materiel, which resulted in a detriment to the Exchequer of 8,025,825.45 leva. Also on Thursday, police arrested the former chief secretary of the Finance Ministry, Tencho Popov, in connection with the same case.
· Bulgaria’s President, Georgi Parvanov, will support the cabinet in their package of anti-crisis measures despite some disagreements.The statement was made by Parvanov during his Thursday meeting with the Initiative Committee that nominated him for the Head of State post.The President pointed out that in the conditions of an economic crisis the collaboration among institutions is a must in order to successfully apply the measures, adding that currently and unfortunately there isn’t a political crisis in Bulgaria, but a crisis precisely among the above said institutions.Parvanov spoke in the aftermath of the failed Wednesday attempt of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party to impeach him for violating the Constitution by publishing a transcript from his talk with Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, without the latter’s knowledge. GERB failed to collect the 161 parliamentary votes required to send the impeachment motion to the Constitutional Court. Regarding the impeachment attempt, the President pointed out he is not afraid, had never violated the Constitution and does not mind GERB repeating the move in two months it they wanted.
· A day after Bulgaria's center-right government approved an austerity plan to narrow the budget deficit and avoid currency pressure, the finance minister expressed confidence that the country will successfully exit the crisis. Among the government's successes he singled out improvement in the collection of alcohol and cigarettes excise duties, reimbursements of value-added tax (VAT) to businesses and stabilization in the jobless rate. The approved anti-crisis measures, which include higher spending for social payments to the poor, compensation for the unemployed and jobs creation, will pour about BGN 300 M into the budget of the social ministry, Djankov pointed out.According to him this will give opportunity for thousands of Bulgarians to find a job.The set of sixty measures, debated with trade unions and businesses for over a month, have a wide range and aim to cut spending and boost revenues. Their capacity for success however has been seriously questioned by analysts.
Sofia, April 1 (BTA)
THE HOME SCENE
The defeated motion in Parliament for opening a procedure for the impeachment of President Georgi Purvanov is the most commented topic in the Thursday press. The vote was 155 in favour (6 short of the two-thirds majority required for passage of the motion), 72 against, and no abstentions.
“Order, Lawfulness and Justice Party Leader Yanev Reverses Impeachment,” runs the headline of a front-page report in “24 Chassa” which notes that Order, Lawfulness and Justice (OLJ) party leader Yane Yanev decided at the last moment to withdraw his party’s support for the motion. Yanev said that his party will not take part in this “farce” since, according to the OLJ leader, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov replaced the motives for the impeachment, turning the debate in a vote of confidence in the government. Yanev demanded Borissov’s resignation and said that OLJ has a plan for toppling the cabinet which will be announced at the end of April.
Social analyst Kuncho Stoichev tells “Troud” that by deciding to move the proposal for opening a procedure for the President’s impeachment Borissov created more unnecessary enemies for himself. Stoichev says that with the debate of the impeachment motion politics was once against displaced by political intrigues. According to Stoichev, Borissov fell victim to a personal illusion which has befallen many a leader in history - this is the illusion that when at the peak of power one thinks that the gravest mistake is the absence of enough power which thus makes the person clean space around him/herself in order to win more power. In the end, Borissov won more enemies, which, Stoichev says, was totally unnecessary since at the present moment Bulgaria needs a successful term of office of the incumbent cabinet. The wasting of social and political resources is even more unnecessary and harmful for the country, Stoichev concludes.
“Pari” writes that the defeated impeachment motion means that the serious debate about the President failed to take place so that Purvanov emerges as the winner. After some time, everyone will remember nothing but the failed impeachment procedure. Even Yane Yanev, who reversed his position, will not be remembered as the culprit for the failed impeachment, says the daily.
* * *
All of the April 1 newspapers write about the arrest of the Chairman of the Municipal Council of Varna (on the Black Sea), Borislav Goutsanov, who was detained Wednesday on suspicions of fraudulent transactions which caused damage to the city’s transport and the municipal budget. So far police have arrested four persons in the operation codenamed Medusa (Jellyfish):
Goutsanov, a man identified as D.S., known as Dido “The Jean”, Municipal Road Transport Director Pencho Penchev and the Public Transport company’s chief financial officer Ioanna Dimova. Another individual, a citizen of the Netherlands, is wanted for involvement with the crime ring.
Six charges were pressed against the detainees, “Troud” writes, saying that they concern three deals closed by the Varna Public Transport company between 2003 and 2007 for the purchase of recycled buses from France and Germany worth about 2 million euros. Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov told journalists that just one third of that amount was paid to the seller, while the remainder ended up in the accounts of individuals he did not name. The four detainees have been charged with participating in a crime ring for malfeasance in office, said district prosecutor Vladimir Chavdarov. They also face charges of mismanagement, gross embezzlement, issuing false documents and instigation to perjury.
“Operation Jellyfish targets corruption in the local power and is not politically motivated,” Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov is quoted as saying.
Socialist Party leader Sergei Stanishev said Goutsanov’s arrest was “the latest political order”. High-profile police operationsare carried out daily and it is no chance that this is happening on the same day as the debate on the impeachment motion against President Georgi Purvanov, Stanishev said, quoted by the press.
* * *
The Thursday newspapers report on the sitting of the Sofia City Court which examined an appeal by Former State Agency for National Security (SANS) officer Alexei Petrov against the precautionary measure securing his appearance. After a sitting which went on for 10 hours, the Court ruled that Petrov and another detainee arrested in Operation Octopus, Marchelo Djotolov, are to remain in custody.
“Monitor” says that three new charges were pressed against Petrov at the Wednesday sitting of the Court: for disclosure of a state secret, racketeering and extortion.
Petrov, who was adviser to then SANS Chairman Petko Sertov until August 2009, and 13 other persons were arrested on the night of February 9 to 10 in an operation codenamed “Octopus”. They were charged, as an organized crime allegedly headed by Petrov, with blackmailing, forcible debt collection and racketeering, inducement to prostitution, drug pushing, influence trading, money laundering, concealment of income, tax evasion and fraudulent recovery of VAT input tax. On February 19 the appellate court released five of the detainees and left only Petrov and Djotolov in custody. They had appealed the measure.
* * *
Commenting the resignation of Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev and its acceptance Wednesday by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, “ 24 Chassa” says that the Prime Minister expressly told Nanev not to by the antiviral medicines for which he was charged with intentional conclusion of an unprofitable transaction representing a particularly grave case and inflicting damage of a particularly large amount, nearly 2.5 million leva.
In a comment in “Troud” headlined “Scapegoat, Thief or Next Victim of the Healthcare Reform,” social analyst Kolyu Kolev comments that Nanev was a “foretold victim” - a person with too many enemies and no allies. According to Kolev, Nanev’s mistake was that he believed himself that he will be allowed to carry out the reform in the health sector. Such a step - to close the money tap of doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies which have attached themselves leech-like to the healthcare system, is doomed to failure from the very beginning, Kolev says. This is a huge power that will crush any minister, he says. The social analyst predicts that GERB will not lose from Nanev’s resignation but the healthcare reform will be stalled.
ECONOMY
The other most commented topic in the Thursday press is the package of anti-crisis measures approved by the cabinet.
“Cabinet Decides to Tackle Crisis without Making Reforms” caps a report in “Standart News”, noting that privatization and sale of greenhouse gases are the important measures to shore up the 2010 budget. The measures are expected to fetch nearly 1,600 million leva in aggregate. However, many experts think that the planned revenue has been overestimated, and expenditure, rather big, so that the effect on the public purse is dubious. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was not optimistic about the budget and implied that the VAT may have to be upped, after all.
“Sega” comments that the crisis will be there for much more time but not so reforms and lists several significant shortcomings in the anti-crisis package of the government, trade unions and employers. In the first place, the plan continues to have too many question marks and unknowns. The plan promises that by June 30 public procurement contractors will get their overdue payments but it is not known where the hundreds of millions of leva needed for this will come from by that time. The second shortcoming is that the measures are too general. Next, it is not clear who is responsible for them. The author of the comment says that on the whole, the combination of ideas triggers mixed feelings. Some of the ideas are good, others, unclear, some additionally burden the budget instead of filling its gaps, still others bear no relation whatsoever to the most critical months.
Three experts comment in “24 Chassa” the 60 steps against the crisis endorsed by the cabinet. Banker Emil Hursev says that with the approved package of measures, all chances to overcome the budget deficit are there. Luchezar Bogdanov of the Industry Watch think thank says that the most significant measures require the most difficult decisions. For example, proceeds from privatization can come provided that the cabinet shows will and sells participating interests owned by the state despite the pressure against the privatization coming from different lobbies. Former labour minister Ivan Neikov says that the measures require at least 25 legal amendments, so that the ball now is in Parliament which will have to act swiftly. Naikov says that much hope is pinned on the sale of CO2 emission but warns that Bulgaria has no experience in this and it is not clear whether the administration is ready.
“Dirty Air, Land to Fill Budget” caps an interview with Deputy President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria Plamen Dimitrov in “Triud”. He dwells on four of the 60 measures expected to bring proceeds to the budget. The first is the sale of greenhouse gas emission units under the Kyoto Protocol, expected to fetch 500 million leva. Another 450 million leva are expected to come from spending cuts in the state-financed sector. The privatization of minority residual shareholding in companies through the Bulgarian Stock Exchange is expected to bring 250 million leva. Putting up to 90,000 ha of land for long-term lease with pre-paid rent and sale of 10,000 ha at public auctions should fetch 164 million leva.
Interviewed by “24 Chassa” former finance minister Plamen Oresharski says he sees the end of the 12 years of financial stability. Oresharski describes the cabinet’s measures not as anti-crisis but as measures to save the budget which will have a pro-crisis impact on the economy. “The negative effects on the real economy are a fact. Since the second half of 2009 they multiplied and together with the external causes now there are local ones as well which aggravate the crisis,” he says.
FOREIGN POLICY
“Sega” runs a comprehensive interview with United States Ambassador to Sofia James Warlick who says that the Bulgarians are fed up with corruption and crime. The Ambassador says that there have been arrests of various persons suspected of being involved with organized crime. However, things do not end here, he says. Now it is the turn of the judiciary which has to guarantee that there is fair administration of justice, the
diplomat says. The judiciary now has to assume its responsibility and do so that those who are guilty are convicted and sent to prison. Ambassador Warlick voices a hope that the Bulgarian institutions will emerge stronger after the debates on the motion to open a procedure of impeachment against the President. PG /ZH/
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 – April 1, 2010
· The number of unemployed people declined by 4,000 in March, according to Employmen Agency statistics made public by the Labour Ministry Thursday. This has been the first time in the past one-and-a-half years that their number is dropping. The unemployment rate was 10.14 per cent. Over 375,000 jobless were registered with the job centres in March.
· Former Defence Minister Nikolai Tsonev has been arrested, investigative sources told BTA. News of the arrest came shortly after the reported arrest of a judge in Sofia City Court, Peter Santirov, who allegedly asked a payoff to secure a favourable outcome for a case in which Tsonev is a defendant. Tsonev was Defence Minister from April 2008 to the end of the previous government’s term in the summer of 2009. On November 20, 2009, he was charged with official malfeasance in connection with the purchase of a mobile hangar-making plant and with effecting a dubious transaction for the purchase of aircraft materiel, which resulted in a detriment to the Exchequer of 8,025,825.45 leva. Also on Thursday, police arrested the former chief secretary of the Finance Ministry, Tencho Popov, in connection with the same case.
· Bulgaria’s President, Georgi Parvanov, will support the cabinet in their package of anti-crisis measures despite some disagreements.The statement was made by Parvanov during his Thursday meeting with the Initiative Committee that nominated him for the Head of State post.The President pointed out that in the conditions of an economic crisis the collaboration among institutions is a must in order to successfully apply the measures, adding that currently and unfortunately there isn’t a political crisis in Bulgaria, but a crisis precisely among the above said institutions.Parvanov spoke in the aftermath of the failed Wednesday attempt of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party to impeach him for violating the Constitution by publishing a transcript from his talk with Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, without the latter’s knowledge. GERB failed to collect the 161 parliamentary votes required to send the impeachment motion to the Constitutional Court. Regarding the impeachment attempt, the President pointed out he is not afraid, had never violated the Constitution and does not mind GERB repeating the move in two months it they wanted.
· A day after Bulgaria's center-right government approved an austerity plan to narrow the budget deficit and avoid currency pressure, the finance minister expressed confidence that the country will successfully exit the crisis. Among the government's successes he singled out improvement in the collection of alcohol and cigarettes excise duties, reimbursements of value-added tax (VAT) to businesses and stabilization in the jobless rate. The approved anti-crisis measures, which include higher spending for social payments to the poor, compensation for the unemployed and jobs creation, will pour about BGN 300 M into the budget of the social ministry, Djankov pointed out.According to him this will give opportunity for thousands of Bulgarians to find a job.The set of sixty measures, debated with trade unions and businesses for over a month, have a wide range and aim to cut spending and boost revenues. Their capacity for success however has been seriously questioned by analysts.
fredag den 19. marts 2010
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.
* * *
"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.
* * *
"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."
* * *
"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.
* * *
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.
* * *
"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.
* * *
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.
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.
* * *
"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.
* * *
"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."
* * *
"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.
* * *
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.
* * *
"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.
* * *
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.
torsdag den 18. marts 2010
Bulgarian press review, March 18, 2010
Press Review
Sofia, March 18 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
"Troud" writes that the Finance Ministry denies to have drafted the 28 anti-crisis measures, publicized by the trade unions. However, the paper cites Konstantin Trenchev, leader of the Podkrepa Labour Confederation, as saying that the draft package of measures originates from the Finance Ministry. He specifies that they have received it from an "honest employee". Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was allegedly very angry because he insisted that the draft document be not discussed in public before being approved by him.
It is not the Finance Ministry but economist Georgi Angelov, who is believed to be the author of the 28 horrible anti-crisis measures, which mounted tension in the country. "24 Chassa" writes this referring to Podkrepa Vice President Dimiter Manolov. The five most sever draft measures envisage the following: depriving working pensioners of their pensions or halving their size; reducing the period of paid maternity leave to 225 days; imposing income tax on pensions above 136 leva; imposing tax on the social insurance contributions; and introducing mandatory unpaid leave.
The "Troud" paper quotes Bulgarian Socialist Party's Anton Koutev as saying that the Government's anti-crisis measures are unprecedented and would not settle the problems. In his view it is not the expenditures that are big in the country but, rather, its revenues are small. Ataka MP Ventsislav Lakov describes the expenditure plan as "balanced and feasible". He voices the idea of introducing taxes for expensive yachts and limousines. Blue Coalition Co-Chair and Democrats for Strong Bulgaria leader Ivan Kostov describes the measures as "suicidal policy" adding that this is not the right action in the time of crisis. Yane Yanev, leader of Order, Lawfulness, Justice (OLJ), threatens that unless Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov be relieved of his duties in the government within several weeks, OLJ will protest in front of the Finance Ministry until Djankov himself resigns.
The Government's anti-crisis measures are categorically unacceptable, as they are proposed, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) MP Hasan Ademov comments.
These measures are not based on economic grounds but on panic, says Bozhidar Danev, President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association. They are indicative of the fact that Bulgaria is gradually falling into the trap of the double deficit: the one of the trade balance and the one of the current account. The first two months of the year witnessed increasing expenditures and falling revenues. If the country falls into this economic trap, the recession will deepen and there will be a risk of change of the key macroeconomic parameters, Danev warns.
"Troud" runs a commentary by political analyst Kuncho Stoichev, who says that reducing of maternity benefits or fining working pensioners does not constitute a reform. The real reform involves cutting expenditures on inefficient systems and structures maintained by the incumbents. The reform means to fill in the numerous holes through which tax-payers' money leak due to their inefficient and, often, criminal management. In other words, the reform entails harder work on the part of the incumbents and the administration at considerably lower expenditures.
"The confidence in the Cabinet allows the implementation of unpopular reforms." "Klassa" runs an interview with Vassil Tonchev, Director of the Sova Haris Agency, under this headline. Tonchev says that the situation in the country is very serious. The big confidence placed with the incumbents makes it possible to overcome easier the economic crisis. The Prime Minister should avail himself of that opportunity, according to him.
Whole guilds are planning to stage protests on Saturday against the anti-crisis measures, contemplated by the Cabinet. Protests of police officers will be staged in front of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre. They will be joined by military, security and even tax officers. Over 5,000 people, including mothers and pensioners, are expected to gather at the protest.
The strikes push Bulgaria towards the Greek scenario, says Menda Stoyanova, Chair of the National Assembly Budgetary and Finance Committee, cited by "Standart News". If people go on strikes and insist on payments higher than the budgeted ones, Bulgaria may have the same problems as Greece. Everyone sees that there are problems with the revenue part of the budget. This is why expenditures should not be exceeded and even ways should be sought to cut them, says she.
***
The Interior Minister wants that the court enters the fight against crime, "Sega" writes. Speaking at a conference, Interior Ministry Tsvetan Tsvetanov said that there is political will, but no judicial will to deal with organized crime and corruption. In his view crime should be combatted by all institutions, the court inclusive.
***
"I do not think there is a war between the Interior Ministry and the court," Supreme Administrative Court President Konstantin Penchev says in an interview for "24 Chassa". "Besides, I am categorically against such conflicts because they undermine the prestige of all parties involved." Power is conditionally divided into three branches: legislative, executive and judiciary. Each has its field of actions and the failures of one of them may not give dividends to the other. This is why, it is inadmissible that they quarrel and criticise one another as every conflict undermines people's confidence, Penchev also says.
***
"24 Chassa" publishes the results of a March poll carried out by the National Public Opinion Centre. The poll shows that the scandal with the published transcript of the talk between President Georgi Purvanov and Finance Minister Djankov has affected the popularity rating of both of them. Yet, the popularity of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his deputy Tsvetan Tsvetanov has increased.
On March 5 the President's Office published the verbatim record from a meeting between the President and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov. The two met at Djankov's initiative and were expected to iron out frictions resulting from Djankov's participation in a TV show and controversial remarks that were exchanged there about the President. GERB argue that Djankov was not aware his conversation with the President was recorded and was not asked for permission to make the recording public, which they say was a violation of the Constitution. GERB has said that this week signatures will start to be collected on a motion to impeach President Georgi Purvanov.
The poll, published by "24 Chassa" shows that the approval of the Cabinet has dropped by 6 per cent. However, Borissov's rating remains unchanged: he keeps on being at the top of the ten politicians enjoying highest approval with 68 per cent. He is followed by his deputy Tsvetanov with 66 per cent. According to the poll, if elections were held now, GERB would have won them by 36 per cent.
BULGARIA - EU
The European Commission backed the Bulgarian Government's plans to tighten the belts, "Troud" writes. The Commission says that if the economic growth and the tax revenues are below the target, this would be compensated by the financial restrictions. The Commission reminds the Cabinet, however, that, apart from economizing, it should also implement structural reforms.
***
"Sega" reports about a letter from DG Agriculture and Rural Development notifying Bulgaria that it will have to pay about 50 million leva for violations in the 2008 single area direct payment campaign for farmers. Only a month ago Brussels said that Bulgaria will be fined by 40 million leva for the payments made in 2007. The fine is most likely to be deducted from the nearly 1,000 million leva that are to be extended in subsidies.
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 18, 2010
· The Bulgarian parliament approved Thursday the appointment of a minister with responsibility for stamping out corruption in the use of EU funds. Tomislav Donchev, 36, is a former director of the Sofia branch of George Soros' Open Society Institute and has worked extensively in the area of EU project management and consulting. Amid concern over corruption Brussels froze 825 million euros in pre-accession aid for Bulgaria in 2008 and subsequently stripped Bulgaria of 200 million euros of that money. Last month, Sofia obtained permission from Brussels to apply for some 6.4 billion euros of post-accession aid available between 2007 and 2013. Nevertheless, a parliamentary commission recently found that the country risked losing most of that aid because Bulgaria has so far used just 1.3 percent of the total of 15 billion euros of pre- and post-accession aid. A member of the ruling right-wing GERB party, Donchev was elected mayor of the small town of Gabrovo in 2007, where he managed to win Brussels' approval for a water distribution project worth 63 million euros (86 million dollars).
· Bulgarian MPs unanimously passed the leading proposal moved by MP Lachezar Toshev for ban on cultivation and release of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in protected areas, Focus News Agency reporter announced.
· Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania are the catching-up countries in the EU in terms of innovation performance, with performance levels significantly below the EU average. However, all three countries are rapidly closing their gap to the average performance level of the EU, and Bulgaria and Romania have been improving their performance the fastest of all Member States.This observation is contained in a survey on innovation performance in the EU, which was presented on Wednesday by Antonio Tajani, European Commission Vice President responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, and by Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science.
· The European Commission urged Bulgaria to pursue “strict” fiscal policies that will compensate for “slightly favorable assumptions on growth and revenue collection”. Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s government envisages economic growth of 0.3 percent this year after last year’s contraction of 5.1 percent. The government ran up a deficit of 500 million lev ($350 million) in January and projects the gap will widen in February and March as it completes outstanding payments on infrastructure projects and other public orders.
Sofia, March 18 (BTA)
HOME SCENE
"Troud" writes that the Finance Ministry denies to have drafted the 28 anti-crisis measures, publicized by the trade unions. However, the paper cites Konstantin Trenchev, leader of the Podkrepa Labour Confederation, as saying that the draft package of measures originates from the Finance Ministry. He specifies that they have received it from an "honest employee". Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was allegedly very angry because he insisted that the draft document be not discussed in public before being approved by him.
It is not the Finance Ministry but economist Georgi Angelov, who is believed to be the author of the 28 horrible anti-crisis measures, which mounted tension in the country. "24 Chassa" writes this referring to Podkrepa Vice President Dimiter Manolov. The five most sever draft measures envisage the following: depriving working pensioners of their pensions or halving their size; reducing the period of paid maternity leave to 225 days; imposing income tax on pensions above 136 leva; imposing tax on the social insurance contributions; and introducing mandatory unpaid leave.
The "Troud" paper quotes Bulgarian Socialist Party's Anton Koutev as saying that the Government's anti-crisis measures are unprecedented and would not settle the problems. In his view it is not the expenditures that are big in the country but, rather, its revenues are small. Ataka MP Ventsislav Lakov describes the expenditure plan as "balanced and feasible". He voices the idea of introducing taxes for expensive yachts and limousines. Blue Coalition Co-Chair and Democrats for Strong Bulgaria leader Ivan Kostov describes the measures as "suicidal policy" adding that this is not the right action in the time of crisis. Yane Yanev, leader of Order, Lawfulness, Justice (OLJ), threatens that unless Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov be relieved of his duties in the government within several weeks, OLJ will protest in front of the Finance Ministry until Djankov himself resigns.
The Government's anti-crisis measures are categorically unacceptable, as they are proposed, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) MP Hasan Ademov comments.
These measures are not based on economic grounds but on panic, says Bozhidar Danev, President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association. They are indicative of the fact that Bulgaria is gradually falling into the trap of the double deficit: the one of the trade balance and the one of the current account. The first two months of the year witnessed increasing expenditures and falling revenues. If the country falls into this economic trap, the recession will deepen and there will be a risk of change of the key macroeconomic parameters, Danev warns.
"Troud" runs a commentary by political analyst Kuncho Stoichev, who says that reducing of maternity benefits or fining working pensioners does not constitute a reform. The real reform involves cutting expenditures on inefficient systems and structures maintained by the incumbents. The reform means to fill in the numerous holes through which tax-payers' money leak due to their inefficient and, often, criminal management. In other words, the reform entails harder work on the part of the incumbents and the administration at considerably lower expenditures.
"The confidence in the Cabinet allows the implementation of unpopular reforms." "Klassa" runs an interview with Vassil Tonchev, Director of the Sova Haris Agency, under this headline. Tonchev says that the situation in the country is very serious. The big confidence placed with the incumbents makes it possible to overcome easier the economic crisis. The Prime Minister should avail himself of that opportunity, according to him.
Whole guilds are planning to stage protests on Saturday against the anti-crisis measures, contemplated by the Cabinet. Protests of police officers will be staged in front of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre. They will be joined by military, security and even tax officers. Over 5,000 people, including mothers and pensioners, are expected to gather at the protest.
The strikes push Bulgaria towards the Greek scenario, says Menda Stoyanova, Chair of the National Assembly Budgetary and Finance Committee, cited by "Standart News". If people go on strikes and insist on payments higher than the budgeted ones, Bulgaria may have the same problems as Greece. Everyone sees that there are problems with the revenue part of the budget. This is why expenditures should not be exceeded and even ways should be sought to cut them, says she.
***
The Interior Minister wants that the court enters the fight against crime, "Sega" writes. Speaking at a conference, Interior Ministry Tsvetan Tsvetanov said that there is political will, but no judicial will to deal with organized crime and corruption. In his view crime should be combatted by all institutions, the court inclusive.
***
"I do not think there is a war between the Interior Ministry and the court," Supreme Administrative Court President Konstantin Penchev says in an interview for "24 Chassa". "Besides, I am categorically against such conflicts because they undermine the prestige of all parties involved." Power is conditionally divided into three branches: legislative, executive and judiciary. Each has its field of actions and the failures of one of them may not give dividends to the other. This is why, it is inadmissible that they quarrel and criticise one another as every conflict undermines people's confidence, Penchev also says.
***
"24 Chassa" publishes the results of a March poll carried out by the National Public Opinion Centre. The poll shows that the scandal with the published transcript of the talk between President Georgi Purvanov and Finance Minister Djankov has affected the popularity rating of both of them. Yet, the popularity of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his deputy Tsvetan Tsvetanov has increased.
On March 5 the President's Office published the verbatim record from a meeting between the President and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov. The two met at Djankov's initiative and were expected to iron out frictions resulting from Djankov's participation in a TV show and controversial remarks that were exchanged there about the President. GERB argue that Djankov was not aware his conversation with the President was recorded and was not asked for permission to make the recording public, which they say was a violation of the Constitution. GERB has said that this week signatures will start to be collected on a motion to impeach President Georgi Purvanov.
The poll, published by "24 Chassa" shows that the approval of the Cabinet has dropped by 6 per cent. However, Borissov's rating remains unchanged: he keeps on being at the top of the ten politicians enjoying highest approval with 68 per cent. He is followed by his deputy Tsvetanov with 66 per cent. According to the poll, if elections were held now, GERB would have won them by 36 per cent.
BULGARIA - EU
The European Commission backed the Bulgarian Government's plans to tighten the belts, "Troud" writes. The Commission says that if the economic growth and the tax revenues are below the target, this would be compensated by the financial restrictions. The Commission reminds the Cabinet, however, that, apart from economizing, it should also implement structural reforms.
***
"Sega" reports about a letter from DG Agriculture and Rural Development notifying Bulgaria that it will have to pay about 50 million leva for violations in the 2008 single area direct payment campaign for farmers. Only a month ago Brussels said that Bulgaria will be fined by 40 million leva for the payments made in 2007. The fine is most likely to be deducted from the nearly 1,000 million leva that are to be extended in subsidies.
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 18, 2010
· The Bulgarian parliament approved Thursday the appointment of a minister with responsibility for stamping out corruption in the use of EU funds. Tomislav Donchev, 36, is a former director of the Sofia branch of George Soros' Open Society Institute and has worked extensively in the area of EU project management and consulting. Amid concern over corruption Brussels froze 825 million euros in pre-accession aid for Bulgaria in 2008 and subsequently stripped Bulgaria of 200 million euros of that money. Last month, Sofia obtained permission from Brussels to apply for some 6.4 billion euros of post-accession aid available between 2007 and 2013. Nevertheless, a parliamentary commission recently found that the country risked losing most of that aid because Bulgaria has so far used just 1.3 percent of the total of 15 billion euros of pre- and post-accession aid. A member of the ruling right-wing GERB party, Donchev was elected mayor of the small town of Gabrovo in 2007, where he managed to win Brussels' approval for a water distribution project worth 63 million euros (86 million dollars).
· Bulgarian MPs unanimously passed the leading proposal moved by MP Lachezar Toshev for ban on cultivation and release of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in protected areas, Focus News Agency reporter announced.
· Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania are the catching-up countries in the EU in terms of innovation performance, with performance levels significantly below the EU average. However, all three countries are rapidly closing their gap to the average performance level of the EU, and Bulgaria and Romania have been improving their performance the fastest of all Member States.This observation is contained in a survey on innovation performance in the EU, which was presented on Wednesday by Antonio Tajani, European Commission Vice President responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, and by Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science.
· The European Commission urged Bulgaria to pursue “strict” fiscal policies that will compensate for “slightly favorable assumptions on growth and revenue collection”. Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s government envisages economic growth of 0.3 percent this year after last year’s contraction of 5.1 percent. The government ran up a deficit of 500 million lev ($350 million) in January and projects the gap will widen in February and March as it completes outstanding payments on infrastructure projects and other public orders.
onsdag den 17. marts 2010
Bulgarian Press Review, March 17, 2010
Press Review
Sofia, March 17 (BTA)
THE HOME SCENE
"Troud" leads with a story ("Anti-Crisis Axe for All") reporting of contemplated government measures to bring down the budget deficit. Among these is to start charging an income tax (of 10 per cent) before payment of social and health insurance; and start charging a tax of 10 per cent for all pensions bigger than 136 leva. The plan sends to forced two-weekly unpaid leave budget-paid emplyees; slashes by half the paid maternity entitlement (from the current 225 days) of young mothers.
"Standard News", too, writes about this ("Mothers' Money Cut Down"). The paper explains also that it is one of 37 anti-crisis measures that the Finance Minister will present to employers and unions at a discussion on Friday.
The measures' authors in the Finance Ministry said that these are difficult days and that the draft copy which the unions have, is only one possibility. "Nothing will go through in Parliament before it is discussed by the tripartite council," the story says quoting Labour Minister Totyu Mladenov. Mladenov was reportedly told by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov that he wants to hear out people's opinion before he makes a decision. "But one thing I can guarantee: the money that is paid to policemen and the military will remain unchanged," said Borissov.
"Sega" writes in a front-page story that the government's anti-crisis plan will be a severe blow on all incomes. The story says that the plan has 28 proposed measures and two parts: one for reducing the costs of the state administratuin and one for increasing the recipts from the population by cutting back on a number of social perks. The plan was reportedly prepared by a working group set up by the Prime Minister.
In "Troud", the deputy leader of the influential Podkrepa Labour Confederation, Dimiter Manolov, is quoted as saying that the plan is "imbecile" and that it is aimed at the low-income population groups. In "Zemya", Manolov is quoted as saying that the measures are "terrifying". In "Douma", the proposed measures are described as "monstrous".
***
In a "Troud" interview, former Foreign Minister and former deputy head of the intelligence service, Lyuben Gotsev, says the government is beginning to have trouble - "serious trouble with some things," he says. "It will be hard for Mr Borissov from now on. How long the downturn will last and whether next winter will be more difficult, is for the economic analysts to say. On the other hand, we shouldn't forget that the Wolrd Bank and the IMF have their way to pull the strings," says Gotsev. He is supportive of the idea for opening up the economic files from the transition - "if they exist".
***
Politican analyst Ognyan Minchev says in "Troud" that he is optimistic about the opening of the communist-era secret files - but the files are economic and political and one cannot open the former without opening the latter. "I see hope in the relatively firm position of the government and most of all of Deputy Prime Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, in respect of organized crime, as well as the conflict with the government and the GERB majority, pushed through by President [Georgi] Purvanov."
Minchev goes on to say that the President is an indicator of the olygarchic interest in politics. "The more this conflict picks up intensity, the bigger indications we are going to have that GERB is determined to cross the line of olygarchic control."
Minchev says further that the economic shape of the country gives a reason for concern and yet a political crisis and early elections are unlikely. "Sooner or later, there will be a GERB alternarive but Purvanov will not be the one to take the helm of it."
***
In "Dnevnik", social analyst Zhivko Georgiev says that some people in GERB have emerged as spokespersons of an interest which does not match fully the vision of Prime Minister Borissov. He mentions Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov as one example. Georgiev believes that Finance Minister Simeon Djankov is the first candidate for the role of a safety fuse about to blow. "1997 was worse economy-wise but at least [then Prime minister] Ivan Kostov had a clear vision of what he was doing and tangible instruments: the currency board combined with political will and a strong public consensus about what exactly was to be done. At the moment the government is totally helpless," says Georgiev.
ECONOMY
Before the end of March Bulgaria is beginning talks with Gazprom for a new contract, Bulgargaz CEO Dimiter Gogov tells "Klassa". He adds that this year, too, Bulgaria will be unable to use up the whole requested amount of natural gas due to the economic stagnation.
***
"Monitor" reports that Allianz Bulgaria and the person who controls it, Dimiter Zhelev, have syphoned 200 million leva from insurance in the past 5 years. They did that through insurance policies of state-owned energy companies for a single insurer: the Energiya insurance company. Allianz controls half of the Energiya shares. The said companies chose Energiya as their insurere with no tender as required by the Public Procurement Act. They paid to Energiya premiums for a total 311 million leva. Only 22.7 million leva were paid in compensations during the same period.
***
Yanko Georgiev of the management of Bulgaria Air will be the new CEO of the national air carrier, "Standard News" reports. The long-serving CEO, Dimiter Pavlov, was relieved of his duties last Friday.
***
"Pari" warns that without a clear idea about the mechanism whereby the government will sell residual shares in companies, the whole operation which is meant to rescue the budget, may fail.
***
"24 Chassa" has a front-page story about a major knitwear producer, Nitex of Dospat, and how it is struggling with the crisis. Instead of their full wages, the Nitex workers last month were paid only 35 leva and a box of sweaters each, to sell and supplement their meagre wage. Before the crisis they used to make 400-500 leva a month.
FOREIGN POLICY
"Troud" has a report on the Moscow visit of Parliament Chair Tsetska Tsacheva and her talks with the Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Boris Gryzlov. It says that the possibility of deployment of parts of the US missle defence system in Bulgaria were high on the agenda. Gryzlov is quoted as saying that Russia is not going to sign the nuclear weapons reduction agreement unless it is paired up with the missle defence system. The paper comments that these words can be considered a clear message from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin because Gryzlov is a senior member of the ruling party in Russia.
In his capacity as chairman of the United Russia party, Gryzlov offered his party's cooperation and handed to Tsetska Tsacheva a draft agreement between the two parties. Tsacheva says that this is not going to be ideological partnership but interaction between two ruling political parties.
***
"It seems that the power-holders in Skopje don't have enough problems with Greece and are consistently working to have more problems, this time with Bulgaria," "Troud" writes. The Macedonian government reportedly plans to insist that the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities be included in a new base bilateral agreement that would put Bulgaria under an obligation to recognize a Macedonian minority.
***
The Macedonian Stock Exchange hopes for Bulgarian investors, CEO Ivan Shteriev says in "Dnevnik". On Thursday, Sofia is hosting Day of Macedonian capital market and Macedonian issuers.
***
Meeting with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem in Vietnam, Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Marin Raikov suggested that Bulgaria's ports of Varna and Bourgas start to be used as a doorway to Europe for Vietnamese exports, "24 Chassa" reports.
The story further reports that the Bulgarian side raised the issue of scrapping visa requirements for business people.
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 17, 2010
· The government approved a national action plan to fully implement the provisions of the acquis of Schengen rights and the removal of internal border controls. Implementation of the measures of the plan will provide the successful preparation of Bulgaria for accession to the Schengen area in 2011, which our national goal is.
· The Government cancelled Wednesday a last week decision to increase health insurance contributions from 8 per cent to 10 per cent, the government information service said. Wednesday's decision follows a broad discussion and a careful consideration of the effects of the possible hike on all parties involved.
· Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov will take part in the protest of the police on Saturday, a reporter of FOCUS News Agency announced. Minister Tsvetanov explained to journalists that he has always supported the "peers", regardless of the assessment that they would gave emotionally and largely objective as requested, however the Minister must be supportive of their problems. Realities in the country should be taken into account, because there is no Minister of the Interior who doesn’t want the police to receive more money and to work in better conditions.
Sofia, March 17 (BTA)
THE HOME SCENE
"Troud" leads with a story ("Anti-Crisis Axe for All") reporting of contemplated government measures to bring down the budget deficit. Among these is to start charging an income tax (of 10 per cent) before payment of social and health insurance; and start charging a tax of 10 per cent for all pensions bigger than 136 leva. The plan sends to forced two-weekly unpaid leave budget-paid emplyees; slashes by half the paid maternity entitlement (from the current 225 days) of young mothers.
"Standard News", too, writes about this ("Mothers' Money Cut Down"). The paper explains also that it is one of 37 anti-crisis measures that the Finance Minister will present to employers and unions at a discussion on Friday.
The measures' authors in the Finance Ministry said that these are difficult days and that the draft copy which the unions have, is only one possibility. "Nothing will go through in Parliament before it is discussed by the tripartite council," the story says quoting Labour Minister Totyu Mladenov. Mladenov was reportedly told by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov that he wants to hear out people's opinion before he makes a decision. "But one thing I can guarantee: the money that is paid to policemen and the military will remain unchanged," said Borissov.
"Sega" writes in a front-page story that the government's anti-crisis plan will be a severe blow on all incomes. The story says that the plan has 28 proposed measures and two parts: one for reducing the costs of the state administratuin and one for increasing the recipts from the population by cutting back on a number of social perks. The plan was reportedly prepared by a working group set up by the Prime Minister.
In "Troud", the deputy leader of the influential Podkrepa Labour Confederation, Dimiter Manolov, is quoted as saying that the plan is "imbecile" and that it is aimed at the low-income population groups. In "Zemya", Manolov is quoted as saying that the measures are "terrifying". In "Douma", the proposed measures are described as "monstrous".
***
In a "Troud" interview, former Foreign Minister and former deputy head of the intelligence service, Lyuben Gotsev, says the government is beginning to have trouble - "serious trouble with some things," he says. "It will be hard for Mr Borissov from now on. How long the downturn will last and whether next winter will be more difficult, is for the economic analysts to say. On the other hand, we shouldn't forget that the Wolrd Bank and the IMF have their way to pull the strings," says Gotsev. He is supportive of the idea for opening up the economic files from the transition - "if they exist".
***
Politican analyst Ognyan Minchev says in "Troud" that he is optimistic about the opening of the communist-era secret files - but the files are economic and political and one cannot open the former without opening the latter. "I see hope in the relatively firm position of the government and most of all of Deputy Prime Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, in respect of organized crime, as well as the conflict with the government and the GERB majority, pushed through by President [Georgi] Purvanov."
Minchev goes on to say that the President is an indicator of the olygarchic interest in politics. "The more this conflict picks up intensity, the bigger indications we are going to have that GERB is determined to cross the line of olygarchic control."
Minchev says further that the economic shape of the country gives a reason for concern and yet a political crisis and early elections are unlikely. "Sooner or later, there will be a GERB alternarive but Purvanov will not be the one to take the helm of it."
***
In "Dnevnik", social analyst Zhivko Georgiev says that some people in GERB have emerged as spokespersons of an interest which does not match fully the vision of Prime Minister Borissov. He mentions Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov as one example. Georgiev believes that Finance Minister Simeon Djankov is the first candidate for the role of a safety fuse about to blow. "1997 was worse economy-wise but at least [then Prime minister] Ivan Kostov had a clear vision of what he was doing and tangible instruments: the currency board combined with political will and a strong public consensus about what exactly was to be done. At the moment the government is totally helpless," says Georgiev.
ECONOMY
Before the end of March Bulgaria is beginning talks with Gazprom for a new contract, Bulgargaz CEO Dimiter Gogov tells "Klassa". He adds that this year, too, Bulgaria will be unable to use up the whole requested amount of natural gas due to the economic stagnation.
***
"Monitor" reports that Allianz Bulgaria and the person who controls it, Dimiter Zhelev, have syphoned 200 million leva from insurance in the past 5 years. They did that through insurance policies of state-owned energy companies for a single insurer: the Energiya insurance company. Allianz controls half of the Energiya shares. The said companies chose Energiya as their insurere with no tender as required by the Public Procurement Act. They paid to Energiya premiums for a total 311 million leva. Only 22.7 million leva were paid in compensations during the same period.
***
Yanko Georgiev of the management of Bulgaria Air will be the new CEO of the national air carrier, "Standard News" reports. The long-serving CEO, Dimiter Pavlov, was relieved of his duties last Friday.
***
"Pari" warns that without a clear idea about the mechanism whereby the government will sell residual shares in companies, the whole operation which is meant to rescue the budget, may fail.
***
"24 Chassa" has a front-page story about a major knitwear producer, Nitex of Dospat, and how it is struggling with the crisis. Instead of their full wages, the Nitex workers last month were paid only 35 leva and a box of sweaters each, to sell and supplement their meagre wage. Before the crisis they used to make 400-500 leva a month.
FOREIGN POLICY
"Troud" has a report on the Moscow visit of Parliament Chair Tsetska Tsacheva and her talks with the Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Boris Gryzlov. It says that the possibility of deployment of parts of the US missle defence system in Bulgaria were high on the agenda. Gryzlov is quoted as saying that Russia is not going to sign the nuclear weapons reduction agreement unless it is paired up with the missle defence system. The paper comments that these words can be considered a clear message from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin because Gryzlov is a senior member of the ruling party in Russia.
In his capacity as chairman of the United Russia party, Gryzlov offered his party's cooperation and handed to Tsetska Tsacheva a draft agreement between the two parties. Tsacheva says that this is not going to be ideological partnership but interaction between two ruling political parties.
***
"It seems that the power-holders in Skopje don't have enough problems with Greece and are consistently working to have more problems, this time with Bulgaria," "Troud" writes. The Macedonian government reportedly plans to insist that the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities be included in a new base bilateral agreement that would put Bulgaria under an obligation to recognize a Macedonian minority.
***
The Macedonian Stock Exchange hopes for Bulgarian investors, CEO Ivan Shteriev says in "Dnevnik". On Thursday, Sofia is hosting Day of Macedonian capital market and Macedonian issuers.
***
Meeting with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem in Vietnam, Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Marin Raikov suggested that Bulgaria's ports of Varna and Bourgas start to be used as a doorway to Europe for Vietnamese exports, "24 Chassa" reports.
The story further reports that the Bulgarian side raised the issue of scrapping visa requirements for business people.
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 17, 2010
· The government approved a national action plan to fully implement the provisions of the acquis of Schengen rights and the removal of internal border controls. Implementation of the measures of the plan will provide the successful preparation of Bulgaria for accession to the Schengen area in 2011, which our national goal is.
· The Government cancelled Wednesday a last week decision to increase health insurance contributions from 8 per cent to 10 per cent, the government information service said. Wednesday's decision follows a broad discussion and a careful consideration of the effects of the possible hike on all parties involved.
· Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov will take part in the protest of the police on Saturday, a reporter of FOCUS News Agency announced. Minister Tsvetanov explained to journalists that he has always supported the "peers", regardless of the assessment that they would gave emotionally and largely objective as requested, however the Minister must be supportive of their problems. Realities in the country should be taken into account, because there is no Minister of the Interior who doesn’t want the police to receive more money and to work in better conditions.
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