Bulgarian Press Review August 7, 2009

Press Review
Sofia, August 7 (BTA)

THE HOME SCENE

"After six years of stalling, taxmen and customs officers work with a common system," "Sega" reports. "As from Thursday, the National Revenue Agency and the National Customs Agency have been able to exchange data online in real time. Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov announced the success, specifying that this should have happened six years ago. His initial expectations are that the change, for which political will was lacking so far, will bring in some 150-200 million leva into the public purse, and if the Customs improves its performance, another 500 million." The paper also covers the appointment of the former Director of the National Service for Combating Organized Crime, General Vanyo Tanov, as Executive Director of the National Customs Agency. His top priorities are to dismantle the smuggling rings, to halt excise duty evasion, and to scrutinize media reports of abuses. Tanov explained that he is familiar with the smuggling rings and that the corrupt customs officers, who make headline news in the media, will be fired.

"General Tanov is facing an uphill task," "Troud" comments. "He will have to solve the smuggling problem which, according to Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, costs the state budget a loss of 1,200 million leva." The daily found, however, that Customs is to blame for a much larger shortfall in revenue, in excess of 2,500 million leva. "In June, Tobacco Products Manufacturers and Traders Association President Emil Dimitrov (now a GERB MP) said that 30 per cent of the cigarettes sold in Bulgaria are smuggled. Considering that 23,000 million cigarettes sell in this country annually, at 2.50-2.60 leva per box this totals some 3,000 million leva. Customs and excise duties and value added tax account for some 70 per cent of the end price, which means that the Exchequer is defrauded of 2,100 million leva."

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"Troud" reports that the notorious information case codenamed "Gallery", in which telephones of MPs and journalists were surveilled, will be declassified because of the heightened public interest. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's decision was circulated by the Government Information Service on Thursday after his meeting with the new Chairman of the State Agency for National Security Tsvetelin Yovchev.

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"Troud" reports that Justice Minister Margarita Popova Thursday presented her deputies to the media, describing them as "her family." These are Zhaneta Petrova of the Supreme Administrative Court, prosecutor Daniela Masheva of the Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office, and prosecutor Hristo Angelov of the Supreme Administrative Prosecution Office. Popova retained the Ministry's Chief Secretary Ivelina Nikolova, who will be in charge of the work of the administration.

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"Troud" reports that the chief of the Transport Ministry's Automobile Inspectorate Todor Stanishev has been releived of his responsibilities by order of new Transport Minister Aleksandar Tsvetkov. The nominal grounds for the dismissal are "systematic failure to fulfill his duties". Todor Stanishev is a cousin of ex-prime minister Sergei Stanishev, and Ministry employees suspected a "witch hunt" in the move.

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Interviewed for "24 Chassa," Vladimir Karolev, coordinator of the economic team of the National Movement for Surge and Stability (NMSS), says that the incumbent Government stands a chance of being successful. "Borissov has learnt quite a few things from the King [NMSS leader Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha], including the right he let the ministers designate their deputies." "Ministers have been telling me that Boyko now stands as a wall: when there is pressure, because there, too, are such that are preparing for cushy jobs, so he stands above the ministers and does not let them come under pressure. And this is very praiseworthy. Because the main risk facing the incumbent ministers and their deputies is the fact that who sponsored and helped GERB is only starting to come to light." Karolev suggests that before elections sociologists declare who they are working for and who is paying them.

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"Borissov Challenges Turkey by Bulgarian Genocide Day," writes "Sega." "Prime Minister Boyko Borissov backed with conviction Ataka's idea of a Day of Genocide against Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire, it emerges from his interview on the Koritarov online site. Borissov specifies that he is expressing a personal position and that the matter will be solved by GERB and Ataka. Prof. Andrei Pantev of Coalition for Bulgaria described the idea as 'mind-boggling'. The reaction of Vesselin Metodiev of The Blue Coalition was similar."

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Interviewed for "Troud", Eductaion, Youth and Science Minister Yordanka Fandakova explains that the entrance examinations to the elite secondary schools will combine the familiar entrance test after the 7th grade and the external evaluation test. Fandakova notes that there is readiness for a change in higher education and science. The first bill that will be laid before the National Assembly will be the draft Academic Degrees and Ranks Act. Basically, it gives young researchers an opportunity for fast career growth.

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"Rebelion against Severe Sentences of Policemen Brewing at Interior Ministry," according to a front-page headline in "Sega." "The police rebelled against the harsh convictions of Interior Ministry officers. The anger was provoked by the decision of the military court to send the five policemen, charged with the killing of Angel "Chorata" Dimitrov, to prison for an aggregate term of 82 years, as well as by the three-year effective prison sentence passed on Alexander Alexandrov of Sofia's Police Precinct Department No. 9, who was found guilty of coercing a witness. The protest declaration was circulated by the trade union federation at the Interior Ministry which organized unprecedented police rallies while the three-party coalition was in power. 'The unjustified sentences demotivate the personnel and may lead to unforeseeable consequences detrimental to internal security,' the tradeunionists warn."

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"Troud" reports on its front page, quoting own sources, that 60,000 euro were found in the home of former National Assembly chief secretary Ognyan Avramov during a search conducted on July 31. Sofia's Deputy City Prosecutor Borislav Djambazov confirmed that the case is being investigated to clarify the origin of the money and the contents of the papers that Avramov tried to take out of Parliament that same day. Avramov's monthly salary was approximately 2,000 leva, and he holds 19,000 leva on a bank deposit from consumer credit, his financial interests disclosure statement shows.

ECONOMY

"Klassa" quotes National Assembly Economic Policy, Energy and Tourism Committee Chairman Martin Dimitrov as saying after the Committee's first meeting that the Government should collect 1,500 million leva from privatization transactions. Dimitrov explained that the Post-privatization Control Agency has won cases worth over 300 million leva. Another 800 million are being litigated before courts of various instances. Institution of cases for another 400 million leva is forthcoming, Dimitrov said. In his view, part of the money may go into the public purse even this year.

Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG) Board Chairman Ivo Prokopiev suggests in a "Troud" interview that social insurance contributions be lowered for compliant companies. He says that his Confederation is preparing for a meeting with the economic team of the Government. One of their demands will be performance of more flexible work, by the hour, and diversification of opportunities for overtime work. In general, the labour market regulation should be adapted to the strongly unpredictable environment related to getting orders and the time limit for their fulfillment. Another measure proposed by CEIBG concerns financial incentives for business, of which the most substantial and discussed instrument is the reduction of social insurance contributions. CEIBG launches the idea to offer an incentive to employers who pay contributions on the actual wage rather than on the minimum thresholds.

"If the Government manages to stabilize the budget, there will be no need of the IMF," according to Georgi Angelov, senior economist at the Open Society Institute-Sofia. Interviewed for "Novinar", he notes that the foremost priority of the Government is to tighten budget discipline both at the ministries and at state-owned companies. "What matters is not to overspend revenues. Next comes relieving the labour market by the largest and soonest possible reduction of social insurance contributions. If we do not cope with the budget problems on our own, our country's credibility will be higher because we will demonstrate that we can solve the problems unaided and do not need a push from the outside."

Transport Minister Alexander Tsvetkov told a "Monitor" interviewer that the transaction for the two new government planes will definitely be cancelled because the state budget does not allocate money for the leasing payments. "Such money is not available either at the Ministry of Transport or at the Ministry of Finance. The 14 million leva paid so far are not lost, according to the Minister. The State will bring an action for declaration of nullity of the transaction for procurement of the government planes. Then we will be seeking a way to recover that money, too. We will contest the transaction also because the planes do not meet the technical specifications specified in the contract."



BULGARIA - EU

"Brussels will not release our money just because the government is new," warns Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev in "Troud." He says that the manner of work with the EU must be changed. Plevneliev argues that so far things have been rather perfunctory, work has been done from one meeting to another. "We are talking of the need of the motorway projects getting off the ground. But how can this possibly happen once the records here are scattered in the corridors. Just notice how convenient it is that the original documents should be dispersed in all offices. How can you enforce any responsibility? And the European Commission officials are well-paid bureaucrats who will not release the money for Bulgaria just for our fair eyes of because there is a new government. They no longer give money on trust, they are sick and tired of talk." PG/LG


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 – August 7, 2009

• Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov promised state aid for the regions near popular tourist locations, which suffered damages in the recent earthquake, the strongest to shake the country this year.

• BGN 13 million of Air Forces budget has been earmarked for the construction of assembly lines to build a shed, Defense Minister Nikolay Mladenov said. In his words priority areas have been deprived of funds. A bad budget has been left in the ministry. This is a result of mismanagement. The first task of the minister’s team is to develop a project to change the organizational rules in the ministry and restore the single process of programming and planning the budget.

• Bulgaria's Regional Development Minister, Rosen Plevneliev, said today that the completion of three highways is his "absolute priority". He made it clear that the Ministry would focus on the construction of Trakiya Highway (connecting Sofia and Burgas), Maritsa Highway (linking Trakiya Highway to the border with Turkey), and Struma Highway (linking Sofia to the border with Greece).

• The Prosecutor’s Office has demanded two years’ imprisonment and compensations of BGN 132,600 in the trial against Krasimir Gorsov. Gosov’s daughter Manuela was seriously injured in the road accident involving figure skater Maxim Staviski. Krasimir Gorsov is charged with failure to spend more than BGN 130,000 on Manuela’s medical treatment. The sum was raised through charity accounts.