Bulgarian Press Review September 10, 2009

Press Review
Sofia, September 10 (BTA)


HOME SCENE

"Sega" writes that the government has declared 120 days of total mobilization against the Mafia. The cabinet believes it can regain the EU's trust by speeding up trials and by conducting massive checks on rich people with a dubious business record.

"Dnevnik" lists measures planned by the Justice Ministry, including continuous checks on owners of assets worth over 500,000 leva, tax and customs officers; inspections of shops selling excisable goods; and checks on teachers suspected of giving private lessons. The government adopted the 57-point plan for the fight against corruption and crime on Wednesday in response to criticisms in the European Commission's latest report. Tasks and deadlines are set to individuals and the expected effect is specified. The plan will be submitted to Brussels. The measures must be implemented by the year's end, and an EC mission is expected to check on progress in early December.

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Rumiana Buchvarova, Chef de Cabinet of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, says that President Georgi Purvanov will not influence the cabinet's policy. Meeting with Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin, Borissov showed realism and leadership, Buchvarova says.

An opinion piece in "Dnevnik" reacts to Purvanov's article "Pragmatism and leadership are needed in the energy strategy and policy" published on Tuesday. The writer asks: "Can you remember when Purvanov publicly criticized the former Prime Minister [Sergei Stanishev]? This did not happen when the EU blocked funding over well-nurtured and well-guarded corruption. It did not happen when, nearing the end of its term, the Stanishev cabinet was forking out public money [Е]." The writer also notes that the article was posted on Purvanov's website the day before Borissov's first visit to Brussels, preceded by news that SAPARD funding would be unblocked. On the next day, Purvanov decided to convene the Consultative Council on National Security for a discussion of the implementation of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism and of improvements in the absorption of EU funds, which he did not do when EU money was blocked. The person who vindicated the Stanishev cabinet by saying that Bulgaria became hostage to the European Parliament elections is now magnifying a problem which is being tackled more or less successfully. "This is more than arrogance. What we have here are circles isolated by our Euro-Atlantic partners that will continue causing harm," Lyuboslava Rousseva says in "Dnevnik".

The President is concerned about things that are not happening, about what is presented to the public as opinions and intentions without first-hand knowledge of the energy projects, former economy and energy minister Roumen Ovcharov says in a "Troud" interview. He voices concern that the President was the first to show competence on the matter - energy projects - in the last two months. Ovcharov says that, strangely, the state leader seems to be playing the role of a minister or a manager of a large energy company, who explains technological details of the major energy projects. Obviously no one else is up to this task, Ovcharov concludes.

An analysis in "Troud" says Bulgaria would win from the clash between Purvanov and Borissov if it turned into a competition of ideas about the future and not into a destructive war.

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In "24 Chassa", Kalina Ilieva, Director of the Agriculture Fund, says that when she took office it emerged that 10,000 projects had been submitted but only 2,500 had been finalized. Due to improved organization, 1,415 projects have been finalized under the Young Farmer Measure alone in the last three weeks. Contracts are to be signed in a matter of days.

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Over 3,000 people mourned the victims of the boat accident on Lake Ohrid, "Troud" writes. The 15 victims were buried on Wednesday.

FOREIGN POLICY

"24 Chassa" quotes European People's Party (EPP) President Wilfried Martens as saying that the new Bulgarian EU commissioner should be from GERB. He reportedly told Bulgarian National Radio that Meglena Kuneva is a very competent commissioner indeed, but the EC is an expert body as well as a political body. That is why Martens said he believed that Bulgaria, which now has a centre-right government, should appoint a person who belongs to the EPP political family. Borissov is expected to nominate Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva to the EC, says "24 Chassa".

"Troud" writes that Bulgaria will try to extend the deadline for absorption of problematic EU money for infrastructure and the environment and to wring out a further 300 million euro in compensation for the closure of units of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. The daily quotes government members who are visiting Brussels. "24 Chassa" says that the EC would be ready to continue paying compensation for the closure of Kozloduy's units three and four but is short of money. Energy Minister Traicho Traikov met with Matthias Ruete, Director General of the EC's DG Transport and Energy, and said that Brussels would announce in a month if it had found reserves in the crisis response package.

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

"Troud" devotes two pages to magistrates' suggestions about tapping the US experience in the fight against lengthy trials. All moot points should be cleared out before the trial. The prosecutor and the defence should put their cards on the table and the judge should decide if he or she will hear the case. If the court decides that there will be a trial, no one should have the right to raise already rejected objections or cite them as a reason for termination or adjournment. The magistrates also want special surveillance means to be used in uncovering money laundering.

THE ECONOMY

The credit crunch has eased and lending interest is going down, "Troud" writes, quoting consulting firm Credit Centre. It said that the average consumer credit reached 11,369 leva in August, up from 8,462 leva in the first half of the year. The largest consumer loan is 15,000 euro, while customers, mostly with medium to high incomes, usually ask for about 10,000 euro. The consultants say that it is mostly people with monthly incomes ranging between 1,500 leva and 2,000 leva that take out home loans.

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"Klassa" writes that Bulgaria is fourth along with New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States in access to corporate loans according to the World Bank's ranking of the countries where it is easiest to do business. However, Bulgaria slid two notches from 2008, from 42nd to 44th place among 183 countries, and placed between Armenia and Botswana in the general ranking.

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"24 Chassa" publishes a transcript from a November 2, 2006 meeting of the Stanishev cabinet headlined "Stanishev: Mr Ovcharov, please make sure the State retains its 51 per cent stake!" The same daily has interviewed tourism boss Georgi Gergov. A week ago Economy Minister Traicho Traikov ordered a check on the International Fair Plovdiv, in which the State lost its majority stake and the company became controlled by Gergov. He asks why the State, which is a shareholder, is harming the company's image.

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Finance Minister Simeon Djankov is 99th among 1,058 leading economic and financial experts worldwide in the annual rankings of the University of Connecticut's Department of Economics. Djankov is co-author of ten articles written by first-ranked Harvard Professor Andrei Schleifer.

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Bulgarian National Radio Director Valerii Todorov says in "24 Chassa" that the scores of a march and a waltz written by Johann Strauss respectively for Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria's coronation and wedding have been found in Vienna.


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 – September 9, 2009

• One Bulgarian citizen has been killed in the flash floods triggered by torrential rains in northwestern Turkey. Another one has been declared missing - later on he has been found safe.

• The Director of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission, Jean-Luc Demarty announced at a meeting with Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Miroslav Naydenov that he has signed the payments under SAPARD program. Practically this will start the disbursement of blocked funds under the program worth millions of euros.

• A 32-year-old employee of the National Revenue Agency was caught with a bribe of BGN 20 000 in a special operation of the State National Security Agency DANS and the Prosecutor's Office.

• A three-years old child died after drinking a solution of methadone in Sofia. According to the initial data the methadone belongs to his mother who is drug addicted.