Bulgarian press review, February 1, 2010

Press Review
Sofia, February 1


FOREIGN POLICY

"Troud" interviews newly elected Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov who says that the foremost goal of the Bulgarian diplomacy will be to focus its attention on the Balkans. Mladenov argues that Bulgaria seems to have isolated itself and forgotten its neighbours. The Foreign Minister says that the policy towards its neighbours could be Bulgaria's contribution to the European policy for the Balkans. Mladenov says he has decided to make a quick tour of neighbouring countries to "identify problems". "It is not enough for Bulgaria to just say it is supporting the efforts of the countries in the Western Balkans to join the EU. I am fed up with hearing that Bulgaria joins this or that initiative suggested by someone else. It is high time for us to come up with an initiative to be joined by others," says Mladenov.
Another goal of the Bulgarian diplomacy will be to create opportunities for new markets for Bulgarian businesses.

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"Novinar" writes that the quotas for cargo haulage between Bulgaria and Turkey increase by 40 per cent. This was agreed during the January 29 and 30 visit to Turkey of a Bulgarian delegation led by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. Transport Minister Aleksandar Tsvetkov who was on the delegation is quoted as saying that many other agreements in the interest of forwarding companies have been reached with Turkey.

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The Monday dailies report that the ship Asian Glory, with eight Bulgarians on board, which was kidnapped by Somali pirates on January 2, has been sailing to the Gulf of Aden. The reports quote Commander John Harbour, Chief Public Information Officer of the Atalanta operation of the EU in the Gulf of Aden. Quoting information of a Russian publication called "Naval Bulletin", the newspapers say also that Asian Glory could be turned into a base ship for launching new attacks and hijackings.

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Quoting Deputy Foreign Minister Marin Raikov, "Novinar" says in a front-pafe report that there are four Bulgarians among the victims of the January 20 accident when a building in Liege collapsed after a gas explosion. The Belgian press says that Bulgarians used to live illegally in the building.

ECONOMY

"Sega" writes in a top report that outstanding payments of members of the public and companies to the budget have doubled, according to "black lists" of taxpayers published on the web site of the National Revenue Agency. If a year ago such amounts totalled 60 million leva monthly, they now stand at 120 million leva. These are debts that have been identified, proven by the tax authorities in the relevant statements and confirmed by the court, says the report. Experts explain this state of affairs not only with the economic downturn which left many businesses without orders and proceeds, but also with the considerable increase in tax frauds.

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"Dnevnik" writes in a front-page report that non-performing debts for which forcible collection is sought reached 1,000 million leva in 2009. The daily cites data of the Chamber of Private Enforcement Agents. Last year the cases when debtors were unable to service their debts and refused to do so voluntarily increased by nearly 60 per cent. In 2009 private enforcement agents reported for the first time a drop in the amount of money they managed to secure to lenders. Last year a total of 320 million leva were collected by private enforcement agents who are by 80 million leva less than in 2008. The decrease is attributed to the fact that debtors do not have money while there are no buyers for real estate.

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"Klassa" reports in a front-page story that Bulgaria was ranked on the 28th place, ahead of Poland and Romania, in the globalization index survey conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by Ernst&Young. The results of the survey were presented at the World Economic Forum which has just ended in Davos. In 1995 to 2009 Bulgaria's globalization index increased from 3.52 to 4.03.

THE HOME SCENE

Interviewed by "Troud" German Ambassador to Sofia Matthias Hoepfner says that the Bulgarians and Europe are waiting for speedy reforms in Bulgaria. The Ambassador says that true friendship includes a certain degree of critical solidarity.
The German diplomat is of the opinion that the Bulgarian Code of Criminal Procedure should be overhauled.
Commenting the recent changes in the Boyko Borissov cabinet, Ambassador Hoepfner says that the government coped excellently in the given situation and proved that Bulgaria has truly skilled young people who meet the requirements of the most senior posts. He says that the good education of the young Bulgarians, some of who obtain it abroad, repays well.

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The leading report in "24 Chassa" says that electricity prices in this country are unlawful since for at least three years the factor of the quality of the service has not been included in the rates. If this had been done, the end price of electricity should have been falling. Lawyer Georgi Dishev of the Bulgarian National Consumer Association argues that al least theoretically, the absence of a quality factor in the formula for calculating electricity prices makes them illegal. The prices may be question before the Supreme Administrative Court, he says.

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The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) has called for civil pressure again the healthcare reform, "Dnevnik" reports.
The Monday newspapers report on a seminar during the weekend of the parliamentary group of the left-wing Coalition for Bulgaria where the BSP decided to move a bill which will put the state under the obligation to come up with a number of "protected hospitals" which will not be possible to close down.
"Douma" writes that BSP leader and former Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said at the forum that the BSP will appeal a letter of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) setting new criteria for signing contracts with hospitals before the Supreme Administrative Court. Coalition for Bulgaria will find a way of challenging the policy before the Constitutional Court as well, he said. The criteria are changed by a NHIF letter, which contradicts the National Framework Contract, Stanishev said.

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The leading story in "Troud" says how mountain rescuers, emergency aid doctors and police had to organize a search party Sunday for two reportedly missing British ladies while the women were at their homes in the village of Stoikite, near Smolyan, Southwestern Bulgaria. The misunderstanding was caused when Emily called 112 “emergency call number” to ask for an ambulance for her mother Amanda who reportedly had stroke symptoms. In order to make things easy for the ambulance team Emily said that her house was near the bottom station of the cable car. However, the 112 operator who took the call understood that the women had lost their way near the cable car and directed the ambulance there.

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"Klassa" run the results of a Gallup International poll, according to which about 15 per cent of Bulgarians went on mountain excursions - for a walk during the weekend or to ski, in the past couple of months. Thirty-one per cent of adult Bulgarians went on a trip to the mountains in the past year or sooner while 44 do not remember when they last went on such a trip.

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

In an interview to "24 Chassa" Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov says that what his ministry started with the operation dubbed "The Impudent" against kidnappers will continue until all participants in criminal groups up to the highest levels have been reached. What the ministry does in creating special teams to work on high-profile cases is a move in the right direction, Tsvetanov says, adding that ways are being sought to shorten the never-ending court trials where, in his words, conditions are created where witnesses are pressed to retract their testimonies.
Tsvetanov suggests that judges from the EU could perform monitoring of sentences ruled by Bulgarian courts.

Links to some Bulgarian info websites in English:

· http://www.bta.bg/site/en/indexe.shtml
· http://www.novinite.com/index.php
· http://www.focus-fen.net/

Most discussed topics of the day – Sofia, February 1, 2010

· Due to the heavy snowfall in the capital city Sofia Municipality and Traffic Police will divert temporarily the traffic on some roads so that the snow could be removed, the municipality announced.The traffic in downtown Sofia ground to a virtual standstill. The snow caused gridlock across the central parts of the city. It covered the ice on the roads, creating conditions for road accidents. Many light crashes were reported. Fire engines are pulling bus out of the snow
Traffic has been restored everywhere in Sofia, said Lyubomir Hristov, deputy mayor in charge of transport. He added some of the road sections had been gritted twice to prevent ice formation.

· West Incorporated, an Irish property investor, said on February 1 2010 that it has acquired the Telephone Palace building in Sofia for an estimated 22.5 million euro. The company could to invest more than 100 million euro in developing the property.
West Incorporated said it would not disclose the future purpose of the building, but the company has employed a team of top professionals, who have been researching possibilities to turn the building into a unique cultural and social centre both in Bulgaria and in Eastern Europe.