Bulgarian press review, February 16, 2010

Press Review
Sofia, February 16 (BTA)


HOME SCENE

The Prime Minister has dismissed the two deputy chairmen of the State Agency for Refugees with the Council of Ministers, "Troud" reports. Krassimir Kossatev and Dimiter Vladimirov were removed from their positions over very serious violations, Prime MInister Boyko Borissov said Monday adding that he had drawn up a report which he would submit to the Council of Ministers at its meeting on Wednesday proposing the dismissal of the chairman of the Agency, Svetoslav Minchev. The institution has been drained of thousands of leva. "There is no drama in my removal. I am the last agency head left from the team of the previous government and my removal is logical," Minchev is quoted as saying by "24 Chassa."

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"I do not know Alexei Petrov, I have not conferred him any rewards," former interior minister Georgi Petkanov, now a constitutional judge, says in an interview for "Troud." In his words, while he was interior minister Petrov was not well known to the public. During his term, Petrov was an officer at the Interior Ministry but did not have any special achievements as such to deserve honours. Petkanov says the Interior Ministry deserves to be praised for what it is doing now: arresting the Impudents (a group involved in kidnapping), Octopus (a police operation codenamed "Octopus" against organized crime in which Petrov was arrested) and other similar operations. "I would very much like that Operation Octopus ends in sentencing the culprits," he says. "But I doubt they would be convicted." "Troud" devotes space to the opinion of Atanas Atanassov, head of the National Security Service at the time of Ivan Kostov's cabinet. Atanassov calls for "untangling the whole story about the group linked to ex-prosecutor general Nikola Filchev." He recalls that Petrov was recruited in the National Security Service (NSS) on Filchev personal insistence late in the autumn of 2000. "I do not discuss secret agents," another former interior minister, Emil Yordanov, says. When he was interior minister, Petrov was not on the payroll of the Ministry. "DSB: It's Time to Arrest Filchev," "24 Chassa" writes in a headline on the same subject. Democrats for Strong Bulgaria insist on investigating all political links of the persons detained in Operation Octopus and to call to account all politicians who provided a political umbrella for them. "I Was Dangerous! But for Women, Years Ago" is the "24 Chassa" headline of an interview with Filchev. Responding to accusations that he was Petrov's political umbrella, Filchev says he has never favoured anybody and never asked the Interior Ministry for Petrov's appointment to the NSS. He recalls that Petrov's appointment was proposed by Atanassov and the order on it was signed by Yordanov, interior minister in the Kostov cabinet. "Kostov cannot forgive me that I exposed him as a thief and leader of a group of bandits," Filchev says. According to him, at that time the privatization proceeds came up to 30,000 million leva but only 3,000 million went to the Treasury."Where are the remaining 27,000 million," he asks.

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The incumbents are ready to release 400 million leva from the health care reserve fund and allow 15 hospitals one year to meet the requirements for normal operation and conclude agreements with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), which otherwise will be closed down, "24 Chassa" reports. These are mainly hospitals in population centres of remote location. That is what PM Borissov said at a meeting with hospital directors on Monday, trying to ease tension arising from plans to close down smaller hospitals. The purpose is to make these hospitals try to become real ones, and not to close them, MP Borissov said. But if they fail to reform, they will be closed down and emergency medical centres will be set up in their place. The incumbents behave like real estate agents, "Sega" comments on a statement of Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev about plans to privatize state-controlled hospitals. Nanev said the privatization project would be launched after completing the reform of heal care. Now the government will improve the organization and financial state of hospitals on the money of citizens paying health insurance contributions, making them attractive for investors. This government has a very simple and effective concept about reforms: redistributing the last pieces of state property by selling them to private players, "24 Chassa" notes.

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"Troud" discusses the flood situation in Bulgaria. It writes that a lot of rivers and dams has overflowed and hundreds of people had to be evacuated. The Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the border with Turkey was closed. Worst is the situation in Elhovo, on the Toundja river, the water level of the river rose to the critical 4.20 m. There is a danger of houses there being inundated. The local Civil Protection unit is prepared to evacuate people. Over 1,000 residents of the village of Bluskovo, Provadia Municipality, had to leave their homes. The heavy rainfalls caused landslides at Evksinograd, near Varna, and Velingrad. Subsoil water flooded graveyards in Shoumen; the civil protection team is pumping out the water.

ECONOMY

Quoting nationals statistics, "Sega" writes that the monthly household income per capita in December 2009 was down 11.9 per cent from December 2008; the number of the employed fell by 182,099. Most badly hit by downsizing were construction and the hospitality industry where 35,000 and 13,000 were laid off. The processing industry lost 71,000 jobs. Household incomes contracted by 44.61 leva a month. The cost of living went up by 0.7 per cent in January 2010, "Troud" writes referring to data released by the National Statistical Institute. The January inflation upped by 0.7 per cent from December 2009; it is 0.5 per cent year-to-year. Entertainment prices went up by 1.7 per cent; transport by 1.5 per cent; food, soft drinks, alcohol and cigarettes by 0.9 per cent; utility services and housing maintenance by 0.9 per cent. However, clothes and footwear were down by 1.9 per cent.

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Pension system incomes fell by 11,000 million leva over the past decade, "Klassa" writes. At the same time, its expenditures are going up. The deficit in the public social insurance system was 89 million leva in 2000, and not it is expected to reach 2,300 million leva, Bozhidar Danev, President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) said Monday. If a reform is not carried out shortly, the financial stability of the country will be exposed to a risk. Commenting on a statement by Labour and Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov, "Troud" says that giving up the plans to increase pensionable age starting as of this year is tantamount to not carrying a reform of the pension system. If the incumbents do not implement the reform now, while they are strong, they will not dare carry it out at a later stage of their term, when the next general elections will be nearing. "Courage is needed for the pension reform. I have it," Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov says in an interview for "24 Chassa." In his words, the reform which is most needed to support public finances is the pension reform, that is why it is unavoidable. Djankov says that Bulgaria cannot afford to pull out of the crisis by "printing banknotes." "We cannot afford a deficit either," he says. Not only because of the plans to join the Eurozone but because of the stability of the currency board mechanism. BIA proposes to implement the pension reform in two stages: before and after the crisis meltdown, "Pari" writes. Criteria such as pensionable age and length of service should still apply during the first stage. After the crisis is over, without abandoning the principle of solidarity of the social insurance fund, every insured could freely choose when to retire on pension irrespective of their age or length of service.

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US and European companies may be the constructors of new generating units at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, N-plant Executive Director Dimiter Angelov says in an interview given to "Dnevnik." The project for building two units - Seven and Eight, is a promising future for the N-plant as they will replace the four units decommissioned so far, using the existing infrastructure. The Bulgarian Energy Holding will only lose if the infrastructure of the N-plant is not used, Angelov notes.


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 – February 16, 2010

· Director of Migration Directorate with the Interior Ministry has been detained, the press office of the Ministry announced. Detention is a result of continuous work in a joint operation of employees of the Directorate for Internal Security-MIA, State Agency National Security (SANS) and the National Investigation Service (NIS) conducted under the direction of the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office.

· Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov met with chairman of Gazprom Management Board Alexey Miler. The two officials discussed on realization of South Stream project and the new agreements for natural gas supply which are to be signed between the two states, the press centre of the government announced. The discussion was attended by Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov put the issue the existing gas transit for Bulgaria to be considered within South Stream project in a way that not to harm our state.

· The Constitutional Court declared illegal the election of the members of Parliament elected by proportional electoral system, Mariana Ivanova Darakchieva from Blue Coalition at 7th Many-seated constituency -Gabrovo, Rushen Mehmet Riza from Movement for Rights and Freedoms in 8th Many-seated constituency -Dobrich and Atanas Markov Semov from Order, Low and Justice in 23rd Many-seated constituency - Sofia. The reason is - the illegality of elections held in 23 polling stations in the Republic of Turkey in which 18 358 real votes were submitted, that must be excluded from the basis of allocation of votes based on which the election results are determined. That says a message posted on the website of the Constitutional Court.