site.btaMedia Review: April 7

HEADLINES

Tuesday’s media coverage focuses on the election campaign, with particular attention on the continued absence of a major leaders’ debate, police action against vote-buying, and rising fuel costs. Of note was the death of singer, composer and poet Mihail Belchev.

SNAP ELECTIONS

Mediapool.bg reports that plans for a joint leaders’ debate on bTV, Nova TV and Bulgarian National Television have collapsed again, despite earlier indications that most major parties might participate. The site adds that a Nova TV debate scheduled for April 7 has also been cancelled because most parties refuse to send their leaders, while a similar format planned by bTV for April 14 has yet to be confirmed.

The site notes that Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Chair Assen Vassilev publicly accepted such a debate and urged former president and Progressive Bulgaria leader Rumen Radev to do the same. Mediapool.bg adds that Yes, Bulgaria co-chair Ivaylo Mirchev has renewed the challenge to Radev and GERB leader Boyko Borissov, arguing that the absence of a leaders’ debate is an insult to voters ahead of the April 19 parliamentary election.

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Trud reports that 188 people have been detained over vote-buying and other election offences, citing an Interior Ministry briefing in Plovdiv. The daily says that 1,094 reports of election violations had been filed 13 days ahead of the vote, compared with 179 before the October 2024 parliamentary election, while pre-trial proceedings had risen to 330 from 58.

“This is an unequivocal signal of increased public trust in the new leadership of the Interior Ministry,” Caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev says. Acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev adds that police warning protocols have reached 2,785, while detentions have risen to 188 from 35.

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bTV reported that its fourth pre-election debate in This Morning focused on regional development and infrastructure and brought together representatives of eight formations, including Progressive Bulgaria, GERB-UDF, CC-DB, Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF), There Is Such a People (TISP), Vazrazhdane and Velichie. The broadcaster said the discussion centred on regional imbalances, incomplete motorway links, water infrastructure, municipal financing and corruption in public works.

bTV reported that Progressive Bulgaria’s Ivan Shishkov put the accent on missing motorway projects and the lack of north-south links, while GERB-UDF’s Nikolay Nankov spoke of deep disparities between regions and the damage caused by shifting ministerial priorities. CC-DB’s Yordan Ivanov, Vazrazhdane’s Kosta Stoyanov and Velichie’s Pavel Stoimenov all tied the sector’s failures to corruption in road building, water projects and municipal funding, while TISP’s Ivailo Kostadinov argued for shifting more freight to rail and subsidizing under-served bus routes.

POLITICS

24 Chasa reports that outgoing Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria MP Yavor Bozhankov has lost his driving licence for three months after failing to stop at a police check in Gorna Oryahovitsa and driving into a prohibited street on Saturday night. The daily adds that, because he still has parliamentary immunity, the case materials and body-camera footage have been sent to the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office.

Dechev says Bozhankov appeared at the police station the next day, admitted the violation and was fined EUR 102. 24 Chasa notes that Bozhankov is not standing in the April 19 election after disputes over the CC-DB candidate lists, while Telegraph also reports on the case and adds that he later acknowledged ignoring the police order to stop.

ECONOMY

Duma reports that the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria is proposing an emergency package to counter high prices and economic uncertainty. The measures include free public transport for retirees, pupils and people with disabilities, fuel compensation for households and businesses, and caps on fuel and food mark-ups.

The daily adds that the union also wants food subsidies for low-income households, direct financial support for vulnerable people, instalment payments for electricity and heating bills, protection for energy-poor households, and the rapid convening of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation.

bTV also reported on this story and said that the union wanted subsidies for State and municipal transport operators to keep ticket prices unchanged, direct compensation of EUR 0.20 per litre for households in areas without public transport and for businesses, caps on fuel mark-ups, a 20% cap on mark-ups for basic foods, food subsidies for low-income households and a higher food-voucher quota.

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Capital reports that the Bulgarian National Bank is raising the countercyclical capital buffer by 0.25 percentage points from the start of the second quarter of 2027 in an effort to cool housing lending and safeguard financial stability. The weekly adds that the Council for Economic Analyses with the Council of Ministers recommends changes to local taxes and fees linked to the housing market as an additional macroprudential tool.

Capital notes that house prices rose by 0.3% quarter on quarter and 12.6% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2025, with Burgas recording the strongest quarterly increase at 4.4%. The weekly adds that the central bank is also seeking to soften the impact of additional liquidity after euro area entry.

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Capital also reports that the uptake of innovation in agriculture remains slow because of financing constraints, limited trust among farmers and generational barriers, as discussed at the Agriventures Connect forum. “Digitalization is no longer a choice, but a necessity,” Kaloyan Kumanov of NIK says, arguing that data use and precision management are becoming central to competitiveness.

The weekly notes that European programmes remain the main source of capital for agri-tech in Bulgaria and adds that the European Innovation Council can provide up to EUR 2.5 million in grant financing and EUR 15 million in equity financing for high-potential technology firms.

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Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported that carriers are set to meet Caretaker Minister of Transport and Communications Korman Ismailov on Tuesday to discuss support for the sector after warning of protests over the sharp rise in fuel prices. BNR said some companies are already preparing protest measures, including suspending services and placing staff on unpaid leave, while Bulgarian operators continue to lose ground in international markets.

BNR reported that the options under consideration included rescheduling lease payments for transport firms, doubling annual State aid for the sector from EUR 25 million to EUR 50 million, subject to European Commission approval, and introducing a so-called transport tax credit to provide companies with immediate liquidity. The radio added that the meeting was also expected to address extra subsidies for bus routes outside the current support schemes and additional funding for school transport, with representatives of the finance, economy and regional development ministries invited to attend.

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Nova TV reported that Ismailov said fuel supplies would continue, but prices remained the key issue for the government. “Fuel will be available in Europe; the question is at what price,” Ismailov said.

The outlet said that the caretaker cabinet had approved EUR 11.4 million to prevent disruption to bus services nationwide, was preparing another EUR 18 million for municipalities to subsidize inter-settlement bus lines, and would also approve EUR 5.7 million more for school transport. Nova TV added that Ismailov said the government wanted to double aid for the heavy goods sector from EUR 25 million to EUR 50 million, pending European Commission clearance, and postpone by several months the higher eco-component in toll charges for trucks over 3.5 tonnes and buses.

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In an interview aired by Bulgarian National Television (BNT), Caretaker Minister of Energy Traicho Traikov said the fuel market was being monitored daily and that a formal cap on profit margins remained an option if market behaviour changed. “If there are signs that this is not the case, there is an option to impose a cap,” Traikov said.

Traikov defended the government’s response as targeted, limited and temporary, saying the EUR 20 support was intended for people with incomes below twice the poverty line and that aid for carriers, inter-settlement buses and school transport was already being prepared. BNT added that Traikov ruled out an excise duty cut because Bulgaria was already at the minimum level allowed in Europe, and said a VAT cut would be too costly and too broad to protect the most vulnerable groups effectively.

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bTV reported that Bulgaria risks losing EUR 5 million in European funding if it fails to meet its commitments under a key EU cybersecurity initiative based on quantum communication routes between member states. The broadcaster said the project would enable the secure transmission of information between governments, embassies and ministries across Europe without interference, manipulation, data theft or eavesdropping.

bTV said that Bulgaria has already completed the link to Greece and is building the route to Bucharest but still lacks most of the national co-financing required alongside the European funding. “We have received less than EUR 1 million from the State so far,” said Evgeniy Ivanov of the Institute of Robotics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. bTV added that the latest extension runs until the end of June, after which Bulgaria could be forced to return the EU funds and disrupt the secure information corridor running from Cyprus through Greece, Bulgaria and Romania to the rest of Europe.

HEALTH

Dnevnik reports that the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency will destroy 6.6 tonnes of food and has suspended operations at a meat-processing plant in Sokolovo, Dryanovo Municipality, after inspections found improper storage temperatures, missing Bulgarian-language labels, damaged packaging and poor hygiene. The site adds that inspectors found nearly 3 tonnes of pig heads, beef, lamb and salted intestines without labelling or origin documents, posing a direct risk to consumers.

Dnevnik notes that the agency is also expanding food-safety monitoring online, including through social media, where inspectors in Haskovo identified an illegal transport of animal offal. The site adds that the tighter checks follow other recent seizures and plant closures.

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Trud reports that the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office has warned of the rapid spread of new synthetic drugs such as GHB, fentanyl and other designer opioids, saying the legal framework is failing to keep pace. The daily notes that prosecutors want the lists of narcotic substances to be updated urgently and are calling for a modern system of control and classification.

Trud adds that GHB, often described as the rape drug, is odourless and tasteless and can erase memory for 12 to 15 hours, making sexual offences harder to investigate. The daily says fentanyl has also entered the Bulgarian market on a large scale and is far more potent than traditional drugs.

ENVIRONMENT

Mediapool.bg reports that Italy is investigating five Bulgarians suspected of involvement in a scheme to import hazardous waste into Bulgaria, after an Italian company allegedly misclassified shipments bound for Bulgaria and Greece to cut costs and increase profits. The site notes, citing reporting aired by Bulgarian National Television, that since 2020 improperly processed waste has been moved to Eastern Europe with the help of laboratory staff, carriers and others in the chain.

“Bulgaria has become a transit hotspot,” Italian investigative journalist Sergio Nazaro says, arguing that weaker controls make the country attractive to traffickers.  Mediapool adds that the waste is believed to be moved onward to Africa and Asia, that illegal operators can dispose of a tonne for about EUR 500 instead of around EUR 2,000 under standard environmental rules, and that eight people have already been charged in Italy.

CULTURE

Telegraph reports that singer, composer and poet Mihail Belchev has died, citing his wife Kristina Belcheva. The daily notes that the public farewell will take place at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre on April 9 at 1 pm and adds that Belchev leaves behind more than 1,000 song lyrics, several poetry collections and a long list of award-winning songs.

Telegraph notes that Belchev was also a television director and served as director of Sofia City Library between 2008 and 2013. The paper adds that he received numerous honours over the years, including the Order of Stara Planina and the President’s Badge of Honour in 2025. All other dailies also reported on that story.