site.btaMedia Review: June 8

HEADLINES

The leading topic across Monday’s coverage is the Government’s attempt to curb prices of basic foods through the National Initiative Basket with Care and the broader debate over Bulgaria’s fiscal policy, the flat tax and public-sector spending. bTV and Nova TV focused on the Government’s talks with retail chains, while the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), Dnevnik and Mediapool.bg carried the debate into taxation, state companies and fiscal consolidation.

Another major story was the illegal construction case in Baba Alino near Varna, which Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev described as a national security issue involving institutional protection and possible penetration by foreign interests. Nova TV and Mediapool.bg reported that Varna Municipality will order the owner to remove the buildings or face property seizure to cover demolition costs.

Dailies and news websites also reported on frozen payment limits for state schools, a pending audit of the National Palace of Culture (NDK), the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) leadership race, the work of the prosecution service, the aftermath of the deadly Chelopeshko Shose crash and the case of a Bulgarian citizen in North Macedonia barred from travelling for medical treatment.

POLITICS

24 Chasa reports that Continue the Change Chair Assen Vassilev accused Prime Minister Rumen Radev of making false complaints about a poor fiscal inheritance and claimed the current Ministry of Finance reflects an arrangement between Radev and GERB. Vassilev said former finance officials linked to previous GERB-backed governments remain in key posts and argued that similar arrangements exist in energy, healthcare and the security services.

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Dnevnik writes that Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) Chair Atanas Atanassov has proposed that both he and Radan Kanev step aside from the DSB leadership race in favour of a third candidate. The daily notes that Kanev has not ruled out the idea, while sources named Plovdiv MP Yordan Ivanov as a possible candidate backed by Atanassov. The DSB National Assembly is due to elect a new leadership on July 11, 2026.

Dnevnik adds in a separate analysis that the leadership debate pits expectations for charisma and media visibility against calls for predictability and continuity. The daily notes that Kanev remains the only publicly declared candidate, while Ivanov has been nominated by the Plovdiv organization and Bonka Vasileva is mentioned by party sources as another possible name.

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Duma writes that BSP National Council Chair Krum Zarkov calls for clearer information on the presence of foreign military aircraft at Vasil Levski Sofia Airport and says citizens were raising the issue at BSP meetings across the country. Zarkov says the government’s primary task is to keep Bulgaria as far away as possible from conflicts that are not its own and added that the issues of US visas and the aircraft should be judged by their results.

ECONOMY AND FISCAL POLICY

bTV reported that Prime Minister Rumen Radev unveiled Basket with Care, a joint campaign by the government and leading retail chains to keep basic food prices down. Radev said the initiative establishes “a strategic partnership between the retail chains and the Government” and thanked Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Alexander Poulev and Agriculture and Food Minister Plamen Abrovski for preparing the measure.

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The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported that major retail chains took a voluntary public commitment before the Government and the media to reduce the prices of goods in the small consumer basket by at least 15% for six months.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said products marked with the initiative’s logo would carry “lower prices, with reductions of at least 15% and more,” with priority given to Bulgarian food products. “This is a major contribution to Bulgarian citizens and above all to vulnerable social groups,” Radev said. Minister of Agriculture and Food Plamen Abrovski added that some retailers had undertaken commitments for a longer period and to diversify the range of goods.

BNR added that the discounted products include frequently bought household staples such as bread, milk, cheese, eggs, meat, fruit, vegetables and basic cooking products. Retailers cited discounts of at least 15%, with some reductions reaching 30%, and the Government’s next step is to work with both retailers and producers to strengthen and expand Bulgarian production.

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Nova TV reported that Poulev expects prices of essential goods to fall by 15% to 30% under the initiative, while stressing that participation by retail chains is voluntary and that the government has not applied regulatory pressure. “We are not at war with the retail chains. We are at war with unfair commercial practices,” Poulev said. He added that the government is concerned about markups of up to 130% in some basic food categories and will use transparent methods to define a fair price range.

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Mediapool.bg reports that Poulev has halted all payments under public procurement contracts at the Ministry of Economy, Investments and Industry after receiving information about serious violations of commercial practice, including advance payments of up to 100% and contracts with no actual implementation. The outlet adds that Poulev will present data on alleged corruption schemes in economic structures and that full audits will be ordered at the Bulgarian Development Bank, its subsidiaries and the State Consolidation Company.

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Dnevnik reports that Poulev has ruled out an early shift away from the 10% flat tax despite European Commission criticism of Bulgaria’s tax system. “Progressive Bulgaria should not mean progressive tax policy,” Poulev told BNT. The daily notes that the Commission views the flat tax without a tax-free threshold as regressive, while Poulev said the government would first seek spending cuts, terminate unfavourable contracts and pursue administrative reform.

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Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported a sharp exchange between economist Rumen Gechev and Stoyan Panchev of the Expert Club for Economics and Politics after the European Commission recommended that Bulgaria move away from the flat tax. Gechev said Bulgaria should bring its tax system in line with European practice and argued that low-income earners would pay less under progressive taxation. Panchev said abolishing the flat tax would mainly increase the tax burden on the middle class and argued that public-sector wage growth and weak fiscal accounting are bigger problems.

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Dnevnik also carries analysis by Institute for Market Economics senior economist Petya Georgieva, who said Bulgaria should prepare swift consolidation measures in the 2026 budget and begin work on the 2027 budget and a new fiscal-structural plan for the European Commission. Georgieva calls for restraint on public-sector pay, limits on external services and business travel, prioritised capital spending, a long-term reduction in state administration staffing and the privatisation of state-owned enterprises the state should not manage or subsidize.

HOME AFFAIRS AND JUSTICE

Nova TV reported that Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev described the illegal construction case in Baba Alino as a national security issue rather than a local building control failure. Kotsev said the project exposed “an absolutely corrupt system” and argued that state institutions had either protected the group behind the development or stayed silent. “This group, in all its arrogance, was protected by all institutions, or there was an omerta under which they had to keep silent,” Kotsev said.

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Mediapool.bg also reported that Varna Municipality will order the owner of the illegal development to demolish it, with property subject to seizure if the order is not carried out. The site added that the case concerns KYB, a company linked to Ukrainian citizen Oleg Nevzorov, and that Kotsev has blamed GERB officials for tolerance certificates issued in 2022 and 2023.

Duma added that Zarkov described Baba Alino as a test for the new government and for society, saying the site should be removed and the area restored.

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Trud reports that firefighters Blagoy Blagoev and Daniel Vlahov gave BNT details of the first minutes after the deadly crash on Chelopeshko Shose, in which four people died and three were left in life-threatening condition. The firefighters said they heard the impact from the Kremikovtsi fire station and reached the scene before the formal emergency call. Blagoev said their first task was to extinguish a burning car wedged into an overturned city bus and evacuate injured passengers through the roof hatch.

Trud adds that Vlahov reported aggressive behaviour by one of the drivers and by people who gathered from the nearby Botunets neighbourhood. The firefighters said the bus was fitted with a gas system and that a larger tragedy was averted because the fire was brought under control quickly.

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Trud reports that acting Prosecutor General Vanya Stefanova gave her first interview after taking over the prosecution service on April 22, 2026 following Borislav Sarafov’s resignation. Stefanova says the networks of influence linked to Petyo “the Euro” Petrov, and Martin “the Notary” Bozhanov, caused the most serious damage to the judiciary because they undermined public trust.

She adds that investigations into extortion linked to Petrov and property fraud linked to Bozhanov have intensified in recent weeks. Stefanova also comments on checks involving prosecutors from Pernik, Plovdiv and Kardzhali, saying six months is not enough for reform but is enough “to show will”. She says the prosecution service needs legitimacy and predictability through the election of a new prosecutor general by the Supreme Judicial Council.

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Dnevnik writes, citing Sega.bg, that the wire fence along the border with Romania, built in 2018 to stop wild boar after African swine fever cases in Romania, has been fully depreciated. Agriculture and Food Minister Plamen Abrovski said in response to Democratic Bulgaria MP Svilen Trifonov that the fence had a four-year service life and that decisions on whether such a structure is still needed will be made after 2026.

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Telegraph reports that teenagers dressed in dark clothes and hoods have begun overturning chemical toilets in parks while people are inside, copying incidents reported in the United States. The daily says the first such case in Bulgaria was recorded in Sofia’s Oborishte Park, where witness Milena Shopova saw a toilet pushed over with the door facing down. Shopova later filed a report with the Interior Ministry’s 5th District Police Department and said she hoped nearby cameras would help identify the perpetrators.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

24 Chasa writes that School principals were alarmed after the government zeroed unused payment limits in the accounts of state schools as of June 3. The measure was introduced by order of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Galab Donev and Education and Science Minister Georgi Valchev and affects state educational institutions, including many vocational and national-profile schools.

The daily adds that the Ministry of Education and Science says the measure is temporary, pending adoption of the 2026 State Budget Act, and affects about 10% of schools. Tanya Mihaylova, principal of the M. V. Lomonosov National Vocational High School of Precision Engineering and Optics, says schools now keep delegated budgets, own revenues and Erasmus funds in a single account after the introduction of the euro and must seek approval for every payment. The ministry says monthly limits will continue and urgent payments, projects and repairs will not be left without financing.

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24 Chasa reports that Minister of Culture Evtim Miloshev will order a combined audit and inspectorate check at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) after presenting data on alleged administrative and financial irregularities. Miloshev said the salary of the NDK director, cited at EUR 13,700, and the remuneration of the board of directors were set through an unlawful act and will be recalculated.

Dnevnik also reports that Miloshev will seek the return of about EUR 100,000 paid in salaries since August and will appoint a procurator at NDK. The minister rejected claims that he is trying to take over the institution, saying the Culture Ministry is the principal of a wholly state-owned company. He also denied that delegated culture budgets will be cut by 10% and said funding for culture should rise gradually, with transparency and a clear purpose.

HEALTHCARE

Capital writes in an interview with Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union Chair Dimitar Marinov that Bulgaria ranks fourth in Europe by number of pharmacies per capita, after Greece, Cyprus and Spain. Marinov says the country has 3,289 pharmacies, including 3,076 open to the public and 213 hospital pharmacies, and that the number of practising pharmacists has grown from 5,729 in 2014 to more than 7,800.

The weekly adds that Marinov sees a problem with uneven access rather than a lack of pharmacies, because pharmacies open where they have an economic basis to operate. He says targeted funding of a little over EUR 5 million helps remote, hard-to-reach and 24-hour pharmacies, but uncertainty over future budgets discourages investment. Marinov rejects online delivery of prescription medicines, mobile pharmacies and allowing assistant pharmacists to manage pharmacy branches, describing them as risky for patients.

Capital also notes Marinov’s argument that pharmacies could carry out additional health activities, including support for screening programmes, vaccine logistics, patient training for medical devices and pairing patients’ phones with their electronic health records. He says the sector expects dialogue with Minister of Health Katya Ivkova before any reform.

WORLD

BNT reported that President Iliana Iotova said there was no danger to Bulgarian citizens after a drone exploded at the port of Constanta, Romania, raising concern in the Black Sea region. Iotova said Bulgaria had remained in close coordination with the Ministry of Defence, which had also worked with the relevant domestic services and the Ukrainian side.

“I want to congratulate them for reacting instantly, very promptly and very adequately, so that there would not be the slightest danger to Bulgarian citizens,” Iotova said. She added that she hoped the case would remain an isolated incident, especially as the tourist season begins, and said Bulgaria has a responsibility to ensure that it passes safely for both citizens and visitors.

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24 Chasa writes that Bulgaria was mentioned in US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s D-Day anniversary speech in Normandy as part of his broader criticism of Europe’s handling of migration, border security and national identity. The daily reports that Hegseth referred to boats and people arriving on beaches in Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, while warning that European shores were being “flooded with dangerous ideologies.”

The daily adds that Hegseth did not single out Bulgaria in the defence-policy part of the visit. His later meeting with French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin focused on NATO allies in general, including calls for Europe to assume primary responsibility for the continent’s conventional defence, raise defence spending to 5% of GDP, expand defence-industrial output and deploy combat-ready forces.

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BNT reported on the case of Iva Mihaylova from Kocani in the Republic of North Macedonia, a Bulgarian citizen who says she has been barred from leaving the town after a traffic crash in which she was injured. BNT said Mihaylova has not been formally charged for eight months, has had both her Bulgarian and North Macedonian identity documents confiscated, and has been refused permission to travel to Bulgaria for treatment despite back injuries and symptoms of partial paralysis.

BNT also interviewed Hristiyan Pendikov, former secretary of the closed Tsar Boris III cultural club in Ohrid, who described the case as indicative of North Macedonia’s treatment of people with Bulgarian self-identification. “Iva is not trying to flee. She wants to be allowed to receive treatment,” Pendikov said, adding that delayed treatment could leave her disabled. The case in Kocani is scheduled for July 6, 2026, and Mihaylova is calling for international monitoring.