site.btaMedia Review: April 15

POLITICS

The National Radio interviewed political analyst Strahil Deliyski. According to him, the overarching goal of this government is to survive, and efforts will be made in that direction.

“There is a lack of a convincing, large, meaningful political alternative that is pressing, ready to govern, and structured. The opposition is very fragmented, diverse and I don't think it is in a ready mode," he said.

"The fight against corruption is an issue that mobilizes a certain type of audience, but they remain isolated. A huge number of audiences want to mobilize on socio-economic issues, but since there is no one to voice that, they take to the streets," Deliyski commented.  

According to him, Bulgarian society is too fragmented. Solidarity between different groups experiencing their own needs is lacking. One group protests corruption, another protests road safety, yet another protests wages, and there is often antagonism between these groups.

"There's no political force that, through a more universal narrative, can unite these different perspectives," he pointed out.

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The collective body of Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (Ahmed Dogan’s DRF) are expected to decide whether they will continue supporting the government, BNT and other outlets report. This happens days before the vote on the second no confidence motion against the government, this time for corruption.

Following tensions between party representatives and police at a Saturday meeting of the DRF Youth held in Dogan’s former residence in Sofia’s Boyana district, the activists accused Interior Ministry officials of overstepping their authority.

Ahmed Dogan left his former residence in Boyana for want of a lease agreement with the owner - former minister Danail Papazov.

The Interior Minister denied the accusations and said the police acted adequately and would not allow the Interior Ministry to be used for political purposes.

ECONOMY

The contract for exploration and prospecting for oil and natural gas in the Block 1-26 Khan Tervel, located in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, was signed Tuesday, BNR and other media report.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov attended the official ceremony to sign the contract between the Ministry of Energy and the contractor company.

Under the agreement, studies, including seismic, will be carried out over the next five years to assess the potential of the Khan Tervel block.

PM Zhelyazkov highlighted the great political importance of the contract. "Bulgaria ranks among the countries in the Black Sea basin that are actively developing the natural potential and deposits on the seabed. The process will take some time, but supercomputers and artificial intelligence - the most advanced technologies - will be used. After three unsuccessful attempts to sign the treaty, there is now the political confidence and stability for foreign investors to venture into a long-term project to develop a high-impact plan. We are striving for energy independence and a much cheaper source of resources," he said.

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Trud runs an interview with Prof. Bogomil Manov from the Fiscal Council. He talks about social security, a possible change in income taxation, the effect of Bulgaria’s entry into the Eurozone, and Donald Trump's tariffs.

According to Prof. Manov, pensions should depend entirely on contributions. The only exceptions to this principle should be disability, social and some other types of pensions. In most cases, the pension is still below BGN 1,000. Up to that amount, the number of pensioners is 1,591,770, or 77.5% of the total 2,052,553 pensioners as of December 31, 2024. The reason for this situation lies in the satisfaction of short-term political interests in the direction of a reduction in contributions over the years and an increase in the minimum pension, especially before elections, and not in the pension formula. The latest actuarial report of the National Social Insurance Institute showed that in 2023 the actual rate of pension contribution to the public social insurance budget was 16.3%, while the required rate was 37.5%, i.e. already more than 21 p.p. higher. The result is a disconnection of the contribution - entitlement relationship and a very serious levelling of the pension system, especially at the lower end of the pensions received. Instead of using the social assistance system to solve current problems, the pension system has been used and thus the fundamental principle of public insurance has been violated - that pension payments should be a function of contributions.

It is necessary to reduce the budget deficit, because we need to have long-term fiscal sustainability of public finances. In financial theory, it is customary to view budget deficits and surpluses as the result of the phase of the business cycle - with the budget ending in surplus in a growth and in deficit in a recession. Budget equilibrium is sought over a longer period. This is done in order to somewhat dampen the extreme manifestations of the cycle and to realise an efficient development of the economy. In this sense, the budget is used as a lever for economic development. Financial sustainability can be achieved through smarter spending, better tax efficiency, and supporting long-term growth, not by mechanically cutting spending.

Based on assumptions for new debt financing over the period 2025-2028, government debt is projected to reach BGN 59.8 billion (27.8% of GDP) in 2025, 66.6 billion (29.3% of GDP) in 2026, 73.7 billion (31% of GDP) in 2027 and 81.1 billion (32.8% of GDP) in 2028, respectively. There are also objective reasons for the increase in debt: the ageing of the population and the resulting increase in budget spending on pensions, health insurance and other social payments. In addition, we can also include here unpredictable events, such as pandemics, natural disasters, or war... The increase in debt leads to a downgrading of the country's credit rating, an increase in interest payments, a loss of confidence by foreign investors, pressure to cut spending and increase revenues, mainly taxes.

Bulgaria's direct exports to the US are in the order of about 3% and indirectly about 7% of GDP. This shows that we do not have a great dependence on Trump’s tariffs. This does not mean that we should underestimate the trade conflict, nor the fact that we are part of global chains and a member of the EU. Therefore, Bulgaria is also vulnerable to knock-on negative effects, Prof. Manov said.

EDUCATION

BNR covers opposing views of the Ministry of Education and Science’s plan to propose the study of religion in the compulsory school curriculum. The new subject will focus on the study of ethical, moral, cultural and historical competences, said Education Minister Krasimir Valchev on April 7.

According to journalist and publicist Ivan Stambolov, the new subject should be called “Religious Studies”.

In his opinion, proposing the subject "Virtues and Religions" is a cowardly action on the part of the Ministry of Education. 

"So formulated - Virtues and Religions - this subject is covered by literature and history. Virtues are the subject of all world literature. And the history of the Church is inseparable from the history of states," he explained.

Stambolov is adamant that children baptized into the Orthodox Church should study religion, among all other subjects. He said it was a vital necessity that children be taught humility. 

In his view, if Religious Studies is an elective subject, then literature, history, biology should also be optional. Stambolov stressed that religious studies is the most objective thing.

Philosopher and translator Irina Manusheva is of a different opinion. 

"The school should, first of all, help our children to grow up as full, thinking individuals who are ready to live peacefully together with society. We can talk about the good through the prism of religion - no one denies that. But the debate at the moment is neither theological nor philosophical - the debate is entirely educational - whether religion has a place as a compulsory subject," she said.

According to her, virtues cannot be educated in a single class. 

"To imagine that with one period we can preach or teach virtues is ridiculous," Manusheva said, adding that it is much more important to work for children’s sustainable maturation, for example, by building various social-emotional skills and skills to understand the rules in society and conscientiousness.

Introducing a compulsory subject within the school would lead to very dangerous division and confusion, Manusheva warned, and strongly emphasised:

"Goodness, morality is not the prerogative of religion. Morality and religion are two separate value systems and they are not necessarily overlapping. One can speak of the other through the one, but it is not necessary, there is no sign of identity."

Manusheva predicts that such a subject would divide and antagonise children from a young age. She called for clear and categorical answers from the Education Ministry to all questions surrounding the proposed subject.

ENVIRONMENT

So far, no one has been punished for the pollution of the Black Sea with oil products, BNR reports, quoting Martin Tomov from Greenpeace in Varna. According to him, the lack of control is due to insufficient funding, which leads to a lack of motivation of institutions to investigate the causes of oil spills.

Tomov said that no one has been held responsible either in Bulgaria, or in Russia.

"Russia's shady navy does whatever it wants with very old ships that do not follow environmental standards. They are floating time bombs and this is constantly visible."

The pollution, which was localised on the beach in Varna in March, was most likely from a ship dumping fuel near Varna harbour or somewhere around the city, Tomov said.

"The Basin Directorate and the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water in Varna have identified several ships which they have checked, but unfortunately this data is not public. We requested information on the outcome of these checks, but we did not receive it as it was sent to the prosecutor's office to continue the investigation."

According to Tomov, the source of the contamination is close, given the size of the spill. More worryingly, satellite images of a larger slick came out the next day:

"This looks like waters contaminated with various fuels that are being dumped illegally. There was one slick near Varna and one near Ahtopol, but they were never checked. The whole negligence of our institutions is worrying," Tomov added.

ROAD SAFETY

For the time being, 80 road sections have been identified where section speed control will be gradually introduced through the cameras of the toll system, toll administration director Oleg Asenov told Nova TV. He pointed out that 10 sections could be designated from Sofia to Burgas, 20 from Sofia to Varna, and 10 from Sofia to checkpoint Kulata on the border with Greece.

The first such sections could be operational in early summer. Asenov added that the functionality of the toll system cameras to impose sanctions for non-compliance with the distance is being developed. In response to a question, he said he hoped to start calibrating the sensors in the tarmac this month, which can detect an overloaded truck when it passes through them. A lab is now being sought to certify them.