site.btaMedia Review: December 15

POLITICS

Dnevnik: Sociologist Dimitar Ganev from the Trend polling agency commented that President Rumen Radev is facing an extremely difficult task in appointing a caretaker government, as all figures who meet the requirements for the post are linked either to GERB or to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) – New Beginning.

Speaking to bTV, Ganev said that for this reason the better option would be for Radev to resign after completing the procedure of handing out the government-forming mandates and before appointing a caretaker cabinet.

“Then [Vice President] Iliana Iotova would lead this process, and he [Radev] would not bear responsibility by signing the decree appointing the caretaker government. From Radev’s messages over the past few months, I think he is quite clearly signaling that in the event of early parliamentary elections, he is more likely to enter the race,” Ganev said.

He stressed that if the President does not take part in the elections now, it would amount to a political catastrophe for him.

“I will do it when you least expect it.” That was how President Rumen Radev responded earlier this week to a question about whether he is ready to launch his own political project from the presidency.

“His approval rating in recent months has been around 40%–45%. At this moment, if he doesn’t make the leap, even those who remain as his supporters will be disappointed. Staying on the sidelines would lead him into a very difficult political situation, which could undermine his path going forward,” Ganev explained.

According to sociologist Andrey Raychev as well, if Rumen Radev now refrains from entering the political arena, “he is finished.”

The sociologists noted that past experience has shown that voter turnout increases when a new player emerges.

Meanwhile, speaking to Nova TV, constitutional law expert Hristo Ormandzhiev commented that under the Constitution, the President cannot be the leader of a political party, but only a member.

“The exotic element in Radev’s comment is that he says he will announce his political project at the least expected moment. It is clear that he will do it. If Radev decides to enter a new political project, he must submit his resignation to the Constitutional Court. The Court must decide to accept it if it is convinced that the resignation was not submitted under pressure. After that, his functions are assumed by the Vice President,” the expert explained.

He suggested that the Constitutional Court would not delay its decision, as it would only need to establish one thing - that the resignation was submitted of the president’s own free will, without the need for an interpretative ruling that would require more time.

According to him, the key questions on the political scene now are who will become caretaker prime minister and whether the President will form a party - and, if so, when this will happen. 

STATE BUDGET

The state budget must not be turned into a hostage of narrow party interests, Bulgaria’s two largest trade union confederations – the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour, said in an open letter addressed to National Assembly Speaker Raya Nazaryan and the leaders of the parliamentary parties in connection with the budget procedure.

The trade unions warned that adopting a rollover, or extended, budget would create social tension and serious problems. According to the letter, such a budget would effectively “freeze” the incomes of around 600,000 public sector employees at their 2025 levels.

CITUB and Podkrepa insisted that maternity benefits, healthcare funding and the financial stability of municipalities would also be negatively affected.

The trade unions further cautioned that failure to adopt the 2026 State Budget Act on time would limit investment policy and could even jeopardize access to funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, as these require a certain level of co-financing that cannot be ensured under the constraints of an extended 2025 State Budget Act.

***

NOVA TV: There will be no further attempts to pass the 2026 State Budget Act. At Monday’s session, the outgoing Government proposed that the National Assembly adopt a legislation extending the 2025 State Budget Act. Outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said this measure is intended to regulate revenues and expenditures until next year’s budget is approved and to guarantee certain social payments.

Under the extended budget, spending is limited to the same monthly levels as the previous year and cannot exceed revenues. This means that salary increases, pension hikes, and similar social payments cannot be implemented under the rollover budget - a key point of contention for trade unions, which had been advocating for a 10% increase.

“As a responsible government, the cabinet adopts the extended budget to ensure legal and financial security while the National Assembly in 2026 forms the necessary majority for the budget,” Zhelyazkov said during the government session. He clarified that the law covers the extension of the 2025 state budget, the budget for the State Social Security system, and the budget of the National Health Insurance Fund until the 2026 versions of these laws are approved.

“The purpose of this bill is to establish the necessary legal and financial framework for the smooth functioning of the state and municipalities, and above all to prioritize expenditures related to salaries, pensions, and social payments,” Zhelyazkov emphasized.

bTV also leads with Zhelyazkov’s comments about extending this year’s budget into next year.

***

Duma: In recent weeks, a number of municipalities have announced they will not introduce higher local taxes or new methodologies for calculating the waste collection fee, despite earlier plans to do so. The reasons cited include political instability and the absence of an adopted state budget for next year, which complicate local authorities’ financial planning. Mayors are also increasingly pointing to public discontent as a factor behind withdrawing the proposals.

Decisions to abandon planned increases were announced in Lovech, Pazardzhik, Vidin, Targovishte, Kyustendil, Troyan and Radomir, where local administrations concluded that imposing an additional financial burden in the current socio-economic context would create more tension than benefits - particularly amid ongoing political uncertainty and the upcoming introduction of the euro. 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – EDUCATION

Capital runs a story headlined “ChatGPT in the Classroom: What Education Loses and Gains”. Artificial intelligence is already transforming classrooms in Bulgaria, but its impact is mixed. Many teachers report weakened writing, argumentation and research skills among pupils and students due to overreliance on AI for schoolwork. At the same time, a small number of schools—mostly private—are experimenting with AI as a teaching assistant that personalizes learning, speeds up progress and helps assess students’ critical thinking.

Educators and school principals warn that without clear national standards for digital and media literacy, and without state investment in teacher training, the technological divide in education will continue to widen.

TRANSPORT - BDZ TRAINS

Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) will receive new trains for the first time in more than 20 years. The 25 new electric multiple units will begin operating in 2026 on short routes such as Sofia–Pernik and Plovdiv–Asenovgrad, Capital writes in a lengthy article.

The manufacturer will be responsible for maintenance for 15 years and has therefore leased a depot in the Iliantsi district of Sofia. It is also considering production in Bulgaria. The first new train is expected to arrive in Bulgaria in January 2026 and to begin carrying passengers in April. All 25 trains are due to be delivered by August 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov said shortly before taking part in a brief test run.

The new Skoda trains will serve journeys of up to two hours—suburban and short regional routes. These include Sofia–Pernik, Sofia–Svoge–Mezdra and Plovdiv–Asenovgrad, which are expected to be among the busiest lines. “We have many destinations that are waiting for their trains,” Karadjov said.

“Just 14 months after the contract was signed, we already have the first completed train for Bulgaria. Another 11 are at an advanced stage and are due to be finished in the coming months. This is something Bulgarian citizens have been waiting for many years, and I am very happy that for the first time there are no delays, no excuses, no stalling—and that we will actually receive what we have paid for and what we want,” Karadjov said.

The delivery of the new multiple-unit trains is being carried out under a contract with Skoda Transportation and Skoda Vagonka. The total value exceeds 639 million leva excluding VAT and is fully financed by European programmes. The main contract for 20 trains amounts to 511.4 million leva excluding VAT and is funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. An additional agreement for five more trains, worth 127.8 million leva excluding VAT, is financed under the Transport Connectivity Programme 2021–2027.

The contracts for the delivery of the 25 new Skoda trains also include technical maintenance for a period of 15 years. In October, it was announced that the Czech manufacturer had signed a lease agreement for a depot in Sofia’s Iliantsi district with the Bulgarian company TTL. According to Skoda, with proper maintenance and technological upgrades over time, the trains can be refurbished and kept up to date. The company’s plans, however, extend beyond the current contract. 

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Capital: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv could abandon its ambition to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees as part of a compromise to end the war with Russia, the Financial Times reported. At the same time, he rejected any withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from territories currently under Kyiv’s control while Russian troops remain on their present positions.

The topic is covered by all major Bulgarian media.

***

Trud quotes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as saying on social media that there is a real opportunity today to end the war in Ukraine, and the world is closer to that goal than ever before. However, he argued that Europe wants to prolong and even expand the military confrontation.

According to Orban, every effort should now be made to support U.S. representatives who are promoting their peace plan and trying to coordinate it with the parties to the conflict.

Unfortunately, the signs point in the opposite direction. Europe wants to continue the conflict and even expand it, Orban said.

He added that this applies not only to the fighting on the front lines, but also to what he described as economic aggression - specifically, the confiscation of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets in Europe.

***

Bulgarian National Radio: The new head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6, Blaise Metreweli, has warned of “the major threat posed by an aggressive, expansionist and revisionist Russia.”

Metreweli took over the service from Richard Moore in the autumn, becoming the first woman to hold the post. She is due to deliver a special speech later today, although details of its content have already emerged.

On Russia’s war in Ukraine, Metreweli is expected to state unequivocally that the United Kingdom will continue to exert pressure on President Vladimir Putin while standing firmly behind Ukraine. She is also set to highlight the recent sanctioning of Russian organizations accused of conducting information warfare, as well as two China-based companies sanctioned for their “indiscriminate cyber activities against the United Kingdom and its allies.”

Western sanctions have undoubtedly harmed the Russian economy, pushing its exports eastward toward China and India. However, they have failed to alter President Putin’s determination to continue the war against Ukraine until it yields to his demands for territorial concessions and, ultimately, loyalty to Moscow, the BBC commented.

It is an open secret that technology is a particular area of interest for the new head of MI6. 

BONDI BEACH SHOOTING – HANUKKAH

The Bondi Beach shooting is widely covered by the mainstream Bulgarian media, which quote major news agencies.

Trud: Australia announced plans to tighten gun laws as the country began mourning the victims of its deadliest mass shooting in nearly 30 years, in which a father and son killed 15 people during a Jewish holiday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. The father, 50, was killed at the scene, bringing the death toll to 16, while his 24-year-old son remains in critical condition. Forty people were hospitalized, including two police officers, and the victims ranged in age from 10 to 87. Authorities said the father held a firearms license since 2015 and owned six registered weapons. The attackers were identified by local media as Sajid Akram and his son Navid Akram. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa, while his son was born in the country.

***
24 Chasa: The victims of the shooting in Sydney were commemorated at the Central Sofia Synagogue with a minute of silence and a prayer, where on Sunday the ceremony for lighting the candles for  Hanukkah took place

***

Mediapool: President Rumen Radev lit the first Hanukkah candle at Sofia’s Central Synagogue, calling for peace, humanism and tolerance and urging society to remember the lessons of the past. He expressed respect and gratitude toward Bulgaria’s Jewish community, highlighting its sacrifices and lasting contribution to the country’s history and cultural, scientific and public life. Radev said the message of Hanukkah—the triumph of light over evil and renewed hope—is especially relevant amid rising violence and hatred in the world, and stressed that only by upholding these values can a more just future be built.

“The miracle of Hanukkah carries the millennia-old belief in the triumph of light, in victory over evil, and in the renewal of hope for tomorrow. In today’s times of growing challenges—of pogroms on ethnic grounds, of killings, such as the one that occurred today [Sunday] in Australia - times when the voice of humanism and reason is increasingly drowned out by hatred and the roar of weapons, the message of Hanukkah resonates even more strongly,” Radev said.