site.btaMedia Review: February 27

POLITICS

The April 19 parliamentary elections and the appointments of caretaker ministers and regional governors are given prominence in the news media on Friday.

On bTV, sociologists Boryana Dimitrova from Alpha Research and Parvan Simeonov from the Myara polling agency noted that the election campaign began a month before its official start. Dimitrova said that on the one hand, the campaign is driven by the caretaker government; on the other, by the previous ruling parties, with sharp attacks from There Is Such a People and GERB. According to Simeonov, four factors currently shape the political scene: ex-President Rumen Radev, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), President Iliana Iotova, and western partners. Radev, Iotova and CC-DB are aware that they do not compete for the same voters. By mandating Gurov to form the caretaker government, Iotova positioned herself to gain votes from CC-DB in the second round of the presidential election in the autumn.

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24 Chasa says that days before the March 4 deadline for registration for the April 19 snap parliamentary elections, new names have emerged around Rumen Radev's prospective coalition. His team failed to launch a parliamentary bid under the name Our Bulgaria, which was reserved by another party at the Patent Office in late January. Now Our People has opened up as an option if Radev's coalition includes the Our People Movement, led by Atanas Kalchev, the five-term mayor of the southern town of Krichim, who has expressed support for the former president on social media. Our People describes itself as a conservative-reformist movement working to preserve national identity, defend national sovereignty and pursue a balanced foreign policy.

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The Capital weekly looks at the regional governors appointed by the caretaker governments. The caretaker government lost no time in replacing all 28 regional governors. With few exceptions, the posts are largely divided between the three parties of the CC-DB coalition. In 11 regions, the newly appointed governors previously held the same position or served as deputies, mainly under the cabinets of Kiril Petkov and Nikolay Denkov. Political opponents have already seized on the reshuffle to attack CC-DB. The coalition faces the risk of political fallout if any of the new regional governors makes a misstep.

Interviewed on Nova TV on Thursday, Anton Kutev, who was adviser and spokesperson for former President Rumen Radev, said the new regional governor appointments were justified as the only way to fight the mafia, but he criticized the caretaker government for filling all regional governor posts with party-affiliated figures.

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An opinion piece by Ilia Iliev in Trud headlined "Caretaker Government Stumbles Under Heavy Burden of Key Tasks" looks closely at most ministerial appointments in Andrey Gurov's government. Iliev argues that the Gurov cabinet cannot be understood outside the broader context of geopolitical turbulence. The Washington-Brussels direction is not up for discussion; it is followed. In this sense, the caretaker government is ensuring continuity; the appointments clearly indicate a firm Euro-Atlantic stance with pro-American and pro-Israel emphasis.

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In an analysis in 24 Chasa, elections expert Daniel Stefanov comes up with what he calls "unsolicited advice" to the Central Election Commission (CEC), parties and ministers for ensuring fair elections. Political parties should obtain consent from people before proposing them as members of section election commissions. The Council of Ministers and CEC need to agree on a simple tally sheet for the section commissions. The Council of Ministers, together with the Regional Development Ministry, should audit the electoral rolls to check for "ghost voters". And Information Services, as the sole data processor, should explain its procedures, demonstrate security measures and invite observers.

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In Trud, Prof. Boyan Durankev offers his opinion of the main divides in Bulgarian society. First, the mass protests at the end of 2025 were not aimed at any individual politician but represented a broad front against compromise, corrupt deals and the way ruling coalitions make arrangements behind voters' backs. They revealed a new public intolerance for entrenched corruption and the status quo - a value-driven divide between society and the political class that now finds expression in the elections. The second divide is over staffing: which party or politician will win the battle to place cronies in key institutions and control structures. The third divide is geopolitical but its lines are blurred: politicians display a confusing mix of stances: pro-US, staunchly pro-EU, supportive of Ukraine in rhetoric but not on the front lines, quietly pursuing personal interests with Russia, turning a blind eye to Gaza.

JUSTICE

Acting prosecutor general

Mediapool.bg and all other media report that the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) refused to act on the Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov's proposal to remove acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov. After almost a full day of debates, the Plenum decided that the matter is within the remit of the Prosecutors Chamber, which appointed Sarafov in 2023. It remains unclear when this will happen, but as a rule the Prosecutors Chamber does not act against the will of the Prosecutor General, says mediapool.bg. In an eight-page statement, Yankulov called the current situation "an unprecedented crisis of the rule of law".

On BNR, Assoc. Prof. Hristo Hristev talked of the "cast-iron majority" in the SJC and the Prosecutors Chamber, which must realize that Bulgaria that "we are in an extremely serious constitutional crisis". He recalled that the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Cassation and several panels of appellate courts have refused to hear requests submitted by Sarafov to reopen criminal cases on the grounds that he is not lawfully serving.

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Interviewed by bTV, Ognyan Damyanov, member of the Prosecutors Chamber, said it may consider Sarafov's replacement on March 11. Asked if he would accept such a nomination himself, Damyanov ruled this out. Also on bTV, lawyer Velislav Velichkov from the Justice for all initiative said Sarafov is not expected to still be in this post in the autumn, as many changes are expected after the April 19 elections. However, if the current SJC, often called the "eternal council", stays on and the next [240-seat] parliament cannot secure the required 160 votes to elect parliamentary quota members, Sarafov could potentially stay in this post until 2030. Velichkov also cited an SJC member, Judge Atanaska Disheva, who asked: "How is it possible that not a single one out of 2,000 prosecutors has the professional and moral qualities required to hold the post for the next six months, so as to comply with the Judicial System Act and ease public tension?"

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Interviewed by Nova TV on Thursday, Assoc. Prof. Hristo Ormandzhiev, a lecturer in constitutional law, commented that the latest developments point to an institutional dispute over the interpretation of the Judicial System Act. At the heart of the problem is a divergent interpretation of its provisions by the Prosecutors and Judges Chambers. He recalled that the SJC Plenum submits proposals to the President for the appointment of the Prosecutor General and the Presidents of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation. At the same time, the law provides that the individual chambers appoint the administrative heads of the bodies of the judiciary. “This is where the difference lies, and perhaps the basis on which the Plenum adopted its decision,” he said. Also, the amendments to the Judicial System Act adopted in 2025 introduced a requirement for the National Assembly to launch a procedure for electing a new composition of the SJC, but the six-month deadline for doing so has expired.

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On Bulgarian National Television, political analysts Stoycho Stoychev and Hristo Panchugov commented on public attitudes towards the judicial system. Stoychev spoke in favour of the system's independence: "I have always been sceptical of protests against members of the judiciary or judicial decisions, because these institutions are designed with control and the guarantee of impartiality ensured in other ways, not through public or social pressure from the streets." Panchugov arged that the discussion about what judicial reform should look like and the role of the prosecution was ideologized and tension surrounding the judiciary became a motivation for voting. "For years, the same mistake has been made: the issue of the Prosecutor General is, ultimately, a matter for the prosecution itself," he said.

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Nova TV also had experts commenting on the Sarafov case. Ivan Bregov, head of the Law Programme of the Institute for Market Economics, said the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court can rule on whether Sarafov is exercising the functions of Prosecutor General on a legal basis. Lawyer Dimitar Markovski said the matter has been referred to the Constitutional Court, and "we must await its decision". He also commented on the protests at the Palace of Justice, describing the demonstrators'’ actions as unacceptable.

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The Capital weekly raises the issue of special investigative techniques (SITs) used against magistrates. According to "Eavesdropped Justice", an analysis by lawyer and Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Co-chair Adela Katchaunova, presented at a conference on judicial independence, around 6% of Bulgaria's magistrates have been subject to SITs in the past decade, with a record number authorized in 2020. Of roughly 4,200 judges, prosecutors and investigators, 251 cases were recorded between 2014 and 2025, meaning one in 17 was secretly monitored. The widespread use of SITs without criminal proceedings points to potential abuse, with judges, the primary holders of judicial authority, most heavily targeted. Magistrates are over 1,500 times more likely to be surveilled than the average citizen.

Bulgaria's European public prosecutor

24 Chasa looks into the aftermath of Wednesday's statement by the EPPO College concerning Bulgaria's European Prosecutor Teodora Georgieva. It referred to serious breaches and to a possibility that "the sanction may be dismissal", adding that only the European Court of Justice may dismiss a European Prosecutor because of serious misconduct. Unofficially, Georgieva is known to have been actively involved in investigations into the expansion of the Chiren Gas Storage Facility and into fraud in the reconstruction of a fishing port that did not exist in Varna, in which former mayor Ivan Portnih was indicted by EPPO. Georgieva was temporarily suspended from her post as European Prosecutor in March 2025. She told the media on Thursday no specific charge was mentioned in EPPO's press release; the case concerns a blanket allegation of a serious breach. The five-member disciplinary panel, composed of respected and experienced judges, has decided that a reprimand should be imposed, she said.

Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) interviewed Assoc. Prof. Hristo Hristev, who commented that this is the first EPPO member whose integrity and duties related to professional ethics are being questioned. "The question is how the selection procedure was conducted. At the time, some highly qualified candidates were overlooked. How do Bulgarian delegated prosecutors operate? The Ministry of Justice could initiate a review."

ECONOMY, FINANCE

An article in the Capital weekly looks at public procurement at the Road Infrastructure Agency. In the two months between Rosen Zhelyazkov's resignation and Andrey Gurov's appointment as caretaker prime minister, the agency awarded nearly EUR 100 million in road projects and most lots in a EUR 400 million crash barrier tender. Work is underway again on a EUR 1 billion road reconstruction project that was stalled for a year. The tenders saw both established and lesser-known firms, with foreign companies failing to enter the crash barrier market. Foreign companies including Saferoad Restraint Systems GmbH (Germany), Kirac Galvaniz (Turkiye) and voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik GmbH (Austria) were ultimately excluded. Their technical proposals were rejected due to incomplete schedules and lack of daily work breakdowns. Their price bids were never opened, as they failed to meet Bulgaria's strict red-tape requirements. On February 25, the caretaker government announced an audit of the crash barrier tender, citing concerns over inflated prices and potential irregularities in contractor selection.

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The front-page story in Trud quotes data from the Financial Supervision Commission showing that the average payout from Bulgaria's private universal pension funds (mandatory supplementary pension insurance) is just EUR 53 per month. Only one in five retirees drawing a second pension from a private fund has enough savings to receive a lifetime payout; the rest draw their savings over one to three years and then rely solely on the reduced state pension after 24 years of operation of the universal pension funds. Most Bulgarians lack enough savings for a second lifetime pension because wage growth has far outpaced the returns generated by private pension funds. Since incomes in Bulgaria are well below the EU average, contributions to private pensions have consistently lagged behind rising salaries, which grew more than tenfold from BGN 272 in 2002 to BGN 2,741 (EUR 1,401) in December 2025.

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24 Chasa sums up Thursday's second-reading vote on amendments to the Social Insurance Code, intended to introduce a multi-fund model in supplementary pension insurance. The multi-fund system, designed to give pension companies more investment options to boost second-pension savings for 5 million people, failed due to last-minute political bargaining. CC-DB unexpectedly withdrew its support for multi-funds, blocking the measure in the third parliament after more than 10 years of discussion. Venko Sabrutev MP objected to allowing private funds to invest in corporate bonds guaranteed by state-majority banks, citing concerns over corruption and lack of transparency at the Bulgarian Development Bank. In Europe, the funds are invested in airports, highways, hospitals and student campuses.

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Interviewed by Trud, financial expert Rumen Galabinov suggests that reducing VAT on food in shops and supermarkets and on medicines, from 20% to 10% as in other eurozone countries, would ease the tax burden on lower-income households and would also have an anti-inflationary effect. He says that over the next few years, Bulgaria could gradually reform its income tax system, moving away from the flat 10% rate, which is unique in the eurozone, towards the progressive taxation common across other member states.

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On Wednesday, Litasco notified the government of its intention to initiate arbitration, citing losses allegedly caused by actions of the Bulgarian state affecting its commercial interests. 24 Chasa reports that Lukoil Bulgaria announced the operations of the Lukoil group of companies in Bulgaria were not in any way affected and there are no grounds for concern regarding fuel availability on the market or fuel prices. The Lukoil companies in Bulgaria continue to operate under normal conditions under the management of the Special Commercial Administrator. On Thursday, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control extended the February 28 deadline for an agreement to sell the foreign assets of Russia's oil company Lukoil to April 1

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24 Chasa leads with the news that water prices in regions where water and sewerage operators are state-owned will increase from March 1. According to the regulator's decision, the rise ranges from 0.95% in Vidin to nearly 14% in Kardzhali. Last December, the Ministry of Regional Development announced that the prices charged by state-owned companies would remain unchanged to ensure a smooth transition to the euro. In Sofia Sofiyska Voda, with French company Veolia as its concessionaire, raised prices by 12% from January 1. Now the water companies are gradually announcing price rises effective from March.

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BNT reported that the first ship carrying Argentine sunflower seeds has arrived at the port of Varna. According to Iliya Prodanov, Chairman of the National Grain Producers Association, samples were taken the same day by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, with results expected on Friday, as six such shipments are scheduled to reach Bulgaria this month.

TECHNOLOGY

The cover story of the Capital weekly is "Europe Caught in the Tech Giants'’ Trap". The editorial says that the American giants Microsoft, Google and Amazon, among others, are now offering European sovereign clouds, but this is little more than a marketing facade as cables and chips remain American, while the administration in Washington keeps legal back doors that allow access to data. "We already have a telling precedent: the blocking of the email account of a prosecutor in The Hague after he issued a warrant against the Israeli prime minister. It is a stark warning: in the digital world there are no allies - only owners and users." The problem is no less acute in Bulgaria. Businesses and public institutions have rushed into the packages of the tech giants with little regard for geopolitical risk. This is not simple usage but lock-in. Losing access to key cloud services would not be an inconvenience, but a digital heart attack for banks, hospitals and the state itself, the article says.

Journalist Yoan Zapryanov says European governments and companies are preparing for a scenario in which they may have to operate without the services of Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others. Europe is in a very weak position, lacking its own large-scale digital infrastructure. Alternatives exist for some services, but persuading users and businesses to give up the convenience of the giants will be an uphill battle. The real vulnerability lies in ground infrastructure - the data centres behind the cloud, where US dominance is overwhelming. Even minimally digitalized companies depend on the cloud services of Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Built on hundreds of billions of dollars in investment, these systems cannot be replicated quickly, or replaced at all if access is abruptly cut. The EU holds one major trump card and a few smaller ones, chief among them the Dutch firm ASML, the near-monopoly supplier of photolithography machines essential for chip production. A smaller but significant European lever is Germany's SAP, whose business software is deeply embedded in US companies.

WORLD

In Capital, Momchil Milev looks at the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying that the clash has evolved into a war of adaptation, ingenuity, attrition and increasingly optimal and creative management of dwindling resources and emerging technologies. Many European countries fear that a sudden ceasefire under unfavourable conditions would pose a serious security risk. Washington, meanwhile, seeks a rapid halt to hostilities ahead of the autumn midterm elections and to pave the way for a potential resumption of economic ties with Russia. In this context, US and EU interests are diametrically opposed, offering little hope for diplomatic success.