site.btaMedia Review: April 1

The news of caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov signing a ten-year security agreement with Ukraine during a Bulgarian delegation’s visit to Kyiv on Tuesday dominates Wednesday's news media.

POLITICS

24 Chasa’s headline reads that President Iliana Iotova reacted strongly to the agreement’s signing, calling it “inadequate, inadmissible, and a weak political act.” She believes there should be a broad political debate before an international agreement is signed. She was not informed about the visit’s purpose and even about the delegation’s composition, the daily writes.

In an analysis on the same matter, Trud writes that the news of the Bulgaria-Ukraine security agreement has sparked extremely polarized opinions. Some see it as national treason; others view it as a decision that reaffirms Bulgaria's pro-European orientation. According to the analysis, it is “a highly politically ill-advised move by the caretaker government, driven primarily by the context of the upcoming elections and serving mainly short-term party interests at the expense of the long-term institutional balance and the country’s interests.” “It is absurd to speak of betrayal, given that the foreign policy direction, confirmed by all recent governments, is clear. Moreover, everything that has been agreed upon must be ratified by the National Assembly; otherwise, it leads in practice to neither a legal obligation nor any concrete action. However, there are several issues at hand: exactly what Gurov promised and exactly what he signed. Information has been reported in the media, but it is rather vague and sparse - a signed agreement for 10 years of defence cooperation, which includes the joint production of drones on Bulgarian territory. Interestingly, according to the caretaker Prime Minister, the agreement does not need to be approved by Parliament. These are decisions that affect Bulgaria's national security. The issue is not whether these are bad, but that they fall outside the purview of a caretaker government. Also, the unannounced visit to Ukraine is both a blatant PR move and a rather inappropriate party one during the election campaign,” the article reads, referring to Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB).

Duma’s front-page article on the matter reads that Gurov signed the agreement in the dark. Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Krum Zarkov is quoted as commenting: “The anti-institutionality has crossed a new line. A caretaker prime minister, while there is an operational parliament and 20 days before the elections, signed with Ukraine an agreement in the field of security and defence. Surprisingly, without having been authorized to do so, even without a simple public debate. This is an act of supreme political irresponsibility, on which the President, National  Assembly, and political forces will have to issue a position.” The article notes that under the agreement, Bulgaria’s nuclear reactors from the abandoned Belene project will possibly be transferred to Kyiv, it is made possible to introduce Ukrainian language classes in Bulgarian schools as part of foreign language studies, and there might be a review of Bulgarian history textbooks to see if Ukrainian history is correctly covered.

Mediapool.bg writes that pro-Putin parties, movements, and supporters are spreading false information on social media claiming that Ukrainian will be taught in Bulgarian schools. The issue has sparked sharp criticism of the caretaker government. These claims stem from caretaker Prime Minister Gurov’s visit to Ukraine, during which an agreement related to education was indeed signed. However, it concerns the G. S. Rakovski High School in Bolhrad, Odesa Region. The signed protocol provides that students of Bulgarian descent will continue, as before, to study the Bulgarian language, Bulgarian literature, history, traditions, and customs, as well as other subjects in Bulgarian within the school’s curriculum. Yet, many social media profiles share publications titled, “We Are Introducing Ukrainian in Bulgarian schools,” “Bulgaria Introduces Ukrainian, to Adapt History in Textbooks,” “Good Morning. Are You Ready for Your Children to Study Ukrainian?” This case shows how a topic related to support for Bulgarians in Ukraine can quickly be turned into a disinformation campaign ahead of elections, the e-zine writes.

An analysis on Segabg.com reads that the agreement with Ukraine has reduced the chance at a regular cabinet after the elections by 90% as it intensified the battle between former president Rumen Radev, whose Progressive Bulgaria is expected to win the elections, and CC-DB, which is expected to be Radev’s coalition partner in the next regular government. After caretaker Prime Minister Gurov, former MP of CC-DB, announced that he had signed the military cooperation agreement with Kyiv that had been postponed last year, Radev attacked the cabinet for “dragging us into the war,” and DB retorted that he was “trying to look like Orban.”  Earlier, Radev and CC-DB clashed over the possibility of exploring for and extracting natural gas in Bulgaria: Radev declared that CC-DB and GERB "want to poison our land," and CC leader Assen Vassilev called him a "cowardly hypocrite" and, to expose him as such, published a whole catalog of quotes from the former president on the eurozone and the war in Ukraine, among other topics. “The fact that the topics of natural gas and the security agreement with Ukraine have sparked such a political war shows that Radev and CC-DB were just waiting for an excuse to quarrel and publicly say the nasty things they think about each other. How can they, so at odds, discuss the possibility of a regular government together?” the analysis reads.

On Bulgarian National Television’s morning show, journalist and international analyst Ruslan Trad talked about the risks Bulgaria and the EU face because of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. There are many unknowns in the conflict in Iran, with diplomatic negotiations officially being conducted but no one knowing exactly who is negotiating, so that creates political uncertainty along with energy supply corridors Bulgaria relies on being disrupted, he noted.

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Trud has an interview with political expert and National Youth Forum head Atanas Radev, who comments that the election campaign is bland and leaves a feeling of parties trying to survive. He also talks about the role of young people in the election campaign, as the Forum is conducting an information campaign featuring debates aimed at drawing politicians’ attention to solutions they could offer and thus help citizens make an informed choice on April 19. According to him, politicians are currently promising all sorts of things and are ready to support anything. But once the election campaign is over, the big question is whether, within the executive branch, the discussion of youth policies and young people in general will take centre stage with the creation of a state agency for youth, which would be responsible precisely for these issues.

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24 Chasa has an interview with historian Acad. Ivan Ilchev about the significance of the April Uprising of 1876 in Bulgarian and European history on the eve of its 150th anniversary. Bulgarians tends to focus on the heroism of the freedom fighters and their fate, but the uprising also has its place in world history as part of the major uprisings aimed at securing greater freedom and, eventually, democracy in the second half of the 19th century, Ilchev argues. Unlike Bulgarians’ previous uprisings in the Ottoman Empire, this one took place at the right moment because newspapers were rapidly growing in number, the telegraph network was expanding, and European citizens grew interested in news and politics, resulting in extensive coverage of the April Uprising in the European press and the Russian Empire. “We rarely realize that the victory of the Uprising, regardless of the sacrifices made, is not a military one - it lies in the information war that Turkey was losing.” Ilchev believes.

ECONOMY

Telegraph has an interview with economist Prof. Boyan Durankev, who says that Bulgaria could reach the EU-average standard of living no earlier than 2038. 

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On Bulgarian National Radio, Atanas Katsarev, chief economist of the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour, said that it feels like prices are rising. “In reality, we are buying less for the same amount of money. The increase began a year before we joined the eurozone. If we look back at that period and see what is happening – an EUR 50 basket has gone up by EUR 7, which is over 15%. That is just the basket, but goods and services have gone up by much more than that 15%,” he noted. According to Katsarev, there should be a combination of measures directed at the most vulnerable groups. Giving poor people EUR 20 for fuel is good, but what about the price of electricity, medicinal products  and the entire standard of living, he asked. In his view, efforts should focus on three areas: protecting vulnerable people, safeguarding jobs, and the government taking responsibility for what is happening. The aid should amount to at least EUR 100 per vulnerable person in order to compensate in some way for the rise in prices. A Crisis Management Fund can be created to help businesses preserve jobs, Katsarev also said.

On Nova TV’s morning show, journalist Nedko Georgiev, who works in Poland, commented on the country’s decision to impose a ceiling on fuel prices in an attempt to limit the hit that consumers are taking due to the appreciation of fuels following the war in Iran. “On March 31, a new package of measures was introduced. It includes a reduction in VAT from 23% to 8%, a reduction in excise taxes, and the introduction of a maximum daily retail price, with the rates to be published monthly in the Polish Official Gazette by the Ministry of Finance,” he explained. “Interestingly, the Finance Minister announced that Poland would lose about PLN 2 billion per month due to lower VAT and excise taxes. The measures drew considerable criticism, particularly from the far-right opposition. Similar measures were used during the COVID crisis and applied to food products. Currently, the possibility of reducing food prices by lowering or temporarily eliminating VAT is being discussed," Georgiev said.

HOME AFFAIRS

On Bulgarian National Television’s morning show, caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev talked about the actions taken by his Ministry to contribute to fair, democratic, and legal elections on April 19. Dechev promised that the Ministry would take an “innovative and original” approach on election day but “will keep it a secret.” He added that there has been a sharp increase in reports of vote-buying since he took office. He did not name the parties buying votes but clarified that not all of them are involved. “We can announce which parties are buying votes after the elections are over,” Dechev emphasized. He noted that the leadership changes in the regional directorates of the Interior Ministry were absolutely necessary and inevitable, there was no way they could have been avoided.

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An investigation by the Capital weekly shows that a chicken meat processing plant in Montana (Northwestern Bulgaria), which the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) shut down a few days ago due to serious violations of hygiene requirements regarding product storage, is actually a supplier of products to kindergartens, schools, and social care homes in Vratsa (on the Danube).  The scale of corruption, influence peddling, and the tolerance (and sometimes even complicity) of institutions toward corruption and malpractice is thus threatening children’s health now, not just causing enormous harm to the State. The information that the name of the company owning the enterprise is Gala AM was first published by Bird. Capital confirmed this through a source at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. A Capital investigation shows that in 2024, Gala AM entered into a contract following a public tender with the municipality of Vratsa for the supply of meat, meat products, poultry, poultry products, and fish worth over EUR 1.4 million excluding VAT. Officially, Gala AM is owned by Hristo Hristov through the company Gabi Tron 1. According to Bird, however, it is indirectly linked to MP Dimitar Avramov of the Movement for Rights of Freedoms (MRF) – New Beginning of Delyan Peevski, and Capital's subsequent check confirmed it. Avramov was first elected to the National Assembly in 2009 as a GERB candidate, but later joined the ranks of the MRF. Avramov is also a candidate for the next parliament and heads the party list in Montana. In 2012, he was arrested and charged with soliciting a bribe and influence peddling. A full 12 years later, he was convicted by the first-instance court and in November 2025, by the second-instance court. However, until the Supreme Court of Cassation issues its ruling, Avramov retains the right to run in the parliamentary elections.

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Trud reports on its front page of “an epidemic boom of measles” in Bulgaria as a result of a breach in the immunization coverage. There is a measles outbreak, with 44 cases already reported, epidemiologist Prof. Todor Kantarzhiev told the daily. What is concerning is that, in addition to the 38 cases reported in the municipality of Byala Slatina, there are also two in the municipality of Pleven and one case each in the municipalities of Kozloduy, Lukovit, Yablanitsa, and Lovech. Most of the cases involve children aged 5 months to 15 years. There are two adult patients: a 25-year-old man living in the municipality of Lovech and a 48-year-old woman living in the municipality of Pleven. Health authorities urge people to seek medical attention if they experience symptoms, not to withhold information about their vaccination status, and to get vaccinated if they have not been. The very low vaccination coverage in 2025 is particularly concerning. Vaccination coverage for 13-month-old children is 89%, while for 12-year-olds it is only 82%. Epidemiologists note that vaccination coverage below 94-95% creates conditions for an epidemic.

In a coverage on the measles outbreak in Byala Slatina, bTV’s morning show recalled that the measles vaccination is mandatory in Bulgaria; it is administered in two doses - at 13 months and at 12 years of age. Among the main arguments put forward by people who refuse vaccines are that they contain harmful ingredients and that they can cause permanent damage. Specifically regarding the measles vaccine, there is a claim - which has been debunked by science - that it can trigger measles. Scientists explain that the risk of serious side effects from the vaccine is 1 in 1 million. The most common side effect is febrile seizures. These occur not because of the vaccine, but because of our unique DNA, which can react differently to foods, beverages, and medications.

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24 Chasa reports on its front page that “the goalkeeper of the Republic” has passed away. Borislav Mihaylov, former captain of the Bulgarian national football team and former president of the Bulgarian Football Union, died at the age of 63. He had been suffering from serious health problems following a stroke and had been hospitalized since late November.

Trud reports the news on its front page, too.

On Bulgarian National Television’s morning show, former Bulgarian Football Union president Valentin Mihov gave an emotional interview in which he talked about Mihaylov’s contribution to Bulgarian football.