site.btaMedia Review: April 14

FALLOUT OF IRAN CONFLICT

24 Chasa writes that premium diesel has surpassed the EUR 2 mark. At least three of the major gas station chains are selling this fuel at EUR 2.00, 2.02, and 2.03 per liter.

Since Sunday, the prices of regular diesel and petrol have also increased by EUR 0.01, according to the National Revenue Agency. The average price of a liter of diesel fuel is now EUR 1.78, while regular A-95 petrol costs EUR 1.48 since Saturday. Thus, over the past month alone, petrol has added nearly 10%, while the price of regular diesel has jumped by over 18%.

The latest price movement comes against the backdrop of a new surge in oil prices on Monday morning, after the United States began blocking Iranian ports that same day. In a statement from the U.S. Central Command, it was said that the blockade would be enforced against ships of all countries entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports in the Arabian and Oman Gulfs. It was also stated that this would not affect the freedom of navigation for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.

However, the latter has almost no practical significance, as ships and tankers have been avoiding the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the war with Iran, unless they have special permission or have paid Iran for passage.

According to TrudNews.bg, fuel prices have not been this high for nearly four years, since 2022, when petrol and diesel rose to record levels due to the war in Ukraine. The current prices, converted into Bulgarian lev, average about BGN 3.48 per liter of diesel and BGN 2.89 per liter of gasoline.

In July 2022, prices were around BGN 3.54–3.56 per liter of diesel and BGN 3.47 per liter of gasoline. However, at that time a subsidy of BGN 0.25 per liter of fuel was introduced for citizens. Back then, this support applied to everyone.

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Speaking on the morning programme of Nova TV energy expert Boyan Rashev predicted an energy lockdown, with restrictions such as working from home and the introduction of free public transport, similar to what happened during the COVID pandemic.

He called on the state to prepare steps in case of fuel shortages. He said that if current developments continue until the end of April, a physical shortage will also occur in Europe, as it has already happened in Asia. Production is down by 13 million barrels per day compared to the end of February.

Rashev is adamant that fuel prices should not be interfered with, as this would cover the increase from consumers, but would actually lead to shortages. In Germany, another measure has already been taken - a reduction of the energy tax by EUR 0.17 per liter for petrol and diesel for a period of two months, in addition to a restriction that fuel prices could only be increased once per day at gas stations did not yield results.

Consumption must be limited, especially of kerosene and diesel. Europe will not have such a big problem with petrol, Rashev argued. Bulgaria is still one of the five EU countries that have their own refinery, so it is in a more favorable position.

However, the problem with natural gas in Europe is even bigger than with diesel. Therefore, electricity will become expensive. There is also a shortage of fertilizers, since exports from the Gulf have stopped, which will in turn affect food production.

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Speaking on Bulgarian National Radio, former Deputy Foreign Minister Milen Keremedchiev said that after the failure of negotiations in Pakistan, the United States is imposing an economic blockade on Iran using military means by blocking its ports.

“With this action, the United States is effectively choking the Iranian economy, because not only oil exports, but the export of any goods through Iranian territorial waters has been suspended. At the same time, they are sending a very strong warning to countries such as China, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, which have been quietly paying Iran a fee and thereby supporting the regime, that they will no longer be able to do so.

The response from Iran could indeed be very strong. Strikes against ports in the Persian Gulf are possible. There has already been a statement by a senior Iranian diplomat that Iran could also close the route to the Red Sea. Container shipments from Asia to Europe pass through there and this could further lead to a global economic crisis.

Around 30% of China’s oil consumption comes from Iran. So this could indeed lead to international tensions and the activation of China, mainly through diplomatic pressure on Iran.

As for fuel prices, these are not the highest levels the global economy has endured. During the two terms of President Obama, oil was above USD 100 per barrel for about three and a half years. Also, at the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine during President Biden’s term, oil reached USD122–130 per barrel. We are still far from those levels, but we could approach them very quickly, as hysteria is beginning to grow.”

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The European Union does not support any actions that restrict free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, told the BBC, about six hours after the United States began blocking Iranian ports.

The Bulgarian National Radio quotes Kallas as saying she is still not sure what the U.S. blockade entails. When asked whether she supports Donald Trump’s measure, she replied: “It is not entirely clear what the actions of the United States are.”

Kallas emphasized that the EU does not support any fees or blockades on a route that in the past “has been open to everyone.” EU member states would also be ready to assist once hostilities in the region come to an end.

Supporting calls from other world leaders, Kallas said that a diplomatic solution to the war is necessary and that there must be “mutual respect” between the parties in order to reach an agreement. She said that other countries in the region should be at the negotiating table “because they know Iran better than anyone else.”

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Public health expert Arkadi Sharkov told the Bulgarian National Radio that the effects of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz also affect the medical sector. Every crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and now the situation with Iran, “has a direct impact on healthcare systems, because part of state spending shifts toward defense financing instead of sectors such as healthcare and social policy.”

“If we talk about medicines, 40-45% of active ingredients are produced in China, and about 20-25% in India. At the moment, given the physical vulnerability due to the Hormuz crisis, aviation capacity that was based in Dubai has dropped by 80%. It is slowly starting to recover, but is still not at full capacity. Many supply routes for biological medicines pass through there. In the EU, the situation regarding medicine supplies is currently relatively stable, including in Bulgaria, but the United Kingdom has already faced such an issue and is on the verge of different types of crises for certain medicines.”

BULGARIANS EMBRACE NEWLY-ADOPTED EURO

Support for the euro has increased after Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone, writes Sega.bg, referring to observations both by the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev.

Trust among households has reached 54%, while among businesses it is 70%, Governor Radev said in an interview for Reuters. He commented that Bulgaria’s transition to the euro has had a limited and largely one-off effect on consumer prices.

“The impact of the currency transition on inflation in Bulgaria is estimated at 0.3–0.4 percentage points,” says an ECB analysis published on the institution’s blog. A similar effect was observed in the first months after the introduction of the euro in Croatia (0.2%), Estonia (around 0.3%), and Latvia (below 0.3%). In other words, there has been no shock or sharp spike in prices. More noticeable increases have mainly occurred in some services where competition is more limited.

ECB experts note that part of the price increases occurred even before the actual introduction of the euro. They also point out that in January, public support for the euro exceeded 50%, and in February it rose to 54%. According to the ECB, this trend is typical for all countries that adopt the single currency.

Often, perceived inflation and actual inflation do not match. Overall inflation in Bulgaria, measured by the harmonized index, has actually slowed in the first months after the currency change- from 3.5% in December 2025 to 2.3% in January and 2.1% in February, the analysis says.

“The catastrophic scenarios did not come true,”said the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, referring to a survey among its members conducted between March 5–13.

66% of the companies that participated in the survey reported no significant problems and assessed the transition to the euro as successful.

The ECB’s analysis of Bulgaria covers the first two months after the introduction of the euro - the period during which price effects usually appear most strongly. The current inflation picture is being driven by strong external factors, including rising energy prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, which will make it harder to clearly distinguish between the effect of the currency change and the effect of the energy price shock, the authors emphasize.

According to the Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev, the geopolitical situation, including the war in Iran, may further strengthen positive attitudes toward the euro in Bulgaria due to the sense of greater economic protection and security within the eurozone.

At the same time, Radev warns that the risks of high inflation are increasing due to rising oil and fuel prices. 

PRICES OF MEDICAL SERVICES

Speaking on Bulgarian National Television, Health Minster Michail Okoliyski said that demands of the Bulgarian Medical Association for a 25% increase in the prices of all medical services are possible during the adoption of a new budget and that the Ministry supports them because they are in the interest of Bulgarian patients and of the people working in healthcare.

“We support this demand. We see that prices are increasing - medical supplies, all activities in the healthcare sector are becoming more expensive, and at the first suitable moment they must be updated,” he added.

The Health Minister also drew attention to the most underfunded clinical pathways. These include palliative care, and psychiatry, because the situation there is the worst. 

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On Tuesday, the Expert Club for Economics and Politics (EKIP) will present its analysis of the sustainability of Bulgaria’s health insurance system and measures to increase revenues in the budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 2026–2027.

One of the authors of the analysis, Arkadi Sharkov said on Bulgarian National Radio:

“Cumulatively, NHIF’s deficit is around EUR 700–750 million, without the accounting methods currently used to suppress it. All of this naturally leads to an increasingly difficult position for the Fund in making payments. The Bulgarian Medical Association has expressed a desire for budget updates. Bulgaria also has an increasingly aging population. The share of people aged 65 and over is expected to reach about 31% in the next 10 to 20 years, which will naturally place an increasing burden on the system. All of this raises the question who will pay. What we will propose is that the state should fully cover all payments to the NHIF for the nine groups it currently insures. Separately, consideration should be given in the next month to stabilizing NHIF revenues.”

Among the recommendations is that more groups of people should be required to pay health insurance contributions, for example, magistrates and public servants. Budget updates for the health fund are a matter of negotiations between the parties.”

UPCOMING ELECTIONS

A weekly online poll by TrudNews.bg among 2,336 readers shows that public opinion is divided on the topic of the Interior Ministry’s actions against vote-buying, with doubt regarding their impartiality.

To a question “Do you approve of the Interior Ministry’s actions against ‘vote-buying’?” 53.13% of respondents answered “no,” believing that the actions are being carried out selectively. At the same time, 44.78% support the actions on the grounds that the law must be enforced, while 2.10% cannot decide.

The results clearly show that although the fight against vote-buying is generally supported in principle, trust in how it is conducted remains shaken. For a significant part of society, the problem is not the actions themselves, but the suspicion that they are not applied equally to everyone.

Still, nearly 45% of respondents support the Interior Ministry’s actions, which shows that society does not tolerate electoral abuses, but expects them to be addressed fairly, transparently, and without double standards.

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At an election campaign meeting in Samokov, Rumen Radev of Progressive Bulgaria accused the Bulgarian government of openly launching a campaign against the upcoming elections by sending an official request to Brussels to provide assistance, monitor for external hybrid attacks, and consider how our elections could be “preventively managed.” 

In an opinion piece addressed to Radev, TrudNews editor-in-chief Petyo Blaskov criticizes this move, calling it a sinister game, with rules written by Brussels bureaucrats, under the name “Digital Services Act.”

According to Blaskov, with this act, they claim they will save Europe from disinformation and the harmful influence of Russia, China, and everyone else who does not accept the catastrophic governance of the old continent by neoliberals and their clones.

In reality, this is a document in which the experience of Stalin, Goebbels, and the Holy Inquisition is creatively developed in their fight against “disinformation” and “incorrect” thinking and speech.

It restores total censorship in the media space, encourages the writing of “reports” about “incorrect” content in “incorrect” media by specially selected individuals and organizations in the respective countries, the blocking of media channels based on such reports, and a number of other “useful” measures for freedom of speech.

Prime Minister Andrey Gurov and Foreign Minister Nadezhda Neynsky also reportedly asked the EU to activate a process called the rapid response system, outlined in the same Digital Services Act (DSA), in order to meet with the major social media platforms Meta, Google, TikTok and others, to detect and stop disinformation campaigns as they develop. The Commission confirmed last week that the process has been initiated.

As always, at key historical moments for Bulgaria, local traitors and scoundrels once again willingly take part in defaming and slandering our country. Strange technology companies such as Sensika, as well as a group of foreign-sponsored media, are making their selfless contribution to the manipulation of the political space, the author concludes.