site.btaMedia Review: May 8

Friday's media coverage is dominated by the formation of the Rumen Radev government, budget and prices, and the political disputes around the new cabinet’s first priorities.

POLITICS

Trud writes that President Iliana Iotova handed the first government-forming mandate to Progressive Bulgaria’s PM-designate Rumen Radev, who immediately returned it fulfilled and presented the structure and composition of a cabinet. Iotova says the new majority and government face urgent decisions on social payments, the state budget through 2026, preparations for Budget 2027, business development, energy, and foreign-policy challenges.

The daily adds that GERB will not support the Radev cabinet and will act as opposition, citing GERB Deputy Chair Tomislav Donchev. “We cannot support this cabinet. The vote itself will be an indicator of who will play what role, and we will play the role of opposition,” Donchev said. Iotova is expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new Bulgarian government, Trud reports.

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Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported that the new regular government led by Rumen Radev would take the oath after being voted by the National Assembly. Entering Parliament, Radev said the budget and public finances were priorities and that he would not allow what he called a dispute between the lobbies of MRF Chair Delyan Peevski and Ivo Prokopiev to overshadow the main issues.

Radev said the cabinet would propose measures against inflation and rising prices, without administrative price caps. “We will not cut incomes. We will not cut social payments,” Radev said. BNR adds that taking on external debt is likely inevitable, but the amount and form will be decided after an analysis. The new cabinet is the 107th government in Bulgaria’s history and takes over from the caretaker cabinet of Caretaker PM Andrey Gurov, which governed for 78 days.

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Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported that Radev told MPs that Bulgarians had ended the political crisis through their vote and restored legitimacy to the National Assembly. He says the cabinet has no illusions about the challenges ahead, including galloping prices, the budget, missing reforms, the global energy crisis, and escalating conflicts.

BNT added that Radev called for constructive work between the government and Parliament and said Progressive Bulgaria’s majority could pass legislation on its own, but would take into account constructive opposition input. He said that on May 11, 2026 the cabinet would submit proposals on galloping prices and amendments to the Judicial System Act.

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Telegraph writes, and Dnevnik also reports, that Gurov used the final sitting of his caretaker cabinet to say that the government did not bow to pressure and had broken the omerta in the judicial system. Gurov thanked his ministers for entering the mud of decisions and naming those responsible for state problems.

Dnevnik adds that Gurov praised Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Caretaker Minister of Justice Andrey Yankulov for challenging silence and dependencies in the judiciary. “We did not bend, we did not go home, we managed to break the omerta in the judicial system,” Gurov said.

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bTV reported that former Continue the Change (CC) co-Chair Kiril Petkov criticized the Radev cabinet on social media, saying that the people behind There Is Such a People (TISP) had brought down his government and had managed to influence appointments in the new cabinet as well. He says the new majority has a large credit of trust from voters but that it could easily evaporate.

Petkov says CC will alert the public to every expert, appointment or policy serving what he calls the mafia. “Those whom the square threw out will not manage this time to regroup behind the scenes,” Petkov said.

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Nova TV reported that political analysts Maria Pirgova and Dimitar Ganev of Trend and journalist Emilia Milcheva described the proposed Radev cabinet as a combination of expert governance and political balancing. Pirgova says the cabinet includes strong names and that Radev will keep much of the political direction under his own control.

Milcheva says people close to Radev are concentrated in the most resource-heavy ministries, while Ganev says the cabinet does not look like a typical party cabinet. “This is not a party cabinet. It includes experts with a more technocratic profile,” Ganev said. The analysts say the main immediate test will be the budget, while Recovery and Resilience Plan reforms, especially the anti-corruption law and the restructuring of the Bulgarian Energy Holding, remain central tasks.

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Duma writes that Progressive Bulgaria broke an old parliamentary tradition by backing a National Assembly Rules Committee that is not based on parity among parliamentary groups. The committee will have 16 members, with nine from Progressive Bulgaria, three from GERB-UDF, and one each from the other groups.

The daily adds that remarks by Anton Kutev of Progressive Bulgaria caused sharp reactions from CC and from Democratic Bulgaria (DB). “We saw how your National Assemblies worked; now it is our turn to show how ours works,” Kutev said. Duma also reports that National Assembly Chair Michaela Dotsova has appointed former TISP lawyer Nikoleta Kuzmanova as head of her cabinet.

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Mediapool.bg writes that Radev’s proposed Agriculture Minister Plamen Abrovski is known in the sector as a figure linked to the GERB and TISP personnel pool. Abrovski was a TISP MP in the 45th, 46th and 47th National Assemblies and chaired the parliamentary agriculture committee.

The site notes that Abrovski criticized CC over the Kapitan Andreevo phytosanitary-control case. “The aim of the circus is not to bring order to the border, but to replace one private company with another,” Abrovski said in 2022. Mediapool.bg adds that he later became an adviser to former agriculture minister Yavor Gechev and has held positions in the Agriculture Ministry, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, and structures linked to EU programmes.

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Dnevnik writes that MEP Radan Kanev sees the proposed Radev cabinet as proof that power is being concentrated in one place. He says the cabinet contains people without clear political convictions, meaning that policy will be decided by a single person.

Dnevnik adds that DB will adopt an official position on the cabinet on Sunday. Kanev says the foreign and energy portfolios are particularly important because they define Bulgaria’s geopolitical position and its place in the EU.

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Telegraph writes that Desislava Radeva, wife of Progressive Bulgaria leader Rumen Radev, has warned of a fake message circulated in her name and aimed at her husband. Radeva says she had never written or published such a text and suggested that the State Agency for National Security and the Interior Ministry may have an idea who is behind it.

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Capital says the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) risks going the way of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), reduced to an appendage of Progressive Bulgaria. The analysis says Radev’s formation is drawing in former BSP voters, officials, local branches and small left-wing groups after BSP failed to enter Parliament.

Capital adds that BSP leader Krum Zarkov is expected to meet left-wing mayors and municipal council chairs on May 12, 2026 amid fears that many of them may move toward Progressive Bulgaria before next year’s local elections. Capital notes that the Novi Pazar structure has already left the party and that BSP faces financial pressure after its election result left the coalition below the subsidy threshold.

ECONOMY AND FINANCE

Mediapool.bg writes that a parliamentary hearing of Caretaker Minister of Finance Georgi Klisurski turned into a clash between Progressive Bulgaria and the outgoing caretaker cabinet over whether the state of the budget is adequate or catastrophic. Klisurski says the budget is in adequate condition, the fiscal reserve stood at EUR 6.8 billion at the end of April, and there is no risk to pensions and salaries.

The daily adds that the deficit was EUR 1.75 billion at the end of April, while 2026 debt maturities total EUR 1.4 billion, of which EUR 900 million has already been secured. Progressive Bulgaria’s Konstantin Prodanov says the situation is an almost unsolvable equation, while CC Chair Assen Vassilev says he sees no drama but much work ahead.

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Nova TV reported that a poll by the Myara polling agency shows Bulgarians see the swift adoption of the state budget as the new government’s top priority. Measures against speculative price hikes rank second, followed by an overhaul of the previous political model.

The poll was conducted by telephone between May 4 and May 7, 2026, among 800 adults, with a margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points. Budget adoption was cited by 56.8% of respondents, measures against price increases by 50.1%, a revision of the corruption model by 35.4%, judicial reform by 31%, and the fight against oligarchic dependencies by 20.2%. A total of 63.5% of respondents said the latest elections were fairer than previous ones.

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Capital reports, citing an interview with Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for European Funding Maria Nedina, that the European Commission has given Bulgaria a chance to avoid forfeiting EUR 401 million tied to anti-corruption reforms under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. Bulgaria has received more than EUR 3 billion under the plan, but EUR 214 million from the second payment and EUR 153 million from the third remain linked to anti-corruption and judicial reforms.

Capital adds that about EUR 2.9 billion could still be disbursed if reforms and investments are completed by the August 31, 2026, deadline. Nedina says reforms of Bulgarian Energy Holding and the water supply and sewerage sector are among the most difficult, with a potential financial impact of about EUR 400 million each if they are not implemented.

Capital says in a commentary that renegotiating the Recovery and Resilience Plan has become the first task of almost every Bulgarian cabinet since 2020. Capital says the plan, originally designed for post-pandemic recovery, has turned into a drawn-out fiscal and political exercise rather than a completed transformation programme.

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24 Chasa reports that Lukoil Neftochim Burgas ended 2025 with revenue of BGN 5.812 billion, down from BGN 9.127 billion a year earlier. The decline of BGN 3.314 billion, or 36.3%, was mainly due to lower sales, with petrol revenue falling from BGN 2.433 billion to BGN 1.502 billion and diesel revenue from BGN 4.437 billion to BGN 2.891 billion.

The daily adds that the company remained in the red, with its net loss widening to BGN 399.991 million from BGN 212.667 million in 2024. Export revenue fell to BGN 1.874 billion from BGN 4.054 billion after the fuel export ban in autumn 2025, while current liabilities increased, including BGN 1.113 billion in loans.

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bTV reported that Unit 5 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (K-NPP) will be shut down on May 9, 2026, for planned annual maintenance and refuelling. The work needed to ensure safe and reliable operation during the next fuel cycle will continue until mid-June.

bTV adds that RWFA fuel assemblies produced by Westinghouse will be loaded into the reactor for the third time, continuing the phased transition to new nuclear fuel that began in spring 2024. The plant says Bulgaria is the first EU country to have implemented nuclear fuel diversification for a VVER-1000 reactor in practice.

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Mediapool.bg reports that Austrian-Romanian energy group OMV Petrom is joining the oil and gas exploration project in Block 1-26 Han Tervel in the Bulgarian Black Sea. Shell Exploration and Production (96) B.V. will transfer a 25% stake to OMV Petrom E&P Bulgaria SRL, while retaining 75%.

The site adds that Caretaker Energy Minister Traicho Traikov has been authorized to sign the additional agreement within one month. The five-year permit covers about 4,000 sq km in the southern Bulgarian Black Sea, with 3D seismic data acquisition and analysis listed as the next focus of exploration work.

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BNT reported that a national protest by transport companies planned in Sofia was postponed until next week because of the new government’s swearing-in ceremony. Carriers say their demands remain unchanged and include state support over high fuel prices and the sharp rise in compulsory third-party liability insurance.

Yordan Arabadzhiev says premiums now range from EUR 3,000 to EUR 7,000 and that the sector suspects cartel practices. “At the moment, the state support received by the freight transport business is EUR 0,” Arabadzhiev said. He added that EUR 50 million in state aid and a deferral of leasing payments had been promised but not activated, while about 20% of companies have halted operations.

JUSTICE

Dnevnik reports that Sega.bg writes about a letter from Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Caretaker Minister of Justice Andrey Yankulov urging Eurojust not to appoint prosecutor Liliya Karieva as a national expert in Bulgaria’s bureau in The Hague. Yankulov says there were serious irregularities in the national selection procedure.

The daily adds that Karieva was selected by acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov and that the Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council accepted his proposal. Yankulov’s position is that the selection was made by an illegitimate Prosecutor General.

SOCIETY

Dnevnik writes that nearly half of Bulgarians, 47%, describe the public administration as complex and cumbersome, while 27% say its staff lack sufficient skills, according to a Eurobarometer survey carried out in late July and early August 2025 and published recently.

Dnevnik adds that 57% of Bulgarians fully agree, and another 21% tend to agree, that the administration repeatedly asks citizens to provide the same personal data. Business responses are more positive, with 44% of Bulgarian entrepreneurs saying they are very satisfied or satisfied with their interaction with the administration.

Capital writes that open data from state registers can show who makes decisions, where public money goes, who wins public procurement contracts, and why the same problems recur. The article says the caretaker cabinet opened datasets in sectors with major public resources and public interest, including roads, municipal projects, agricultural subsidies, energy, water, ecology and procurement.

Capital adds that the Ministry of Electronic Governance has released for public consultation a draft Data Management Strategy 2026-2030, which remains for approval by the new Radev cabinet. Open-data activist Boyan Yurukov says the caretaker cabinet has raised the bar for data quality and visualization, while Martin Atanasov says facts can turn suspicion into verification and pressure.

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24 Chasa reports that the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime shut down four websites selling counterfeit medicines as part of international Operation Pangea 18. Caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev said Bulgarian cybercrime experts took part in an online sweep conducted in 90 countries between March 10, 2026, and March 23, 2026.

The daily adds that around 5,700 websites, social media pages, channels and bots were taken down worldwide, with nearly 6.5 million doses of counterfeit or unverified medicines seized. The confiscated products were worth more than USD 15.5 million, nearly 270 people were arrested, and an illegal medicine factory was discovered in Bulgaria. Dechev also confirmed that Interior Ministry officers are no longer part of Peevski’s security detail.

HEALTHCARE

Nova TV reported that new telemedicine rules effectively end informal consultations with general practitioners by phone and social media. Health authorities published Bulgaria’s first telemedicine ordinance days before the change of government, making remote examinations subject to a formal procedure.

Nikolay Hristov, chair of the Association of General Practitioners in Varna, said the ordinance is cumbersome, requires significant investment in complex equipment and makes access to doctors more difficult. He added that the regulation does not address payment for this type of service and conflicts with another ordinance under which remote consultations are part of doctors’ obligations.

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Dnevnik reports that the cabinet approved EUR 1 million for a national home-visiting care model for pregnant women and families with children up to the age of 2. The Health Ministry plans regular home visits by nurses and midwives to support parents, help build childcare skills and monitor early signs of developmental difficulties.

The daily notes that home-visiting care in Bulgaria has so far been limited mainly to the postnatal period and to children up to 6 months old. The 2026 funding is intended to build a sustainable support mechanism for families during the most important early stage of a child’s development.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

24 Chasa reports that President Iliana Iotova met ambassadors who speak Bulgarian at a meeting hosted by Austrian Ambassador Andrea Ikic-Bohm and Slovenian Ambassador Natasha Bergel. They discussed Bulgaria’s political situation, the formation of a regular government and citizens’ expectations for a stable and secure state.

The daily adds that the talks covered current European policies for dealing with successive crises, the European integration of the Western Balkans, and Europe’s limited role on the global stage in negotiations on the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. The need to strengthen diplomacy was also discussed.

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Capital writes that Taraclia in Moldova, home to a large Bulgarian minority, is caught between Bulgarian identity, Russian influence, economic hardship and fear of a European future. The town has nearly 12,000 residents, around 90% of them ethnic Bulgarians, while the wider district has about 45,000 people.

Capital adds that local elections in May will be important after Mayor Vyacheslav Lupov resigned in December. The article says Taraclia remains culturally Bulgarian but sceptical of EU integration: in Moldova’s referendum, the district was among the strongest opponents of EU membership, and fewer than 350 people voted there in Bulgaria’s April 19, 2026, elections, mainly for Progressive Bulgaria and Vazrazhdane.

DEFENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Capital reports, citing an interview with Deputy Innovation Minister Borislav Bankov, that Bulgaria is trying to move from the back row of NATO to a more active role in the alliance’s defence innovation ecosystem. The focus is on dual-use technologies, with Sofia Tech Park nominated as an accelerator in NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, DIANA.

Capital adds that Bulgaria currently has four DIANA-accredited test centres: the GATE Institute, the Defence Institute, the Naval Academy in Varna and Sofia Tech Park. Approval of the Sofia Tech Park accelerator is expected by June, and it could open on January 1, 2027.

Capital notes that DIANA selected 150 companies for 2026 from more than 3,680 applications, with no Bulgarian company among them this year, although Bulgarian firms have had previous successes. Bankov said HEMUS 2026 in Plovdiv will include a special startup track, a kind of mini-DIANA in Bulgaria, designed to prepare companies for NATO-level applications.