site.btaMedia Review: August 31

No single topic dominates Monday's news media.

POLITICS

Interviewed on Bulgarian National Radio, sociologist Parvan Simeonov explained the limited number of potential candidates for the upcoming presidential elections by pointing to “the consolidation of the political landscape and the strong candidacy of Iliana Iotova.“ “Most political actors are holding back as they look for the best formula. Continue the Change (CC) and Democratic Bulgaria (DB) are also holding off, as is GERB, which has yet to decide whether it will field a candidate. At this point, it appears that [GERB leader Boyko] Borissov does not have an option he can be confident would make it to a runoff. Failing to reach the runoff would be another setback for the party,” Simeonov noted. He also commented on Andrey Gurov, who has been floated by the right-wing opposition as a potential candidate. “If he reaches the runoff in the current situation, it would further reinforce the perception in Bulgaria that the party system is dominated by Progressive Bulgaria and the democratic opposition. In other words, the opposition would be seen primarily as CC and DB, rather than GERB,” the sociologist added. 

Speaking at GERB’s national assembly on Sunday about the upcoming presidential elections, Borissov said: “GERB is not an Olympic organization. It is not an Olympic committee where we take part simply for the sake of participating. We will take part where we should come first.”

In a commentary in Trud, Petyo Blaskov argued that Borissov’s remarks amounted to a “refusal to compete,” describing this as “a major step toward stripping any political party of its identity.“ “Refusing to take part in elections runs counter to the very essence of a political party,” he noted.

*

24 Chasa reports that Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov has been finally convicted of discrimination and incitement to hatred against Solomon Passy. The daily cites a Facebook post by the former foreign minister’s wife, who says that “the latest court ruling confirms that Vazrazhdane and Kostadinov are deliberately provoking and fueling malign processes on social media,“ adding that the comments under their posts contain anti-Semitic stereotypes and calls for violence. In March 2025, the Commission for Protection against Discrimination concluded that, through posts on Facebook and YouTube, Kostadinov and his party had carried out discrimination in the form of harassment and incitement to discrimination against Solomon Passy on ethnic grounds. The Commission’s decision was challenged in court by both Kostadinov and Passy, as not all of the allegations in Passy’s complaint had been found proven. Ultimately, two levels of court upheld the Commission’s decision. 24 Chasa adds that the final decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of August 3 found that Kostadinov had incited hatred against Passy, but that he had not harassed him because of his ethnic background.

ECONOMY

Nova TV quotes the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association as saying that this year’s summer season saw between five percent and seven percent fewer tourists and up to a 25% decline in revenue. The industry attributes the weaker season to fewer flights, fewer visitors from neighbouring countries, and weaker demand from some markets because of wars and insecurity. Varna Association of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers Chair Pavlin Kosev said turnover was definitely lower than last year and that hotels, restaurants and bars had all been affected.

*

Mediapool.bg reports that one in ten newly sold cars in Bulgaria is now electric, reflecting record growth in recent years. By early August 2026, Bulgaria had 36,515 registered electric vehicles (EVs), up from 22,441 in July 2025. Nevertheless, EVs still account for only about 1.1% of the country’s more than 3.3 million registered cars. Among new-car sales, the share of fully electric vehicles has reached about 7.6%, according to the media outlet.

*

24 Chasa writes that, for the first time in the history of Bulgaria’s pension system, more than four million Bulgarians will have the right to choose how their pension savings are managed. This will become possible following amendments to the Social Insurance Code, which introduce multi-funds in supplementary retirement insurance as of January 1, 2027. From September 1 through the end of November, insured individuals will be able to choose among three sub-funds: dynamic, balanced, and conservative.

AGRICULTURE

Speaking on bTV, several vineyard owners near Pleven said that grape growers are ready to protest because they are unable to sell their grapes this year. The harvest is good, but there is no market for it. According to industry representatives, the main problems are the lack of subsidies and imports of grapes and wine from neighbouring countries, whose grape growers receive government support. One grower said the sector has been seriously and systematically neglected. According to him, producers are being forced to cope not only with climate change, drought, and hailstorms but also with increasingly difficult market conditions. Grape growers are calling on the government to take measures to protect the sector and ensure a more level playing field for Bulgarian producers. 

JUSTICE

Dnevnik.bg writes that Bulgaria is among the European countries where probation and other non-custodial sanctions are used relatively infrequently. As of the end of January 2025, 48 people per 100,000 inhabitants were under the supervision of probation services in the country, which amounts to less than one-third of the European median of 154. The figures come from the Council of Europe’s annual SPACE II statistics, which compare the use of probation and other measures that allow convicted offenders to remain in the community rather than be sent to prison. The report covers 48 probation services across 46 Council of Europe member states. Bulgaria’s relatively low rate of probation use highlights the need to examine both judicial practice and the capacity of the probation system itself: whether courts are making sufficient use of community-based sanctions and whether probation services have the programmes and resources needed to provide a genuine alternative to imprisonment.

*

Sega.bg has a story about a European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) investigation into a nearly EUR 20 million VAT fraud scheme in Germany involving the fictitious cross-border sale of wireless earbuds. The scheme allegedly used shell companies across several EU Member States to evade VAT and obtain fraudulent tax refunds. Bulgaria is linked to the case through Bulgarian-registered companies, which allegedly formed part of the fictitious supply chains. The investigation is being handled by the EPPO in Munich. Arrests took place in the Czech Republic, while assets were seized in the Czech Republic, Germany and Lithuania, the media outlet adds.

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Mediapool.bg reports that “the Road Infrastructure Agency has cancelled the largest public procurement in the sector, covering major road rehabilitation works worth more than EUR 1.1 billion.” The tender was launched under the caretaker government of Dimitar Glavchev in 2024. Describing it as one of the most controversial public procurement procedures in the road sector, the media outlet added that it was unprecedented because, for the first time in the history of the Road Infrastructure Agency, a tender was launched for the major rehabilitation of roads based on framework agreements, with no transparency or accountability as to which company would be responsible for repairing a particular road section. The decision to terminate the procedure fulfils a commitment made by Regional Development and Public Works Minister Ivan Shishkov. The new Road Infrastructure Agency management identified six irregularities in the tender, including requirements concerning professional experience and turnover, the rules for bids that appeared unusually favourable, and discrepancies between the estimated values and the scope of the work. 

CUSTOMS

National Customs Agency Deputy Director General Stefan Bakalov spoke on Bulgarian National Television's morning programme about the changing drug market in Bulgaria, the technologies being used to detect drug shipments, and the agency’s ongoing staffing challenges. He pointed to the growing prevalence of synthetic drugs, particularly fentanyl, and increasingly sophisticated trafficking methods. More than 3,000 drug shipments have been intercepted under Operation Hydra, while the agency’s new AI system has identified over 1,000 suspicious shipments. Bakalov also noted that around 20% of anti-drug staff have left in the past two years, citing low pay as the main reason.