site.btaMedia Review: April 30

POLITICS

On bTV's morning show, former deputy prime minister Veselin Metodiev commented on the global geopolitical situation and local political processes. "The topic that really deserves a lot of attention is the so-called Bulgarian national interest, because very often this concept is used. Where does this thing come from for us, Bulgarians, and for Europe?" he said. Metodiev explained that the origin of the concept comes from the 19th century, when nation states came out against empires, but was abandoned after World War II, when Western Europe understood that national interest should not be reduced to a territorial one. "France and Germany agreed to monitor each other's military activities, made the common market and set a new goal, a new great interest - that is quality and standard of living. And they achieved it - they made what today we call the European Union." The former deputy prime minister and education minister pointed out that recently there has been a return of territorial topics, giving the example of US President Donald Trump's ambitions to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal. He stressed Bulgaria's place in the family of modern nations that pursue not national interest but the quest for a higher standard of living: "For example, the news of joining the eurozone, that is part of this interest - the quality of life to be even better."

***

On Bulgarian National Television's morning show, political scientists Petar Cholakov and Stoycho Stoychev discussed Bulgarian domestic politics against the backdrop of the international situation. Stoychev highlighted that when it comes to international issues, the positions of Bulgarian politicians are similar - they talk about unity, peace, progress, etc. According to him, they experience severe discomfort when they are expected to take sides. Cholakov added that several Bulgarian politicians in recent years have been trying to play on both fronts - with the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin, while balancing with Brussels and the European Union on the other side. The problem is that the concept of "Euro-Atlanticism" lost its meaning, he stressed. "Bowing to one, bowing to the other, I don't think we can seriously talk about an independent policy." Cholakov said Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski is increasingly becoming Bulgaria's de facto prime minister and expects Washington's influence to increase.

ECONOMY

Mediapool writes that Bulgaria is negotiating with the European Commission for a postponement of the deadline for Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 payments deadline until 2026 in an attempt to avoid losing BGN 1.2 billion of European funding. Officially, the last possible deadline for the payment of these funds expired on December 31, 2024. A Mediapool check showed that according to official State Agriculture Fund figures, 78.89% of the funds offered by Brussels have been disbursed. It is the remaining 20% of the money that will be lost if the EC rejects the Bulgarian request. Bulgaria insisted on the postponement on the grounds that due to the economic crisis, the COVID pandemic and Russia's subsequent war against Ukraine, farmers and processors are experiencing difficulties in implementing their investment projects. Mediapool quotes the specialized agrarian outlet Sinor.bg, which shares the position of the State Agriculture Fund: in the risk-analysis made, experts found that "many of the projects planned to be completed at the end of the calendar year 2024 did not submit a request for payment due to the inability to implement their projects after the worsened global economic situation and because of the significant increase in prices of raw materials necessary for the production of agricultural products (fertilizers, machinery, energy, feed) as a result of the war in Ukraine." The article highlights that the State Agriculture Fund actively continues to approve projects. This is being done without clarity as to whether the EC will actually grant the extension until New Year.

***

Trud features an interview with former social policy minister Lydia Shouleva on the pension system in the country. The Government has obliged five ministries to write a roadmap for a new pension model, which should lead to a healthier and more predictable pension system. According to Shouleva, this should be done because 25 years after the adoption of the pension model, some distortions of the originally conceived model have accumulated and it would be good if they were overcome. "When the young people are more than the old, larger pensions can be paid," she noted. Shouleva stressed that the average age in the country is over 45 and people of working age are too few. Whatever social security burden is put on the working citizens, there can hardly be a large increase in pensions for the elderly, she added. "The demographic crisis cannot guarantee high pensions," the former minister underlined.

***

In an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), Boyan Rashev, an expert in energy, resource and environmental management, commented on the Bulgarian electricity balance. "In recent times there has been investment mainly in solar capacity. There has been practically no new wind capacities built in recent years. In a system that needs diversification, when you invest in only one thing that is uncontrollable, you are obviously going to have problems," he said. "The high penetration of solar and wind on a grid creates problems - first with huge spikes in generation that come out of nowhere, second with huge drops in generation. Half of the solar generation is being dumped and not allowed on the grid to avoid a replication of what happened in Spain," Rashev explained. In his view, the only perfect energy source is gas-fired power plants because there is complete control. "The three units of the big thermal power plants are working continuously, it's not a coincidence that they don't stop - so that the system can respond in case of such a problem." Rashev predicted that there will be no adequate reaction in the EU to what happened in Spain. "If something like this happens in the middle of winter - you can imagine what will happen, how many people will die. The future is to have an energy mix that is manageable. Green energy cannot be dominant because you have no control," he argued. BNR's correspondent in Spain Dimitar Draganov described the situation in the country, which was hit by a major power outage: "Spain is a world leader in renewable electricity production. The country is not expected to shift sharply to generation from traditional sources. The government stresses that the problem is not green energy. The grid operator has warned of the risk of serious outages due to an increase in renewables. Experts say mass production with these technologies is not a problem if adjustments are made."

***

Telegraph has an interview with former Bulgarian Food Safety Agency deputy head Angel Mavrovski, according to whom the new Bulgarian hybrid "Black Angel", a pig breed based on the East Balkan swine, has caused a real furore among EU countries. Although its breeding in Bulgaria is at the very beginning, countries known for their pig breeding traditions, such as Romania, Poland and Germany, are already making major requests to buy piglets. One of the main reasons is the unique taste and health qualities of the Black Angel, which carries the best of the DNA of the Eastern Balkan swine. Scientists have found that the meat contains large amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, is tender but has also retained much of the flavour of the almost wild black swine. According to the scientists, the qualities of this pig's meat are even superior to those of the world-famous Iberian pig. Japanese scientists have found that the East Balkan swine can be a successful organ donor for humans.

***

Nova Television broadcast an interview with the head of National Statistical Institute's Demographic and Social Statistics Directorate, Magdalena Kostova. She said that there is nothing surprising in the fact that Bulgaria's population continues to decline, as this is a trend that has been going on for 30 years. "This fact is due to negative natural growth. It is offset a little by mechanical growth - more people have come to live in Bulgaria than have left it. This growth includes mostly citizens from third countries, while less than a third are Bulgarians who return to the country," Kostova added. She pointed out that the birth rate is declining and added that demographic developments follow the economic and financial situation in the country. The expert also listed other contributing factors such as infrastructure, education, healthcare, social services, etc.

EARTHQUAKES

24 Chasa features an interview with geophysicist and seismologist Boyko Rangelov about the rise in the number of large-magnitude earthquakes. "In Turkiye, an eastern segment of the North Anatolian Rift ruptured and produced a 6.2 Richter magnitude quake. Whether the North Anatolian Rift will continue with its activity can only be guessed at for now. By all indications, the seismic process seems to be heading towards subsidence," he said. The seismologist explained that due to the constant westward movement of the Asia Minor plate, new stresses are periodically accumulated that require new tremors to release them and this turns the North Anatolian Rift into a "permanent earthquake machine." The solution is to build more robustly and further away from the fault line, he stressed. Rangelov also called for measures to be taken for the Bulgarian earthquake hotspots in Sofia, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Plovdiv, Shabla-Kaliakra and Kresna. "They can generate tremors with a magnitude above 7. They have not done so for 100 years."