site.btaMedia Review: May 16

OVERVIEW

All media report on the ongoing protests held by surface transport workers in Sofia.

EURO AREA MEMBERSHIP

In an interview for Mediapool.bg, former deputy prime minister, former foreign affairs minister and current head of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Ivaylo Kalfin, said that fears that Bulgaria will lose its sovereignty by adopting the euro are unfounded, since the country really lost that in 1997 and 1998, when it "ruined its own economy and its own currency". He pointed to Rumen Gechev, economy minister under Zhan Videnov's cabinet (from 1995 to 1997), as one of the people responsible for the collapse of the national economy. Kalfin said: "In recent days, I have been seeing people like Rumen Gechev, who practically eliminated the lev with their economic policy and now complain about the euro area. In fact, Bulgaria was in the worst position then. We entered the EU with an economic productivity of about 35 to 36% of the European average, which means that three Bulgarians were needed to produce what one European was producing. Now we are catching up and we are slightly above 50%, although we can do better. But obviously the income, the freedom to travel and the job opportunities for Bulgarians are much better than they were 18 years ago. This is largely due to the European Union. The fact that Bulgaria can benefit a lot more from this membership is a separate matter."

Kalfin suggested that there are political reasons behind President Rumen Radev's proposed referendum on whether Bulgaria should join the euro area in 2026. The expert argued that Bulgaria should look forward to adopting the common European currency, since today, Bulgaria's currency, the lev, is fully pegged to the euro. "It is a different denomination of the euro used in Bulgaria. But at the moment, Bulgaria has absolutely no involvement in euro-related decision-making. These decisions are taken by the European Central Bank and the Council of Finance Ministers of the euro area states. Since we are not involved in them, someone else is managing our currency. And by joining the euro area, [Bulgaria] will have a stake in its governance. That, to me, is the simplest and most convincing argument," the expert concluded.

Asked about the mass fear of inflation, Kalfin pointed out that inflation rates in countries in the eurozone are significantly lower compared to other countries. He added: "There is likely to be a one-off speculation effect associated with sellers and traders trying to take advantage of the change, even though prices will be quoted in both currencies, but that is a different thing. In this case, it is very important that watchdogs do their job. But one thing is very important and should be known. At the moment, prices are also rising in leva. So whether we use the euro or the lev, inflation is a fact, and price increases should not be attributed to the euro. I expect prices to settle down after that."

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In an interview for Trud, political analyst Toncho Kraevsky suggests: "When two in three do not agree [that Bulgaria should join the euro area], this is a powder keg on which the entire political class is sitting. How long do you think it will be before the next politician comes out of the consensus and tries to light the fuse for the others?"

He listed Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria; GERB; the Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning; Democracy, Rights and Freedoms; BSP; and There Is Such a People as the political forces that are currently members of the "urban right" and would likely support Bulgaria entering the eurozone. The analyst continued: "This community could start from a base of 1,000,000 votes, and the media would be on their side. Rumen Radev himself is aware that he would not have led the 'against' campaign because he is actually proposing a referendum but not taking a position on the matter. In this case, only [Vazrazhdane leader] Kostadin Kostadinov remains the leader of 'No' campaign. Despite the polls, which I trust, I am not at all sure that the result in the real vote would be 60 to 40 against. The battle would have been very even, and the 'democratic community' could have won it. Then, with one blow, the eurozone issue would have been closed forever, and their enemies, Rumen Radev and Kostadin Kostadinov, would have suffered a heavy and irreparable defeat. In the worst case, the euro would have lost by a small margin (which would have been a moral victory for the democratic community) and been postponed for only one year. So, strategically, the government's move was not the most far-sighted. I think more than anything they wanted to humiliate Radev immediately and did not think longer term."

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An op-ed in Capital comments on a Facebook post made on Tuesday by former presidential adviser Slavi Vassilev that criticized National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova for rebuffing President Radev's proposed referendum. The op-ed reads: "Kiselova's decision may be controversial from a formal point of view, but in substance it is fully justified - by texts in the constitution and in laws, including decisions of the Constitutional Court. Radev's initiative on the other hand makes no permissible sense other than political intrigue."

ENERGY

In an interview given for Bulgarian National Television's morning programme, former energy minister Rossen Hristov insisted that the agreement between Bulgaria's state-owned natural gas supplier Bulgargaz and the Turkish energy giant BOTAS was the only possible move considering that Bulgaria was looking to bring non-Russian gas.

After a hearing in Parliament that took place on Thursday, Hristov was adamant: "[The agreement] is neither disadvantageous nor unprofitable. It is profitable and cost-effective and usable considering the situation in 2022, when we were told explicitly: 'You must supply non-Russian gas.' I mean, there were protests in front of the Ministry, [the civic movement] BOEC stood there for three months and slept in front, a million speeches of all politicians and from the National Assembly and in all media, shirts were torn, all in an attempt to have us not finance the war with Ukraine, because any gas we buy from Russia would fund the front against Ukraine. [...] The only option we have available to bring in sufficient quantities of non-Russian gas is via Turkiye, because via Greece it is impossible with a single terminal. We do not buy gas from Turkiye, we just bought access to their terminals, so that we can bring in gas from any producer that guarantees it is not Russian. We are talking about liquefied gas. That has been secured."

Hristov added that he did not sign the agreement, since the state does not sign trade agreements. He said that he attended the signing, which was done by then CEO of Bulgargaz, Deniza Slateva, on behalf of the Bulgarian side.

TRANSPORT

In an interview for Nova TV on Friday morning, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev commented on the third consecutive day of strikes held by Sofia's surface transport workers. Terziev said that he sees no way of meeting the protesters' demands and added: "It is not a matter of stubbornness. We have invited the trade unions to a meeting on Monday. I have told them to send me their calculations to see if we have a reason to talk today [on Friday]." According to the Mayor, if the requested monthly wage increase of BGN 300 comes out of the capital programme, which currently has BGN 40 to 50 million, half of the planned new kindergartens in Sofia could not be built. He added that taking money out of the programme is not an option, since much of the funds came from loans that are earmarked for specific purposes. Terziev concluded: "The protesters' demands are unreasonable. I do not know what you do when you have an unreasonable demand on the table for a lot of money that cannot be obtained from anywhere."

24 Chasa quotes GERB leader Boyko Borissov who accused Terziev of ineptitude. Borissov rejected allusions to his party standing behind the transport workers' protests.

In an op-ed published by 24 Chasa, Stoicho Katsarov, member of the Management Board of the Center for Protection of the Rights in Healthcare, said that the protesters will be getting paid illegally during their protest. The op-ed reads:

"I thought that the workers of the metropolitan public transport were on strike and that's why the transport is not working. Turns out it was not a strike, but a protest. Except that these are two completely different things. During a protest, you work, and in off-hours, if you protest against the mayor, you go to City Hall and chant.

"If you want to stop working, you have to declare a strike. On strike, workers do not go to work, do not get paid and cannot be fired.

"It appears that Metropolitan Public Transport workers will get paid, despite not going to work and not having called a strike. If that is indeed the case, it is illegal and unfair.

"The making of unenforceable demands, the refusal to negotiate and the use of illegal forms of protest, creates the suspicion that there are other agendas behind union demands. The ardent support and direct involvement in the organization of the protests by representatives of three political parties outlines what these goals might be."

Katsarov concludes that while he cannot judge whether the workers' demands for wage increases are justified, the workers would win his sympathy if they rid themselves of political patronage and acted legally.

Danko Kalapish, Regional Chair of the Sofia branch of the Union of Employers in the Public Education System (SRSNPB), said in a press release: "Thousands of teachers and non-teaching staff are struggling to get to their jobs. Children's right to education and adults' right to access to the workplace is restricted. Matriculation exams are due. The school year is coming to an end. The future of thousands of children and families is at stake." Kalapish urged the protesters not to "steal the future of the children".

INFRASTRUCTURE

An article in Capital reports that back in 2019, the Road Infrastructure Agency signed a contract worth BGN 570 million with Avtomagistrali (a state institution responsible for maintaining the country's motorways) to address and reinforce areas affected by landslides, collapses, and similar issues along the roads. Since then, only three sites have been processed until 2024. The article continues: "In the last year, there has not been a single new site completed, but over BGN 241 million were paid. These new details confirm the old conclusions: this contract does not seem to have been intended to get work done, but to transfer sums to private contractors in the form of interest-free loans. It is also evident that it was not well planned, which is why no real construction can start." The bottom line is, BGN 241 million has been paid as advanced payment, most of which to only three companies, and only three projects have been completed so far.

BALKANS

An article in Capital reports that a ferry may start operating between the Bulgarian city of Burgas and Istanbul in the summer. The implementation of the project depends on the Turkish operator Istanbul Fast Ferries. According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport, the threat that may jeopardize the project is potential unfavourable weather conditions in the Black Sea region in the autumn and winter.