site.btaMedia Review: June 25

CONTINUE THE CHANGE PERSONNEL STRUGGLES IN SOFIA

Trud dedicates its front page to a corruption investigation in Sofia Мunicipality. Since Tuesday, the prosecution service and the Counter-Corruption Commission are conducting searches in the European Policies, International Activities and Tourism Department of the Municipality, including in Deputy Mayor Nikola Barbutov’s office. Trud cites unofficial statements from Sofia municipal employees that the reason for the investigation is accusations by resigned Mladost and Lyulin borough Mayors Ivaylo Kukurin and Georgi Todorov, and two other Municipal Council members. In a press conference on Monday, Kukurin stated that he has been subject to corruption in public procurement procedures. Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said he will not allow abuse of public funds, writes the paper. He issued an order for an internal audit of all public procurement and contracts in the Mladost and Lyulin boroughs.

24 Chasa also covers the story. “Democratic Bulgaria (DB) with pressing ultimatum Continue the Change (CC) – to take a good look at their personnel“, the title reads. It quotes Democratic Bulgaria Co-Chair Ivaylo Mirchev as saying that problems like that only exist with Continue the Change, and DB’s mayors and municipal council member are elected under strict procedures.

Telegraph also reports Democratic Bulgaria’s “concerns and criticism of CC personnel policy”. CC Co-Chair Assen Vassilev said that „mistakes happen in every young party’s personnel policy”.

Duma dedicates its front page to the story, along with a Bulgarian Socialist Party statement on the latest developments in the Middle East.

On Nova Television's morning show, Democratic Bulgaria Co-Chair Ivaylo Mirchev stressed that there is no rift in relations in the CC-DB coalition. "We are together. We will be together in the future. There are more causes. I want to make it clear that because now the response of the Counter-Corruption Commission has been remarkable, we want them to respond within 6 hours to every report that we file and conduct searches. And that is the way it should be," the CC-DB MP further commented. Mirchev was adamant that anyone entering the Sofia Municipal City should be aware that economic interests are very strong there. "Sofia's budget is nearly BGN 3 billion. There are dark, and grey, and black economic entities. We should not hold illusions," he said.

On Bulgarian National Television's morning show, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria Deputy Floor Leader and DB Co-Chair Bozhidar Bozhanov said that if DB leaves the coalition, it will be the biggest gift for their opponents. „The fact is that mistakes have clearly been made and we need to take into account with CC colleagues the scale of the problem and to find potential solutions,“ he added.

In an interview for BNR, political scientist Georgi Kiryakov commented on a possible coalition split in Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB). Kiryakov said that there is lack of common objectives between CC and DB and that current conflicts would only deepen their differences, pointing to the corruption allegations of CC Deputy Mayor Nikola Barbutov. Kiryakov suggested that a coalition split can happen in two cases. One would be before the presidential election because the two parties will not be able to agree on a candidate. The other option is during potential snap elections. According to Kiryakov the only thing that can continue to unite the two parties is the idea that divided they would not be as powerful and important in the political scene.

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On bTV's morning show, Sofia's Ilinden borough Mayor Emil Branchevski said that CC Co-Chair Kiril Petkov had threatened him with “spiritual destruction” because he knows the Bulgarian Patriarch personally. "Mr. Kiril Petkov came here to Ilinden borough and tried to put pressure on me not to fulfil my duties during the action to demolish the Roma ghetto. He came in person, self-invited himself, tried to force this demolition to be postponed without any motives," he added. In 2024, Branchevski left Save Sofia, which won the local elections together with CC and DB, and remained in office as an independent mayor. He was removed from office last summer over allegations that he had a company in the UK and was subsequently reinstated by the Supreme Administrative Court.

Also on bTV's morning show, political scientist Georgi Harizanov described Branchevski's comment that Petkov had threatened him with spiritual destruction as ridiculous. According to journalist Stoyana Georgieva, the aim of the Counter-Corruption Commission’s action is to attract media attention. "But in black and white, what do we have - four local government figures, from the CC, coming out and saying that they can no longer tolerate corruption pressure and providing no evidence, and they have not previously referred the matter to either the prosecution service or the Anti-Corruption Commission, much less the party that has been putting this pressure on them. Yesterday this thing was played out in the Municipality and all this is based on unofficial information, we will receive  no official information," she added. However, Georgieva admitted that it is an undeniable fact that there is a breach among the CC personnel and amid such events the most valuable political capital, trust, melts away. Harizanov also noted that the allegations against CC have yet to be proven.

ECONOMY

Telegraph quotes an analysis by Bulgaria's Fiscal Council, according to which the banking and financial sector, industry, energy and tourism are among the sectors that will benefit most from the adoption of the euro in the country. The sectors that will also benefit are public administration, education, health and social services, as well as information technology and telecommunications. For banking, the euro means lower borrowing costs and a more stable currency environment. Both public and private lenders will see reduced interest rates as euro-denominated loans will be close to ECB interest rate levels.

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Duma has an article which states that 95% of German companies in the country are ready to invest in Bulgaria again. The daily quotes results of a poll by the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. However, the data also show declining satisfaction with the country as a place to do business, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises. Firms rating the situation in their own sector as better than in previous years accounted for 22% in 2025 compared to 30% in 2024 and 37% in 2023. Some 27% rated the situation in their own sector as “poor” compared to 24% in 2024 and 9% in 2023, and 51% as “satisfactory” compared to 45% in 2024 and 54% in 2023.

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Trud cites an income inequality analysis made by the Economic and Social Council (ESC) which states that tax benefits for working parents should be increased to minimize gap between poorest and richest people in the country. An up-to-date tax system would create opportunity for young Bulgarian workers and entrepreneurs abroad to return home, according to ESC observations. Analysis of the “grey” economic sector shows that income inequalities are smaller when undeclared profits are taken in consideration, writes the paper.

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24 Chasa dedicates two full pages to a forum, organized by the daily, on the economic conditions in North Bulgaria. It writes that Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Grozdan Karadjov, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and Regional Development Minister Ivan Ivanov promised to prepare a plan to develop the region through concession of large infrastructure projects, unblocking the construction of the Hemus Motorway, more bridges on the Danube, and regular payments under the investment programme for municipalities. „More than 110 mayors, Municipal Council chairs, builders, business representatives had a frank discussion for more than 3 hours about the region where nearly 2.3 million Bulgarians live,” the article reads. The newspaper quotes the Chair of the parliamentary Committee on Regional Policy, Public Works and Local Self-Government, Nikolay Nankov, who argued that the construction of Hemus Motorway will be completed in about 4 years и “will cost twice as much because of the inaction of previous governments– BGN 5 billion.”

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24 Chasa covers the Financing the Stone roundtable, which focused on the Maritsa Iztok coal basin and the possibility for rare-earth element extraction there. Bulgarian Academy of Science Geology Institute research from 2011 and 2013 shows concentrations of yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, and scandium can be seen in various clays in the Maritsa Iztok area. Tellurium, silver, rhenium, beryllium, palladium, wolfram, molybdenum, gallium, copper and zinc were also isolated. Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov said that currently 90% of rare-earth metals are produced by China. EU’s goal is to have at least 10% mined in Europe by 2030 and 15% should be sourced from recycling, said the Energy Minister.

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Telegraph’s lead story reports a lack of lifeguards in seaside resorts. A survey in Varna and Burgas shows that the main reasons why the profession is not in demand are the low salaries and the short working season of only two months. Lifeguards receive salaries of around BGN 2,000. ‘The usual worker at the moment is either a very young boy who has no service commitments yet, or a pensioner over 60 years of age,’ said the head of Bulgarian Red Cross Water Rescue Service, Anton Nalbantov.

NORTH MACEDONIA

Trud writes that North Macedonia’s draft report on progress toward EU accession was adopted by European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET). AFET did not allow the addition of the word "modern" before "North Macedonia’s identity and language", proposed by the European People’s Party, says the daily.

On Nova Television's morning show, Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev (GERB/EPP) commented on the report. He said that over the past few weeks, North Macedonia's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski has spoken of a centuries-old identity and language. In the MEP's words, the majority of North Macedonia’s citizens want European membership. However, he believes that Mickoski is causing disunity and working against the Treaty of Friendship and Good-Neighborliness.

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24 Chasa features an extensive interview with Ljupco Georgievski, former chair of the now-dissolved Ivan Mihailov Cultural Club, who received a one-year suspended sentence with a two-year probation period by a court in Bitola in a case that has drawn attention across the border in Bulgaria. "To be Bulgarian in today's North Macedonia is to be treated as a traitor, an enemy, a second-rate human being. We are subjected to daily harassment by institutions, media and organisations that feed on hatred," Georgievski said. He added that the day of every Bulgarian in the country is a struggle, and children at school are afraid to say that they are Bulgarian because they will immediately be met with hatred from others. “We live in North Korea,” he said. Georgievski explained that all nationalities other than Bulgarians have their own programmes on state television. "Even the private TV stations do not run Bulgarian channels. There used to be one with pop-folk music, but they cut it off after a girl from Strumica came out and said she wanted to be a singer like Gloria when she grew up," said Georgievski.

BULGARIAN NATIONAL TELEVISION LEADERSHIP

Duma reports that the Supreme Administrative Court has annulled a decision of the Sofia Region Court in relation to the procedure for the selection of Bulgarian National Television's (BNT) director general. “In practice [BNT's acting Director General] Emil Koshlukov gets more time to be the national broadcaster's Director General, even though his term expired three years ago,” the article reads. The Council for Electronic Media (CEM) is to organize a fresh competition to select the director of the broadcaster. At three consecutive CEM meetings, none of the candidates for the position garnered the necessary three votes.

FOOD WASTE

Telegraph writes that Bulgaria disposes some 600,000 tons of food a year. It comes to a total of 86 to 93 kg per person, according to Eurostat data. In an interview with the daily, University of National and World Economy Assoc. Prof. Nina Tipova shared results of her research on food waste. According to her observations in student canteens, the food thrown away is mostly bread, side dishes and vegetables, while the protein in meals is consumed - meat, fish, cheese. However, Bulgarian students throw away less food than their US counterparts, she is adamant. According to her, it is the taste of the dish that matters, not considerations of how healthy it is.