site.btaMedia Review: July 1

JULY MORNING

Hundreds of people gathered in the village of Kamen Bryag on the northern Black Sea coast, on other beaches, and throughout the country to welcome the sun on July 1 - July Morning, bTV reports.

The tradition, known as Dzhulaya [meaning The July – ed.], named after the famous 1971 song July Morning by Uriah Heep, is a festive hippie gathering in Bulgaria that originated in the mid-1980s.

Every year at sunrise on July 1, large groups of people gather along the Black Sea coast and in other parts of the country to welcome the sun rising over the sea.

July Morning is unique to Bulgaria because of the nature of its origins. It is said to have started as a protest against the communist rule, expressed in the symbolism of the song of the same name by Uriah Heep.

The symbolic greeting of the sunrise was like welcoming a new beginning and a better future for the original participants.

POLITICS

Dnevnik runs an analysis by the Economist Intelligence Unit, according to which it currently appears that Rosen Zhelyazkov's government will not serve its full term because it is a minority cabinet dependent on Ahmed Dogan's Alliance for Rights and Freedoms. Delyan Peevski’s MRF – New Beginning is trying to replace them in the ruling alliance, but it is unclear whether the coalition partners will accept this. By the end of 2025, political instability in Bulgaria will escalate.

Once again, there is an expectation that joining the eurozone could remove the main incentive holding together the ruling GERB-BSP-TISP coalition, the authors write, adding that early elections in 2026 would delay a significant portion of EU funding, as political instability is likely to halt the necessary reforms. Judicial reforms, highlighted by the EU as a priority, will be delayed, especially in relation to strengthening the independence of the judiciary and the Supreme Court.

The European Commission will continue to pressure Bulgaria to show visible improvement, the forecast adds. Although Bulgaria is a member of the EU, its administrative and legal systems are inefficient and corrupt. The Commission's main concerns relate to corruption, organized crime, and a weak judicial system, which will continue to hamper political and institutional effectiveness. Judicial reforms are a condition for the release of funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Economist Intelligence Unit points out.

ECONOMY

The price of electricity as of July 1 is expected to increase by 4.6%, and the price of heating energy by 4.5%, Turd reports, quoting a statement by Plamen Mladenovski, Chairman of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC).

According to him, the increase corresponds to the inflation rate and is comparable to the increases in previous years. Mladenovski emphasized that if the market were fully liberalized – both wholesale and retail – the price increase for domestic consumers would reach about 70%.

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Ruse ranks first among the country's large cities with over 120,000 inhabitants in the ranking for the fastest overall increase in housing prices in the first quarter of the year, after Varna took first place in the previous quarter, and before that, Stara Zagora was at the top of the ranking, Trud reports, citing data from the National Statistical Institute. In Q1 of 2025, prices of apartments and houses in Ruse were 25.4% higher than in the same period last year.

The increase in property prices in the other five large cities with over 120,000 inhabitants is also significant. The rise in housing prices in Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv is very similar. This shows that demand for property is growing in all major cities in Bulgaria.

Varna ranks second in terms of overall price increases for houses and apartments, with an increase of 18.4% for the year, followed by Plovdiv (17.9%), Sofia (14.1%), Stara Zagora (13.3%), and Burgas (10.6%).

Overall, residential properties in the country have increased in price by 15.1% over the year.

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There are no countries where property prices have fallen after adopting the euro. We expect the upward trend in prices to continue. This opinion was expressed by Ralitsa Tsenova, director of a real estate agency, on Nova TV.

According to her, everything depends on Bulgaria's economic situation after it joins the eurozone.  

“Over the past year, there has been a 40% decline in building permits issued for residential buildings, but at the same time, demand remains high because Bulgarians’ incomes are rising and they are developing a culture of investment,” Tsenova explained.

She added that at this stage there is no threat of a housing crisis, but rather a shortage of quality products on offer.

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The State Commission for Commodity Exchanges and Wholesale Markets has identified significant markups on food prices in individual stores, BNT reports. The regulator urged citizens not to purchase from these stores and explained that there are currently no factors contributing to the increase in the prices of basic foodstuffs. However, the consumer basket price has risen by 10 leva compared to last year. The most noticeable increase in 2025 is in fruit prices, mainly due to poor weather conditions. The highest increase is in cherries - 180%. This is followed by apples (28%), apricots (23%), and lemons (20%).

INTERIOR

Citizens under protection by the Ministry of Interior will not go to public places and will be transported in police cars, according to an ordinance by Interior Minister Daniel Mitov, 24 Chasa reports.

This happens after recent footage of a police patrol car escorting a green Lamborghini on the Trakia motorway. The driver was under protection by order of the prosecutor's office because of death threats from his father. The young man drove the expensive sports car himself, lived in hotels, and was accompanied everywhere by a police patrol car. In the past, dozens of criminals were protected as witnesses against the mafia and other threats, and police officers were forced to accompany them even to nightclubs while they were having fun.

With the new rules for the protection of persons by the Ministry of Interior, this will no longer be possible.

One of the changes prohibits escort by patrol cars. When it is necessary to transport the protected person, he will travel in a civilian car of the Ministry of Interior bearing no inscriptions or emblems.

According to the new ordinance, the homes of protected persons will be inspected with technical equipment to ensure better security.

BALKANS

Border checks on the Bulgarian-Romanian border were lifted at midnight, bTV reports.

When Bulgaria and Romania joined Schengen by land on January 1, it was announced that there would be increased controls at the border between the two countries for six months.

The reason for this was to get Austria to agree to let the two countries join the Schengen area. On June 30, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov met with European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner. The Prime Minister told him that protecting the external European border remains a priority for Bulgaria.

July 1, 2025 marks 40 years since the start of the free movement of people and goods in the European Union, known as the Schengen area.

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Another night of student blockades in Belgrade and other cities in Serbia, the National Television reports. The protest is now also against the arrests of students. Protesters from Novi Sad called on the Serbian opposition in a letter to immediately demand early parliamentary elections.

At the protest on June 28 in Slavia Square in the Serbian capital, students gave the government an ultimatum to propose to the Serbian President by 9 p.m. local time that early elections be called and the current Parliament be dissolved. The ultimatum was not met, and the students declared the government illegitimate and their protests not just student protests, but civil protests.

The Serbian Ministry of Interior announced that the police had forcibly removed all roadblocks in Belgrade last night. Several people were arrested on charges of assaulting and insulting police officers, as well as disturbing public order.

New blockades have been announced for Tuesday, Nova TV reports. Students and part of the opposition are calling for a boycott of the Serbian Parliament. Students at the University of Belgrade have called on citizens to join a mass strike today.

SPORT

Grigor Dimitrov will record his 58th consecutive appearance in Grand Slam tournaments, Dnevnik and other outlets report. On Tuesday evening, Bulgaria’s best tennis player will face Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. With his 58th consecutive appearance, Dimitrov is number one among active tennis players and fifth in the all-time rankings, where Feliciano Lopez holds the record of 79 Grand Slam participations.