site.btaMedia Review: July 16

POLITICS

The amendments to the Road Traffic Act will be put to a final vote in the National Assembly this week, 24 Chasa and BNT report. In April, MPs passed five of the six bills amending the law on first reading.

It is envisaged that average speed violations will be detected by the Ministry of Interior using the technical means of the Road Infrastructure Agency's electronic system. As of July 15, the traffic police cameras are already synchronized with the Ministry of Interior's systems, and the first fines for driving in the emergency lanes of motorways will be imposed this Saturday and Sunday, according to BNT. The new provisions of the law also provide for the connection of municipal cameras to the traffic police system to ensure full compatibility and effective control.

*

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) - United Left is introducing a bill against profiteering, MP Atanas Atanasov told BNT’s morning show. He is also deputy chair of the parliamentary budget committee. According to the text of the bill, there will be a list of goods that will be sold at state-regulated prices. 

“We will submit the bill to combat profiteering today. This is not a bill that simply sets price limits on certain goods, it is a bill that gives institutions and the government the leverage to combat this. The areas we are targeting are food, medicines, fuel, mobile services, and bank fees. With this bill, we are giving the Council of Ministers the right to determine basic foods that will be on a special stand in all shops over 400 square metres - one type of cheese, one type of bread, one type of flour, one type of rice, which will be subject to state-regulated prices,” he said.

*

Parliament’s Committee on Education and Science will vote on the final amendments to the Higher Education Act. Last week, MPs voted on first reading on legislative changes, which will reduce tuition fees for fee-paying students by 25%, BNT reports.

The new texts stipulate that fee-paying students will pay 75% of the allowance of state-funded students. This came about after student protests in several cities over the drastic increase in university tuition fees.

The education minister has already stated that the problem will be resolved by the start of the new academic year.

*

Mass protests in support of the Mayor of Varna are expected on Wednesday. This time, demonstrations will be held not only in Bulgaria—in Varna and Sofia—but also in London, Brussels, Berlin, and Munich. The calls are for justice.

Blagomir Kotsev is currently in custody. He was arrested on July 8 after an operation by the Anti-Corruption Commission. He is charged with participating in an organized criminal group involved in bribery, official misconduct, and money laundering. Three other people have also been arrested, according to Nova TV and 24 Chasa.

ECONOMY

Average salaries and pensions have doubled in five years. It all depends on individual consumption patterns. This is one of the explanations for some of the increase in the cost of services. Higher labour costs mean higher costs for service providers, which in turn leads to pressure to raise prices. On the other hand, higher incomes also mean more solvent demand. This is how Latchezar Bogdanov, chief economist at the Institute for Market Economics, commented for Nova TV on the NSI data, according to which the accumulated inflation in Bulgaria over the last five years is close to 40%.

“Food prices have risen by 7.5% over 12 months, which is quite significant, and fruit prices have risen by 24%. The main factors influencing this are the increase in overhead costs, including electricity, and the return of VAT on bread. In public catering, we have a steady upward trend in prices due to growth in tourism, higher solvent demand, and higher labour costs. We should aim for inflation of 1-2%...

If nothing changes, we will face economic stagnation at some point - stagnant revenues and profits, layoffs and unemployment,” Bogdanov commented.

*

Bulgarians are beginning to economize on entertainment and vacations, according to a Gallup Balkan International survey conducted for BNT’s Referendum programme that aired Tuesday evening. Some 39% of respondents are spending less on travel and clothing, and 38% are purchasing only the bare necessities due to the increase in prices of goods and services. People also expect the state to carry out more checks and impose fines more often on traders who inflate prices in anticipation of the adoption of the euro.

*

More and more young people under the age of 30 are unable to repay their loans, and among the possible reasons for this are advertisements on social networks such as TikTok, Trud learned from Liliya Dimitrova, chair of the Receivables Management Association.

“The age of people who fall into arrears is getting lower and lower - most of them are under 30, and very often even under 25,” she said. Often, the reason young people are unable to repay their loans is impulsive purchases influenced by advertisements on TikTok. There are more and more cases where one person has several loans - from several or even from one financial institution. There are people with double-digit numbers of loans. In these cases, most often a person first takes out several loans from banks, then comes a moment when the banks refuse to give them more loans, so they switch to quick loan companies, Dimitrova added.

Most often, it is not unemployed people who cannot repay their loans, but those who have made unreasonable decisions, she said. For example, they first buy an apartment with a loan, then a car, and then take out a loan for a holiday to show off their status, influenced by videos on social media. In the end, it is often the parents who pay off the loans their children have taken out. That is why experts advise parents to help young people make sensible decisions when taking out loans. 

*

The state placed two tranches of bonds on international capital markets, thereby securing new financing of EUR 3.2 billion or BGN 6.3 billion, BNT reports. This is yet another debt for this year, with the total amount of commitments undertaken so far amounting to BGN 16.2 billion. According to the State Budget Act for this year, the authorised new debt is BGN 18.9 billion. 

*

Bulgaria has agreed on a strategic partnership to secure financing for the construction of Units 7 and 8 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, according to the Ministry of Energy, BNR reports.

Minister Zhecho Stankov and his delegation held final talks in New York with the management of the American Citibank.

Units 7 and 8 will be the first in Europe to use Westinghouse's AP1000 technology, the energy ministry said.

ENVIRONMENT

The fire in the Rila Monastery Nature Park has been burning for four days, BNT reports. The affected area is about 800 decares. The fire has been brought under control, but efforts continue with surveys and assessment of the condition of the terrain. Rain has significantly helped to control the fire.

The fire mainly affected pastures with tall grass and bushes, as well as oak forests. In the lower part of the terrain, there are old plantations with tall trees that have not been cut down and contain a lot of dry mass, which helps the fire spread.

*

Hundreds of dead fish appeared in the Koprinka reservoir, Nova TV reports. The water level there is falling extremely rapidly—by one meter per day. It is currently below 40%, and by the end of the week it could reach 30%.  It is expected that by the end of the summer, the reservoir will reach dead volume levels.

The reservoir is not used for drinking water, but for electricity production and irrigation. However, it is one of Bulgaria's strategic reservoirs. It supplies the Zhrebchevo reservoir, which is currently at about 25% of its useful volume.

“It is most likely due to the sharp drop in water level. Plankton blooms, begins to rot, and this leads to a lack of oxygen,” said environmentalist Martin Nanev.

A report has been filed with the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture. They have sent samples of the dead fish for testing.

TENNIS

“As of this Monday, I am number one in the rankings, which is truly unexpected, and I am very happy about it,” said in Varna upon his return from the United Kingdom Ivan Ivanov, the junior champion of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, BNR reports. He was greeted by children from his tennis club in Varna, relatives, and friends.

“From now on, I am preparing for the US Open, and I also have three Challenger tournaments here in Bulgaria, in Sofia in August, and I am preparing for them,” Ivanov said in response to a question.

He thanked Rafael Nadal's Academy for bringing him to this tournament and to this success, as well as all the Bulgarian coaches who have been with him.