site.btaMedia Review: July 28

OVERVIEW

All media report on the rally that took place in Varna, on the Black Sea, on Sunday night in support of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev. Blagomir Kotsev was arrested on July 8 after a corruption tipoff by a failed public procurement tenderer to the Counter-Corruption Commission. Another dominant topic is the debates surrounding the fate of the Counter-Corruption Commission.

DEBATES ON COUNTER-CORRUPTION COMMISSION

24 Chasa quotes Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) MP Martin Dimitrov, who said in a Bulgarian National Television (BNT) interview on Saturday night that the Counter-Corruption Commission in its current form is useless. Asked whether his coalition would back having the Commission dismantled, Dimitrov said: "This position was expressed by [Democratic Bulgaria Chair Atanas] Atanassov and by Democratic Bulgaria. In its current form, this commission is useless. As you can see, it is being used to participate in many ugly There is no principle. There is no rule of law. No actions are taken that would lead to the pursuit of justice. Instead, there are attacks on certain individuals from the opposition. Corruption is, in principle, part of governance. There is major corruption in every government. There are people in government who distribute billions. Give me an example of anyone of them who is currently being prosecuted by this Commission. Instead, it deals with the opposition, which shows that there is a systemic problem. Because, as I told you, large-scale corruption is always part of power."

Asked about the potential losses that Bulgaria would incur through the Recovery and Resilience Plan, if the Commission gets dismantled, Dimitrov said: "You can see that we are succeeding, and Bulgaria is succeeding in renegotiating some elements of this plan. So, this is a matter of analysis that needs to be done. [...] The question we all need to consider is this: we cannot allow commissions to act selectively and to have inequality under the law in Bulgaria. Because that was never the point. We want everyone to bear the consequences and responsibility for their actions, but we want no selectivity that leads to grotesque scenes in front of the entire society. The money under the Recovery and Resilience Plan must, of course, be invested in the Bulgarian economy. And, of course, a way must be found to make this happen, regardless of other circumstances."

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CC-DB MP Ivaylo Shotev told Nova TV on Saturday that CC will vote against having the Counter-Corruption Commission disassembled, even though he described it as a political bludgeon in the hands of the leadership. He specified: "It is extremely important for us that the Counter-Corruption Commission starts functioning normally. The problem is not the existence of the Counter-Corruption Commission. It is the way it is elected and the way it functions."

Commenting on the recent arrest of Kotsev, Shotev said: "We have no problem with our mayors being investigated. We only have a problem when they are the only ones being investigated. We were in Varna at the rallies. [...] People are very upset there. First, they are trying to rig the vote through administrative manoeuvres. They are trying to replace Blagomir Kotsev with someone else as mayor. They are trying to provoke new elections in court. This is infuriating."

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BSP - United Left MP Vladimir Georgiev told BNT on Saturday that the government may collapse, if no consensus is reached over the Counter-Corruption Commission. Georgiev warned that Bulgaria may lose billions, if the Commission gets dismantled. The MP expressed willingness to discuss potential changes to the Commission, but added that now is not the time, as Bulgaria needs to submit requests for interim payments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan as fast as possible.

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Commenting on the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski and his call to have the Counter-Corruption Commission disassembled, political expert Tatyana Burudzhieva told Nova TV that Peevski's goal, against the backdrop of allegations that he pulls the strings of all major institutions in Bulgaria, is to demonstrate that he has no political levers in that Commission. Another political expert, Teodor Slavev, told Nova TV that Peevski's act is a clear attempt to distance himself from the ongoing civil protests. He added that this Commission is far from the only institution that can be used as a political bludgeon and suggested that the main focus should be on the prosecution service where the status quo is still in the air.

Slavev believes that Peevski will not support a new composition of the commission, which will leave the current head Anton Slavchev in office and make the situation similar to that in the prosecution service.

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Vanya Nusheva who teaches political behaviour, electoral systems, and election administration at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio that the Counter-Corruption Commission certainly needs to be restructured. She added: "It is a matter of political will whether this institution should be closed down." Nusheva reported that whenever a single organization enjoys a huge range of powers and lacks accountability, anyone who is in power at the time would be tempted to use such that organization as a tool. She pointed out that the Commission has powers of institutions from all three branches of government.

She added: " This is an institution behemoth that is not subject to control, and it needs to be reformed at the very least. Given how much this institution has been compromised in recent years, perhaps it should be shut down entirely. But questions remain: conflicts of interest, politicians' assets—who checks them? We could go back to the classic model, where institutions with investigative powers carry out this activity, and public pressure and keen interest ensure that they exercise their powers effectively, rather than constantly creating new institutions that, first of all, duplicate functions and, secondly, are not subject to control. Furthermore, when there is a series of institutions, we have seen two major distortions: a refusal to exercise powers, a refusal to investigate uncomfortable cases, or, conversely, an excuse that there is another institution dealing with the matter."

POLITICS

24 Chasa quotes Deputy Prime Minister and Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Chair Atanas Zafirov who said in an interview for Nova TV on Saturday night that the recent wave of protests cannot shake the government. He labelled them politically motivated. Zafirov stated: "The current configuration is the only one possible, if we want predictability in the country. Another attempt is being made now to destabilize Bulgaria and enter it into yet another cycle of elections. There is also a society that is experiencing fears—of the euro, of the price situation, social fears, consumer fears. There is also a society that expects rapid reforms and social stability. The combination of these factors creates tension." He stated that the BSP is part of a coalition government in the name of political stability and the nation's prosperity.

ECONOMY

Mediapool.bg has published an op-ed by Institute for Market Economics Chief Economist Latchezar Bogdanov who reported that the government wants to bring back planned economy as an excuse to fight inflation. Planned economy was the dominant system used by the communist regime in Bulgaria in the 20th century. The article reads:

"The current Introduction of the Euro Act stipulates that during the period of dual pricing, retailers may not increase the prices of their goods and services unless this is justified by objective economic factors. This is again unclear and non-market-oriented, not least because there is no scientific category or legal definition of how prices are formed and what the link with the objective factors mentioned should be. However, this text is intended for a very short period of transition to the new currency – within the single month of dual circulation (January 2026).

"Now the government is proposing a completely different wording – the ban would apply for the entire period of dual pricing, i.e. from August 8, 2025, to December 31, 2026. And for nearly 17 months, it is clear that the 'objective economic factors' in question will change. The economy is constantly changing, the supply and demand of millions of goods, services, resources, etc. are constantly exposed to market pressure. Prices rise and fall, in some cases within a single day.

"And how will such an economic utopia be implemented? The government wants to turn the Commission for Consumer Protection (CCP) into a veritable 'Pricing Committee' – experts will assess, following some unclear methodology or at least a teaching aid, whether any of the thousands of prices have been changed 'justifiably'. In order to implement this central planning, the Commission will be given two dangerous tools – the right to access virtually all business and commercial information from anyone it chooses to request it from, and the right to impose sanctions of up to 2% of turnover.

"The government is trying to define the 'objective economic factors' in question — it is explained with examples that this refers to increases in the prices of raw materials and supplies, increases in the prices of electricity and natural gas, increases in fuel prices, increases in the minimum wage, increases in the tax and social security burden, force majeure circumstances, and others.

"But that is all – there is no methodology, no formula or any other guidance on how economic agents are expected to act when some of these factors, or those falling into the 'other' category, change. For example, it is almost certain that the minimum wage will increase from January 1—and it is listed among the 'objective factors'—but what exactly is the permissible percentage increase in the price of each product?"

The text warns that no business owner in Bulgaria can be certain when they comply with the law and when they violate it, until an inspection by the CCP. It concludes: "This is the path to complete regulatory arbitrariness. The survival of virtually every business will depend on the discretion of the Commission. And since this regulatory monster cannot check thousands of companies for thousands of prices, it is clear that this will become a constant threat. In other words, it is yet another bludgeon that can be used selectively."

ENERGY

Mediapool.bg quotes Reuters, which reported on Monday morning that Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz has signed its first deal with Azerbaijan's SOCAR to import natural gas via the Transbalkan route. "For the first time, a test shipment of gas is being delivered through the Transbalkan route along the Bulgaria–Romania–Ukraine corridor," Naftogaz said in a statement on its website. Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi said: "This is a small volume but strategically important step that paves the way for long-term cooperation. It is also another example of diversifying supply sources and strengthening Ukraine’s energy security."

HEALTHCARE

Trud and Nova TV report that young healthcare experts are planning to protest their low wages in front of the National Assembly in Sofia on Monday night. Last week, MPs adopted amendments to the law regulating physicians' salaries on first reading. Three of the four bills, those tabled by the ruling majority, by CC-DB, and by Vazrazhdane, were adopted. According to GERB, BSP - United Left, and There Is Such a People, healthcare experts' salaries should continue to be linked to the collective agreement. Young medics have spoken out against this proposal. They believe that their salaries should be equal to 150% of the average gross salary in the country.