site.btaMedia Review: August 19

No single topic dominates Tuesday’s news media.

POLITICS

Speaking on Bulgarian National Radio, political PR expert Diana Damyanova commented that holding early parliamentary elections in the coming months has become a matter of political survival for President Rumen Radev, whose term expires in the fall of 2026. According to her, Radev is beginning to realize that once his mandate ends, the powerful aura of the presidency will fade within three to four months. What awaits him, Damyanova argued, is the same outcome faced by all Bulgarian presidents who have attempted to launch a party after leaving office – electoral results hovering around 2% in parliamentary elections.

“Radev’s speeches are well written, full of elaborate phrases that appeal emotionally to people. But if we boil them down to one line - it’s that he wants elections immediately,” Damyanova said. In her view, Radev is seeking every possible point of resistance against the government of Rosen Zhelyazkov. “He and his political kindred, such as Vazrazhdane, Velichie, and others, are fighting for snap elections. Another group, however – [GERB leader] Boyko Borissov and [MRF – New Beginning Floor Leader] Delyan Peevski, are firmly determined not to allow them,” she noted.

“Right now, Borissov and Peevski are almost enough on their own. The interests of There Is Such a People and Bulgarian Socialist Party are also clear – if they remain part of a successful government for three or four years, they will secure their place on the political landscape, if they leave after six months, they will disappear. In this sense, there is nothing fragile about the governing construct, except that Borissov deliberately promotes it as fragile, to create the impression that it is difficult for him to manage. He is cultivating sympathy from the Bulgarian public. […] The government is both guaranteed and without alternative, for as long as the Borissov-Peevski duo decides,” Damyanova warned.

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Segabg.com has published an analysis titled “The Divorce of Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria Is Postponed (For Now)”, examining the strained relationship between coalition partners Continue the Change (CC) and Democratic Bulgaria (DB). According to the piece, CC-DB politicians have recently come under heavy fire, with the coalition shaken by internal disputes and its political standing visibly weakening.

According to the media, by the end of 2024, it already looked as if CC and DB were dancing their final waltz together. Their rivals, GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), have actively worked toward this outcome. For GERB and MRF, the coalition is problematic when united, but if it splinters, it becomes an easy target. Boyko Borissov, leader of GERB, has made no secret of his desire to once again partner with actors from Sofia’s right-wing, signalling a clear preference for Democratic Bulgaria. Meanwhile, MRF’s Delyan Peevski simply wants CC-DB out of his way.

Coincidence or not, the political goals of GERB and MRF align with the actions of state institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Prosecutor’s Office, which since late 2024 have been aggressively pursuing CC-DB with criminal accusations. The brunt of these attacks has fallen on CC, most recently evident in arrests in Sofia and Varna. This pressure directly led to the resignation of CC co-founder Kiril Petkov as party leader and MP, an event that strengthened DB’s weight within the coalition but also deepened internal friction.

So, what is keeping the alliance alive? Ironically, the very same external pressures that threaten to break it apart, Segabg.com writes. The leaders of CC and DB are not naive, they know that the ultimate goal of all the political and institutional blows against them is to dismantle the coalition. Should that happen, both parties would end up just two more small parliamentary factions, easy prey for Borissov and Peevski to recruit as needed.

For this reason, the pressure and manoeuvring they face will not push CC and DB’s leaders to scatter in different directions, they realize that would gravely weaken their chances of survival. Yet so far, they show little effort to consolidate. On the contrary, they appear to be drifting apart politically. And unless they continue to act on a shared agenda of reform and opposition to the status quo, the coalition risks becoming irrelevant in the eyes of its voters, Segabg.com’s article concludes.

WORLD POLITICS

Speaking on Bulgarian National Radio about the Washington meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as the accompanying talks with European leaders, Prof. Mikhail Stanchev, a lecturer at Kharkiv University and a diplomat, said that the formula for ending the war is Ukraine in NATO without NATO, so as not to irritate Putin and Trump, who are united on this issue”. Stanchev stressed that the involvement of the United States in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security is of crucial importance. According to him, Ukraine should be granted the status of a US ally outside NATO, similar to Israel’s position.

Stanchev noted that Ukraine understands it cannot reclaim Crimea or Donbas at present. The most difficult question, he said, will be whether Ukrainians will have to withdraw from Donbas. “My impression is positive, more encouraging than the meeting in Alaska. This one was more concrete,” he remarked, adding: “In Alaska, Trump tried to cosy up to Putin, something that did not go unnoticed by China”. For Ukrainians, Zelenskyy is “a man who can bend but will not break,” Stanchev continued. “He is no longer the Zelenskyy of six months ago. This time he arrived with a whole team of European leaders who helped strike a balance in the talks with Trump.”

In his forecast, Prof. Stanchev said that over time Ukraine will emerge as a free, independent, and strong state, while the European Union’s strategic focus will gradually shift toward Eastern Europe.

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Dnevnik.bg, Capital.bg, Segabg.com, the 24 Chasa daily and the Trud tabloid also cover the recent talks on Ukraine’s future.

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On NOVA NEWS’ morning talk show, journalists Nina Spasova and Mohamed Halaf discussed the mass protests in Israel against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his plans regarding the occupation of the Gaza Strip.

According to Spasova, even if Hamas were to agree to a future ceasefire, this would not guarantee stability in the region.

Halaf added: “What we see as a proposal is the plan put forward by Steve Witkoff. Hamas is accepting this plan under pressure from Netanyahu. He himself faces tensions with the army,” he explained. Halaf said that the Israeli public does not trust Hamas and does not want the group involved, yet “its leaders are still seeking political representation”.

WILDFIRES

The Trud tabloid daily has an interview with Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov, head of the Fire Safety and Population Protection Directorate General, who reveals that since the beginning of July firefighters in Bulgaria have extinguished around 3,500 fires. Dzhartov says the main cause remains human negligence, aggravated by summer heat, strong winds, and overgrown vegetation. Abandoned and unmaintained plots near settlements also fuel the spread of fires, turning them into a direct threat to lives and property. Intentional arson accounts for only 3-5% of cases, while most fires are sparked by people burning garden waste, tossing cigarette butts from cars, or, more rarely, children playing with fire.

Since July, between 150 and 250 fires have been breaking out daily. “We have the resources to cope,” Dzhartov notes, adding that fire brigades step up patrols and mobilize additional crews on high-risk days, especially weekends when more people are outdoors. Still, some fires escalate beyond control, as seen in the Pirin blaze, which has raged for nearly a month now due to inaccessible terrain and hurricane-force winds. On average, Bulgaria loses 4,800-5,000 hectares of forest annually to wildfires, far less than the 30,000 hectares destroyed in year 2000, but still significant. Dzhartov dismisses theories that forests are deliberately burned for logging, saying no recent data support such claims.

He acknowledges, however, that Bulgaria needs aircraft for firefighting, as some crown fires are too dangerous for ground crews alone. Currently, the country relies on helicopters and planes provided through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Despite negligence being a leading cause, public engagement in fire prevention and suppression is growing. Forestry services, the army, municipalities, farmers, businesses, and volunteers, both organized and spontaneous, are increasingly active in helping firefighters. The number of trained volunteer formations has doubled in 2024.

Cross-border cooperation also plays a vital role. Bulgaria has ongoing joint projects with Romania, Greece, Serbia, and soon Turkiye. This summer, Bulgarian firefighters were deployed for a month in Greece under an EU initiative, while assistance from North Macedonia, Turkiye, and Romania has supported Bulgaria during major blazes. “Disasters know no borders, so we must work in symbiosis with our neighbours,” Dzhartov further stresses.

SUPREME COURT ORDERS GRAF IGNATIEVO AIR BASE TO PAY BGN 110,000 TO SON OF FALLEN MIG-29 PILOT

An investigation by Mediapool.bg reveals that the Supreme Court of Cassation has ordered Graf Ignatievo Air Base to pay almost BGN 110,000 to the son of Major Valentin Terziev, the MiG-29 pilot who died in a 2021 crash during a training exercise. The sum covers unpaid overtime accumulated by Terziev over the years. With accrued interest, the total now exceeds BGN 164,000. The air base had disputed the number of overtime hours worked, refusing to pay the amount claimed by the pilot’s family. However, the court established that Major Terziev had performed a total of 3,494 hours of overtime, equivalent to 437 full days.

Initially, a lower court awarded his son, Aleksandar Terziev, just over BGN 34,000 in compensation. Subsequent appeals increased the award by an additional BGN 75,500. The Supreme Court ultimately confirmed that the pilot had worked far more overtime than the air base had acknowledged. At the time of his father’s death, Aleksandar was only 12 years old. The lawsuit was filed on his behalf by his mother, as he was still a minor.

Major Valentin Terziev lost his life on June 9, 2021, during a night training exercise over the Black Sea near Shabla, when his MiG-29 crashed during a live-fire drill.

The tragedy was followed by other serious aviation incidents. Two years later, a Su-25 ground-attack aircraft crashed, though its pilot successfully ejected. In 2024, during preparations for an air show at Graf Ignatievo, a training-combat L-39ZA jet went down, killing pilots Petko Dimitrov and Ventsislav Dunkin from the 12th Air Base in Dolna Mitropoliya. In the aftermath, a comprehensive review of Bulgaria’s Air Force uncovered systemic problems, including shortcomings in discipline, command accountability, and personnel development, Mediapool.bg notes.

HEALTHCARE

On bTV’s morning talk show, Bulgarian Medical Association Chair Dr. Nikolay Branzalov commented on the introduction of a new electronic system by the Ministry of Health for the distribution, ordering, administration, and reporting of vaccines used in mandatory and targeted immunizations and re-immunizations. According to him, the platform allows physicians to request vaccines remotely, monitor available stock by batch number and expiration date, and automatically receive consolidated reports on completed immunizations. “This will significantly ease the workload for doctors,” Branzalov stressed. At the same time, he cautioned that digitalization alone will not address vaccine skepticism. “We won’t eradicate anti-vaccine sentiment with technology, but with the right information,” he noted.

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The topic was also discussed on Bulgarian National Television (BNT) by Chief State Health Inspector Angel Kunchev. He explained that introducing the new system was “a complex and lengthy process” but necessary to ensure a secure and reliable database. “Until now, an immunization that takes five minutes required at least another ten minutes for a doctor to complete the paperwork. We want to make sure patient records are not lost on paper. This platform will also give us precise data on how many vaccines we actually need,” Kunchev said.

EDUCATION

In a lead interview with 24 Chasa, Prof. Magdalena Legkostup, Dean of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the St Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo, comments in detail on the Ministry of Education’s plan to introduce Virtues and Religion as a new subject in Bulgaria’s public-school curriculum. According to her, the initiative is designed to give children the most essential lesson of all – how to become good human beings.

“The draft law prepared by the Ministry of Education envisions two equally valid elective options: confessional religious education for those who wish to learn about the Orthodox tradition, or, respectively, Islam, and a non-denominational alternative called Virtues. I expect society to embrace the idea, because choice plays a key role here. Nobody is forced, parents decide what is best for their child,” Legkostup explains.

She emphasized that the preparation of the bill involved extensive public consultations. “Working groups included university professors of religion and theology recommended by the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, as well as philosophers, educators, practicing teachers, and parents. This guarantees a balanced educational content,” she says.

According to Legkostup, international experience shows that a sustainable framework can only be built through ongoing dialogue between the state, academia, and religious institutions. “If Bulgaria wants durable implementation, it would be very helpful for the Ministry of Education’s Expert Council on Religion, which brings together representatives from theology faculties, religious communities, philosophers, and specialists in interfaith dialogue, to function more effectively and in a more supportive role,” she adds in her interview with 24 Chasa.

AGRICULTURE

Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reports that beekeepers across the country are bracing for lower honey yields in 2025, citing heavy losses of bee colonies. In the Plovdiv region alone, losses are estimated between 40-50%, while in some parts of the country they reach as high as 70-80%. Speaking to BNT, beekeeper Borislav Inchev explained the reasons behind the decline. “The causes are complex. Certainly, one of the main factors is the changing weather and climate patterns, as well as shifts in the microclimate, which have a serious impact on bee colonies. I’ll remind you that this year, in early April, we even saw snowfall. It lasted only about a day and a half in the Plovdiv area, but overall, a cold front swept through and left its mark,” he said. According to Inchev, a slight increase in honey prices is unavoidable, though he described it as “minimal”.