site.btaMedia Review: October 2

WORLD – GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA – BULGARIAN NATIONAL 

The media cover the case of a Bulgarian national found to be onboard the Global Sumud Flotilla - an international, civil society-led maritime initiative launched in mid-2025, aiming to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. 

Bulgarian National TV: The Israeli Navy intercepted boats from the humanitarian Sumud flotilla. Among those detained is one Bulgarian national, according to a post on the flotilla’s official social media channel.

In an Instagram post by the flotilla, the name of the Bulgarian citizen, Vassil Nikolaev Dimitrov, appeared, stating that he was on board the boat Grande Blu. Vassil Dimitrov, who is from Sofia, himself reported the detention in a video shared on social media. The man called on the government to intervene.

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Trud quotes Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov as saying: “We have contacted the Israeli authorities and informed them that there is a Bulgarian citizen on board the ‘Sumud’ flotilla. We have urged them to abide by the norms of international law. We will have more information once our consul visits Vassil Dimitrov.”

This was stated by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov to the media in Copenhagen in connection with the detention of vessels from a global flotilla, on board of which there is also a Bulgarian citizen.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been monitoring the movements of the ‘Sumud’ flotilla since the beginning of its mission, Prime Minister Zhelyazkov emphasized.

He recalled that Israel is under a declared state of war, which means the risk has been recognized and consciously assumed by the participants.

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Bulgarian National Radio contributes by reporting that the vessels were intercepted by the Israeli Navy, after which the crews and all others on board were taken to an Israeli port. The people are “unharmed and in good health,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry assured, adding that all those on board the flotilla’s ships would be deported.

Bulgaria has already established contact with the Israeli authorities regarding the incident, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced. According to him, participants in such actions related to the Gaza Strip must take into account the situation in the region:

“The participants themselves are aware that Israel is under a declared state of war, so the risk is recognized and consciously assumed. We have contacted the Israeli authorities, informed them that there is a Bulgarian citizen, and urged them to abide by the norms of international law,” Prime Minister Zhelyazkov told journalists in Copenhagen, where he is attending the leaders’ meeting of the European Political Community.

bTV also covers the news of the detained Bulgarian. 

HOME SCENE 

Dnevnik: Important infrastructure projects in Sofia remain unfunded because the state is delaying transfers under the municipal financing programme, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said Wednesday. According to him, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works owes the municipality BGN 29 million, but no payments have been made so far in 2025.

“This blocks settlements on key infrastructure sites such as the renovation of Al. Stamboliyski Blvd., the Bakurena Fabrika bridge, already open to traffic, and Opalchenska Street, which has been completed. Not a single lev has been paid for them this year,” Terziev stressed.

He added that Sofia has 156 approved projects under the 2025 State Budget Act but has so far received only BGN 236,000 and ten agreements for smaller projects in Pancharevo, Bankya, Mladost, and Ilinden districts. In contrast, by August 31, the ministry had disbursed BGN 435 million for 720 projects across 214 other municipalities.

“The goal is clear – to make Sofia residents suffer for their choice, while public funds are channelled to those posing in front of the coat of arms,” Terziev commented, vowing to insist that the capital receive the full amount it is entitled to.

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"How the Prosecutor Who Investigated the Missing BGN 55 Million Advances for Hemus [Motorway] Was Removed," reads Capital's headline. 

The account of Ivaylo Zanev from the Sofia City Prosecution Office, described by the Anti-Corruption Fund, is more than telling of how someone within the prosecution seeks to cover up the abuses surrounding the unlawful in-house contracts and the vanished funds.Nikolay Edrev joined the state-owned company. 

Avtomagistrali in 2021, a year after he had already filed a complaint with the prosecution regarding irregularities in the construction of the Hemus Motorway. At that time, Bulgaria was governed by a coalition between GERB and the United Patriots, and the Road Infrastructure Agency had signed so-called in-house contracts with Avtomagistrali.

By law, the company was supposed to build the motorway on its own, without subcontractors. In practice, however, large advance payments for sections where construction had not even started ended up with private companies that were neither authorised to execute the projects nor actually carried them out.

As previously reported by Capital, Edrev was later dismissed from Avtomagistrali.

Meanwhile, prosecutor Ivaylo Zanev launched an investigation into a scheme involving the alleged misappropriation of BGN 55 million from state funds earmarked for the Hemus project. The probe revealed that the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) had transferred advance payments to the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA), which in turn channelled them to private companies through unlawful in-house procedures. A portion of the funds was withdrawn in cash and subsequently disappeared.

Despite the evidence collected by Zanev, he was removed from the case, and the new team of prosecutors terminated criminal proceedings against some of the accused – a move which, according to Zanev, aimed to obstruct criminal prosecution.

DRONE WALL – EX DEFENCE MINISTER

There is no way a “drone wall” can be completed within a year, former defence minister Todor Tagarev told NOVA TV.

EU leaders gathered in Copenhagen to discuss urgent measures for building an air shield along the eastern flank of the bloc. A key task is the creation of the so-called “drone wall,” which will include Bulgaria and at least six other countries. The informal summit comes in response to a series of incidents in which drones, allegedly of Russian origin, shut down airspace over critical infrastructure in Eastern and Northern European countries.

“Within a year, the ‘drone wall’ could be partially built, since NATO’s system covering the eastern flank for air and missile defence was not developed with this in mind. Nobody imagined something like this could happen – a massive incursion of relatively cheap drones combined with missile attacks. This is something Ukraine has been experiencing for more than two years,” Tagarev explained.

According to him, some of these mass attacks have involved over 800 aerial objects within just a few hours. “We don’t have the technology, armed forces, organisation, or command-and-control system that would allow us to build such a system quickly,” the former defence minister said.

In his view, within a year a network of sensors could be established to collect and process information for decision-making. But the creation of actual counter-drone weapons will take longer.

“Saturating the eastern flank with these strike systems will be a slow process. We still do not have sufficiently effective interception means. It’s possible that our military haven’t even seen an interceptor drone yet, the kind only recently deployed in Ukraine. It will also take time to organise our armed forces. There is no way this can be ready within a year,” Tagarev commented.

“One solution is for the project to be financed by the EU’s White Paper on Defence, using the additional funds member states can allocate in their budgets. These are not subject to the Copenhagen restrictions on budget deficit and national debt,” he explained.

Another option, he said, is for the system to be funded through loans provided by the European Commission. Around EUR 3 billion is earmarked for Bulgaria, and the country would have to begin repaying the funds after ten years. 

CORRUPTION - TRAFFIC CONTROL AGENCY - BRIBERY SCANDAL 

The scandal involving Road Transport Administration Executive Agency inspectors who demanded a bribe from the drivers of trucks carrying equipment for Robbie Williams's concert in Sofia continues to be in the media spotlight. The inspectors allegedly threatened the drivers that if they did not pay up, they would spend the night behind bars and have their cargo seized. The drivers' complaint to the Interior Ministry and the British Embassy led to the inspectors' dismissal and detention for 72 hours on Saturday. 

Mediapool’s headline reads: “The Robbie Williams Effect: Purge at the Road Transport Administration, but the Director Survives” 

Four dismissals, the introduction of body cameras, rotation of inspectors, and an independent audit by Transparency International – these are the measures announced today [Wednesday] by Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Grozdan Karadjov in response to the latest corruption scandal at the Executive Agency Road Transport Administration" (RTA), still widely known by its former name, the Road Transport Inspectorate (RTI).

The measures come after two inspectors were caught demanding bribes from truck drivers transporting equipment for the Robbie Williams concert in Sofia – a scandal that drew international media attention and prompted calls from politicians to abolish the agency altogether. The inspectors, Boris Borisov and Georgi Georgiev, were arrested.

“We all owe an apology to the foreign drivers who were extorted in such a disgraceful manner by inspectors of the RTA. They came to Bulgaria to do their job and instead faced corruption and racketeering. This is unacceptable. We must also apologise to Bulgarian citizens, because Bulgaria’s name was dragged through this scandal,” Karadjov said. 

In addition to the two arrested inspectors, four other officials will be dismissed. These include Vladimir Kolev, Director of the General Directorate “Automobile Inspection,” Nikolay Chavdarov, Head of the Sofia Regional Office, as well as two members of an internal anti-corruption commission who failed to fulfil their duties to prevent such abuses, the Transport Ministry announced.

“Responsibility does not lie only with the inspectors, but also with their superiors, who are supposed to oversee and organise control activities,” Karadjov stressed.

Nevertheless, the agency’s Executive Director, Slav Monov – appointed by Karadjov in March – will remain at his post. Monov previously headed Sofia Autotransport, the city’s bus company, until the summer of 2024, when he was dismissed by the so-called “economic majority” in Sofia City Council (GERB, BSP, TISP, defectors from Vazrazhdane, and Carlos Contrera of IMRO).

Karadzhov also announced new rules for the RTA, starting with body cameras for all roadside inspectors – a measure long demanded by NGOs and supported by Yes, Bulgaria, which had submitted a bill to parliament.

Mandatory rotation of inspectors will also be introduced to break local dependencies and entrenched corruption schemes.

Furthermore, Transparency International has been invited to conduct an independent external audit of the agency. This review will include all corruption-related complaints filed in 2025, with the aim of determining where and how the system was compromised.

“It is my duty to protect Bulgarian citizens and honest employees. The decent inspectors will be supported, while the corrupt ones will be exposed and punished. I am sending a clear signal: no protection, no compromises, no exceptions,” Karadjov declared.

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24 Chasa contributes with a headline that says everyone in Parliament want the RTA shut down.

A bribery scandal involving Bulgaria’s Road Transport Administration (RTA) has triggered political calls for the agency’s immediate closure. Inspectors allegedly extorted money from foreign truck drivers delivering equipment for Robbie Williams’ Sofia concert, a case that attracted international media attention.

Leaders across the political spectrum demanded that the agency’s responsibilities be transferred to other institutions, with proposals to hand over road safety functions to the Traffic Police and the toll system. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and Transport Minister Grozdan Karadjov said the RTA could be absorbed into the Interior Ministry. GERB leader Boyko Borissov remarked that the agency had become “a breeding ground for corruption.”

Opposition parties noted that reforms had long been delayed. The PP-DB coalition recalled it had introduced legislation requiring inspectors to wear body cameras, while other parties said process automation could reduce corruption opportunities. Transparency groups also urged a full audit of the agency.

The RTA employs over 500 staff nationwide and is responsible for vehicle inspections, issuing driving licences, and supervising freight and passenger transport. Despite digital monitoring tools, corruption scandals have persisted for years, often linked to low staff salaries. The Robbie Williams case, however, has brought unprecedented pressure for structural reform and a potential dismantling of the agency.

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bTV runs a interview with the lawyer of the two RTA employees suspected of corruption. and taking bribes from truck drivers transporting equipment for the Robbie Williams concert in Bulgaria - Georgi Georgiev and Boris Borisov. They are represented by lawyer Emanuil Yordanov, a former interior minister.

“In Bulgaria, the presumption of innocence must apply. In practice, in the public space, my clients have already been convicted,” Yordanov said.

According to him, the evidence is very scarce – consisting mainly of the drivers’ testimony. The signal was filed by the manager of the company organizing the concert, and for unclear reasons, in one of his decrees, the prosecutor on the case wrote that this man was a witness, although he did not witness anything.

The Road Transport Administration officers deny the charges. “We have no evidence, but we are waiting for it to be collected,” the lawyer commented.

On Sunday, the drivers were questioned in the building of the former Specialized Court. “At that time, I tried to ask them what the problem was and what violation they had committed that could justify a bribe being demanded. They claimed they had not committed any violations,” Yordanov said.

He added he is not inclined to comment on why the trucks were stopped. After receiving information, the lawyer requested on Sunday that medical examinations be carried out on the three drivers to establish whether any of them had used drugs. “One of them, in particular, was seriously incoherent,” the lawyer claimed.

Yordanov maintains that the RTA officers – his clients – did not take money from the drivers.