A central unit for compensations in cases of slow justice may become operational in mid-June, according to Bulgarian Justice Minister Diana Kovacheva.

Speaking in Parliament on Friday, she explained that the problem with providing compensation to the victims of slow court proceedings could be easily resolved with amendments to the Judiciary Act.

Kovacheva presented a project for the creation of a specialized body which will handle slow justice complaints and ensure fast remedies.

She pointed out that the unit could be set up at the Inspectorate at the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) because the body was authorized to review court rulings.

Bulgaria’s Justice Minister was positive that the new unit could be launched in mid-June, provided that the amendments to the Judiciary Act and the Liability of the State and the Municipalities for Damages Act were passed.

She specified that the new unit would provide compensation for damages resulting from slow justice and the non-execution of court decisions.

Maya Manolova from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) voiced the support of the opposition for the creation of a national center providing compensation to Bulgarian citizens.

However, Manolova opposed the idea to set up the body at the VSS Inspectorate, saying that the move was “on the brink of the constitutional.”

Kovacheva replied that all proposals made between first and second reading would be taken into account and assured that the proposed step was not unconstitutional.

At the next meeting of the government Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will propose more than BGN 600 000 from the returned bonuses account to be transferred for treatment of sick children, the government’s press center surprisingly announced on Friday.

No more details were immediately available.

The U-turn comes after Borisov’s decision to transfer the money to the budgets of the Council of Ministries and the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs for the organization and execution of the Balkan Wars tribute campaign sparked a wide and heated controversy.

Under the initial proposal, the funds were to be used for repairs and rebuilding ofmonuments of soldiers who have perished in the Wars, for displays, reinstatement of historical documents, and conferences among others.

The Defense Ministry was to organize the creation of a commemorative badge “100 Years since the Balkan Wars,” and further use the money for official military honors ceremonies, the publishing of commemorative materials, an international conference, and the making of a list of Bulgarian servicemen, who have died in the battles.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry was to publish a book, prepare an exhibit about Macedonian soldiers, who in 1912 were part of the regular Bulgarian Army, and  organize the search for tombs of Bulgarian military men on the territory of FYROM.

Up to BGN 600 000 from the returned bonuses account will be transferred to the budgets of the Council of Ministries and the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs for the organization and execution of the tribute campaign.

The fund will be used for repairs and rebuilding of monuments ofsoldiers who have perished in the Wars, for displays, reinstatement of historical documents, and conferences among others.

The Defense Ministry will organize the creation of a commemorative badge “100 Years since the Balkan Wars,” and will further use the money for official military honors ceremonies, the publishing of commemorative materials, an international conference, and the making of a list of Bulgarian servicemen, who have died in the battles.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry will publish a book, will prepare an exhibit about Macedonian soldiers, who in 1912 were part of the regular Bulgarian Army, and will organize the search for tombs of Bulgarian military men on the territory of FYROM.

The information was reported by the government’s press center.

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, wished success to the two major parties in the now former right-wing Blue Coalition, after news reports about the latter’s breakup.

“Both the Union of Democratic Forces, UDF, and Democrats for Strong Bulgaria, DSB, are our political partners in the European right wing and in the European People’s Party, EPP, and I wish them success,” Borisov told the media Tuesday.

Earlier Tuesday, UDF‘s National Council gathered in the city of Plovdiv to decide on whether it would take part in the 2013 general elections on its own. 49 members ofUDF‘s National Council voted for leaving the Blue Coalition and 34 were against.

“It is GERB‘s principle to not comment on internal issues and decisions of other parties,” Borisov further said.

In the last weeks, working teams of both UDF and DSB negotiated in depth the coalition agreement and the decision to dissolve the Blue Coalition came as somewhat a surprise to many.

Under the UDF party code, a new leader must now be elected.

The Blue Coalition was established in the eve of the general elections in 2009 and has been marred by troubles and discord ever since. It currently has 14 Members of the Parliament after Ventsislav Varbanov left to become independent.

The Coalition registered in 2009 for the European Parliament Elections without theUDF being officially listed as a party. The former UDF leader, Plamen Yurukov, who strongly opposed a coalition with the DSB leader, Ivan Kostov, registered with the Central Elections Commission, CEK, an UDF duplicate. UDF was officially listed as a coalition partner of DSB in time for the general elections.

DSB has said it is prepared to participate in the elections on its own. However, its representatives were in favor of keeping the Coalition alive.

Recent polls have suggested that neither of the two parties would be capable of gathering 4% of all votes in the 2013 election, the bare minimum required for entering the country’s Parliament.

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Bulgaria’s government is not responsible whatsoever for the two mobsters who vanished after receiving their sentences, the country’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisovhas stated.

Angel Hristov and Plamen Galev aka the “Galevi brothers” disappeared after the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation finally confirmed their organized crimesentences last week, and the two were supposed to be sent to jail for 5 and 4 years respectively.

“Judges could have detained them, the prosecutor could have demanded their detention,” Borisov said on Thursday, adding that the state cannot interfere with the work of the independent judicial system.

Upon asked whether the mobster pair is ridiculing the government, the Prime Minister became irritated and called the reporter “incompetent,” the BGNES news agency reports.

Earlier on Thursday, Bulgaria’s Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev has expressed his certainty that the notorious mobster pair will be found and apprehended.

Galev is to serve 5 years behind bars while Hristov will be in jail for 4 years, both on charges of participating in an organized crime group dealing with racket and extortion.

All candidates for elective offices in Bulgaria should undergo an obligatorypsychological assessment, Krasimir Velchev, a key MP with ruling centrist-rightGERB, has proposed.

The new measure should include Presidential runners, candidates for Mayors andcandidates for municipal council members, Velchev has told the 24 Chasa daily.

He has pointed out that the psychological evaluation of wanna-be elective officials is his own idea and not that of the party. Velchev is currently the chairman of GERB‘s parliamantary group.

Mayors exist in Bulgaria who “picture themselves as sheriffs”, the MP has pointed out. He has revealed that he questioned the sanity of some politicians even before he entered his country’s political life.

Velchev stated that his colleagues have supported his idea in informal conbersations.

Bulgaria’s ruling center-right GERB party plans to be in government well ahead in the future, and cabinet plans extend beyond the end of the mandate in 2013, said Bulgarian Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov Saturday.

“We plan to be in power for a long time. That is why we are considering the effects of our policies well beyond our current mandate,” explained Djankov in an interview for Darik Radio.

The Bulgarian FinMin was elaborating on cabinet plans to relocate a number of stateagencies based in capital Sofia to other cities across the country.

Last Sunday, Bulgaria’s PM Boyko Borisov first revealed that some agencies, including units of the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, and Ministry of Agriculture, will be moved to second largest city Plovdiv.

Saturday Djankov revealed that government plans are that the entire Ministry of Agriculture be eventually relocated to Plovdiv.

Friday Djankov had revealed that cabinet also intends to move the Finance Ministry Customs Agency to the Danube city of Ruse.

In the Darik Radio interview, the Bulgaria’s FinMin explained that the relocations will cost next to nothing to the state budget, as all the target cities have the infrastructure needed to house them.

In addition, Djankov argued that the moves will create a better business environment and more job opportunities in the respective cities.

He further suggested that new museums could be housed in the Sofia buildings that are going to be freed.

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Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has welcomed the first visitors to the day of open doors at Bulgaria’s Presidency in central Sofia.

Saturday the President‘s Office will be open 10 am – 4 pm for access for citizens who which to get acquainted with the building, its historic treasures, and the inner workings of the President‘s administration.

“For me it is very important to build a President‘s Office that is always open to people,” commented Plevneliev.

Bulgaria’s President gave an unexpected answer when asked by journalists which his favorite part of the presidential building is, by naming the corridors.

“I might surprise you by saying that I very much like walking down those corridors. Why? They have many doors. And when those doors are open, corridors function as connectors among people who work together sharing the same goals,” said Plevneliev.

He explained that he is hard at work at subverting an older paradigm of closeness and secrecy around Bulgaria’s Presidency towards a more integrative approach.

“The truth is: if you want to do your work well, you’ve got to have trust and communication. And those are things that are to be built slowly and diligently,” said Plevneliev.

He added that he hopes this model will gradually be transferred to the whole of Bulgaria’s state apparatus.

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Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has argued that an increase in pensions and salaries in the public sector in 2013 is achievable, provided that all efforts are concentrated on the task.

However, the mention of Djankov’s name among the participants of a congress of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) drew boos from the audience, while the name of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov was enthusiastically applauded.

At the opening of the forum, the CITUB demanded a 25% increase in the average wage against the backdrop of restored employment levels.

In his Wednesday statement, CITUB leader Plamen Dimitrov insisted that the minimum wage had to climb to BGN 330 (from the current BGN 290) by the beginning of 2013.

He stressed that the crisis had resulted in the loss of over 400 000 jobs and a shrinking of incomes in Bulgaria.

The trade union leader noted that the good dialogue with the government had brought good results such as preventing the loss of over 20 000 jobs through the program for part-time employment.

Prime Minister Borisov, in turn, emphasized on the importance of an efficient economy in Bulgaria.

“There is hardly a Prime Minister or a President who would frown at high pensions, high wages rising constantly, smaller workloads and a low retirement age,” Borisov noted, adding that the achievement of those universally desirable parameters was a question of economic leeway.

Borisov reminded that the current crisis had turned out to be the longest one.

The Prime Minister argued that Bulgaria had to boost the quality of its production to keep up with competition from India and China.

He emphasized that thousands of Bulgarians were working on a number of key infrastructure projects promising development for the country.

Borisov vowed that the projects that were being built would significantly boost the investment climate and the living standards.

The Prime Minister cited “privatization looting” as a major reason for the current economic woes.

In his Wednesday address, Finance Minister Djankov opposed the CITUB leader, saying that the minimum wage had grown by 22% since the beginning of the crisis, while the inflation had increased by 8%.

Prior to the opening of the CITUB congress, Djankov listed the benefits of the planned relocation of a number of state agencies away from the capital to big cities like Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo.

Karlo Lukanov, the son of former Bulgarian Prime Minister Andrey Lukanov, is entering the executive council of a Bulgarian political party called United Social Democracy.

Lukanov-junior told the Bulgarian National Radio on Monday that he had no intention of engaging himself in the political life for quite a long time. However, he pointed out that “a moment has come in which one should not just sit idly by and observe, criticizing from a distance.”

The newly established United Social Democracy party is an attempt for the unification of all social democratic movements in Bulgaria, Karlo Lukanovexplained.

The party is headed by Kolio Paramov, a former economic advisor to Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov.

Karlo Lukanov expressed his hope that his father’s assassination will be solved one day, adding that such cases are extremely difficult to be solved.

Andrey Lukanov was Bulgaria’s last Communist Prime Minister and the first after the collapse of the regime in 1989.

In 1990, Lukanov served as Bulgaria’s last Communist Prime Minister, at a time marked by corruption, massive food shortages, and civil unrest.

Lukanov was later charged with embezzlement and arrested, but charges were soon dropped. He had been engaged in controversial business dealings and had often been held responsible for Bulgaria’s foreign debt.

Lukanov remained an active political participant in the Bulgarian Socialist (formerly Communist) Party, often criticizing its various members.

He was murdered in October 1996 outside his apartment building in Sofia. He was shot in the head and chest by a lone gunman who fled and was never captured.