The Bulgarian Parliament will vote on second reading Wednesday and Thursday legislation relating to Bulgaria’s state budget for 2012.

Prior to that, the Bulgarian government had agreed with trade unions not to up the retirement age before 2021, and had signed an agreement with representatives of farmers regarding much larger subsidies than those stipulated in the draft budget 2012.

Key figures in Bulgaria’s draft budget for 2012, as defended by Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov, include a deficit of 1.35% of GDP, growth of 2.9%, and inflation of 2%.

www.novinite.com

They insisted on a meeting with Borisov and his Deputy, Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, but did not get a positive response.

Meanwhile, the demonstrators, represented by the National Grain Producers Association, were invited to meet with Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, but declined the invitation on the grounds he is not authorized to sign any decisions.

The Association’s Chair says – one the invitation came too late and two – people have trust only in Borisov’s words.

The grain producers demand adherence to the financial agreement signed by the cabinet in September, immediate lift on excise on fuel they use and Djankov’s and Naydenov’s resignations. They vowed to stage a new protest Wednesday. Their permit expires at 10 pm the same day, when they have to leave the city.

Meanwhile, Naydenov confirmed that the cabinet remains unwavering in not giving in to the grain producers in their demands for more funding, saying he favored their sector for a long time, and now is “enjoying the results of it.”

“They will receive what is slated in the budget – this is what we can do now; I wish it was more too. If we show weakness and yield to the pressure – we will have a domino effect,” the Minister stressed.

He appealed to the protesting farmers to act reasonably and stop the rallies, saying as a citizen and father, he wants Bulgarians to have on the table not only grain, but meat, fruits and vegetables.

Naydenov explained that the Association of Grain Producers first asked to meet at 9 am; then said it was too early and asked for 11 am, and then changed it to 2 pm, and finally were the only ones from the farming sector, who failed to show up.

www.novinite.com

Stefan Sofiyanski, the highly popular-turned-controversial former Sofia mayor, launched his pre-election campaign for a new term as head of the municipality office on Sunday.

Sofiyanski was Sofia Mayor in 1995-2005, after being elected three times – in 1995, 1999, and 2003; in 2005, he backed out of the job to become a Member of Parliament. In 2006, he became a Bulgarian observer in the European Parliament, and then, briefly, a MEP in January-May 2007.

In 1997, Sofiyanski temporarily stepped down as Sofia Mayor to head a caretaker Cabinet amidst the financial and political crisis that grabbed the country. Until 2003, when he founded his own party, the Union of Free Democrats (UFD), Sofiyanski was an emblematic figure in the Union of Democratic Forces, the major anti-communist and pro-Western Bulgarian party of the 1990s.

Sofiyanski resignation from the mayor seat of Sofia in 2005 paved the way for Boyko Borisov, Bulgaria’s current Prime Minister, to rise to prominence by winning the by-elections in 2005.

Sofiyanski‘s political image has been marred by corruption allegations. In 2004-2008, he faced three corruption trials but was acquitted in all three of them because he was found not to be responsible, and for lack of evidence.

Sofiyanski‘s bid for the 2011 local elections was formally announced at the beginning of June by a brand-new rightist formation uniting a number of marginal diverse political subjects.

The new “Community of Democratic Forces” (CDF) includes the Union of Free Democrats, the Democratic Party, the Gergyovden (St. George’s Day) Movement led by Sofia city councilor and popular author Lyuben Dilov Jr., the “Radicals” Union, the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, the Agricultural Movement Association, the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union “Nikola Petkov”, plus several even more marginal formations.

Sixteen now-independent Members of the Bulgarian Parliament have so far voiced their desire to create a new political formation.

The news was announced Sunday for the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, by independent MP, Dimitar Chukarski, formerly from the group of the conservative Order, Law and Justice party, RZS.

Chukarski said the 16 are united by their right-wing views and the opinion the current cabinet is the best for Bulgaria at the moment.

Regarding the much debated issue of how to redirect the State subsidies the independents have received for being elected on the ballot of a particular party, and should they be redirected, the MP stressed previous Parliaments have always used the opportunities to redirect, citing the names of the leader of the right-wing party Democrats for Strong Bulgaria, Ivan Kostov, and his former leader, the Chair of RZS, Yane Yanev.

According to Chukarski, half of the new independent MPs have been deprived of their right to work in different Parliamentary Committees thus of the right to voice political opinions.

Meanwhile, Stoyan Ivanov, who became the latest MP to leave the ranks of the far-right, nationalist Ataka party, declared he would remain independent and he was leaving his subsidy to Ataka.

“I am leaving Ataka; I am not joining any group, and to be clearer – stop the insinuations with this party subsidy – I consciously missed all deadlines to transfer the subsidy to another formation. I am leaving it to Ataka,” Ivanov said.

Evgeniya “Zheni” Zhivkova, a prominent Bulgarian designer, has revealed her ambitions to run as the leftist Bulgarian Socialist Party’s presidential candidate in the upcoming October elections.

Zhivkova is the granddaughter of the communist head of state Todor Zhivkov, who was in power from 1971 until 1989. She was also an MP from 2001 until 2009.

“I consider the option to continue my participation in BSP‘s presidential nominations shortlist,” she told the TV7 private channel Monday.

Evgeniya Zhivkova stated that a President should be “a unifier of the nation”.

She revealed that she will organize concerts and celebrations dedicated to the 100th anniversary since Todor Zhivkov‘s birth, which is on September 7. Apart from that, public debates will be held on which Zhivkov’s political legacy will be discussed, she said.

Zhivkova described her grandfather as a “scapegoat”, claiming his good political deeds are vastly overlooked and that his legacy will be appreciated sooner or later.

www.novinite.com

Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has rejected allegations that donations received by the institution have strings attached, at the same time remaining elusive about whether the Ministry would return them.

According to Tsvetanov, no persons have enjoyed protections or privileged status on the part of Bulgaria’s law enforcement system provided that sufficient evidence has been collected to start an investigation.

His statement came during the official celebrations marking the 132th anniversary since the establishment of the Interior Ministry.

Tsvetanov specified that the contributions had been received as a result of well-executed crime prevention activities, which spared the donor in question substantial damages.

“Everything that the Interior Ministry has received in donation counts as additional resources which enable us to uphold security and social order in the respective residential units. At present, given the restrictive budget the Interior has, it can not afford to spend more on fuel, which is among the major cost-incurring areas”, Tsvetanov stated.

He also made it clear that the Interior was about to receive a building as a donation.

In his words, the premises had been used as a dormitory, which was no longer necessary, and would now be converted into a regional police directorate.

According to Tsvetanov, the cost of repair works at the donated building would be much lower than the cost of building new premises.

Earlier Tuesday, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said that he would not accept donations by private individuals, urging the Interior Ministry to return donations originating from suspicious donors.

According to recently published statistics, Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry has received a total of BGN 6.5 M in donations since the beginning of 2011.

www.novinite.com

The newly-elected head of the Sofia City Court, judge Vladimira Yanova, has declared that she will not resign, and will not even withdraw from a trial over which she is claimed to be involved in conflict of interest.

The new Sofia City Court head is alleged to have failed to declare several properties and likely committed conflict of interests by attempting to halt a legal case that could implicate her father in murky real estate deals.

Suspicions of conflict of interests stem from deals concluded with the notorious Sofia municipal company “Sofiyski Imoti” (Sofia Properties).

Another aspect of Yaneva’s case is that she bought two stores from Sofia Properties as a representative of her father’s firm “Yana-Yane Yanev”, which is technically a commercial deal – a transaction in which magistrates are prohibited from participating. The property deals in question were made in May and June 2002, two months after Yaneva was appointed a Junior Judge at the Sofia City Court.

Speaking on Friday, Yaneva made it clear she will not withdraw from a trial investigating abuses in the Sofia Properties company even though in the past she made deals with the former heads of the company whose case she is now trying in court.

“There is no conflict of interest in this trial. I don’t have personal interests in the outcome of the trial,” Yaneva said in her first public appearance after she was recently selected by the VSS to head the Sofia City Court.

Meanwhile, a letter that she provided to the Supreme Judicial Council explaining her history of interaction with Sofiyiski Imoti was provided to the media. In her account, Yaneva technically confirms all publications in the media about her past dealings with Sofia Properties.

She also points out that she has not scheduled a hearing on the Sofia Properties trial yet. She confirms that on December 20, 2010, she terminated the case and returned it for investigation to the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office citing procedural violations.

The judge, however, has not provided any explanations as to why she has allegedly delayed the hearing of the case, or why she would not withdraw from it.

The former CEO of Sofia Properties Toshko Dobrev, who was in charge of the company when Yaneva made a deal with it, is now a defendant on charges of abuses in the notorious municipal company.

All donations received by the Interior Ministry will be stored on electronic or paper records for a period of five years, according to newly approved internal rules and regulations.

The new document, prepared by a working group of the Interior Ministry, sets out the procedure for signing donation contracts, for keeping records in the donation registry, for exercising control over donations and lists permissible types of donations.

The rules are aimed at creating transparent and accountable procedures for accepting and managing donations so as to prevent embezzlement and preserve “the good reputation and the property interests of the Interior Ministry“.

According to the newly adopted paper, all Bulgarian and foreign natural and legal persons are eligible for donors to the Interior, excluding convicted persons and ones involved in criminal proceedings.

The Interior Ministry is allowed to accept donations of movable property, money, services, intellectual property rights and securities.

Anonymous donations are not allowed, as well as morally and ethically unacceptable donations, ones that presuppose material or non-material gifts and favors in return or ones that could “obstruct the execution of key tasks and activities of the Interior”.

The introduction of the new requirements comes after media announcements that Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry received a total of BGN 6 512 714 from private sponsors in the first quarter of 2011.

In the meantime, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov insisted that donations were not reprehensible because they did not imply any commitment on the part of the Ministry.

According to Tsvetanov, a large part of the donations is motivated by the excellent work of the police.

Bulgaria’s former foreign minister and current member of the European Parliament, Nadezhda Neynski, formerly Mihaylova, has confirmed plans to join the race for president in the autumn.

“I believe I am fit to run for the presidential office, which is the reason why I have agreed that my party debates my nomination,” Neynski told the morning broadcast of Nova TV channel on Friday.

“It does not matter what I think about my chances to win the elections. What my party thinks is what matters most.”

She stressed that the most important issue during the run-up to the presidential elections should be the debate about the prerogatives of the head of state office and warned of the danger of disappointment.

Nadezhda Neynski has been the name most often mentioned by media and public as a possible right-wing candidate. A recent poll has shown she enjoys about 10% support.

The Blue Coalition has said it is ready to negotiate with other parties as well. According to them the election platform of the presidential candidate must focus on education, health care and administration.

Some 63% of Bulgarians are pessimists about their country’s future, according to a poll conducted by Gallup International in April 2011.

After March became the first month in which over 60% of the surveyed by Gallup were pessimistic about their country’s development since the current ruling centrist-right GERB party took over in 2009, April’s poll marked a 2% decrease.

Bulgaria’s EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, is the most popular Bulgarian politician, scoring a 62% approval rating.

Lagging far behind are three political figures with an equal rating – Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev, President Georgi Parvanov and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, all of whom with 39%. Bulgaria’s former European commissioner, Meglena Kuneva is also there with 38%, the poll says.

If the Parliamentary election were to be held now in Bulgaria, GERB would claim the victory with 25%, the leftist Bulgarian Socialist Party would gather around 20%, while the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms would attract 6% of the voters.

If Borisov was to face Kuneva in a possible second tour of the upcoming presidential elections, he would gather 33% against her 27% with the rest not voting. Kuneva would beat Plevneliev by 30% to 25%. If Kuneva is to face current Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, she would win 32% against Tsvetanov’s 20%.