The ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, still has not transferred the one million levs that it promised to donate to a flood-buried village, a check has shown.

The funding was to be taken from the party’s state subsidy and was destined to help the victims of the tragedy in the flooded southeastern village of Biser.

“This is our personal help to these people so that they can rebuild their homes. BGN 1 M for us as a party is a substantial amount. This will be in addition to the assistance from the European Commission, and money from the State budget,” Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, told Darik radio back in February.

The announcement of GERB donation sparked a heated controversy. The leader of the right-wing Democrats for Strong Bulgaria party, DSB, and former Prime Minister, Ivan Kostov, countered that the donation would infringe on the Political Parties Act and violates the law. The leader of the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, and also a former PM, Sergey Stanishev, called it a PR action.

In response to the vehement criticism, the National Audit Office issued a special statement, according to which political parties in Bulgaria can legally make charitable donations from their state subsidy.

The floods in southeastern Bulgaria took ten victims, while dozens remained homeless.

The tragedy struck at the beginning of February after the waters of the Ivanovodam bust its wall in the aftermath of heavy snow and flooded the nearby areas. The village of Biser was affected the worst.

The cabinet declared February 8 a national day of mourning for the victims.

By the end of April a total of BGN 900 180 has been donated to the account for thevictims of the floods, which the Bulgarian Red Cross opened.

Renown Bulgarian volleyball player Matey Kaziyski has hinted he may boycott the upcoming Olympic Games in London due to the scandal that erupted between Bulgaria’s volleyball federation and the country’s national team coach.

Coach Radostin Stoychev was dismissed by the federation on Sunday, a day after his team was defeated by Germany in the second semifinal of the 2012 Olympic Games-European Qualification Tournament in Sofia.

The dismissal triggered an outrage among Bulgarian volleyball fans who stated that Stoychev’s dismissal was humiliating and that the move would deal a serious blow to the team’s efforts to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Stoychev, who learned about his own dismissal from the media, as well as several key players, including Kaziyski and setter Andrey Zhekov, voiced their strong criticism of the way the volleyball federation has been managed.

On Wednesday, the federation reinstated Stoychev as national team coach, a move believed to be inspired by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Borisov demanded that Stoychev be reinstated earlier the same day.

Stoychev declared that he will not lead the team at the Olympic Games if thefederation‘s president, Dancho Lazarov, does not resign.

On Friday, Kaziyski said the team is now focused on qualifying for the Olympic Games.

“I am staying in the team for the qualifying campaign,” he told Nova TV, prompting local media to suggest that he would boycott the Olympic tournament if the team qualifies.

Kaziyski once again criticized the federation, stating it has prioritized personal interests over volleyball.

 

Bulgaria’s Economy and Energy Minister, Delyan Dobrev, is discussing Thursday with bank creditors the future of the Kardzhali Lead and Zinc Complex (LZC; OTZK).

OTZK is the largest Bulgarian producer of non-ferrous metals in the southern city of Kardzhali, providing until recently livelihood of many in the city and the region.

OTZK has been out of operation in the past five months due to the plant’s failure to meet environmental safety requirements.

OTZK owner Valentin Zahariev also failed to complete the investment program of the plant and to pay salaries to a total of 519 employees for six months.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, had assured the regional administration on Wednesday that there is still interest on the part of a “solid, financially stable investor,” adding the State expects from Zahariev to become more active, so that an agreement could be reached.

It was also reported that Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, had a talk Wednesday evening with the new owner of the Gorubso mines in the southern town of Madan,Nikolay Valkanov, to “find work for OTZK employees.” The information was reported by Borisov himself, speaking Thursday for Nova TV.

According to the PM, the State is seeking Valkanov’s assistance so that the metallurgists can receive their wages until the conclusion of the negotiations with the creditors. He admitted that the huge debts of the complex are pushing potential investors away.

The South Stream gas pipeline is project of high priority for Bulgaria, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has declared.

Borisov has pointed out the financial benefits of projects like South Stream that make use of his country’s geostrategic location.

He added that the money gathered by Bulgaria from this project will be used for “retirement pensions, salaries and asphalt,” the latter referring to ruling centrist-right GERB’s priority on the construction of highway.

The South Stream pipeline is intended to transport up to 63 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to Central and Southern Europe annually, diversifying Russian gas routes away from transit countries such as Ukraine.

The pipe will go from Russia to Bulgaria via the Black Sea; in Bulgaria it will split in two – with the northern leg going through Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia to Austria and Northern Italy, and the southern leg going through Greece to Southern Italy.

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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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov and Qatari PM Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thaniin Bulgaria on Friday, reports say.

Al Thani is to arrive to the Bulgarian capital on Thursday on the invitation of Borisov, while Erdogan’s short visit on Friday was announced yesterday.

The Bulgarian National Radio has cited Turkish sources saying that the three Prime Ministers will hold a joint meeting on Friday. They are expected to focus on trade,energy and transport issues, as well as specific projects and investments.

Borisov and Erdogan are expected to discuss the construction of a natural gas interconnection pipeline between Bulgaria and Turkey, which is to allow the former to receive gas supplies from Azerbaijan.

An agreement for Qatari investments of USD 100 M that was discussed during Borisov mid-March to Qatar is also expected to be among the key topics.

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Workers at Bulgaria’s largest non-ferrous metal producer, the Kardzhali Lead and Zinc Complex (OTzK), have sought assistance from Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan for an end to grievous mismanaged by the factory owner, according to a report in a Turkish news site.

OTzK workers have complained that they have not received their salaries for months, and that factory owner Valentin Zahariev has been engaging in a chronic draining of the enterprise.

The Lead and Zinc Complex, once a state-of-the-art facility, provides the livelihood of an important part of Bulgaria’s south-eastern city of Kardzhali, one of the centers of Bulgaria’s sizeable Turkish minority.

Due to heavy debts of the OTzK, many fear that it might go bankrupt or even close doors, as lending banks have already initiated proceedings against the enterprise to collect their dues.

The Bulgarian government then reacted by terminating the concession contract due to breaches, and transferring the mine to a consortium controlled by businessmanNikolay Valkanov.

Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov and Minister of Economy and Energy Delyan Dobrevhave however said they have no similar way to counteract developments at OTzK, as the factory is privately owned.

Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) and Novinite.bg are publishing an interview with Bozhidar Dimitrov, a prominent historian, Director of Bulgaria’s National History Museum in Sofia, and a former Minister of Bulgarians Abroad (Diaspora Minister) in the Borisov Cabinet in 2009-2011. Interview by Evelina Ivanova, a freelance journalist.

Bozhidar Dimitrov has an impressive resume, a harsh language and a knack for stirring up the national spirit. Just recently the head of the Bulgarian National Museum of History (NIM) announced his plans to build a chapel within the confines of the museum to house the relics of the seven Bulgarian saints known as Sveti Sedmochislenitsi, i.e. the authors of the two Slavic alphabets, St. Cyril and St. Methodius (authors of the Glagolitic Alphabet), and their five disciples, including St. Kliment Ohridski (i.e. of Ohrid) and St. Naum Preslavski (i.e. of Preslav) (authors of the Cyrillic Alphabet), as well as St. Angelarius, St. Sava, and St. Gorazd. And even though the digging has not begun yet, the first step has already been made. The relics of Saint Kliment Ohridski (of Ohrid) are already on exhibit in the museum and have attracted great public interest.

How did a particle of the relics of St. Kliment Ohridski (ca. 840-916 AD) end up at Bulgaria’s National Museum of History?

It must have been God’s doing as two coincidences occurred. I had made up my mind to build a chapel in the yard of NIM where I wanted to gather the relics of all the Seven Saints or Svetite Sedmochislenitsi (who created and spread the Bulgarian alphabet).

I know exactly where these relics are kept and I’ve already held preliminary talks with the respective authorities. So I picked a place that seemed appropriate for the building of a chapel as it faced east. And I was surprised to find out that in the past, in that very same spot, there had stood another chapel of which only the flooring had been preserved.

Later on I contacted Bulgarian Bishop Sioniy to ask for his assistance in bringing my plan into action. This is when the second coincidence occurred. Bishop Sioniy said to me, “I already have what you are looking for”.

It turned out that a particle of the relics of St. Kliment Ohridski had been bestowed upon him by some Greek monks when he himself was still a monk. I believe that we’ll manage to gather a particle of the relics of all Seven Saints before the chapel is built. The first sod will be turned on May 24 (the official holiday of the Slavic Script and Bulgarian Culture). But I cannot say when the chapel will be finished. This too is in God’s hands.

Why do you want to erect a chapel in the name of the Seven Saints?

Because these saints are more peculiar. They had not been tortured – they had neither been strangled, nor burned alive, nor had they lived in poverty. For example, Kliment, who was born in Moesia and was most probably a native of Pliska (the ancient capital of Bulgaria), was granted three boyar houses by Tsar Boris I.

His disciples were also graciously treated and for good reason too. Because these men had accomplished a real feat – they gave the Bulgarian people a weapon that was much more powerful than a warrior’s sword –that weapon was the Slavic alphabet.

It’s a proven fact that a people without an alphabet is doomed to disappear within a period of 150 years. This is what happened to the Ancient Thracians. They had no written language, no historical memory and they vanished, though there were the second largest nation in their time.

The Bulgarians did not disappear. Even during the darkest of ages, when the Bulgarian people had lost their natural leader, a monk came into the scene, Paisius of Hilendar (ca. 1722-1773 AD) (author of Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya, The History of the Slavo-Bulgarians written 1762 AD) and he paved the way for the Bulgarian national and spiritual revival [in the 18th and 19th century].

After the death of St. Methodius, the five disciples of St. Cyril and St. Methodius – Kliment, Naum, Gorazd, Angelarius and Sava were arrested by the newly crowned king of Great Moravia but were later released at the demand of the Bulgarian Tsar Boris I (r. 851-889 AD) and in 886 AD arrived at the municipal town of Beograd.

What did Tsar Boris I assign them? He sent them to different parts of the country, demanding them to fulfil a deed that was truly colossal, intellectually and production-wise – they had to assist about 20 000 Bulgarian churches in introducing the Bulgarian language in their liturgies (up until then, the people in the First Bulgaria Empire, who were formally converted to Christianity in 864 AD had to use Greek in their church services – editor’s note).

In order to achieve that they had to educate 7-8 000 priests and produce 20 books for each church which amounted to a sum total of 400 000 books. And they managed to achieve all that in just 7 years.

This task may seem easy to us today but it was a veritable feat at that time. Why? Because there were no schools, no literate priests and the manufacturing of books was quite laborious. About 15-20 million lambs had to be slaughtered for these books to be produced. This was quite a lot of money. But Tsar Boris I stood firmly behind the deed and invested all his political and financial resources in it.

How do Bulgarians today view their saints?

They respect them and want to know more about them. Last year, [the Black Sea town of] Sozopol welcomed about 500 000 visitors who wanted to honor the relics of St. John the Baptist which are exposed at the recently renovated church in the town, “St. Cyril and St. Methodius”. Relics such as those of St. John the Baptist and St. Kliment Ohridski are historical monuments that give people a certain kind of spiritual calm.

Talking about Sozopol, we must say that this town has enjoyed quite a bit of financial support from the Bulgarian state. How, at a time of a financial crisis, did Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov manage to find the means needed for the completion of the newly discovered excavations?

Let me clarify something – the Finance Minister will find the means. So far a minimal amount of money has been granted so that the excavations could continue.

Otherwise, due to the present discoveries and the growing public interest, Minister Dyankov sees Sozopol as a pilot project for the development of a historical tourism. Statistics show that the tourist flow for Sozopol has increased by 30% for last year. And we should give credit for that to the locals as well.

Just recently, Dr. Nanyo Ivanov, who has lived and worked in Sozopol for many years, built a chapel named after Ivan Rilski where icons of the Bulgarian Tsar Tervel (r.ca. 700-718 AD) can be seen. Tervel is no ordinary saint. Up until the 19th century, he was considered to be one of Europe’s biggest saints – more than 60 plays had been written about him and staged in theaters in France, Germany.

The truth is that Khan Tervel saved Europe from the first Muslim invasion – that of the Arabs at the beginning of the 8th century (i.e. the 717 AD Battle at Constantinople in which Bulgarian Khan Tervel defeated some 80 000 invaders besieging the Byzantine capital – editor’s note). However, later on, Europe proclaimed Charles Martel for its saviour, although he defeated only 6000 Arabs (i.e. French military commander Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours (Poitiers), 732 AD – editor’s note). This kind of Europocentrism is quite unfair but hardly surprising.

Nearby this newly built chapel, archaeologists have stumbled upon the medieval monastery St. Apostles?

Yes, this is an impressive monastery, built at the time of Tsar Mihail Shishman (r. 1323-1330 AD, Second Bulgarian Empire – editor’s note). We’d been looking for it for quite some time. It was a lucky coincidence that I came across a document in which the headmaster of the town’s Greek school had written that on that same spot „where the monastery had once scattered light now a school stands”. We were fearful that the school could have been built on top the monastery but our fears were dispersed – at that time people were deeply religious and they had kept the monastery intact. But we made one other discovery too which somehow remained in the background. We found the entrance to the city’s fortification wall.

Was this discovery a lucky coincidence, too?

No. We were aware that part of the fortification wall was located behind two illegally built barrack-like restaurants. After the Bulgarian parliamentary elections in 2009 we brought them down. And because God helps the brave, he gave us a bonus – apart from the entrance to the fortification wall, we also discovered one other monastery with a big church and interesting architecture but a rather unusual location– right in front of the wall’s entrance. At the time it was absolutely forbidden to build in front of the city walls and especially in front of its gates because an approaching enemy could have used the buildings as a shelter. So why did they build this monastery then?

It probably gave refuge to mariners who were used to causing trouble with their indecent behaviour. Indeed the monastery is named after their patron St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. There are other mysterious things too. Some lead stamps were also discovered, all of which belonged to Byzantine emperors from the 11th C. Why such imperial interest in that part of the Black Sea coast? Some colleagues argue that after the Battle of Manzikert when the Byzantine army was defeated by the Seljuq Turks (1071 AD) plans were made to set up a ‘back-up’ capital of the empire which was to be located in present-day Sozopol.

Otherwise the medieval churches in Sozopol are more than 20, each chapel in the town was also built in proximity to some church. We are still looking for a 30-meter medieval church. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we stumble upon the Holy Grail too. And you shouldn’t think that this is some cup made of massive gold. The grail is holy because Christ had drunk from it at the last supper. It is most probably just an ordinary cup like those used at the pubs, made of stone or ceramics.

Do Bulgarians know their history?

Yes, Bulgarians have greater historical competence than other Europeans. This is probably due to the fact that it’s rather difficult for a German to learn his or her history. While the entire Bulgarian people were subjected to the power of one khan, in Germany things were quite different – up until Otto von Bismark there were 300 kingdoms. Which history should one study first – that of Prussia, of Bavaria, of Schleswig-Holstein? Italy is in a similar predicament – there you have the Republic of Venice, of Genoa, the Pope’s state, the Kingdom of Naples, the Kingdom of the Two Scillies. We don’t have one or two Bulgarias. Those who sought independence from the state, did not dare proclaim themselves ‘tsars’. In the 14th century Dobrotitsa is an independent feudal ruler, he had great power but had he proclaimed himself a ‘tsar’, no one would have recognized his title.

What kind of history are Bulgarians making today?

The usual kind. Right now we are ‘writing’ the history of Bulgaria caught in the clutches of a world economic and financial crisis that spans a number of years. It is not unusual to be upset, to protest against the current situation. I myself don’t like the fix we are in but things are what they are. Luckily, we have a rather good Minister of Finance who grapples with the problems.

And what kind of Prime Minister do we have? Is Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov an absolute ruler just like the Bulgarian khans and tsars before him?

No, such claims are groundless. One thing is clear however, there are no friendships in politics, there are only partners and collaborators. Olympiy Panov is one Stefan Stambolov’s best friends (Olimpiy Panov and Stefan Stambolov were Bulgarian freedom-fighters and politicians in the newly liberated Bulgarian state at the end of the 19th century – editor’s note). The two are an unbeatable duo at card-cheating. But Panov staged a coup against Stambolov and the latter sentenced him to death. This is how things are in politics. You shouldn’t get involved if you can’t handle it.

Do you regret getting involved in politics. For over two years you were a minister without portfolio, responsible for the Bulgarians abroad?

No, I managed to get done many nice things. The Bulgarian Parliament approved the Law for the Bulgarian Citizenship, which stopped the corruption related to the procedures for getting a Bulgarian citizenship.

I can’t say if this corruption dates back to the time when Angel Marin was Vice President of Bulgaria, but the protocols that are kept at the Cabinet pointed out that the unofficial fee for receiving a Bulgarian citizenship was EUR 10 000. Now things are continuously improving, even though I’m no longer responsible for the Bulgarians abroad.

In 2010, when I was still the minister, about 15 000 Bulgarians received citizenship, last year, when Finance Minister Dynkov took over that responsibility, their number grew to 18 000. And this is good enough for me. I am glad I managed to increase Bulgaria’s population amidst a demographic crisis. (Dimitrov refers to his policies of granting Bulgarian citizenship to members of the historic Bulgarian communities abroad – such as those in Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Serbia – editor’s note.)

Are these new Bulgarian citizens an asset to the country?

Indeed they are. For example, one of the leading Macedonian doctors lives and works here in Sofia. Dr. Vladimir Dimov is a specialist in abdominal surgery and a former health minister of Macedonia. The Bulgarian from the region of Bessarabia (in Moldova and Ukraine) Leonid Bazan, who was born in Bulgaria, recently won a silver medal at the European Wrestling Championship. I expect him to snatch the gold at the upcoming Olympiad.

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.

The European Union‘s executive will suspend in the short term the excessivebudget deficit procedure against Bulgaria as the country has taken adequate steps to correct it, a deputy finance minister believes.

Bulgaria‘s budget deficit dipped below the European Union limit of 3% of gross domestic product last year because of the government’s prudent fiscal management, Deputy Finance Minister Boryana Pencheva told MPs from the European affairs parliamentary committee.

“Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency, already confirmed that Bulgaria‘s budgetdeficit was a notch above 2% of GDP in 2011,” she added.

According to the deputy minister the European Commission usually suspends the proceedings for excessive budget deficit once the country meets the EU target and shows stable fiscal indices.

“The good news is that Bulgaria has one of the lowest budget deficit in EU and the second-lowest debt in the EU – at the end of 2011, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia 6.0% and Bulgaria 16.3%,” said Pencheva.

The European Commission launched in July 2010 an excessive budget deficitprocedure against Bulgaria and 24 other EU member-states to ensure that the countries reduce swiftly their state spending, and keep their budget deficit below 3% of the GDP.

The measure came shortly after Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said the previous Socialist-led government had kept them in the dark over BGN 2.16 B contracts, which pushed the 2009 deficit up from a projected 1.9% to 3.7% of GDP

In the first of its twice-yearly reviews of government finances in the 27-member bloc, Eurostat said the Bulgarian government’s budget deficit was 3.9% of gross domestic product in 2010.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the country’s former Socialist-led administration, saying the government has lied to the EU colleagues about the country’s readiness for the euro zone, being unaware of this trap.

The EU’s stability and growth pact requires governments to maintain public deficits below 3% of gross domestic product.

Bulgaria‘s government and the European Commission recently revised downwards their forecast for the economy of the Balkan country, estimating it is to grow 1.4% in 2012 due to worsening growth prospects in key trading partners across Europe and stagnant domestic demand.

Experts however have warned of looming recession. They have criticized the government for refusing to present updated forecasts for the economy’s growth this year and adapt the state budget to a more realistic scenario, not ruling out technical recession.