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.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz has thrown his weight behindBulgarian Socialist Party leader and ex PM Sergey Stanishev for the permanent post of President of the Party of European Socialists.

Schulz, who was also the leader of the European Socialists in the European Parliament before taking it over, had a guest lecture at Sofia University Thursday, organized by the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

The EP head made clear his support for Stanishev’s bid to become permanently in charge of the PES. Stanishev, who was Bulgaria’s Prime Minister in 2005-2009, was elected interim president of the Party of European Socialists on November 24, 2011, after the previous leader Poul Nyrup Rasmussen resigned for health reasons.

Stanishev is expected to remain the interim chief of PES until the party congress in September 2012. Schulz’s support for him comes just ahead of the congress of theBulgarian Socialist Party on May 19-20, 2012, in which Stanishev will battle his former mentor and ex President Georgi Parvanov for the party leadership.

“It’s not just that I support Stanishev. I was one of the people who endorsed him and nominated him [for the PES Presidency]. Before becoming the President of theEuropean Parliament I was also the chairperson of the Social-Democrats,” Schulz stated at his lecture in Sofia, as cited by Focus, stressing that Stanishev got elected unanimously as the interim head of PES.

“He is one of my best friends among the Social-Democrats in Europe. I think I supported him not only because of his competence and personal qualities but also because we have an indication that Bulgaria is a normal member of the EU, and this is no exception. It is very prestigious to have a Bulgarian at this position, and it shows that we are part of a single continent. It is a very positive signal that Bulgarian politician is in charge of an European political party. This is good for Bulgaria,” Schulz said at his public lecture in the Bulgarian capital, which was entitled “The European Way Out of the Crisis.”

Father Lyubomir Popov is an Orthodox priest in Bulgaria’s Black Sea City of Varna.

He was expelled from the temple “Athanasiy” and deposed by the ecclesiastical court at the Varna and Veliki Bishopric, but remains one of the most respected Servants of God in the city.

Popov was ordained deacon in 1978. From 1982 to 1998, he was a CoadjutorBishop of Varna, and a Parish Priest since 1998. After the expulsion, he serves in a hall, suited as some sort of church, where people from all backgrounds and ages continue to flock.

He was a Member of the Great National Assembly (Parliament). Popov does not belong to any alternative Synod and other churches. He knows in depth and cares about the problems of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and is not afraid to speak openly about them.

After his expulsion from the temple where served, his followers filed claims with the Strasbourg Court, for violation of their civil and human rights. In January 2009, the Court dismissed two of the claims and granted one (for violated rights of religion) and gave the parties in the case a deadline of three months to reach settlement. The same day the Holy Synod issued a formal address, which criticized the intervention of the Court in Strasbourg in the canonical works of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.

Father Popov, are you surprised by the number of bishops whose files expose them as agents and collaborators of the former Communist State Security, DS?

I am surprised. I expected that all of them were Communist agents.

Well, it is not possible for all of them. Plovdiv Bishop Nikolay, for example, is simply too young to have been recruited?

Yes, Nikolay wasn’t, but he is associated with former President Parvanov. All are connected with the Communist party. Gavrail‘s father was the keeper and guardian of Georgi Dimitrov. These people suddenly emerged in the Church, and then married some of “our” girls. And so it goes to this day.

Patriarch Maxim did not come out as collaborator of the Communist Secret Services?

Maxim‘s file was hidden or destroyed, when the regime decided that he will become Patriarch or when he became such. Didn’t you see how glad and happy he was when it was announced that nothing came out about him? Maxim personally begged the Tsar (and former Prime Minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg) to not open the files.

Why did the bishops remain silent for such a long time and keep being silent?

They thought that Communism would be eternal, that it would last forever and the files will never be open. Such a pathetic story.

What are you expecting to happen to these people now when their files are a fact?

Personally, they probably will not do anything, but they will either capitulate or will become isolated, which they really do not mind, because the Church‘s funds will still be theirs. They only care about this. They take huge fees for services and think that nobody will find out or inquire about them.

Ordinary priests have no means. They get paid with candles, in kind, but the Holy Synod invited the Russian Patriarch and works hard to prepare for his visit. RussianChurch representatives are secular-minded, they come here to eat and drink. I remember a similar story some time ago in the restaurant of the “Cherno More” (Black Sea) hotel in Varna – not only they ate and drank, but even stuffed their bags with food.

The bishops are illiterate people; they have no idea of Christendom. These are thugs in cassocks. They don’t care if no one visits the temples. They manipulate people through the canon. They marginalize the Church, thinking that people are ignorant and don’t understand.

According to the same canon, however, they should be excommunicated. The canon of the 30th apostolic rule says: “a man who took his episcopal rank with the assistance of government must be excommunicated.” Not deposed, but excommunicated.

Bishops are elected and they have to go and will go. In Bulgaria, things happen slowly. Nikolay and the other 3 persons will remain though.

Will the files influence the election of the next patriarch?

Unofficial they will influence the election. He will be neither Kiril nor Gavrail. At least I hope. The Church does not have to have a patriarch – we can have a vicar, to represent it until new people come.

According to a recent poll of Alpha Research, only 17% of Bulgarians are scandalized by the communist past of bishops and 33% say they don’t care?

If they are not interested in the files, then they are Christians of dubious quality. However, people are right to be discouraged by so many scandals. Church holidays are turning into ethnographic happenings.

Naturally, I must ask you – did DS try to recruit you?

Of course they tried, but most of them were lazy, they did not insist much; they did something mainly to justify their salaries. I was called in the regional militia (Communist police) office and they threatened me with deportation. They harassed my father because I went on a trip to Greece. They asked me questions about the Bishopric; they had no idea at all about things there and through me wanted to simulate work. They had me sign a declaration that I will cooperate with the State Security, and I refused. I told the Bishop and nothing more happened. Democracy arrived 3-4 years later.

How does a teenager decide to devote himself to God during Communist times?

I went to church for the first time with my grandmother, but she was not a churchperson in the true sense. I was 13 when I came to Varna. In junior high I became interested in the church doctrine, and gradually, through different ways, came to faith. For example, the sexton showed me some incriminated books, then I used the library of the Bishopric. My homeroom teacher in junior high strongly objected, she kept calling my parents to meetings and this motivated me even more. After military service, I worked at the post office. I was not accepted in the theological seminary because I wanted to enter there through equivalency exams, but studied theology in the theological academy and became a deacon. I met my wife in a circle of believers where we were discussing religious things.

Did the Communist regime exercise pressure on the Church?

I was ordained in 1978 under Bishop Yosif, who was in the Church before September 9, 1944. Because of him there were no problems; services were calm; people came. Communism is often exaggerated, it was not so scary.

Well, of course, there was pressure – the regime instated fear of open visits of temples, put pressure on priests, while senior clergy, as we found out, was replaced over the years with people loyal to the Communist party. After September 9, churches remained property of the Church, but many were declared historical monuments and closed for repairs, which became a way for closing them for service.

You say that it was not scary, but I think you weren’t afraid? They certainly had been pressuring you – the militia, DS, your homeroom teacher, as you said?

Well, yes, I was dramatically expelled from the Komsomol (the youth Communist organization). At the first meeting my classmates voted against. Then the District Committee of the Komsomol came and held a second meeting; they said the Vatican stood behind me, and again five voted against. I was also expelled from high school and graduated from evening school.

Tell us something about the notorious schism in the Bulgarian OrthodoxChurch?

Schism (in Bulgarian the word is razkol) is disciplinary disobedience. Many are yet to understand the real reason for the conflict. It began with Kalinik, Pankratiy andPimen - the most loyal people of the Communist Party. They were close to Andrey Lukanov. Schism is their deed, but why did the Communists do it, I don’t know – whether they wanted to oust the Patriarch or have an alternative, and weaken the clergy by dividing it? By 1996, it became clear that this schism went too far and the right wing was taking over. Then the Patriarch called a congregation where the fight was between the Union of Democratic Forces, UDF, and the Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP. So, they decided to bring an end to this story and called the EcumenicalPatriarch to a Pan-Orthodox Synod in 1998. Kalinik and Pankratiy became againbishops, but others did not come back and created a Second Synod, which was tolerated until 2004, when the Tsar, in a well-planned action, took over the Church. Officially, it was announced that the Church had taken back its churches, but in reality they were confiscated and the clergy from the Second Synod expelled. We won the case in Strasbourg, but are still waiting for its rule to be executed and don’t know whether we will ever see this … The law remains unchanged, notwithstanding the Court rule.

What happened in Varna?

The expulsion in Varna happened a year earlier, in 2003. The police ostensibly summoned me for some reference. Everyone else left the church after me and locked the doors. Meanwhile about 40 people, close to Bishop Kiril, arrived, broke in and took over the temple. They brought locksmiths with them, changed the locks and we never again entered there. We wrote to the prosecution and it issued an order to further explore this matter, but nobody did. There was also a second such prosecutor decision. Nothing else happened until this day…

Tell us something about the lucrative Church properties everyone is talking about?

The properties of the Church are managed by four entities – the Holy Synod, the Bishoprics, the Church Boards, and the so-called Monastery Fraternities. These properties belong to them; the decisions are approved by the Diocesan Council.Bishops, themselves, should not dispose of properties and sell them. But they do.

In Varna, the Church has no large estates, but in Northern Dobrudzha, after it was returned to Bulgaria, the State gave lands to everyone, including the Church - about 100 decares of land per village, and now these lands have great value.

And Varna Metropolitan Kiril gives anyone the lists of these lands. He sells and distributes property illegally, meddling in the work of the Church Boards. He was the one who replaced the Church Board in the village of Rogachevo, which is near the beach, because its members refused to sell their property. Eventually, it was sold cheaply to some Ukrainian businessman. bTV journalist Genka Shekerova filmed an investigative report about this infamous case in 2007.

What is your comment on Kiril‘s notorious Lincoln?

What more can I say than what I said above? Of course, this is not something accidental. He gave something to get it. Furthermore, it is inappropriate for him and any priest to use such car.

Well, how can these deals, these wrongdoings be controlled when theChurch is separated from the State?

The Church is a public body and subject to State control. The State has no right to interfere in the canons and the Church may not meddle in State affairs. But that does not mean that the Church can do whatever it wants. Can God’s servants be allowed to violate the law and abuse resources? These are public resources.

Editor’s note: With the onset of the Transition Period in Bulgaria, the Patriarchate experienced a serious crisis and split. A Second Synod was established, called by some “the Alternative Synod,” headed by Nevrokop Metropolitan Pimen, challenging the legality of the election of Patriarch Maxim. This process is known as theschism in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. In July 1996, a congregation, organized by “the Alternative Synod,” was held in Sofia, where Pimen was namedPatriarch.

Then, an Ecumenical Congregation was held in Sofia in 1998, at the request ofPatriarch Maxim, to resolve the dispute. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomewarrived and expressed support for Maxim.

Pimen died in 1999, and in 2001, the State in the face of President GeorgiParvanov and Prime Minister and former Tsar, Simeon Saxe-Coburg, expressed unequivocal support for Patriarch Maxim. The Member of the Parliament from Simeon’s National Movement for Stability and Prosperity, NMSP, Borislav Tsekov submitted the Religions Bill, to address the consequences of the schism and legitimize Patriarch Maxim. It was adopted into Law by the Parliament in December 2002. In 2003, the Constitutional Court confirmed that the Law on Religions is consistent with the Constitution.

In July 2004, the police and the Prosecutor’s Office launched an operation for the removal of the representatives of the “Alternative Synod” from the churches and from the properties of the Patriarchate.

The name of the actual buyer of the State-owned cigarette-maker monopoly Bulgartabac is going to be revealed very soon, Economy and Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov, promised.

Speaking Saturday from the Black Sea city of Varna, Traikov, however, stressed that the most important issue was who the investor is, not the buyer. He added that there is no guarantee about the ID of the latter, “unless it is one of the strategic ones.”

The Minister explained the possibility the tobacco monopoly can be resold stands, but whoever acquires it, will have the same commitments, reiterating social ones, related to the jobs of people at the company, were among the best protected.

In an earlier TV interview, also on Saturday, the Minister said the contract guarantees jobs at the Holding, and the company’s continuing pay of taxes and fees to the State. He pointed out workers there have excellent job conditions, and their labor contracts are among the most generous in the country.

When asked who is going to be the guarantor that Bulgartabac will comply with the contract, Traikov stated the control belongs fully to the Privatization and Post-privatization Control Agency.

The only member of the Agency’s Supervisory Board, Rusi Statkov, to vote against the deal, declared earlier that Bulgartabac must not be sold since the contract is against national interests. The Minister stressed again the deal was a good one taking into account the current situation.

After five-hour debates on Friday, the Supervisory Council of the Privatization and Post-privatization Control Agency approved the sale of Bulgartabac to o BT Invest, a firm wholly owned by Russia‘s government bank VTB.

The Supervisory Board of the Privatization and Post-privatization Control Agency is a political body, elected by the Parliament. It consist of three representatives of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party, one each from the opposition left-wing from the quota of the opposition left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, the opposition ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, the right-wing Democrats for Strong Bulgaria, DSB, and the far-right, nationalist Ataka.

The price offered by BT Invest, the sole bidder standing, after several major players withdrew, is EUR 100.1 M with investments of BGN 7 M in the next two years and the commitment to purchase 5 000 metric tons of Bulgarian tobacco a year (about 14% of the crop). The draft contract also includes a clause banning a resell in the next 5 years.

Meanwhile, the same day, the labor union of the Bulgartabac workers organized a protest rally in front of the Privatization Agency’s building in Sofia. They oppose the sale of the cigarette maker to the only remaining bidder in the public procurement procedure and insist that the Governing Board rejects the offer.

In a declaration to Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, the Union demands halting the deal and the resignation of the Privatization Agency’s CEO, Emil Karanikolov. About 500 people took part in the rally.

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Bulgaria will hold auctions for a total of six shale gas exploration blocks, said Kristalina Stoykova from the Geological Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS).

Stoykova heads a scientific group in charge of shale gas research in Bulgaria.

In her words, four of the blocks that will be auctioned off are located in North-East Bulgaria and two other in North-Central Bulgaria.

At this stage, US oil and gas giant Chevron has won a contract to carry out shale gas exploration works near the town of for Novi Pazar in North-East Bulgaria. ‘

According to the estimates of the bidders, the deposit near Novi Pazar contains between 300 billion and 1 trillion cubic meters of shale gas.

A few days ago, local authorities said they would appeal the government’s decision to sign a contract for shale gas exploration and production.

The tender procedures for the other shale gas exploration blocks have not been finalized yet.

According to Stoykova, shale gas exploration does not differ from conventional oil and gas drilling, with Bulgaria already hosting over 2000 such platforms.

Stoykova dismisses the risk of water and soil contamination as a result of shale gas exploration.

Shale gas remains a contentious issue in Bulgaria, with environmentalists and people residing near designated exploration blocks stressing the water, soil and air pollution and the seismic risks, while energy experts put the benefits of energy diversification at the forefront.

According to Bulgarian Energy Minister Traicho Traikov, a strong proponent of shale gas drilling, domestic shale gas deposits should suffice to guarantee the country’s natural gas consumption for the next 1000 years.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), however, has called for holding local referendums before giving the green light to shale gas exploration and extraction.

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.

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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.