Retirement age in Bulgaria for males and females will be the same after 2020, according to the Minister of Social Policy and Labor, Totyu Mladenov.

Mladenov explained Monday that in 2017 retirement age for men would reach 65 while by 2020 the one for females will be 63, and it will increase, along with the required years of service, by 4 months each year for both sexes. He added that making retirement age the same after 2020 can only happen gradually.

The Minister further informed that debates on retirement age of army personnel and employees of the Interior Ministry with the participation of the labor unions are pending.

The minimum retirement age in Bulgaria was increased by 4 months as of January 1, 2012, as part of a controversial retirement reform package that kicked in.

The same measure will be applied on the first day of each of the upcoming several years, until the retirement age in Bulgaria reaches 65 years for men and 63 for women.

Up until the new pension reform was approved in December 2011, Bulgaria’sretirement age was 63 years for men and 60 years for women.

In addition, the minimum time served by police and military officers in Bulgaria required for retirement has been increased by 2 years, reaching 27 years.

In December, Bulgaria’s Parliament expectedly rejected the veto imposed by outgoing President Georgi Parvanov on retirement age changes.

The controversial “retirement reform” to up the pension age was initiated byFinance Minister Simeon Djankov in the fall of 2011 as a way of saving budget funds sooner rather than later; an earlier agreement with syndicates and business organizations was supposed to delay the increase of the retirement age in Bulgaria till 2021.

Also on Monday, Totyu Mladenov voiced hope that by 2013 unemploymentamong young Bulgarians would decrease by 4%-5% and that an agreement with the business and the labor unions will be signed by the end of May regarding offering first jobs for youth.

The Minister declared the Cabinet is undertaking a number of measures to reduceyouth unemployment.

According to flash results from the Labor Force Survey, carried out and published by the National Statistical Institute, NSI, in the first quarter of 2012 theunemployment rate in the country has reached the staggering 12.9%.

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.

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.

Since the beginning of the year, no money has been transferred to Bulgaria‘s Silver Fund, set up to anchor the public pension system, shows its balance sheet, published online by the finance ministry.

Under local legislation the money in the Silver Fund comes from privatization deals, concessions, and budget surpluses (if any).

The money the Bulgarian state got from the sale of its dominant tobacco companyBulgartabac last year has also gone up in smoke, the check shows.

Bulgaria‘s sale body, the Privatization agency, told Dnevnik daily that the price of EUR 100.1 M has been paid by the buyer and transferred immediately to the account of the state budget in the central bank.

Under local legislation them money should next be transferred to the Silver fund, but this does not feature in its end of April report.

Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has explained that the transfer will be made by the end of May, admitting that by then the money can be invested or stacked up in a deposit account. The returns however will not be channeled into the Silver Fund, he pointed out.

The Silver Fund, a state retirement fund set up in 2008 in order to cover future pension system deficits caused by Bulgaria‘s aging population, is currently worth BGN 1.78 B.

The Bulgarian government wants to allow its Silver Fund to also invest in bonds issued by national and local administrations. At the moment, only foreign securities with an adequate credit rating may be purchased.

The proposal was criticized by the European Central Bank, which says the fact that Bulgarian securities would not require a rating could place the Bulgariangovernment in “a privileged position compared to other issuers.”

Such “indirect discrimination” could lead to “unjustified restrictions on the free movement of capital,” thus violating European Union rules.

Another concern is that provisions allowing the Silver Fund to channel up to 70 per cent of its portfolio on Bulgarian bonds by 2016 could lead to skewed yields not driven purely by the markets.

Finance Minister Simeon Djankov responded in a letter by stressing that any Bulgarian bond issues purchased by the fund would have interest rates based on market benchmarks.

The headquarters of the Bulgarian Customs Agency will be moved to the Danube city of Ruse as part of the decentralization plan of the government.

The news was reported in the Parliament Friday by Deputy Prime Minister andFinance Minister, Simeon Djankov, cited by Darik radio.

Djankov, who is the mastermind of the plan, explained to the Members of the Parliament that institutions will be gradually moved from the capital to other cities across the country, initially to those having large universities with wire connections to link these institutions to the central government.

The Minister promised that the move of each particular institution will be carefully examined and planned according to its specifics and the specifics of the respective region.

“For this reason, parts of the Agriculture Ministry and Economy Ministry will go to the second largest city of Plovdiv, because it is the center of a farming and tourist region. Because we now want to develop precisely archeological and SPA tourism. This is why I want the Customs to go to Ruse, because our largest Customs revenues are generated there,” the Minister pointed out.

He voiced his belief that the plan would stir heated debates, but also that he stands firm behind the idea, which had proven its efficiency thorough similar practices in other countries.

“The beginning will be difficult, but in the long-term the advantages of this policy will largely exceed any temporary inconvenience,” Djankov concluded.

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The largest Bulgarian producer of non-ferrous metals, the Lead and Zinc Complex(LZC; OTZK) in the southern city of Kardzhali will not be declared insolvent, syndicate leaders have announced.

The heavily indebted LZC, which has been out of operation in the past four months, will not have the fate of Kremikovtzi, the behemoth steel mill near Sofia, which no longer operates as a result of years of mismanagement.

The creditors and trade unions have agreed to seek a way to fuel the Lead and Zinc Complex in Kardzhali again, local syndicate organizations have announced Monday, as cited by BNR.

What is more, they will be seeking to complete the investment program of the factory through the construction of new facilities, while the workers have agreed to abstain from new protests over their delayed salaries for one more week.

On Tuesday, representatives of the Polish consortium Silesia, who are interested in renting the plant, will pay a visit to it, and on Thursday representatives of the French bank BNP Paribas will follow suit.

A consortium of Polish firms has declared interest in renting the largest Bulgarian producer of non-ferrous metals, the Lead and Zinc Complex (LZC; OTZK) in the southern city of Kardzhali, announced Friday Valentin Nikiforov, Vice President of the Confederation of Independent Bulgarian Syndicates, a major trade union active in the recent crisis with the troubled LZC.

Nikiforov said the Polish consortium, whose participants were not specified, is ready to assume the payment of delayed salaries for the plant’s workers, which amount to about BGN 1.4 M.

On April 12, after 40-day protests over delayed salaries, the workers at the Lead and Zinc Complex received some of their money, totaling BGN 500 000, which were distributed on as a result of the sale of another troubled company, theGorubso-Madan mining firm.

Both the LZC and Gorubso-Madan were part of Intertrust Holding owned by Bulgarian tycoon Valentin Zahariev. However, both have descended into debt, leading to workers’ protests, and an intervention by the state arranging the sale of both companies by Intertrust Holding.

Zahariev owes a total of BGN 1.4 M in unpaid salaries to the Lead and Zinc Complex workers, and the payment of the January salaries came after 42-day protests by the plant workers which started in Southern Bulgaria and reach the capital Sofia. Zahariev has raised the needed cash through the sale of the Gorubsomines in the southern town of Madan.

Bulgaria’s government has indicated that the LZC in Kardzhali is also for sale, and that there are three bidders – one Bulgarian and two foreign – vying for it. However, Bulgaria’s Finance Minister and Deputy PM in charge of the economy Simeon Djankov never specified which the bidders were, with the news about the interest expressed by a Polish consortium first emerging on Friday, April 20.

Initial data indicate that Zahariev’s debts already amount to BGN 360 M, and are way beyond the earlier known figure of BGN 320 M.

A total of 519 employees of the Lead and Zinc Complex in Kardzhali, the leading Bulgarian non-ferrous metals producer, had not received salaries for half a year.

In early April, the workers filed personal claims in Court against the owner of the plant, Bulgarian oligarch Valentin Zahariev, who is also know for mismanagement of what used to be the largest steel-maker in Bulgaria, the now bankrupt Kremikovtzi plant near Sofia. They demand the replacement of the entire management, starting with him.

The Lead and Zinc Complex is still owned by Zahariev, the now-former owner of the Gorubso Madan metal mines. Gorubso Madan miners finally received their overdue wages after they had been staging protests for two weeks.

Businessman Nikolay Valkanov has taken over the concession of the GorubsoMadan metal mines from Valentin Zahariev. Valkanov is a former VP ofMultigroup, the company of Bulgarian tycoon Iliya Pavlov, who was shot dead in 2003. Valkanov currently owns “Minstroy” and Gorubso Zlatograd, another mining company in Southern Bulgaria, and has a concession of the “Varba” mine.

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A consortium of Polish firms has declared interest in renting the largest Bulgarian producer of non-ferrous metals, the Lead and Zinc Complex (LZC; OTZK) in the southern city of Kardzhali.

This was announced Friday by Valentin Nikiforov, Vice President of the Confederation of Independent Bulgarian Syndicates, a major trade union active in the recent crisis with the troubled LZC.

Nikiforov said the Polish consortium, whose participants were not specified, is ready to assume the payment of delayed salaries for the plant’s workers, which amount to about BGN 1.4 M.

The Polish businessmen are said to be meeting with the local syndicates in the southern city of Kardzhali on Friday.

On April 12, after 40-day protests over delayed salaries, the workers at the Lead and Zinc Complex received some of their money, totaling BGN 500 000, which were distributed on as a result of the sale of another troubled company, theGorubso-Madan mining firm.

Both the LZC and Gorubso-Madan were part of Intertrust Holding owned by Bulgarian tycoon Valentin Zahariev. However, both have descended into debt, leading to workers’ protests, and an intervention by the state arranging the sale of both companies by Intertrust Holding.

Zahariev owes a total of BGN 1.4 M in unpaid salaries to the Lead and Zinc Complex workers, and the payment of the January salaries came after 42-day protests by the plant workers which started in Southern Bulgaria and reach the capital Sofia. Zahariev has raised the needed cash through the sale of the Gorubsomines in the southern town of Madan.

Bulgaria’s government has indicated that the LZC in Kardzhali is also for sale, and that there are three bidders – one Bulgarian and two foreign – vying for it. However, Bulgaria’s Finance Minister and Deputy PM in charge of the economy Simeon Djankov never specified which the bidders were, with the news about the interest expressed by a Polish consortium first emerging on Friday, April 20.

Initial data indicate that Zahariev’s debts already amount to BGN 360 M, and are way beyond the earlier known figure of BGN 320 M.

A total of 519 employees of the Lead and Zinc Complex in Kardzhali, the leading Bulgarian non-ferrous metals producer, had not received salaries for half a year.

In early April, the workers filed personal claims in Court against the owner of the plant, Bulgarian oligarch Valentin Zahariev, who is also know for mismanagement of what used to be the largest steel-maker in Bulgaria, the now bankrupt Kremikovtzi plant near Sofia. They demand the replacement of the entire management, starting with him.

The Lead and Zinc Complex is still owned by Zahariev, the now-former owner of the Gorubso Madan metal mines. Gorubso Madan miners finally received their overdue wages after they had been staging protests for two weeks.

Businessman Nikolay Valkanov has taken over the concession of the GorubsoMadan metal mines from Valentin Zahariev. Valkanov is a former VP ofMultigroup, the company of Bulgarian tycoon Iliya Pavlov, who was shot dead in 2003. Valkanov currently owns “Minstroy” and Gorubso Zlatograd, another mining company in Southern Bulgaria, and has a concession of the “Varba” mine.

Bulgaria’s cabinet must seek professional advice for the management of the Silver Fund which is part of the fiscal reserve, according to the country’s EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva.

Speaking for Darik radio Saturday, Georgieva stressed that the Fund must be managed by people, who are independent from political decisions, and with the help of experts. She proposed to the cabinet to benefit from the experience of the World Bank where the retirement fund is overseen by independent experts in such aggressive way that there is plenty of money for everyone over the age of 50 to retire.

The EU Commissioner further pointer out the need to look for larger diversification of the resources in the Silver Fund, such as some of them being invested in State securities and having an aggressive and a conservative portion in the portfolio.

“We must be very careful to not put all our eggs in one basket. The aggressive part must be divided with great care – wealthy people all over the world are now very attentive when they invest,” she said, adding that regardless of Bulgaria’s good credit rating, the country is dependent on what is happening in Europe.

Regarding the thorny issue with bonuses for State servants, Georgieva stated that in successful administrations employees earn good money, but they work to the max and there is no need of additional incentives.

According to the Commissioner, the bonus scandal would end up being beneficial if it leads to acceleration of the retirement reform.

Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov recently proposed changes to the governance of the Silver (Retirement) Fund that would enable a more active management of the collected funds and the investment of up to 70% of it in government securities.

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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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The Bulgarian government of the center-right party GERB plans to raise the retirement pensions only of widows, according to the latest announcement of Finance Minister Simeon Djakov.

According to Djankov, the state budget cannot afford to raise all pensions, as Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov had indicated earlier.

Instead, the government is mulling upping only the so called widows’ allowances. Currently, retired widows receive 20% of the pension of the late spouses. After changes to the Social Security Code, the widows’ allowances will be increased to 26-27% of the diseased spouse’s pension, Djankov said on Wednesday.

The increase will cost the state budget about BGN 130-140 M per year but it will have to be approved first by the government, the Council for Tripartite Cooperation (i.e. the government, business, and trade unions), and the Parliament.

Djankov was unable to forecast when the raise of the widows’ pensions might become effective but said this is unlikely to happen as of July 1, 2011.

The Finance Minister has confirmed that the Borisov Cabinet is firmly going for an increase of the minimum monthly wage from BGN 240 to BGN 270.