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| 31 Jan 2012, Issue 3310 · USD: 1.49186 EUR: 1.95583 · Sofia: min -18°, max -7° Varna: min -14°, max -7° · |
| BUSINESS POLITICS WORLD SOCIETY SPORTS FORUM |
US Visa Regime on State Secretary Clinton's Agenda in Sofia
 The
US visa regime for Bulgarian citizens will be on the agenda of the
talks of Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, with US
Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, during her visit to Bulgaria.
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PM: Bulgaria Firmly Out of EU Fiscal Pact if Common Taxes Required
 Bulgaria
is not going to participate in the new EU Fiscal Pact if it requires
that taxation policies be harmonized, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko
Borisov has declared in Brussels at the emergency meeting of EU leaders.
read |
Novinite.com Launches 'Investors of the Decade' Business Survey
 Bulgaria's
largest English-language media Novinite com (Sofia News Agency) and the
Bulgarian-language news site Novinite bg have launched a new initiative
- the "Investors of the Decade" Business Survey!
read |
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25 EU STATES SIGN UP FOR EU FISCAL PACT, BRITS, CZECHS OUT
A total of 25 out of 27 EU member states, Bulgaria included, have agreed to the new EU / euro zone fiscal pact for stricter budget discipline, a brainchild of Germany. Only Britain and the Czech Republic refused to sign a fiscal compact in March that will impose quasi-automatic sanctions on countries that breach European Union budget deficit limits and make balanced budget rules part of national law. "It is the first step towards a fiscal union. It certainly will strengthen confidence in the euro area," ECB President Mario Draghi said on the agreement as cited by international media. Merkel told a news conference the agreements on the fiscal pact and a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone were a "small but fine step on the path to restoring confidence." French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he expected a deal on reducing Greece's debt to private bondholders within days and he believed independent European institutions - a clear reference to the ECB - would help meet a funding gap. French President Sarkozy made clear France's opposition to the German proposal to place Greek public finances under the control of a European commissar. "That there should be supervision is quite normal, but there can be no question of any country being put under stewardship," he declared. Sarkozy revealed Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas had said he could not sign up now for constitutional reasons. European Parliament President Martin Schulz told the leaders the new fiscal treaty was unnecessary and unbalanced, because it failed to combine budget rigour with investment in public works to create jobs. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said a deal was needed this week to be finalized in time to avert a chaotic Greek default in mid-March when it faces huge bond repayments. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed that Britain is staying out of the new EU Fiscal Pact. "Our national interest is that these countries get on and sort out the mess that is the euro," Cameron declared in Brussels. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that although Cameron had shown no sign of relenting in his opposition to treaty change, the new pact could be easily slotted into EU law at a later date and she expected it would be within five years. The half-day summit of the European Council that took place in Brussels late Monday focused also on a strategy to revive growth and create jobs. Leaders agreed that a EUR 500 B European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will enter into force in July 2012, a year earlier than planned, to back heavily indebted states. The latest developments with the EU leaders' summit come as negotiations between Greece and private bondholders over restructuring EUR 200 B euros of debt made progress over the weekend, but were not concluded before the summit. Until there is a deal, EU leaders cannot move forward with a second, EUR 130 B rescue program for Athens, which they originally pledged at a summit last October. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and his finance minister met the heads of EU institutions right after the summit to discuss conditions for the rescue package, officials said. The ESM was meant to replace the European Financial Stability Facility, a temporary fund that has been used to bail out Ireland and Portugal. But pressure is mounting to combine the resources of the two funds to create a fund of EUR 750 B. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will not discuss the issue of the ESM/EFSF's ceiling until the next EU summit in March. 
BULGARIA PRESIDENT PLAYS DOWN EX-VP'S ALLEGED ILLEGITIMACY Former Bulgarian Vice President Angel Marin's second term in office was probably not "illegal", the country's new President Rosen Plevneliev reckons. It recently emerged that former President Georgi Parvanov failed to issue a decree authorizing the second mandate of the Vice President from 2007 to 2012, which led some to state that Marin's decrees can be challenged in Court as invalid and in violation of the Constitution. "It is perfectly clear to me that there are two opinions among lawyers. The prevailing one is that a second decree was not necessary, since the first one had not been officially ended. However, if the thesis supported by the minority of lawyers turns out to be correct, we will think about what we should do in the Presidency," Plevneliev commented on Monday, as cited by dariknews.bg. The new President advised against any further comments on the case until the country's Constitutional Court announces its ruling on the case. "This is not as big as a drama as it has been presented to be," Plevneliev stated. During his two terms in office, Angel Marin pardoned 533 felons, including many murderers, local media recently revealed. NOVINITE.COM LAUNCHES 'INVESTORS OF THE DECADE' BUSINESS SURVEY Bulgaria's largest English-language media Novinite com (Sofia News Agency) and the Bulgarian-language news site Novinite bg have launched a new initiative - the "Investors of the Decade" Business Survey! "Investors of the Decade", whose first publications appeared on Monday, January 30, 2012, at www.novinite.com/investors will be a permanent special survey to be published by Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), Novinite.bg, The Sofia Morning News, The Sofia Weekly, and Novinite.bg. "Investors of the Decade" will focus on a "Who is Who" of the top investors in Bulgaria during the most successful decade in Bulgarian history in terms of attracting investment. The "Investors of the Decade" survey will present to you the CEOs of key investors in Bulgaria. We will bring to your attention expert opinions of top economists and financiers about Bulgaria's investment trends, advantages, and potential. We will talk to top government officials about the future of Bulgaria's investment policies. "Investors of the Decade" will be a permanent project of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), with the ambition to become a useful guide for you, our readers from around the world. We hope that you will welcome our endeavor to help make Bulgaria's investment potential better known and better understood! BULGARIAN DUTY-FREE OPERATORS PUSH FOR LICENSES ANEW Independent MP Emil Vasilev has proposed legal amendments providing for a resumption of duty-free trade and for a restoration of the suspended permits of duty-free trade operators for indefinite periods. The proposal of Vasilev, a former MP of the marginal conservative Order, Law and Justice (RZS) party, started circulating a week ago, but economists from center-right ruling party GERB said that the issue was not on the agenda. GERB MPs did not say whether they would back or oppose such a motion but used the opportunity to point out that duty-free trade operators had long been making futile attempts to push through legislation allowing the resumption of their activity. Upon learning of the proposed amendments, some GERB MPs immediately dismissed the idea as impossible, saying that a resumption of duty-free trade plus preferential treatment for the operators was simply "overdoing it". Menda Stoyanova, Chair of the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, echoed the widespread disapproval of the initiative. Representatives of the ruling party reminded that the main reason behind the suspension of duty-free trade had been their functioning as smuggling hotspots. During the debates on the matter, tax officials said that checks at such stores had yielded cash register paper rolls registering numerous sales done within an hour. This led economic experts at GERB to conclude that if this type of trade were to be re-introduced, the process ought to be accompanies by solid guarantees against fraud. The draft bill put forth by Emil Vasilev provides for no such guarantees but stipulates preferential treatment for the duty-free trade operators who had their licenses suspended. Under the provisions proposed by Vasilev, duty-free trade operators (commercial sites and filling stations) which legally functioned as such prior to the ban imposed on July 01, 2008, will be able to apply for a renewal of their permits within one month after the entry into force of the said amendments. The Finance Minister will then have one month to review the applications and to issue permits for duty-free trade for an indefinite period. Under Vasilev's proposal. traders who were allowed to restructure their business or move the duty-free trade sites should also be granted permits for an indefinite period. The independent MP suggests that license revocation should only be possible after January 01, 2017 at the demand of the European Union. Under the draft bill, duty-free trade operators will pay corporate tax and an extra tax on duty-free trade amounting to 3% of the turnover. Bulgaria closed all duty-free shops and filling stations along its borders with Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey in July 2008 in response to criticism from the EU that they were a major source of corruption and smuggling. The duty-free outlets on Bulgaria's borders with Romania and Greece were closed back in 2007. BULGARIA'S AGRICULTURE, TOURISM MOST RESILIENT TO CRISIS IN 2012 - EXPERT The negative impact of the reduced economic growth forecast for 2012 in the Eurozone will spill over to sectors that have traditionally remained unscathed, according to Bozhidar Danev, Executive Chair of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA). In a Monday statement, Danev suggested that export-related sectors like metallurgy and transport would be hit by the slowdown. He said that Bulgaria's two main options for achieving stability during the crisis were agriculture (grain production in particular) and tourism (because rising poverty in Europe would result in a shift in tourist flows to Bulgaria). Reminding that over 60% of Bulgaria's exports were EU-directed, BIA's Executive Chair specified that the most dramatic aspect of the current situation was that the crisis had entailed a restructuring of the economy which had taken the shine off some promising sectors. At the same time, Danev stressed, Bulgaria was plagued by the lack of economic renewal and investments, a drain of qualified workforce and professional training in sectors unrelated to the restructuring of the country's economy. He drew attention to the rising emigration despite the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone. The BIA Executive Chair argued that Bulgaria should fight the deepening impact of the crisis by improving the business climate. He proposed the introduction of a so-called 'parliamentary board' for the purpose, specifying that representatives of the business sector believed it was a good idea to allow amendments to no more than 30 laws per year. Danev highlighted that EU funds were no solution to Bulgaria's problems because a major portion of the money did not go to the creation of quality and long-term jobs. "The country needs investments that create quality jobs and not call centers we count as IT," Danev said. "Our country has the lowest taxes, and yet investors pass us by; we have financial stability and investors sidestep us yet again," the BIA Executive Chair stated. He further predicted that producers of non-ferrous metals, food and petroleum products, which had been major contributors to the increase in Bulgaria's export in 2011, would most likely be hardest hit by the worsening economic environment in the Eurozone in 2012. Meanwhile, Evgeni Ivanov, Member of the Management Board of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, predicted that Bulgaria would achieve a GDP growth of around 1%, a balanced current account and an inflation rate of around 3% in 2012. He argued that larger fiscal buffers would help to maintain trust. The CEIBG representative further called for a revision of all concessions granted by Bulgaria. He also recommended an early introduction of an EU directive on payments of the state and municipalities to the business sector, the calculation of waste disposal fees for business entities on the basis of the amount of waste they produce and the creation of a so-called 'Gold Book' of regular VAT payers as apt anti-crisis measures. PM: BULGARIA FIRMLY OUT OF EU FISCAL PACT IF COMMON TAXES REQUIRED Bulgaria is not going to participate in the new EU Fiscal Pact if it requires that taxation policies be harmonized, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has declared in Brussels at the emergency meeting of EU leaders. Right before the start of the forum, Borisov made it clear that Bulgaria has one single condition for joining the EU Fiscal Pact – a brainchild of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel which is supposed to improve economic integration in Europe, and thus help solve the EU debt crisis. In Borisov's words, the condition of Bulgaria, which currently has the lowest tax rates in the EU, is that the new EU Fiscal Pact should not stipulate tax harmonization among the "euro zone plus" that are going to join it. "Taxation policy must be reserved for each individual state but of course the Bulgarian government will support any measures against tax fraud," Bulgaria's PM said in Brussels. "I hope that the debates here will focus not only on fiscal discipline but also on economic growth," he added, as cited by the Bulgarian National Radio. Borisov further said that Bulgaria should be entitled to be part of the new EU Fiscal Compact from its current position as an "observer" state, i.e. one that is yet to join the euro zone and adopt the common European currency. "I hope that we will be able to achieve this because some states have made it clear that they are not even going to adopt the euro at all; I don't what kind of a seat they deserve at the table but we, especially Bulgaria which has a currency board, and whose currency is pegged to the euro, are entitled to such a seat, and it is important for us to be aware of what's happening in the euro zone," the Bulgarian PM stated. For the time being, the UK remains the only EU member state, which – as early as the last EU summit in December 2011 – made it clear that it was going to stay out of the agreement for closer EU fiscal and economic convergence. Poland has warned that it is not going to support the new EU Fiscal Pact unless non-euro states are granted the status of observers at meetings of the Eurogroup, i.e. the 17 states using the euro. 'AUSTERE' BULGARIAN FINMIN AWARDED HEFTY BONUSES Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, has given generous end-of-year bonuses to employees at his institution. The news that Djankov offered bonuses in the amount of BGN 233 725 at the end of 2011 was reported by the Bulgarian "Trud" (Labor) daily, citing the Head of the Human Resources Department at the Finance Ministry. The sum has been divided among 176 employees, but the amount of each individual bonus remains unknown. In an interview, however, given two months earlier, Djankov declared that while his is Finance Minister, State servants would receive the so-called 13th salary, which in Bulgaria is their Christmas bonus. Under the Access to Public Information act, "Trud" has requested information on the amount of additional pay, including bonuses, which has been distributed in the Finance Ministry. The later complied, but firmly refused to give information about individual amounts, citing the Protecting Personal Data Act. The newspaper, however, quotes its own anonymous sources, saying that some Department Heads have received bonuses between BGN 30 000 and BGN 37 000. The official information of the Ministry shows that 28% of all 620 employees have been awarded monetarily, which is an average of BGN 1 328 per person – about or more than the monthly wage of these employees. 
GREAT WALL MOTOR TO INAUGURATE BULGARIA PLANT ON FEBRUARY 21 Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor will inaugurate its first plant in Bulgaria and Europe on February 21, it has been announced. The brand new car factory is a a joint project with Bulgarian company Litex Motors that aims at selling 2 000 vehicles in 2012. On November 14 2011, Litex Motors and Great Wall Motors unveiled their first vehicle assembled in the plant near the northern Bulgarian city of Lovech, 16 years after Bulgaria's last failed attempt at car manufacturing. Litex and Great Wall plant to expand their annual output to 50 000 cars, with the total employment figure at the Lovech plant planned to reach 2 000 people. After the formal opening of the factory, Litex and Great Wall are to start their production for export markets. Great Wall Motor has already launched its official advertising campaign in Bulgaria for the three models to be built in the EU-member country: the Hover H5 SUV, the Steed 5 pick-up and the Voleex C10 city car. According to Renault-Nissan's Bulgaria CEO Bernard Neuviale, Great Wall cars will not directly threaten the sales of Renault's Romania-made Dacia. "Great Wall will first have to prove many things, in the first place that it can produce here a car of good quality and then we'll see. Their prices are also not so good," Neuviale said, as cited by inautonews.com. The Voleex C10 is priced from BGN 16,000 (EUR 8,200), with the Steed 5 pick-up and the Hover H5 SUV at BGN 24,500 and BGN 28,700 respectively. US VISA REGIME ON STATE SECRETARY CLINTON'S AGENDA IN SOFIA The US visa regime for Bulgarian citizens will be on the agenda of the talks of Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, with US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, during her visit to Bulgaria. In a TV interview Mladenov informs that the visit, which is scheduled for February 5th, has been planned and prepared for a long time. Other topics, according to the Minister, include Bulgaria recognizing years of service for Bulgarians, who have worked in the US; strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the US in the security sector, in NATO, and in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, partnership on the Balkans, and the situation in the Middle East. "I hope that we will have the opportunity to have a serious discussion on the American visa policy towards Bulgaria and some particular agreements on the years of service of Bulgarians who had been employed in the US," Mladenov said. During her official visit to Bulgaria Clinton will also meet with Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, and President, Rosen Plevneliev. Ministers of the cabinet will also be present during the talks. Hillary Clinton has already been to Bulgaria in her capacity of First Lady, when husband Bill Clinton was US President. The visit to Sofia took place in October 1998, when she participated in the conference "Women of the 21st century." The visit comes on the invitation of Nikolay Mladenov back in October 2010 during his visit to the US when the Bulgarian government's anti-corruption measures were discussed. BULGARIAN PRESIDENT: GERMANY MUST LEAD EUROPE Bulgaria supports the idea for Germany to have a leading role in Europe and for a harder line for tightening belts on the Old Continent. The statement was made by the new Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev, in an interview for "Financial Times Deutschland." Plevneliev voices firm conviction that Germany' policies will lead to a stronger Europe. He stresses that the views of German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, for fiscal stability must become top priority in Europe all while austerity measures should not hurdle economic growth, meaning public resources must be used for investing. "The future generation should also be able to finance its priorities. Merkel can count on EU Member States in Eastern Europe. In Southern Europe many politicians and citizens think that austerity measures are too difficult," Plevneliev stresses, pointing out that Germany always had a commitment to European unity. The President explains that Bulgaria could be an example for debt-ridden neighboring Greece. "10 years ago Bulgaria's total debt was 100% from the Gross Domestic Product, now it is 16% while Greece went from 100% to 170%. We privatized many things "dramatically" quickly. We had 100 000 people laid off in the construction sector and another 15 000 in the public sector" he says. EU PETITIONS COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE DONATIONS FOR BULGARIAN POLICE The the EU Petitions Committee has asked the European Commission (EC) to start a preliminary investigation on the tip-off that vehicles owned by donors to Bulgaria's Interior Ministry do not get stopped by traffic police. The information is part of a written response to a petition by a Facebook group calling for support for Konstantin Ivanov, the police officer who unveiled the umbrella policy of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry towards traffic violations committed by its donors and was subsequently forced to resign after 20 years on the job. "The Petitions Committee will continue reviewing your petition as soon as it obtains the necessary information," the response signed by Erminia Mazzoni, the Chair of the Petitions Committee reads. "Following the refusal of the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office to initiate pre-trial proceedings on the case on the grounds that the direct supervisor of Ivanov had denied the existence of such a list, we are left with the hope that Brussels will reveal the truth about the scandalous donations to the Interior Ministry and the patent case of conflict of interest," said Petar Penchev, the creator of the Facebook group. Reminding that EC Spokesperson Mark Gray recently labeled all types of donations to the Interior as unacceptable, Penchev explained that the corrupt practice was worrying because it endangered the lives of ordinary drivers and pedestrians due to the unpunishability of political oligarchs. "We also hope that through this investigation European institutions will manage to expose the other illegal donations to the Interior about which Bulgaria was alerted after the disclosure by the honorable police officer who eventually left office "of his own accord", Penchev added. Last week, the Interior Ministry was revealed to have received over BGN 12 M in donations in 2011. As of September 1, the Bulgarian Interior Ministry can no longer receive donations from private individuals and private companies. The order of Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, signed on August 15th, however, has some exceptions – municipalities, State institutions and companies, international organizations and foreign countries can still make donations. In July, The European Commission criticized the corrupt donation practice in its report on Bulgaria under the cooperation and verification mechanism, causing Prime Minister Borisov to pledge that the occurrence would be eradicated. Tsvetanov, however, specified that donations would be phased out gradually, rather than rooted out at once. At the beginning of August, the European Commission Spokesperson Mark Gray, once again, condemned the practice of Bulgaria's Interior Ministry of accepting donations. "Each donation to the Interior Ministry is unacceptable, be it money or any kind of material valuables", Gray told Bulgarian Sega daily on August 10. Tsvetanov initially refused to admit that the practice was reprehensible, saying that the Interior had not entered into any commitments in exchange for the donations which were thank-you gifts for a job well-done. In early August, Sega daily wrote that the Interior had received the stunning BGN 15.5 M in donations in the first half of 2011 from a host of controversial natural and legal persons. BULGARIA TO BE READY WITH NEXT EU FUNDING PERIOD PAPERWORK BY 2013 - MINISTER EU Funds Minister Tomislav Donchev has said that Bulgaria should be ready with the agreements and the texts on the Operational Programs in the next programming period, 2014-2020, by mid-2013. Speaking at a conference on Monday, he specified that the most difficult task was striking a balance between the different types of investments that had to be made. The EU Funds Minister explained that Bulgaria would apply a sector-based approach, rather than an area-based approach, for the future programming period. "Bulgaria will receive 100 units of funding under the Cohesion Fund (CF) in the next programming period. According to the currently proposed system, 30 of these 100 units will be made available for investments in the heavy infrastructure segment, including railways, roads and the water supply and sewerage sector. 25 units of funding will be received under the European Social Fund (ESF) and will be allocated to social inclusion, education, professional training and boosting the efficiency of the administration," Donchev stated. He further noted that the remaining financial resources, or around 22 units of funding, would be received under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and would be earmarked for the development of a low-carbon economy, for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and research and development (R&D) activities. Anelia Damianova from the Center for Economic Development presented data on the evaluation of the competitive power of Bulgaria's business sector. She underscored that Bulgaria was one of the few European countries to boost the grade from 4% in 2006 to 4.23% in 2011. Citing the report on the competitive advantages and disadvantages of Bulgarian economy presented at the World Economic Forum (WEF), she pointed out that Bulgaria had many positive features, but the cons outnumbered the pros. Among the advantages she listed Bulgaria's macroeconomic stability, the favorable tax policy, the openness of the economy, the participation of Bulgarian companies in international chains of production, and the increasing awareness of businesses of the necessity of implementing innovative solutions. Damianova listed as disadvantages the poor quality of infrastructure, the low efficiency of Bulgarian institutions, the deteriorating quality of the workforce, the existing corrupt practices and the lack of clearly formulated goals and strategies on a company level. GERB STILL BULGARIA'S LEADING PARTY, POLL CLAIMS Bulgaria's ruling centrist-right GERB has maintained the highest rating among the country's political parties, according to a poll conducted by Sofia-based Center for Analyses and Marketing. Approximately 32.7% of the 1218 Bulgarians questioned in the poll would vote for GERB if the parliamentary elections were to be carried out now, while 17.8% would support the oppositional Bulgarian Socialist Party. The ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms would gather 5.7%, followed by the potential project of former EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, "Bulgaria for Citizens" (which is a civic movement and not a party yet) would enjoy 5.7%. The right-wing Blue Coalition is close to passing the 4% barrier necessary to enter the Parliament, while the troubled far-right Ataka (Attack) would gather just 1.3%, the pollsters reckon. Bulgaria's new President Rosen Plevneliev has the highest approval rating among all Bulgarian politicians – 51.6%, according to the Center for Analyses and Marketing. He is followed by EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva (50.8%) and PM Boyko Borisov (49.8%). The presidency is the most trusted Bulgarian institution, reaching a rating of 38.4%, followed by the police (36.5%), the poll results conclude. The country's judicial system is trusted by a mere 14.4%. BULGARIAN BORDER CHECKPOINTS RESUME NORMAL WORK The lines of tractor trailers at the Danube Bridge, connecting Bulgaria and Romania have disappeared overnight. The bridge was closed for several days over being blockaded by heavy snow on both sides. Freight traffic at the Capitan Andreevo and Lesovo cross border points on the Bulgarian-Turkish border is also back to normal, after weekend difficulties, also triggered by the blizzard that gripped Bulgaria last week. The information was reported Monday by the spokesperson of Bulgaria's Border Police. Meanwhile, the Serbian border authorities reported that at the Kalotina checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Serbian border there is a 2.5-km-long line of tractor trailers, waiting to enter Bulgaria. There is no line on the Bulgarian side. The traffic there is expected to normalize in the next hours as well. BULGARIA'S EX-VP DEFENDS HIS GENEROUS PARDONING OF FELONS Bulgaria's former Vice President Angel Marin who controversially pardoned a large number of high-profile felons during his two terms in office, has reiterated that he sees nothing wrong in his actions. In an interview for the bTV private channel on Monday, Marin declared that he supported the idea of increased media publicity when it comes to all pardoning documents. The former Vice President pointed out that he has put "huge efforts" over the years in tackling each and every pardoning request in an unbiased way. He claimed that his actions saved many drug users, since "drugs are often being smuggled in jails." Angel Marin further emphasized the correctional function of prisons as a reason for his generous pardoning policy. During his 10 years in office, Marin worked actively in order to pardon convicted felons, it recently emerged. The former VP even pardoned a convicted drug dealer before his sentenced was enforced. A total of 533 convicted felons were pardoned by Marin during his two terms in office, including many murderers. It emerged Friday that Angel Marin may have been "illegal" as Vice President during the second term of Bulgaria's President, Georgi Parvanov, who left office a week days ago because Parvanov failed to issue a decree authorizing the mandate of the Vice President from 2007 to 2012. SOFIA CROWNED BULGARIA'S BEST CITY TO LIVE IN Bulgaria's capital Sofia has earned the title "Bulgaria's Best City to Live in" for 2011 in a ranking done by local media. On Monday, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova received a special award by the country's new President Rosen Plevneliev. A total of 27 Bulgarian cities (all of the country's district centers) have been included in the ranking done by the 24 Chasa daily and Darik radio, with 28 different criteria being taken into consideration. The Bulgarian capital received the highest possible amount of points in the following criteria: investments in infrastructure projects, shopping hours, number of restaurants, cafes and drug stores, adequate heart attack and infant incubator equipment. Besides, the Bulgarian capital tops all cities in the country in terms of being the nearest to an airport, having the largest number of universities, the lowest unemployment rate and the highest birth rate. However, the insufficient parking spaces, the frequent traffic jams and the abundance of stray dogs remain as problems that plague the city. In the 24 Chasa and Darik radio rating, Sofia is followed by Burgas, Blagoevgrad, Varna and Plovdiv, while Kardzhali, Vidin and Montana occupy the last three spots. Stara Zagora has received the special "Business City" award, Veliko Tarnovo has been designated as a "Cultural City", Velingrad has won in the "Green City" category, while the "Prospering City" award has gone to Sevlievo. A parallel online poll conducted by dariknews.bg has singled out Stara Zagora as Bulgaria's best city to live in, while Burgas has own in 24 Chasa's poll. GREEK JEWS REMIND UN OF BULGARIAN ROLE IN DEPORTATIONS Even though Bulgaria rescued its Jews in World War II, the country had a role in the genocide of Greek Jews, a Greek-Jewish umbrella group has pointed out in a letter to a United Nations body. "Bulgarians saved their country's Jews in exchange for the Jews of the other territories under their control," said the letter sent Jan. 26 from the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece to the UN Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organizations. "In the name of the historical memory of our brothers, victims of the Bulgarian atrocities in our country during the Holocaust, we ask you to include this small and 'untold' part of history in your briefing," the group demanded. The letter came ahead of the UN Department's briefing on January 26 that focused "on the little-known role of the Bulgarian people in saving Bulgarian Jews". January 27 marked the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Bulgaria is famous for not allowing its Jews to be taken away by the Nazi regime. An estimated 50 000 Bulgarian Jews escaped the faith of being taken to concentration camps because of a campaign for their rescue that started in the southwestern Bulgarian town of Kyustendil, with support or acquiescence of Tsar Boris III and other Bulgarian politicians such as Dimitar Peshev. However, 11 000 Jews from the regions of Macedonia and Thrace occupied by Bulgaria, a Nazi Germany ally in 1941-44, were deported to Holocaust camps. BULGARIAN MONARCHISTS MARK TSAR BORIS III'S BIRTHDAY Representatives of Bulgarian monarchist organizations celebrated Monday the 118th birthday of Bulgaria's Tsar Boris III The Unifier (r. 1918-1943). The Club of Bulgarian Monarchists and the National Youth Club "Vrana" (named after one of the Bulgarian royal residences) laid flowers at the Tsar Boris III's monument at the Borisova Garden, the downtown Sofia park named after him. Boris III the Unifier, Tsar of the Bulgarians (30 January 1894 – 28 August 1943), was the son of Tsar Ferdinand I; he came to the throne in 1918 upon the abdication of his father, following the defeat of the Tsardom of Bulgaria during World War I. During World War II, Boris III eventually allied Bulgaria with Nazi Germany, even though in the early days of the war he managed to keep Bulgaria neutral for two years. In 1941, Boris reluctantly allied Bulgaria with the Axis Powers in an attempt to recover Macedonia from Greece and Yugoslavia, which had been gained by Bulgaria in the First Balkan War and lost again in the Second. However, in spite of this loose alliance, Boris was not willing to render full and unconditional cooperation with Nazi Germany. Thus, Bulgaria never sent troops to fight the Russians on the Eastern Front, unlike other Axis states, and Boris is also credited with preventing the deportation of some 50 000 Bulgarian Jews to Holocaust death camps in 1943 despite massive pressure by Hitler. During the celebration of his 118th birthday in Sofia Monday, representatives of the monarchist organizations reminded a quote by Bulgaria's Tsar Boris III: "My ministers are Anglophiles, my generals are Germanophiles, my people are Russophiles, and I am the only one who has remained a Bulgarophile." Tsar Boris III is the father of Bulgaria's last Tsar, Simeon II Saxe-Coburg, who served as a minor Tsar in 1943-1946, and as Bulgaria's Prime Minister in 2001-2005. BULGARIAN MAN CRITICAL AFTER JUMPING BEFORE METRO TRAIN A young Bulgarian man is listed in critical condition at the Sofia emergency hospital "Pirogov," after he threw himself on the subway tracks Sunday evening. The news was reported by the hospital Monday. S.R., 22, has numerous skull fractures and 5 broken ribs. The incident happened at the "Vasil Levski" station, near the National Stadium with the same name. At the time when it happened, the man had been accompanied by his mother. He jumped suddenly at the moment the train was approaching the stop. The mother told the investigators that her son had mental health problems. Tapes from the subway security cameras show that the man jumped on his own and no one had pushed him. SOFIA CITY HALL OFFERS FREE TEA TO COUNTER POLAR COLD The Sofia City Hall is opening three stations where hot tea will be distributed free of charge over the freezing cold that is in the forecast. The stations will be opened between 9:30 am and 2:30 pm and are located at the Central Railroad Station, near the "St. Nedelya" Church in downtown Sofia, and in the park adjacent to the National Palace of Culture, also in downtown Sofia. Hot tea will be further delivered to the homeless soup kitchens in the "Mladost," "Lyulin," and "Levski" district. Over 70 homeless people have checked in the shelters overnight. 25 Bulgarian regions are under code orange Monday over extremely low temperatures, the National Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) has announced. During the day, temperatures in northern Bulgaria will be between minus 10 and minus 14 degrees Celsius, while in southern Bulgaria and on the Black Sea coast they will be between minus 4 and minus 9. On the Black Sea coast the cold will accompanied by strong winds. Code orange means intense weather situations with potential damage, injuries and casualties. A more moderate code yellow has been declared only for the regions of Blagoevgrad, Smolyan and Kyustendil. Code yellow means potentially dangerous weather, where the forecast is not for unusual meteorological events, but requires people to exercise caution. BULGARIAâ��S SOFIA TO WELCOME GUNS Nâ�� ROSES ON JULY 8 Legendary rock band Guns N' Roses will delight Bulgaria's capital Sofia on July 8 2012, it has been announced. Guns N's Roses are the confirmed headliners of the third annual Sofia Rocks festival, the organizers from Balkan Entertainment have revealed. Never before have Guns N's Roses had a gig in Bulgaria. The historic event will be hosted by Sofia's Balgarska Armiya (Bulgarian Army) stadium. More exciting details on Sofia Rocks 2012 are to be revealed in a Balkan Entertainment press conference on February 2. The festival will take place on July 7 and July 8. MANCHESTER UNITED STRIKER BERBATOV TURNS 31 Bulgaria's most famous football player in the recent years, Manchester United Strike Dimitar Berbatov, celebrated Monday, January 30, his 31st birthday. Berbatov, who was Bulgaria's No. 1 Football Player in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, was born on January 30, 1981, in the southwestern Bulgarian city of Blagoevgrad. He started his football career at the local FC Pirin between 1991 and 1998, going through all junior teams of the club. However, he played only 9 matches for the official A team of the "eagles" from FC Pirin, as he was purchased by CSKA Sofia in 1998. Berbatov played for CSKA Sofia for three years, scoring 37 goals in 65 matches; this led him to be noticed by Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, where he played between 2001 and 2006. With Leverkusen, Berbatov scored 90 goals in 200 matches, reaching the Champions' League final in 2002 (in which Leverkusen lost to Real Madrid). In 2006, the Bulgarian star striker was bought by Tottenham Spurs, where he remained for two seasons, scoring 46 goals in 102 matches, before being bought by Manchester United in 2008. So far, Berbatov has scored 55 goals in 143 matches for Manchester United, winning the Premiership Top Scorer title with 20 goals last season. Berbatov lost a second Champions' League final with United against Barcelona in 2009. With United, Berbatov won the English Premier League in 2009 and 2010. Berbatov is the all time No. 1 scorer for the Bulgarian national team with 48 goals, ahead of Hristo Bonev with 47 goals, and Hristo Stoichkov with 37 goals. Regardless of that, unlike legendary Hristo Stoichkov, Berbatov failed to achieve substantial success with the Bulgarian national football team, which he quit in May 2010. BULGARIA'S BOJINOV HEADING BACK TO LECCE Sporting Lisbon's Bulgarian striker Valeri Bojinov will be certainly loaned out to Italian side Lecce for the next six months, according to Bulgarian media. Sporting and the Italian club have already reached an agreement on the deal and Bojinov is expected to sign his contract with Lecce on Monday, gong.bg has reported. It was the Bulgarian forward's agent, Gerry Palomba, who insisted on his move back to Italy. Santander, Dynamo Kyiv, Trabzonspor and Bulgarian champions Litex were also said to eye the unsettled Sporting player. Bojinov is well acquainted with Italian football, having played for Juventus, Parma, Fiorentina and Lecce – the club in which he launched his professional career. During the January 19 Sporting Lisbon cup game against lower-tier Moreirense, Bojinov stirred a scandal that apparently put an end to his stay at Estadio Jose Alvarade. The Bulgarian international decisively pushed aside his team's habitual penalty-taker Matias Fernandez, only to see his vital injury-time penalty kick saved. The match ended in a 1:1 draw. FORMER ROMANIAN PM GETS 2 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CORRUPTION Romania's highest court on Monday sentenced former prime minister Adrian Nastase to two years in prison for pocketing political donations while in office. With the verdict, Nastase became the highest-ranking former official to face prison for graft. He has the opportunity to appeal the verdict. Nastase, 61, was found guilty of funneling EUR 1.6 M from election campaign donations to accounts held by companies under his control in 2004. He denied any wrongdoing and said that he was being prosecuted as part of a political vendetta, but he faces an additional set of corruption charges linked to a murky property deal. Nastase was cleared in December of charges related to an undeclared sum of 400,000 dollars, which the court accepted that he had inherited from his wife's aunt. Adrian Nastase served as Romania's Prime Minister from 2000 to 2004. PERU'S COASTLINE RATTLED BY STRONG EARTHQUAKE Peru's central coastline has been hit by an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake occurred just after midnight local time (05:00 GMT) with its epicentre some 15km (nine miles) south-east of the city of Ica, BBC has informed. It struck at a depth of 39km (24 miles). According to Peruvian media, more than a dozen people have been injured, the majority of them suffering trauma and cuts. The city of Ica suffered extensive damage in 2007, when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake left thousands of people homeless. BASHAR AL-ASSAD'S FAMILY TRIED TO FLEE SYRIA - REPORT Key family members of Syria's embattled dictator Bashar Al-Assad made an unsuccessful attempt to flee the country, according to media reports. Syrian anti-government forces have told an Egyptian newspaper that Al-Assad's wife Asma, her children, the dictator's mother and one of his nephews tried to escape from the country late on Sunday. According to the opposition, Bashar Al-Assad's family members were detected in a convoy heading to the airport in Damascus. There was a heavy exchange of fire, which prevented the family's escape, who then returned to the presidential palace, The Jerusalem Post reports, citing Al-Masry-Al-Youm. There has been no word from the Syrian authorities on the incident. On Monday, the heavy clashes between the Syrian army and rebel forces continued around Damascus. The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 people have been killed during the 10-month-long crackdown on anti-government dissenters. UNICREDIT BULBANK CEO LEVON HAMPARTZOUMIAN: BANKS IN BULGARIA NOT GROWING, BUT STABLE Click here to read the story: www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136197 60K CEO JONATHAN GLADWISH: BULGARIA CAN CONTINUE TO EMERGE AS TANGIBLE OUTSOURCING HUB Click here to read the story: www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136198 GENERAL MANAGER OF HILTON SOFIA JACQUES BRUNE: BULGARIA'S SOFIA IS BECOMING A CAPITAL TO VISIT Click here to read the story: www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136213 GENERAL MANAGER OF SHERATON SOFIA GERASIMOS PERDIKARIS: BULGARIA NEEDS TO KEEP ITS MOMENTUM IN DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENT Click here to read the story: www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136205 JOHNSON CONTROLS VP JEFF DEBEST: SKY IS THE LIMIT FOR WHAT PRIVATE SECTOR AND BULGARIAN EDUCATION CAN ACHIEVE TOGETHER Click here to read the story: www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136206 EBRD - INVESTMENT WITH A DIFFERENCE Click here to read the story: www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136201 |
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