Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Saturday, 7 April 2012

Sofia: min 8°, max 22°
Varna: min 9°, max 23°
Plovdiv: min 11°, max 24°

USD: 1.49666
EUR: 1.95583
GBP: 2.373

7 April 2012, Issue 289

by Novinite.com

Bulgaria's Online Weekly Newspaper since 2001

Recommend to a friend Find us on:

Download for:

BUSINESS POLITICS WORLD SHOW SPORTS FORUM

» Print all stories
» Recommend to a friend
» Contact us
» Unsubscribe

Subscribe | Latest issue

Editorial

DTT and ASO â�� Bulgaria's New Abbreviations for Corruption?*

By Milena Hristova

Well, it is finally official – Bulgaria will not declare void the controversial tenders for the operation of what will be the country's DTT multiplexes. | read |

Sofia Speaking

Neighborocalypse, or Residential Environment Gone Private

By Irina Samokovska

Citizens will be able to acquire possession of inter-block spaces in neighborhoods after taking care of them for 10 years, under a revised version of an ordinance prepared by Sofia Chief Architect Petar Dikov. | read |

The Week in Pictures

Georgia President: Bulgaria Is Good Role Model for EU Hopes

PM Lures Armenia to Invest in Bulgaria

US DEA Head Lauds New Bulgarian Office

EUR 120 M 'Sofia Ring Mall' to Be Completed July 2013

Hungarian President Resigns over 'Bulgarian' Plagiarism

Archeologists Find Gold Ornaments in Bulgaria's Sozopol

HOT PHOTO

Bulgaria's Eurovision Singer May Become Ruling Party MP
Singer Sofi Marinova performed "Love Unlimited" in the Bulgarian Parliament on Friday. Photo by BGNES

Top Story

Romania Expects to Resolve Black Sea Dispute with Bulgaria 'Soon'

Romania expects to reach an agreement with Bulgaria in their dispute over 17 square km of their economic zones in the Black Sea, Romanian Foreign Minister Crisian Diaconescu has announced.

Diaconescu declared Friday that the dispute between Bulgaria and Romania in the Black Sea that he himself brought up at the end of March will be resolved very fast, as cited by the Romanian news site Ziare.

The Romanian Foreign Minister, whose initial statement on the subject sounded harsher, is now quoted as saying that the issue is "not a matter of a dispute but of talks."

â��Those who conducted these talks informed the public. Unfortunately, for reasons that I don't fully understand, these topics don't reach the public knowledge. Yes, it is a matter of talks with Bulgaria on delimitation. We need an agreement, and I think we will reach as soon as possible," he stated, adding that Romania has no similar disputes with its other neighbors.

When asked to comment on media reports that the territory in question contains deposits of energy resources, Diaconescu replied that the Romanian "Foreign Ministry conducts talks only in the field of international law", and cannot comment on economic topics.

According to diplomatic sources cited by the Mediafax agency and the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), the alleged disputed territory on the Black Sea border between Bulgaria and Romania is located on the route of the future South Stream gas pipeline.

Romania has already stated that the Black Sea dispute can be taken to an international arbitration court where it can be resolved based on the principle of equal distance. Bulgaria, however, wants to resolve the dispute by talks and insists on delimitation along a parallel.

Romania has already won a similar Black Sea delimitation dispute with Ukraine.

Ziare notes that Romania's government has recently made harsh foreign policy statements directed at Serbia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and asks whether it has adopted a more aggressive foreign policy.

According to Diaconescu, this about an "extremely active foreign policy that all countries demonstrate."

He also said the situation of Romanians living abroad is a public policy issue enjoying great support.

On the issue of the Romanians living in Serbia, and whether that could lead to a Romanian veto on Serbia's EU accession, Diaconescu said that Romania has always supported Serbia's EU integration.

When he first spoke out about the Black Sea delimitation dispute with Bulgaria, Diaconescu also mentioned what Romania believes to be a "Romanian minority" in Bulgaria. This claim was flatly rejected by the Bulgarian authorities pointing out to the census figures indicating that less 1 000 Romanians reside in Bulgaria.

3 Investors Vie for Bulgaria's Major Lead and Zinc Plant

Three investors are bidding to buy Bulgaria's major Lead and Zinc Complex (OTZK), Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has announced.

The three likely buyers of the highly-troubled metallurgical giant â�� which is Bulgaria's major producer of non-ferrous metals â�� are two foreign companies and one Bulgarian firm, Djankov said but refused to reveal their names.

He did say, however, that in the most optimistic scenario the Lead and Zinc Complex in the southern Bulgarian city of Kardzhali, which has experienced labor unrest over unpaid salaries, can be sold to a new owner in 10-15 days.

Speaking at the Makaza Pass on the Bulgarian-Greek border near Kardzhali, Djankov explained that he has order an all-out tax inspection of the finances of the plant current owner, Bulgarian oligarch Valentin Zahariev, owner of Intertrust Holding, and his two sons.

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.

The Finance Minister added, however, that it is still possible to manage the Lead and Zinc Plant in Kardzhali with the formation of an international management team from the creditor-banks.

"A declaration of insolvency for the OTZK is not a good option as a long term solution. It will be an year and a half before all financial compensation claims are met in this scenario â�� including the workers' claims," Djakov stated as cited by Darik Radio.

Last wekend the workers from the highly troubled Lead and Zinc Complex (LZC; OTZK) in Bulgaria's southern city of Kardzhali received meager one-time cash payments from the government but remain ready to strike.

A total of 519 employees of the Lead and Zinc Complex in Kardzhali, the leading Bulgarian non-ferrous metals producer, who had not received salaries for half a year, got BGN 325 each, provided by the Bulgarian Social Assistance Agency.

Last week, 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 owned by Zahariev, the now-former owner of the Gorubso Madan metal mines. Gorubso Madan miners finally received their overdue wages on Saturday after they had been staging protests for two weeks.

It was announced a week ago that businessman Nikolay Valkanov will be taking over the concession of the Gorubso Madan metal mines from Valentin Zahariev. Valkanov is a former VP of Multigroup, and currently owns "Minstroy" and Gorubso Zlatograd, another mining company in Southern Bulgaria, and has a concession of the "Varba" mine.

Speaking on Friday at the Makaza Pass, Finance Minister Djankov said the new owner of Gorubso Madan is not among the three bidders for the purchase of the Kardzhali Lead and Zinc Complex.

Energy

Bulgarian Left-Wing Leader Vows to Revive Killed Belene N-Plant

Left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) will resume the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project if it enters the next government, the party's leader Sergey Stanishev has stated.
| read |

Domestic

Bulgaria's Ex-Agriculture Fund Head Officially Charged with Forging

Kalina Ilieva, the notorious former head of Bulgaria's Agriculture Fund, has been officially charged with forging her university diploma.
| read |

More News

· Doomed No-Confidence Vote Submitted in Bulgarian Parliament
· Bulgaria, Israel to Conduct Joint Military Trainings

· Killer of Bulgarian Tycoon's Sister Faces Death Penalty in US
· 5 Hospitalized after US Jet Crash in Virginia

Finance