31 mars 2007
EU Sends Expert Teams To Scrutinize Reforms In Bulgaria, Romania
The European Commission Friday said it was sending experts to scrutinize reforms in Romania and Bulgaria, following persistent concerns about corruption, organized crime and animal health.
A commission spokesman told reporters that officials from the commission and EU member states would spend a week in each of the two Eastern European countries which joined the bloc in January.
EU experts would aim to evaluate Romania's and Bulgaria's progress in bringing their justice systems in line with EU standards, the spokesman said. In addition, they would examine reforms in areas such as agriculture, food safety and aviation.
The spokesman said that the EU experts would also hear from non- governmental organisations and other non-official groups to evaluate the situation in Romania and Bulgaria.
He also said that Bucharest and Sofia have handed in a report on the progress in reforms which was due this Saturday.
The document would now be examined by the European Parliament and by national governments. The commission in June is expected to present a report on Bulgaria's and Romania's progress in reforms.
The EU executive last December gave the green light to the EU entry of the two countries on January 1, 2007, but warned it would slap tough sanctions on them if the pace of reform slowed down.
The commission has threatened it would take safeguard action and withhold millions of euros in aid if Bulgaria and Romania failed to comply with EU requirements.
Such stringent "accompanying measures" - the toughest ever imposed by the EU on acceding nations - were needed to correct persistent shortcomings in key areas, it has said.
Bulgaria and Romania missed the EU's 2004 "big bang" expansion into Central and Eastern Europe because of the slow speed of their reforms.
© 2007 DPA
Sofia Street Named after Dissident Politician
The mayor of Sofia will inaugurate a street in the capital, named after Petar Dertliev, one of the most prominent dissidents and social democrats of Bulgaria.
The initiative came at the suggestion of President Georgi Parvanov one year ago during a conference that marked 90th anniversary since the birth of the politician. Back then Parvanov, a socialist, underlined that Dertliev is among the most recognized and charismatic personalities in Bulgaria's history.
During the communist regime Dertliev was sentenced to 10 years in prison because of his political beliefs and dedication to the Social Democrats ideals.
Dertliev was member of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party since 1934. After the collapse of the communist regime in 1989 he revived the party and served as its leader until his death.
Dertliev died on November 5, 2000 after losing his battle with cancer. He was 84.
Petar Dertliev street is located in the western district of Lyulin.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=78612
30 mars 2007
ECOLOGICAL ORGANISATIONS IN BULGARIA PROTEST AGAINST NATURA 2000 DECISION
Eco-organisations protested in Sofia against the Cabinet decision to postpone the inclusion of certain areas in the European environmental network Natura 2000.
Cabinet decided to delay its decision on some controversial regions. The majority of them are located in the coastal area and near mountain resorts.
Ecologists said that the failure to determine adequately Bulgaria’s areas for inclusion could lead to EU sanctions for the country.
Ivailo Stoimenov, representative of a nature preservation initiative, said that Cabinet never explained why it postponed the decision on various areas. Ecologists demanded meeting with Cabinet representatives and the scientists who drafted Bulgaria’s Natura 2000 plan.
The protesters also said that Cabinet should impose a construction ban in the areas that await Natura 2000 decision.
Ecologists said that they will protest during each Cabinet session and will send written grievances, as well.
ECONOMIC GROWTH OF POOR QUALITY EXPERIENCED IN BULGARIA
Bulgaria’s economy registered high growth over the past several years, but the developments were of poor quality, Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) head Bozhidar Danev said.
The goods produced in Bulgaria were uncompetitive and had high added value, he said as quoted by Pari daily.
Nearly one third of foreign capital that entered Bulgaria in 2006 was directed to the real estate sector. Investors got involved in speculative operations instead of using the funds for developments, Danev said.
The export growth rate exceeded that of import in 2006, Pari quoted Danev as saying.
Lack of qualified labour hand appeared as one of the main economic problems in Bulgaria, the report said.
Another problem is corruption. Corruption in Bulgaria is as high as in countries like Costa Rica and Namibia, Pari reported.
Top Stories in Today's Papers
The 24 chasa daily:
"Properties of criminals for 22 million BGN distrained". Committee for establishment of properties, gained by criminal activity distrained estates for 21,7 million BGN ( € 11 mln), reported the chief of the committee Stoian Kushlev.
"DSB party wants prison for Rumen Petkov". Internal Miniseter of Bulgaria was given to the main prosecutor from 5 deputies from 'Democrats for Strong Bulgaria' and their leader Ivan Kostov. The case treats a letter from Petkov in which he assures that the check up of the dossiers files for the candidates for MEP elections didn't found any illegality.
"Agitation for deputies - 29 days". The Central Electoral Company declared that the election campaign starts on April 20 and will continue till May 18.
The Trud daily:
"Government to correct the judge law". Cabinet accept the suggestion of the Justice Ministry, entered by Georgy Petkanov. The change treats the candidates for inspectors that won't be appointed by the Minister anymore, but will enter a competition for tha purpose.
"Blue deputies angry to Stoianov, that got no dossiers' person". They must support the candidate of the independent deputies for the dossiers committee Vladimir Djeferov.
"Only a pharmaceutics could be owner of pharmacy". License for opening a pharmacy in Bulgaria will be given only to pharmaceutics with master degree, registered by the Trade Law.
The Dnevnik daily:
"In the no man's land between constitution and law", the daily comments the draft bill for Judge Law.
The Monitor daily:
"Parliamentarians against parliamentary". Every Parliament starts its life with two oaths- to improve on the parliamentary control and to stop voting with another's cards. With authority arrogance deputies risk not only their rating, but the parliamentary trust as a whole. He big paradox of the local democracy is that laws, created in another's head, wrote with another's pen are now voted with another's vote card.
The Sega daily:
"Who is scared from Boiko Borisov". The MEP elections won't change drastically the Bulgarian political scenery. GERB party will be on the political scene but nothing will depend on them in the Parliament.
http://international.ibox.bg/pressreview/id_804361569
Joining European Economic Area gives Bulgaria EUR 41,5 m
| 29 March 2007 | 22:05 | FOCUS News Agency |
 |
|
Sofia. The negotiations on the financial and trade aspects within the talks about Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the European Economic Area /EEA/ drew to an end. Bulgaria’s standing representative to the EU Stanislav Daskalov endorsed the final document, the press office of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced. |
Bulgaria in no Hurry to Join the Eurozone-Finance
Bulgarian Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski said yesterday joining the eurozone is not a priority and that Bulgaria will adopt the single currency when it meets the entry criteria.
European Union newcomer Bulgaria hopes to enter the ERM-2 – a two-year waiting room for euro hopefuls – by June but has been flexible about eurozone entry, saying it could happen in 2010 or one or two years later.
“The eurozone entry is not a priority. We will join when we fulfill all the criteria. We ourselves would not want to join before that,” Oresharski told reporters.
“My priority is to maintain the smooth functioning of the currency board regime until we enter the eurozone,” he said.
The Black Sea country pegged its lev to the euro in 1997 and plans to keep its currency board regime and the current peg unchanged until entering the eurozone – possibly in 2010, 2011 or 2012.
Some analysts believe that the lev is overvalued and that its depreciation could help the country become more competitive but both the Socialist-led government and the central bank argue that the current peg is relevant and should be kept.
Bulgaria meets all Maastricht criteria to adopt the single currency, apart from the inflation one, and Oresharski has said he did not favor severe measures to curb it just to enter the eurozone.
Sofia ended 2006 with 6.5 percent annual inflation but sees it slowing to 3.4 percent this year, and to 3 percent in 2008 and 2009, mainly due to expected easing of administrative price hikes and the increased competition on the EU common market.
Oresharski reiterated that Bulgaria will keep its tight fiscal policy till 2009 and will restrain wages to protect the economy from external risks from its current account deficit that reached 16.3 percent of GDP in 2006.
“We are committed to (a) prudent fiscal policy and will aim to achieve a budget surplus that exceeds 2 percent of GDP this year,” Oresharski said. “We will increase public sector wages only in line with productivity to remain competitive.”
With average monthly income of just 200 euros, Bulgaria is among the poorest EU members, but analysts have warned that an abrupt increase in wages could undermine its macroeconomic stability and fuel inflation.
(Reuters, 28/03/2007)
http://www.energia.gr/indexengr.php?newsid=13696&page=2&lang=en
Airmen wrap up Bulgaria training, where airspace rules are relaxed
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — About 200 Ramstein-based airmen on Friday will finish an exercise in Bulgaria that allowed C-130 cargo plane pilots to conduct training that they don’t ordinarily get to do in Germany.
Members of the 37th Airlift Squadron took part in a joint exercise, dubbed Thracian Spring 07, with the Bulgarian air force. U.S. medical personnel also participated in the drill, according to the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria.
There are fewer flight restrictions in Bulgaria compared to Germany, and the exercise allowed pilots to fly low-level missions, said Petra Day, an Air Force spokeswoman based at Ramstein Air Base. Pilots also practiced using night-vision goggles and loading and unloading cargo much like they would do under combat.
The exercise wraps up as the U.S. military plans to deploy its first group of rotational units to Bulgaria and Romania. Gen. Bantz Craddock, commander of the U.S. European Command, told congressmen earlier this month that the Germany-based 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment is scheduled to do the first rotational assignment to Eastern Europe this summer.
Last April, the U.S. and Bulgaria signed a 10-year pact that would allow American forces to jointly use three Bulgarian bases. U.S. military officials have said that several thousand American troops from Germany would deploy to the bases on temporary assignments.
Later this year, C-130 pilots from Ramstein plan similar training exercises in Norway, Romania and Poland, Day said.
Airmen arrived at Bulgaria’s Bezmer Air Base, southeast of the capital, last Friday. Airmen from the unit last trained in Bulgaria last year.
“Such joint training underscores the mutual commitment by Bulgaria and the United States to enhance military preparedness, capabilities and cooperation,” the U.S. Embassy in Sofia.
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=44720
OTP Bank proposes ending ownership and voting limits
The management of OTP Bank Nyrt., the owner of Bulgaria's DSK Bank, is proposing that shareholders end limits to ownership and voting rights in eastern Europe's most profitable bank, making a takeover of the lender easier, news agency Bloomberg reported on March 29.
Shareholders will vote at an April 27 meeting in Budapest whether to remove a clause from the company's charter limiting total foreign ownership at 50% and the share of single non-Hungarian companies at 5%, according to the proposal published on the Budapest Stock Exchange Web site yesterday.
Management is also proposing to lift the maximum voting rights for a single shareholder to 25% from 10%. Should a stockholder hold more than 10%, that limit would be 33%.
'The probability has definitely increased' for a takeover, said Zoltan Varadi, who helps manage the equivalent of $20 mln at east European stocks at Raiffeisen Asset Management in Budapest. 'I don't think this will happen in the near term, but I expect that it will provide good support for the stock price.'
OTP's largest shareholder is the Bank of New York Co., which holds a 28.3% stake as a depository. The Hungarian lender has 6.6% in treasury shares and Merrill Lynch & Co. holds 3.1% of the company, Bloomberg data shows.
Mikhail Rahimkulov, a former executive of Russia's OAO Gazprom and now Hungary's richest man, in September said he held 5.3% in OTP.(Dnevnik)
Turkcell makes offer in Bulgaria telecoms tender
Turkish mobile operator Turkcell has made an offer in the tender of a 65% stake in Bulgaria's dominant telecoms firm BTC, news agency Reuters reported on March 29.
Iceland's richest man Thor Bjorgolfsson is considering selling his option for 65% in BTC and has appointed Lehman Brothers to shortlist investors interested in the acquisition which experts value at around 1.2 bln euro to 1.3 bln euro.
Turkcell, which faces growing competition at home, signed a $3 bln syndicated loan last month and its new chief executive, Sureyya Ciliv, said the firm could use it to invest in eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.
It had six months to use the loan.
Media reports have said besides Turkcell, Turkey's leading fixed-line operator Turk Telecom and private equity investment funds Providence Equity Partner, Texas Pacific Group, Warburg Pincus and Mid Europa Partners were also eyeing the deal.
Bjorgolfsson's investment vehicle Novator bought the call option on the 65% stake in BTC last year from U.S. equity fund Advent International which took control of formerly state-owned BTC in 2004.
Novator has said it expects Lehman to have proposals on how to proceed with the deal at the end of April at the latest.
A source familiar with the process has told Reuters Lehman Brothers was talking to interested strategic and private equity fund investors that have placed initial offers with them.
He said Lehman would most likely propose Novator opens talks with up to six interested bidders for the sale that is expected to be finalised in June.(Dnevnik)