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News from Bulgaria, 96-08-01Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Embassy of Bulgaria <bulgaria@access1.digex.net>EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY1 August, 1996CONTENTS
[01] BULGARIA FILES ANSWERS TO E.U. QUESTIONNAIRESofia, July 31 (BTA) - Bulgaria today filed officially its answers to a questionnaire the European Union will use to decide on this country's membership application.Deputy Foreign Minister Irina Bokova, the secretary of the government Committee on European integration, this afternoon handed the Bulgarian government's answers to the questionnaire to Thomas O'Sullivan, Head of Delegation of the European Commission. She also delivered a letter from Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski to commissioner Hans van den Broek. "We approached the matter very seriously as membership in the European Union is a strategic goal for Bulgaria, and a goal on which political consensus has been reached," Mrs. Bokova said. The answers to nearly 3,000 questions of the European Commission have filled 40 folders. The government has worked over three months on it and has enclosed with the answers laws, programmes, government decisions and statistics. The answers dwell on the customs union and taxation, agriculture, employment, social development, transport, the energy industry, industry, environment, financial controls, education, foreign policy, law, internal affairs, statistics and international relations. Deputy Foreign Minister Bokova said the answers give a very good idea of the situation in Bulgaria and specific spheres. "We have tried to be as open as possible," she said. She also said the answers offer a glimpse into this country's potential for further development. Ambassador O'Sullivan said the European Commission is now due to consider its official stance on the application on all countries seeking EU membership. He said the EU will continue the active dialogue with its partners. Speaking on the National Radio this evening, Thomas O'Sullivan said he was happy the Bulgarian government and the European Commission signed the documents for the extending of a Ecu 40 million tranche to support Bulgaria's balance of payment. He said the second tranche will be made available in early September. [02] NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ENDS SUMMER SESSIONSofia, July 31 (BTA) - Speaking at a news conference, National Assembly Chairman Blagovest Sendov described Parliament's summer session, which ended today, as busy and one that has achieved real legislative results. Sendov praised the MPs' work and stressed that the 37th National Assembly is the most active Parliament so far. The National Assembly's session passed the highest number of bills related to the Constitution: the Armed Forces Act, the National Budget Preparation and Utilization Act and the Coat-of-Arms Act, Sendov said. The first plenary session after the Parliament's summer recess was scheduled for September 4, 1996.During its spring-summer session, Parliament passed 36 bills, made 51 resolutions and set up one commission of inquiry. The Cabinet drafted 27 bills, and the National Assembly - nine. The MPs held 51 plenary sessions, 14 of which were extraordinary. The parliamentary Legislative Committee discussed 174 bills, the Economic Committee - 168, and the Budgetary and Finance Committee - 115. Five of the bills passed by the National Assembly were totally new ones: the Profits Tax Act, the Act on Radio and Television, the Coat-of-Arms Act, the National Budget Act and the Act on Financial Rehabilitation of Enterprises, Sendov said. Sendov criticized the way parliamentary control is managed. Parliamentary control takes place each Friday, from 11 to 14 hours. "I think that the time allocated for parliamentary control is sufficient, but the MPs should increase the efficiency of their work during it," Sendov said. According to him, "the Democratic Left stepped up its participation in the parliamentary control which put an end to the bias forced by the opposition". "I expect that the autumn session will start with the passage of the acts which the President returned for further consideration in Parliament," Sendov said. According to him, the process of the approximation of the Bulgarian legislation to the European law will continue in the next sessions of the National Assembly. The 240-seat National Assembly has five major political groups: the parliamentary group of the Democratic Left which has 125 seats (52.08 per cent) and which includes the ruling BSP, the Alexander Stamboliiski Bulgarian National Agrarian Union and the EcoGlasnost Political Club; the parliamentary group of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces, which holds 69 seats (28.65 per cent); the group of the opposition Popular Union, a coalition of the Nikola Petkov Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and the Democratic Party, with 28 seats (7.5 per cent); the parliamentary group of the ethnic Turks' Movement for Rights and Freedoms with 15 seats (6.25 per cent) and the group of the Bulgarian Business Bloc which has 13 seats (5.42 per cent). [03] SOCIALISTS DISCUSS FINANCIAL STABILIZATION, STRUCTURAL REFORMSofia, July 31 (BTA) - The leadership of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and its parliamentary group started a closed-door sitting this evening to discuss the results of the measures taken for the financial stabilization of this country in the second half of 1996 and the first stage of the structural reform.In the keynote report to the sitting, BSP leader and Prime Minister Zhan Videnov dwelled on the three major objectives of the government's reform programme: structural adjustment and privatization in the enterprise sector, reform in banking and rehabilitation of public finance. Speaking to journalists, Zhan Videnov said a number of measures have already been taken in each of the above spheres. He believes this autumn and winter, if the macroeconomic stabilization is restored, the budget appropriations will be sufficient to minimize the drop of incomes and even have a zero drop in some social groups. [04] DEMOCRATIC LEFT SIGNS ELECTION AGREEMENTSofia, July 31 (BTA) - The leaders of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the Alexander Stamboliyski Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and the Ecoglasnost Political Club today signed a political agreement on an election coalition. The new formation was named Together for Bulgaria and will incorporate the structures of the national movement of the same name in support of the candidate presidential tandem Georgi Pirinski-Ivan Marazov, which are being set up nationwide. The formation will be registered with the Central Electoral Commission in the next few days. Over 90 local- city, municipal and rural- Together for Bulgaria organizations have been set up so far. The agreement signed today provides for support for the Democratic Left ticket.Three months before the second direct presidential elections in Bulgaria since the start of the changes, the situation has heated up as a result of a Constitutional Court ruling which questioned the Bulgarian citizenship of Socialist contender Georgi Pirinski. According to the Constitution, the President of Bulgaria should be a Bulgarian citizen by birth. This has been interpreted as eliminating Pirinski, the nominee of the ruling BSP, born in New York of an American mother and a Bulgarian father. The Constitutional Court addressed the matter at the request of MPs from the biggest opposition formation, the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). The UDF did not act when the candidacy was announced. Later on it addressed the Constitutional Court, quoting the need to clear up the legal obscurity surrounding the Socialist contender. The BSP said the Constitutional Court ruling was politically motivated. "The close adherence to the Constitution is a serious reason to press on with a vigorous presidential campaign," Pirinski told a special press conference last week. At a meeting of the parliamentary Democratic Left today, Pirinski said he and Marazov did not intend to turn their backs on the present grave problems to the nation- the banking crisis and grain shortages. The two will tour the country from August 10 to 25. Pirinski described as unsatisfactory the contacts of his team with young people, especially young voters. He said he will do his best to improve these contacts. If the tandem wins the elections, it will focus on strengthening the role of the presidency for stabilizing government institutions, Ivaylo Kalfin, Spokesman of the Pirinski-Marazov campaign, told a press conference today. The role of the President in foreign policy is to represent the country abroad, while foreign policy is developed and implemented by the Government, Kalfin recalled. The President should not take sides in disputes among government institutions or political parties. He should be committed not to a single viewpoint, but to the search of common grounds that leads to consensus, Kalfin said, commenting on the candidates' ideas. The priorities in foreign policy will be in line with the priorities on which there is a public consensus and which have been recognized despite the conflict of institutions, Kalfin said. These are European integration, regional cooperation and its link with European integration processes and the pragmatic and mutually advantageous cooperation with Russia and the US, he stressed. [05] PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER PRESENTS TEAMSofia, July 31 (Iva Toncheva of BTA) - The opposition candidate for the presidency Peter Stoyanov today presented his team at a press conference.Stoyanov's team comprises 12 people including party functionaries, MPs, intellectuals and students. A spokesman has not been appointed. The team is led by Evgeni Bakurdjiev, regional leader of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), now Chairman of the Sofia City Council. The former Bulgarian Ambassador to Lisbon Vladimir Filipov will be in charge of foreign policy and security issues, Mihail Mihailov MP of the UDF will be responsible for political marketing, Kalcho Choukarov MP of the Popular Union will be responsible for agricultural marketing, political scientist Vassil Garnizov will lead the group of pollsters, and two representatives of the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) will be coordinators for Northern and Southern Bulgaria. The opposition candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency Peter Stoyanov and Todor Kavaldjiev said the team will not set up special local structures and will use the structures established for the opposition primaries. Stoyanov reiterated he will wage a tolerant campaign free of mudslinging but will call the spider a spider. Asked if he feared President Zhelev, who lost the opposition primaries, could run as an independent, Stoyanov said he was convinced of Zhelev's political integrity. "Zhelyu Zhelev is the incumbent President elected on the opposition ticket and we hope he will assist our campaign with contacts and information," Stoyanov said. Stoyanov did not discuss his election platform. He, however, focused special attention on young people. "If elected, I will immediately ask the Government, whichever Government, to adopt a programme on young people," he said. The second direct presidential elections in Bulgaria have been scheduled for October 27, and although no official start has been given to the election campaign, the four known candidates- Georgi Pirinski of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Stoyanov, the leader of the parliamentary Bulgarian Business Bloc (BBB) George Ganchev and the leader of the extraparliamentary Civil Alliance for the Republic Alexander Tomov - have been campaigning vigorously, touring the nation and meeting with voters. [06] BULGARIA-TURKEY-WTOTurkey objected to the approval of the set of documents for Bulgaria's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), "Douma", "24 Chassa" and "Troud" write, quoting the Government's special representative on multilateral trade negotiations Dencho Georgiev as saying. Mr Georgiev returned from Geneva where the working group on Bulgaria's accession to WTO (GATT successor) held its latest session. The meeting was supposed to approve the set of documents for Bulgaria's accession to be later filed for consideration by WTO's General Council in October. Due to an objection of a commercial character made by one of the member states of the working group, the bilateral negotiations with the latter will continue, says the official statement released after the meeting. The next meeting of the working group has been scheduled for September 17, 1996.The official meeting of the working group on Bulgaria's accession with the WTO was expected to be final, according to the projections of Trade Minister Atanas Paparizov. After the meeting it emerged that Turkey insists that Bulgaria's entry in WTO be Okayed after the establishment of a bilateral free trade zone between Bulgaria and Turkey. Obviously on July 29 Turkey did not retreat from its positions, "Douma" says. According to Mr Georgiev all participants in the working group asked Turkey to reconsider its stand. Bulgaria filed an official application for accession to GATT six years ago. Since then Bulgarian experts have been seeking compromise trade alternatives by bilateral negotiations, "24 Chassa" recalls. New Zealand insisted for major tariff concessions on part of Bulgaria for exporters of white cheese, apples, pears, quinces, raw sheep skins and fur. The Japanese wanted concessions for the imports of cars. Canada pressed for preferences in the import of frozen meat, milk and dairy products, vegetables, wheat, barley and lentils. Serious negotiations were held with the US on the protection of copyrights and intellectual property. The US conditioned Bulgaria's entry in the organisation on srtict measures against pirated audio and video copies. The imports of veal from Argentina was also widely discussed, "24 Chassa" writes. [07] OLYMPIC AIRWAYS - BALKAN AIRLINESThe Greek airlines Olympic Airways wants to buy the services which the Bulgarian Balkan airlines has established to the Middle East countries, "Continent" and "Pari" say, quoting the management of the national carrier. Balkan is now making estimates to decide if it will profit from such a deal. If Balkan sells the flights, it will be able to pay part of its debts. Experts, however, have advised against the deal because the services to the Arab world have been developed for years, although they have been operating at a loss for the past two or three years, "Continent" says. Balkan's obligations to the creditor banks and suppliers dropped by 1/4 over the past six months, Deputy Transport Minister Svetoslav Stanoulov said, cited by the dailies.[08] BULGARIA - WORLD BANKThe World Bank's board of executive directors may consider already in early autumn the project for the Financial and Enterprise Sector Adjustment Loan (FESAL). The negotiations were first held on some 150 million US dollars, "Pari" and "24 Chassa" say. The loan will be granted provided that the Government's programme for stabilization of economy and finance continues to be implemented, bank experts believe. The Government's measures on the enterprises' isolation from credits and liquidation have been satisfactory so far, experts comment.[09] STATE SAVINGS BANK - CENTRAL BANK LOANThe State Savings Bank (SSB) took a loan from the National Bank of Bulgaria (BNB, the central bank). The SSB has no liquidity problems, although it is paying to the customers of banks in insolvency and is crediting agriculture with 15,000 million leva for the purchasing of bread grain, "Pari" says. The loan has been guaranteed by government securities. SSB head Bistra Dimitrova would not specify the amount of the loan, "24 Chassa" says.[10] QUAKE IN SOUTHWESTERN BULGARIASofia, July 31 (BTA) - An earthquake measuring 2.5 on the Richter scale, epicentered 100 km south of Sofia on this country's territory, was registered at 1247 hrs. local time by the Central Seismological Service with the Istitute of Geophysics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The quake's magnitude measured 2 to 3 on the MSK scale in the epicenter zone. The earth tremour was felt in the city of Blagoevgrad and along the Bistritsa River (Southern Bulgaria).No injuries or damage have been reported. [11] NEW THRACIAN TOMB UNCOVEREDSofia, July 31 (BTA) - Participants in the Temp-96 archaeological expedition uncovered on July 29 a Thracian beehive tomb of the fourth century B.C. near the town of Shipka, Central Bulgaria. The expedition is headed by Senior Research Associate Georgi Kirov. Large regular stones were used to build the tomb, situated five metres under ground. The construction has finely painted interior walls. Specialists describe the tomb as the biggest find in the region of Kazanluk made during this archaeological summer. This area of Central Bulgaria is considered to have been the Valley of the Thracian Kings. Minister of Culture Ivan Marazov, who is a Thracian scholar, said that the metal part of a Roman soldier's shoe found at the site indicates that the tomb may have been plundered as early as in Roman times. Archaeologists have already uncovered the interior section of the stone bed in the tomb.A total of 1.6 million leva were provided for this year's edition of the expedition. The money includes 10,000 Swiss francs which the Swiss Government donated to the archaeologists. As an expression of their gratitude to the donors, the archaeologists named the mound which covered the tomb Helvetia, Switzerland's ancient name. 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