07.09.2023
As the third month in office of the Denkov-Gabriel cabinet is coming to its end, the government mobilized all its resource to undo the damage caused by the floods along the Southern Black Sea coast and to help the people afflicted. This was done as the institutions acted in full synergy.
Over that period increases were ensured to be added to wages and student grants; the national interest in public sector enterprises and in major infrastructure projects was upheld; further steps were taken to digitalize healthcare, support businesses and catch up on delayed key priorities.
Young people and children: education, science, sport
From 1 October onwards, university students will be paid higher grants, Prime Minister Acad. Nikolai Denkov announced. The minimum which is BGN 85 will go up by 41% to become BGN 120; the maximum which is BGN 180 will go up by 11% to become BGN 200. The one-off award for excellence will be BGN 400. A total of BGN 6 million has been allocated to pay higher grants until the end of the year. In addition, the government allots BGN 100 million to renovate student hostels plus BGN 12 million for the fencing and improvement of three university campuses in the Student Village in Sofia.
The government increased teachers’ salaries by 15% subject to an Annex to the Bargaining Contract as applicable to preschool and school education. The increase will have a retroactive effect, starting from 1 January 2023. The increase covers all other teaching staff.
For the first time in the new school year, the Ministry of Education and Science will fix second dates for the exams after the 4th, 7th and 10th grade. Students who did not take the national external assessment exams for reasons of health or other serious problems can sit on such dates, said the Minister of Education and Science Prof. Dr. Galin Tsokov.
Over BGN 86 million have been secured to finance projects for the development of the dual system of vocational education and training within the framework of the Education Program.
Meanwhile, Bulgaria became the first country in Eastern Europe to join the ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems) – the state of the art Artificial Intelligence development network. The first point of the top network of the region – “ELLIS Unit Sofia” – was established via the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) and the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
For the first time the Ministry of Youth and Sports is to give premiums to young athletes of the first age group preceding men and women. They will be eligible to receive one-time cash awards for having climbed the victory stand at world and European championships of Olympic sports and categories. In the opinion of the Minister Dimitar Iliev, the purpose of the new premiums is to encourage our young hopefuls to continue competing in conditions of tough rivalry and to win at topmost events.
A total of 54,971 children received or continue to receive all-round support under the measure “Support for early childhood development” of Operational Program Human Resources Development (OP HRD) 2014 – 2020. The Operation created a network for integrated services for early childhood development, that are intended for children up to the age of 7 from vulnerable groups, including children with disabilities and their families, as well as future parents. Childcare from the earliest age is a priority of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Ivanka Shalapatova.
Government stake in infrastructure projects
The Ministry of Transport and Communications launched four public tenders for the purchase of new trains. Once gaps were found in the previous tendering conditions, the Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov suspended the procedures soon after he took office. The broader eligibility criteria for the new tendering procedures will save public money and provide conditions for stronger competition between the bidders.
Operational control over the Rossenets Port terminal has been transferred to the government. The Executive Agency Maritime Administration has issued an order that “Lukoil Neftochim Bourgas” AD be deleted from the Register of Port Operators. The Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company that has been entered into the Register is assigned to provide the port services at the terminal.
Profilograph tests on the motorways and expressways started in late August. The Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Andrey Tsekov attended the first test of the Hemus Motorway on a section within the warranty period. The test is to verify that the smoothness of the surface of the paving conforms to an international smoothness standard. The results will be released by mid-September.
Serious violations of the Public Procurement Act were detected in another important area of the MRDPW activity, namely, the awarding of routine repair and maintenance to the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) in 2018-2021. The Public Financial Inspection Agency (PFIA) inspected 95 additional and extraordinary operations worth BGN 718,833,709 excluding VAT and termed by the Directorate for National Construction Supervision (DNCS) “major repair” under the contracts for preventive maintenance of the national roads by the RIA. Ascertained administrative breaches in the awarding of the contracts were penalized as 69 statements were drawn up against four officials who endorsed the additional tasks. For this reason, transparent public tenders were launched for routine repair and maintenance the criterion being the lowest price bid and in compliance with all legal requirements.
Efficiency of public enterprises
To rehabilitate the performance and to improve the efficiency of public enterprises the Ministry of Economy and Industry commissioned an analysis on their financial health. It was found that despite the numerous managerial problems and regardless of the absence of results, the managers receive extremely high remunerations (over BGN 12,000 per month). Following the inspections, Minister Bogdan Bogdanov brought a new expert team of managers to the State Consolidation Company EAD and announced cost optimization by staff cuts in the management and supervision and a 50% reduction of the remuneration. Hospitality expenses face a ceiling of BGN 5000 per year.
Following a case filed by Minister Bogdan Bogdanov with the Sofia City Court and the two special claims, the Plovdiv Court of Appeal confirmed the suspension of the registration of the non-cash contribution to the Plovdiv Fair by the Municipality of Varna to Paldin Tourinvest AD. This means that as long as the proceedings are pending, the private company will not acquire the shares and the government remains in control over this emblematic enterprise.
Healthcare
Salary increases by 22% in the Emergency Centers and by 20% in the Regional Health Inspectorates (RHIs). This was reported by the Minister of Health Prof. Hristo Hinkov at the end of the third month in office of the government. The emergency medical staff will be paid cumulatively the increases that are valid from 1 August 2023 onwards. By the end of October at the latest, all the emergency medical staff will be paid the increase for August and September 2023 in addition to their salaries.
The total number of registered and approved e-protocols for expensive treatment of patients residing at home exceeded 130,000, and over 103,000 е-prescriptions were based on them. This was reported by the Minister of e-Government Alexander Yolovski following the start of the e-protocols as the only valid document for the dispensing of medicines in the beginning of July.
The first part of the ground equipment of the aerial emergency medical service is already in Bulgaria. It is expected that by the end of the year Bulgaria Heli Med Service EAD, a corporate entity established under a European regulation, will become a holder of an aviation operator license and that the first helicopter will land in Bulgaria in December.
Government support for people and businesses
The Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev announced that from 1 September onwards, individuals can open a payment account for basic transactions. The account will be free of charge when it receives and keeps wages, pensions, aids and social security and social assistance benefits and grants for school students, university students and doctoral students.
The government supported sunflower producers by BGN 78.33 per hectare; the rate was set by an order of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Kiril Vatev. Support will be provided to producers whose fields were eligible in the 2022 season under the Single Area Payment Scheme (SAPS). The total budget under the measure is BGN 65,519,300 which is split into BGN 32,759,650 from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and BGN 32,759,650 from the national budget. The disbursements are to be made by 30 September 2023.
Over BGN 34 million will be made available to 12 companies for the design and development of innovative services and products. The funding is under the fourth measure of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) within the Ministry of Innovation and Growth – support for innovative enterprises that the European Commission has distinguished for excellence and the winners were selected by European evaluators and a jury on which no Bulgarian members sat. All contracts with the 1599 winner companies under the procedure “ICT Solutions and Cybersecurity” of the RRP have been concluded. The total budget of the measure is BGN 30.6 million; the companies receive grants between BGN 3,000 and 20,000.
The budget for processing enterprises was increased as it received additional BGN 51 million under sub-measure 4.2 “Investments in processing/marketing of agricultural products” under the Rural Development Program (RDP 2014-2020). The changes bring the total financial resource under the procedure to BGN 477.2 million and thus make it possible to conclude contracts for all proposed projects that meet the eligibility and financing criteria.
Preparation of the coalmining regions for the future
After a long delay, the cabinet reports progress on Territorial Just Transition Plans for the coalmining regions; the plans have been released for public discussion. They will continue to be discussed in the coming weeks within the communities and with the social partners and, where necessary, the documents will be reworked. The plans must be sent to the European Commission for approval by the end of September 2023. They plans are part of the government’s overall vision of the development and preparation of the coalmining regions for the future. What is envisioned is economic growth, sustainable job creation and higher income prospects for people.
Over BGN 180 million are the planned investments for the region of Pernik from the Just Transition Fund under the Regional Development Program 2021-2027.
The conceptual version of a project for the construction of a new industrial zone around the airport in Stara Zagora will be complete before the end of this year. It will provide opportunities for the creation of new jobs.
Due to the many problems arising from the heating provided by the Gabrovo Thermal Power Plant (TPP), the Minister of Energy Rumen Radev, the Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev, the Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov and the local authorities came up with common solutions and a compensation plan for customers to ensure the normal operation in the upcoming heating season.
Justice
The Minister of Justice Atanas Slavov sent to Mrs. Claire Bazy Malaurie, President of the Venice Commission (European Commission for Democracy through Law), a draft version of the amendments to the Constitution with a request for “an urgent opinion on the draft at the earliest stage”. It is about the draft amendments to the Constitution submitted on 28 July 2023 to the 49th National Assembly by 166 MPs from the parliamentary groups We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria, GERB-UDF [Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria-Union of Democratic Forces] and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). Constitutional reform was the focus of the Minister’s meetings with the ambassadors of Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
Salary increases for prison wardens and court security officers
The government provided for the long neglected but necessary improvement of working conditions in the penitentiary institutions. The basic monthly salaries of the staff in the Enforcement of Penal Sanctions Directorate General and the Security Directorate General went up by 10% reckoned from 1 August 2023. The Ministry of Justice continues to work to strengthen the two specialized general directorates, ensure better working conditions, offer stronger incentives and create stability and security for the officers in the performance of duty.
The Eurozone
The government set eight priorities in the National Strategy for the Fight against Money Laundering and the Terrorist Financing. Some of the focuses, inter alia, are: raising the awareness of the private and public sectors and a more effective interaction between them; strengthening the administrative capacity and improvement of skills; tighter control on the transfer of cash across the border. Progress is important in view of the enhanced monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and demonstrates Bulgaria’s commitment to follow the recommendations of the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) with the Council of Europe of May 2022.
In the meantime, the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria launched the campaign #The Euro at a glance, which is supported by the Ministry of Finance and the Bulgarian National Bank. The goal is to provide to people as much practical information as possible about the benefits of the country’s accession to the Eurozone both for the Bulgarian economy and for citizens and businesses.
