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Bulgaria's finance ministry has slammed as “manipulation of the public opinion” Fitch Ratings agency forecast of lowering the country's credit rating to junk.

“Fitch Ratings agency has made an attempt to manipulate the public opinion by saying it will downgrade Bulgaria's rating a month after we informed them of our intention to suspend our contract with them in a bid to cut costs,” Deputy Finance Minister Ana Mihaylova said on Tuesday.

She announced that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov will raise the issue about the rating agencies assessments at the upcoming Ecofin meeting.

“It is not right if a small country such as Bulgaria pays BGN 300,000 each year to be rated by yet another rating agencies,” Mihaylova added.

The statement echoes the comments of local analysts, according to whom the gloomy forecasts for Bulgaria that Fitch Ratings has made over the last few days are in response to the state decision to suspend its contract with the agency.

“I believe that the negative assessments come as a response to Bulgaria's decision to break up with Fitch. We are talking here about blackmail par excellence,” local financial expert Emil Harsev said.

Bulgaria, the European Union member boasting the bloc’s smallest budget deficit, risks seeing its banks sucked under by the fiscal sins of neighboring Greece, Fitch Ratings and Capital Economics Ltd. warned on Monday.

Earlier in February the agency said that Bulgaria may still see its credit rating lowered to junk as an external debt burden bigger than total output threatens financial stability.

Fitch rates Bulgaria’s foreign-currency debt BBB-, the lowest investment grade, and has kept a negative outlook on the rating since April. The Balkan nation had gross external debt of EUR 37.6 B or 111% of the economy, at the end of last year.

The current account, which was in surplus in the third quarter last year, turned to a deficit that swelled to EUR 327 M in December, the widest since May, according to central bank data. The deficit was 8.6% of GDP in 2009, the government estimates.

Almost a third of Bulgaria’s banks are owned by Greek parents such as National Bank of Greece SA and Alpha Bank SA, whose funding costs are set to jump after the government’s 12.7% deficit last year prompted credit downgrades that left Greece’s debt the lowest-ranked in the euro area.

The Greek debt crisis has taken its toll on the nation’s banks. Following its downgrade of government debt, Fitch on Feb. 23 lowered the credit grades on four Greek lenders, and Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service have indicated they may follow suit.

According to Fitch austerity steps will erode bank profitability and capital, spurring financial instability that will spread across the Balkans and Bulgaria in particular.

"The crisis in a neighboring country will certainly has an impact on the banking sector in Bulgaria because of the big market share that Greek banks hold, but it won't be very serious because of the high competition in the sector," Emil Harsev commented.

Last week Bulgaria's central bank assuaged fears over funds outflow from Greek bank subsidiaries in the country to headquarters in Greece, saying this is part of the free movement of capital

“There is no danger for the deposits of Bulgarian citizens in Greek banks here,” Ivan Iskrov, governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, commented on Thursday.

Greek banks hold nearly a 30% of the Bulgarian banking market, a 20% share of the bank loans and one-third of all deposits and called on the Bulgarian central bank to use the available tools to keep the deposits in Bulgaria.

Some of the biggest lenders in Bulgaria are managed by Italy's UniCredit, Greece's National Bank of Greece, Hungary's OTP and Austria's Raiffeisen.

Other Greek banks present in Bulgaria include EFG Eurobank, Piraeus, Emporiki and Alpha Bank.

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Bulgaria’s export increased by 13,1% in January 2010 year-on-year, according to preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute.

Thanks in part to the recovery in Bulgaria’s main trading partners from the EU, the country’s export has grown for the third month in a row, reaching the highest growth since August 2008 when it increased by 15% year-on-year.

For the first the time since the early 1990s most of Bulgaria’s export – 53% - goes to countries outside the EU – which usually takes in about 60%-65% of Bulgaria’s exports.

“These are the first signs – albeit timid ones – that the Bulgarian economy has started to recover,” Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has commented.

Thus, Bulgaria’s total export in January 2010 amounted to BGN 1,8 B growing for a third consecutive month after it increased by 4,76% in December 2009, and by 3,85% in November 2009.

However, the figure for January is not due to certain impressive results of Bulgarian companies; it has a lot to do with the fact that the Bulgarian export collapsed in 2009.

Despite its growth in January 2010, Bulgaria’s export is at very low level historically, according to the experts of the National Statistical Institute.

The export of fuel and machine oil registers the largest growth in January 2010 – of about 58% - year-on-year; the export of raw materials grew by 56%; of machines and equipment – 32%; finished goods – 17%; alcohol and tobacco products – 10%.

Bulgaria’s export of vegetable oil dropped by 55%, of living animals – by 22%, and of chemical products – by 1%.

Bulgaria still has a negative trading balance despite the fact that thanks to the crisis its import declined tremendously and the gap has started to shrink.

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Bulgaria’s new cars market declined by 44% in February 2010 year-on-year.

According to the Association of Car Producers and Authorized Dealers, only 1 248 new cars were sold in Bulgaria in February.

However, the decline is slowing down compared to a drop of 47,6% in January, and of 52% in all of 2009.

A total of 7,6% more new cars were sold in Bulgaria in February compared to January when Bulgarians purchased 1 160 new cars.

With 2 408 new cars sold in the first two months of 2010, the decline compared to the same period of 2010 is 46%.

The French brand Peugeot turned out to be the most popular in Bulgaria in January-February with 265 new cars, or 10,69% of all sales.

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Bulgaria is considering the establishment of a National Water company (NWC) similar to the existing electric one (NEK), according to Regional Minister, Rosen Plevneliev.

Plevneliev spoke Tuesday during the meeting with the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG)

The aim is to consolidate the water sector whose network is now too fragmented, leading to water losses of 55% to 70%. The State plans to create new Water Supply Companies (ViK), most likely corresponding to the 4 Basin Directorates in Bulgaria. The Water companies are now 50 with State, municipal or mixed ownership.

Plevneliev informed his Ministry is working on preparing a water strategy to be ready by the end of 2010. According to the Minister, EUR 8 – 10 B will be needed as investments in the next 10 years. Under the new strategy, water regulation will be the authority of just one Ministry, unlike the current division of the responsibilities between the Environment, the Agriculture, the Regional, the Economy and Energy, and the Health Ministries.

“If I could give those Water Companies to the Environment Ministry, I would do it right away,” Plevneliev said.

The strategy for management of the ViK sector was passed in 2004 by the cabinet of former Tsar, Prime Minister, and leader of the National Movement for Stability and Prosperity (NMSP), Simeon Saxe-Coburg, with the gold to improve ViK services. The strategy included measures to deal with the problems and the needed investments were estimated at over EUR 9 B.

In the summer of 2009, under the request of the European Commission, the Three-Way coalition cabinet, led by Socialist PM, Sergey Stanishev, passed an amendment to merge ViK operators in territorial associations that could apply for EU financing, but the measure was not applied in the practice. As result, the EC threatened to cut EUR 1 B for Bulgaria from the operational program “Environment.”

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The Danish budget airline Cimber Sterling begins regular service of the Sofia-Copenhagen line on March 28.

The twice-a-week flights are included in the company's summer schedule, but will be extended to a year-round service.

Cimber Sterling becomes the sixth budget carrier to offer regular, year-round flights to and from Sofia. The airline has 27 planes, servicing 1 000 flights weekly.

The Sofia-Copenhagen flights will be scheduled on Thursdays and Sundays.

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Central European Media Enterprises Ltd., the east European television broadcaster partly owned by Time Warner Inc. expects the acquisition of Bulgarian TV station bTV to help it post positive full-year Ebitda.

The company aims to report “better” earnings in 2010 as it sold its Ukrainian operations and relies on a regional recovery.

“Assuming that we’ll close the deals in Ukraine and Bulgaria, which we’re aiming to do, all our operations will post positive full-year Ebitda,” Sarbu said in an interview for Bloomberg agency in the company’s headquarters in Prague.

“It is also a target for us to deliver better Ebitda than last year; we will do our best but everything depends on the markets.”

CME, which posted a net loss of million in the fourth quarter, will strive this year to post higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization across its operations, said Chief Executive Officer Adrian Sarbu.

The company on Feb. 24 reported fourth-quarter Ebitda fell to .1 million from .8 million in the same period a year earlier. After dropping Ukraine, it agreed to buy a Bulgarian station.

“Assuming that we’ll close the deals in Ukraine and Bulgaria, which we’re aiming to do, all our operations will post positive full-year Ebitda,” Sarbu said in a March 3 interview in the company’s headquarters in Prague.

“It is also a target for us to deliver better Ebitda than last year; we will do our best but everything depends on the markets.”

Central European Media, or CME as the company is known, signed a deal on February 18 for the acquisition of Bulgaria's first national private television bTV, wholly owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Under the terms of the agreement, CME will pay USD 400 M in cash for 100% of the terrestrial free-to-air TV channel, bTV. It will also take control of the two genre channels, bTV Comedy and bTV Cinema, along with News Corporation’s 74-per-cent interest in Radio Company C.J which operates five radio stations.

This sale completes News Corporation's programme of exiting its substantial Eastern European free-to-air broadcasting businesses, the company said.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of Competition and other customary closing conditions.

The move follows CME selling its Ukrainian channels Studio 1+1 and Kino to local businessman Igor Kolomoisky for USD 300 M in January. That deal is expected to close in the second half of April.

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The gloomy forecasts for Bulgaria that Fitch Ratings has made over the last few days are in response to the state decision to suspend its contract with the agency, local analysts claim.

Bulgaria, the European Union member boasting the bloc’s smallest budget deficit, risks seeing its banks sucked under by the fiscal sins of neighboring Greece, Fitch Ratings and Capital Economics Ltd. warned on Monday.

Earlier in February the agency said that Bulgaria may still see its credit rating lowered to junk as an external debt burden bigger than total output threatens financial stability.

“This is impossible to happen since the finance ministry contract with the agency expired at the end of last year,” experts told Pari daily. “The ministry decided to suspend the contract with Fitch in a bid to cut expenses and renewed only its agreements with Moody's and Standart& Poors.”

Economic analysts are unanimous that the parameters cited by Fitch – the gross domestic product and the current account deficit - are not problematic at all and said the agency has no reason to claim Bulgaria faces a ratings downgrade.

“I believe that the negative assessments come as a response to Bulgaria's decision to break up with Fitch. We are talking here about blackmail par excellence,” local financial expert Emil Harsev said.

Fitch rates Bulgaria’s foreign-currency debt BBB-, the lowest investment grade, and has kept a negative outlook on the rating since April. The Balkan nation had gross external debt of EUR 37.6 B or 111% of the economy, at the end of last year.

The current account, which was in surplus in the third quarter last year, turned to a deficit that swelled to EUR 327 M in December, the widest since May, according to central bank data. The deficit was 8.6% of GDP in 2009, the government estimates.

Almost a third of Bulgaria’s banks are owned by Greek parents such as National Bank of Greece SA and Alpha Bank SA, whose funding costs are set to jump after the government’s 12.7 percent deficit last year prompted credit downgrades that left Greece’s debt the lowest-ranked in the euro area.

The Greek debt crisis has taken its toll on the nation’s banks. Following its downgrade of government debt, Fitch on Feb. 23 lowered the credit grades on four Greek lenders, and Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service have indicated they may follow suit.

According to Fitch austerity steps will erode bank profitability and capital, spurring financial instability that will spread across the Balkans and Bulgaria in particular.

"The crisis in a neighboring country will certainly has an impact on the banking sector in Bulgaria because of the big market share that Greek banks hold, but it won't be very serious because of the high competition in the sector," Emil Harsev commented.

Last week Bulgaria's central bank assuaged fears over funds outflow from Greek bank subsidiaries in the country to headquarters in Greece, saying this is part of the free movement of capital

“There is no danger for the deposits of Bulgarian citizens in Greek banks here,” Ivan Iskrov, governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, commented on Thursday.

Greek banks hold nearly a 30% of the Bulgarian banking market, a 20% share of the bank loans and one-third of all deposits and called on the Bulgarian central bank to use the available tools to keep the deposits in Bulgaria.

Some of the biggest lenders in Bulgaria are managed by Italy's UniCredit, Greece's National Bank of Greece, Hungary's OTP and Austria's Raiffeisen.

Other Greek banks present in Bulgaria include EFG Eurobank, Piraeus, Emporiki and Alpha Bank.

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The credit outlook for the Bulgarian banking system is negative, primarily reflecting the adverse impact of the domestic economic recession on the credit quality and net profits of the country's banks, says Moody's Investors Service in its new Banking System Outlook on Bulgaria.

Moody's negative outlook for the Bulgarian banking system expresses the rating agency's view on the likely future direction of fundamental credit conditions in the industry over the next 12 to 18 months. It does not represent a projection of rating upgrades versus downgrades.

"Following several years of strong economic growth, the Bulgarian economy was significantly affected by the global economic and financial crisis and entered recession in 2009. From the end of 2008, credit activity started to slow down, largely as a result of sluggish credit demand, the more cautious lending practices adopted by credit institutions and tighter financing conditions both domestically and in the international markets," says Elena Panayiotou, a Moody's Analyst and author of the report.

The sharp deterioration in the Bulgarian economy fed through into the banking system in 2009 and Moody's anticipates that the negative trends evidenced in the banks' reported asset quality metrics and bottom-line profitability in 2009 will continue over the next 12 to 18 months.

"We recognize that the banking system remains adequately profitable and has strong capital buffers that were built up during the good macroeconomic conditions in light of the prudent regulation adopted by the Bulgarian National Bank. Hence, the larger and higher-rated banks typically have strong capital levels and a high loss-absorption capacity," Ms Panayiotou explains.

Nevertheless, the system's non-performing loans grew at a very rapid pace during 2009, resulting in high provisioning expenses and reduced net profitability for most banks.

The high level of foreign ownership in the banking system has played an important role in recent years in strengthening the service and product quality of the sector and improving the banks' risk management systems and procedures. Moody's cautions, however, that the current downturn will test further the risk management systems that were adopted during a period of economic prosperity and a lending boom.

Although the foreign parent banks are expected to maintain their presence in the Bulgarian market, any incremental funding support they provide is likely to be limited in 2010, given the difficulties faced in their home markets.

In cases where support is extended, Moody's believes the costs of provided funds will remain high in view of the higher risks embedded in the Bulgarian market.

"As regards profitability, on the one hand, we expect revenue generation to be constrained by low growth in business volumes, despite good interest rate margins, while net profitability will continue to be affected by elevated provisioning expenses. On the other hand, we expect managements' efforts to rationalise the banks' operations and rein in costs to partly alleviate the pressure on profits," says Ms Panayiotou.

A key rating constraint at present is the significant growth in credit risk assumed by the Bulgarian banks during 2009. Moody's also views the borrower risk concentration in some banks' loan portfolios as giving rise to particular concerns with regard to increased credit losses in case of some corporate defaults.

Going forward, the rating agency also cautions that the modest recovery in the economy in 2010 and expectations of a continued rise in unemployment levels suggest that delinquencies will continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace.

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The investment community in Bulgaria has not supported the Finance Minister Simeon Djankov’s plan to reform the financial supervision system in the country.

This became clear at a round table held Tuesday for all the institutions involved in any way with the stock market in Bulgaria. Business representatives raised doubts about Djankov’s plans and sated that they at least need careful analysis and discussion before any action is taken.

Djankov has put forward draft proposals in which the current regulators – the Financial Supervision Commission and the Bulgarian National Bank are replaced with one single financial authority or the twin peaks option in which the FSC is disbanded and replaced by an independent regulator under the umbrella of the Finance Ministry.

Earlier , Bulgaria's government was urged to sell on the stock exchange shares in companies, which are part of the Bulgarian Energy Holding, in a bid to put the local capital market back on track.

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Bulgaria's tax authorities will find it difficult to bring to justice those tax evaders, who hold about EUR 200 M in Swiss banks as revealed by a stolen disk of Swiss banking data bought by Germany, a financial expert claims.

“The operation will hardly lead to more money flowing into the state budget. A big part of the deposits of Bulgarian citizens in Swiss banks have been registered as bank accounts of foreigners,” Emil Harsev commented.

Earlier in the week the Bulgaria's revenue agency chief said a stolen disk of Swiss banking data bought by Germany has revealed that Bulgarian tax evaders held about EUR 200 M in banks in Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Krasimir Stefanov arrived in the German capital Friday to consult the stolen disc containing the names of 1,500 Swiss account holders who may have defrauded their country's tax authorities.

Germany agreed to share the data with Bulgaria following the visit of the country's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov there.

Legal experts have commented that the amount of money held by Bulgarian tax evaders in banks in Liechtenstein and Switzerland is huge is comparison with those 1500 Germans, hiding taxes for about EUR 100 M in Switzerland.

Germany is said to have shelled out EUR 2.5 M for the disc, but it is still not clear whether Bulgaria will have to pay for the information too.

About a dozen alleged tax fraudsters had already asked if they could voluntarily turn themselves in, according to local media reports.

The government is yet to decide whether it would allow these people to pay their taxes and avoid other sanctions. Otherwise they face up to eight years in jail.

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Bulgaria’s corporate and income taxes – currently set at flat rates of 10% - will not be increased, according to Deputy Finance Minister Ana Mihaylova.

Mihyalova has repudiated the claims floated in the Bulgarian media that further tax increases might follow after on Monday the government decided to increase the employees’ social security payments by 2% to make them 10%.

The Cabinet made this move in order to replace funding in the reserves of the National Health Insurance Fund which will be unblocked in order to make delayed payments to doctors and hospitals.

The increased health insurance payments are expected to bring additional BGN 300 M to the 2010 budget of the National Health Insurance Fund.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Dnevnik Daily cited an unnamed source claiming that the team of economists of the GERB party was planning to increase Bulgaria’s corporate and income taxes from 10% to 12%. No official indications of any sort have been made by government or ruling party members to date.

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It is absolutely certain that Greek-owned banks are not draining liquidity from Bulgaria, according to Dimitar Kostov, Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank.

This concern was raised by Finance Minister Simeon Djankov last week but was subsequently repudiated officially by the Bulgarian National Bank, including by its Governor Ivan Iskrov, who even criticized the Djankov for his statement.

During a round table in Sofia dedicated to the capital marker in Bulgaria, Kostov declared that the raging financial crisis in Greece has had hardly any negative effect on Bulgaria.

The BNB Deputy Governor said that there were actually signals about companies transferring capital in the other direction – from Greece to Bulgaria – because foreign investors currently consider Bulgaria a low-risk destination.

Kostov has pointed out that the Bulgarian National Bank was monitoring constantly all banks in Bulgaria and had no grounds to believe that there was anything wrong with any of them.

“The subsidiaries of the Greek banks in Bulgaria are doing no worse than the other crediting institutions; to the contrary, their indicators place them in the top of the table,” he stated.

The deputy head of the Bulgarian central bank further stressed the fact that the Greek-owned banks in Bulgaria generated presently much higher returns that their parent institutions, and it was illogical to destroy something which is profitable by draining liquidity.

Kostov answered a question about what would happen with a Bulgarian subsidiary in case a parent bank in Greece went bankrupt by saying that such scenarios were highly hypothetical and that the Greek banking system was very well-integrated into the EU.

His comments come a day after Bloomberg published a warnings by the credit rating agency Fitch and Capital Economics saying that the financial crisis in Greece might affect Bulgaria and other countries where the Greek banks are major actors on the local market.

Four Greek banks are active in Bulgaria – Alpha, Emporiki, Piraeus, and PostBank (part of Eurobank EFG). They hold about 30% of the Bulgarian market.

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Bulgaria's National Revenue Agency has collected an extra BGN 24 M as a result of its investigation of football clubs, pop stars and owners of expensive cars.

Krasimir Stefanov, Head of the Revenue Agency (NRA) has announced the results of their successful probe into suspect Bulgarian companies and individuals. He reported that the Agency had retrieved BGN 24 M in unpaid revenues.

"If the overhauls and audits, apart from a revenue effect, also have a disciplinary effect, that means we have achieved our objective," said Stefanov, giving the example of the entertainment business, where "some popular people suddenly began to insure themselves for salaries of BGN 20 000 per month".

Stefanov revealed that during a visit to Germany last week, he received confirmation that Bulgarians held significant assets in Switzerland , saying that "this was another occasion to launch investigations by the NRA".

The operational agreement between Bulgaria and Switzerland provided procedures for sharing information on specific individuals where there is a suspicion that a Bulgarian has committed a tax-related or other crime.

Stefanov confirmed that the NRA has data about the bank accounts of Bulgarians abroad, and if he can prove, together with the prosecution, that a tax offense has been committed, there would be sufficient grounds to ask for confirmation from the Swiss tax authorities.

The Agency Head declined to divulge the number of Bulgarians who, between them, hold deposits worth BGN 400 M in Swiss banks, saying that this information was confidential. He did, however, say that he expected the results of investigations of these account holders in about a month's time.

Stefanov confirmed that he had information, though entirely unofficial, that Bulgarians with accounts in Switzerland have begun to transfer them to the Isle of Man and to the so-called tax havens in Asia.

He explained that NRA has the power to demand clarifications on an account, even though it may have been closed or moved elsewhere

He added that the NRA did not expect "repentant taxpayers" to appear, given the existing criminal laws and sanctions that apply to state budget debtors, even those who voluntarily confess.

"40 people have already called NRA in order to ask about 'friends of theirs' with accounts abroad. With the current criminal law, it is unlikely that anyone would voluntarily admit to unpaid taxes because, in addition to paying the interest due, they run a real risk of being sentenced and being jailed," said Stefanov.

The Head of the Revenue Agency stated his support for mitigation of the law so as to remove punitive actions if a non-compliant taxpayer were to beging to assist the authorities and to confess the financial amounts previously concealed from them.

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Bulgaria’s former government spent an enormous amount of money from the country’s budget surplus and fiscal reserve at the end of 2008, according to the Finance Ministry.

The Ministry issued the statement Tuesday on the heels of a Monday announcement that the ex cabinet of the Three-Way Coalition spent the unprecedented BGN 1,2 B in the first half of 2009. The left-wing countered that it was an attempt of the Ministry to find excuses for its failure to collect revenues.

The Finance Ministry now says the election spending started as early as November 2008 and from then on until the end of the same year the fiscal reserve went down 30%.

The huge spending, which for December 2008 is two times higher compared to the other monthly expenses during the year, reveals that much of the resources were wasted on the edge of legality, according to Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov.

The Tuesday analysis of the institution reveals data showing that the budget surplus went down to BGN 2 B by the end of 2008 compared to the record surplus of BGN 5 B registered at the end of October while the fiscal reserve for the same period went down to BGN 8,4 B from the record BGN 12,1 B.

The Finance Ministry reminds the former cabinet kept saying during this time that the global crisis did not affect Bulgaria and the fiscal reserve is the most important buffer against economic shocks.

“The huge spending of one third of the fiscal reserve in the course of just two months cannot be deemed stabilization and maintenance of this buffer in the context of the drastic worsening of the economy that followed in 2009,” Djankov points out, adding the major part of this spending could have been avoided and had been mandatory after the first signals about the looming crisis.

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Bulgaria’s Gambling Commission found violations of the gambling laws in over half of the casinos it inspected last month, the regulator reported Tuesday.

A total of 99 casinos were inspected in a 1 month period from February 8 – March 8, with 45 of them showing violations of the gambling laws and other irregularities.

The violations included gaming equipment and jackpot systems that were not listed in the permit for the facility and casinos allowing entry to people without requesting identity documents.

The checks were part of the ‘Owls’ operation against illegal production and trade of cigarettes and alcohol, as well as gambling activities.

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Bulgaria's government has been urged to sell on the stock exchange shares in companies, which are part of the Bulgarian Energy Holding, in a bid to put the local capital market back on track.

“The sale of minority state-owned stakes in the energy companies Bulgartransgaz, Kozloduy nuclear power plant, the National Electricity Transmission Company, Bulgargaz and Maritza Iztok through an initial public offering (IPO) will be a catalyst for the restoration of the capital market in Bulgaria," says a letter to the country's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, sent by representatives of business organizations, linked to the stock and financial markets.

According to them this will be the most efficient method for privatization, which will bring fresh money into the budget.

“Bulgaria is one of the few European countries, which have not listed on the stock exchange stakes in energy monopolists,” the letter says.

Last week Bulgaria scrapped a plan to sell shares in Bulgartransgaz, the state-owned natural gas storage and transmission company, and as much as 15% in the National Electricity Transmission Company.

Meanwhile the Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said preparations have started on the sale of the state’s 35% stake in the seven distribution companies run by Prague-based CEZ AS, Germany’s E.ON AG and EVN AG.

Bulgarian Energy Holding, which groups the country's top energy assets, was set up in 2008 by the previous Socialist-led government in a bid to strengthen the country's position on the European power market and manage major energy projects Bulgaria has committed to, including Belene nuclear power plant, Nabucco and the South Stream gas pipelines.

The holding was created with the merger of five state-owned companies - the National Electricity Company NEK, the gas monopoly Bulgargaz, the Maritza Iztok Mines, the Maritza Iztok 2 Thermal Plant, and the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant into a EUR 4 B energy giant.

It is a sole owner joint-stock company with a 100% Bulgarian state ownership.

The new center-right government of GERB party, which swept the July general elections last year, subjected the Bulgarian Energy Holding to financial checks to find out how the money poured into it for raising its capital has been used.

At the end of August last year it announced plans to dissolve the mega-structure only to abandon them a few months later after cost reductions helped it cut its budget deficit.

Bulgaria is targeting a balanced budget this year.

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Bulgaria aims at cutting energy use by half for every unit of GDP by 2020, announced the Deputy Minister of Economy Evgeny Angelov.

Angelov participated in Tuesday’s opening of a seminar “Renewable energy sources – wind and solar energy” in Sofia.    

The energy generated through energy efficiency measures and renewable energy sources will go into the production of electric and heat energy, cooling energy and biofuels, commented the Deputy Minister.  

He pointed out that Bulgaria’s national strategy for renewable energy aims at ensuring that by 2020 16% of the consumed energy will come from renewable sources, specifying that this includes the requirement for a 10% share of biofuels in transportation.

One of the current priorities in the work of the Ministry is the development of a new Renewable Energy Act and of a National Action Plan concerning the energy generated through renewable sources. 

This normative framework will regulate the rights and duties of all parties involved in the production of renewable energy such as government bodies, representatives of local authority, business, and producers.   

The Bulgarian government is currently drafting an amended Renewable Energy Act. In December-January, the Cabinet even considered imposing a moratorium on new green energy projects in an attempt to halt the exponential growth of new projects, which far exceeded the capacity of the grid to support them and to clean up the mess with the construction of renewable energy parks in protected areas. Representatives of business have described the current situation as a “tacit moratorium”.

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A Member of the Bulgarian Parliament is selling through a real estate agency a large land plot in the beautiful park in the Black Sea capital Varna, known as the Sea Garden.

The news was reported Tuesday by the local Varna daily “Narodno Delo,” citing their own source – a broker from the agency.

The 7-decare plot is near the so-called Dolphin House and the garden center “Mimoza” and has all necessary paperwork for construction of apartments and offices.

The ad has been posted in a specialized real estate site, but the name of the well-to-do MP has not been revealed by the site or the newspaper publication.

The asking price is EUR 8 M.

Property experts say such large plots in the Sea Garden are extremely rare and have never been listed for sale.

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Bulgaria's government will shortly approve a new strategy for development of the country's beaches, and will lower the cost of concessions and rentals.

Rosen Pleveneliev, Minister of Regional Development, has made this announcement on Tuesday, at a meeting with the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria.

Plevneliev said government approval would be within 10 days and that the first new concession procedures would start within one month. The Minister estimated that prices would become up to 30% lower than their present levels.

"I will not hide from you that after these competitions there will be beaches without concessionaires and leaseholder," he warned, however. According to the Minister, about 100 beaches are free at present.

Under the new strategy for beach rentals and concessions, some of them will be handed over to the regional governors to rent them out.

"Our goal is to have stable concession contracts with clear rules," the Minister stated.

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The largest tourist expo – International Travel Trade Show, ITB, is opening in Berlin Tuesday with the participation of over 11 000 companies from 187 countries.

Bulgaria is represented by 32 tourist businesses and organizations with an exhibit displayed on 520 square meters. The motto of the 2010 presentation is - “Bulgaria – Modern, Year-Round Tourist Destination.”

The Bulgarian exhibit will provide folklore performances, demonstrations of typical and traditional Bulgarian crafts, and wine tastings.

Last year, Bulgaria was visited by 6 million tourists and collected revenues estimated at over EUR 2,5 B, the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, informs.

Beginning Wednesday, the expo is open for trade visitors, and over the weekend for trade visitors and the general public.

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The leader of the Bulgarian far-right nationalist Ataka party, Volen Siderov, did not have diplomatic immunity during his scandalous trip on board a “Lufthansa” flight.

The news was reported Tuesday by Bulgarian internet media, citing the Prosecutor's Office in Frankfurt and Deutsche Welle.

After conducting a probe and collecting evidence, the German Prosecutor has concluded that Siderov had no immunity despite being in possession of a diplomats passport because he had been on a private trip.

On February 3, Siderov was detained and later released by the German police upon landing at Frankfurt airport over an incident on board of a Lufthansa flight. The release came only after he showed his diplomatic passport.

Siderov, 53, boarded the flight in Sofia, and, reportedly, refused to obey in flight rules - fasten his seatbelt during takeoff and landing, and remain in his seat. Siderov is said to have tossed the food that was brought to him, constantly hindering the work of the flight attendants and even going in the plane's kitchen. All attempts of the crew, including the pilot, to calm him down failed. Siderov further insulted the flight attendants with racist words, calling them Nazis, anti-Semites and blond-haired Aryans.

The pilot had been forced to land the aircraft away from the scheduled arrival entrance to avoid further scandals at the airport. Siderov was met by the police, already alerted by the crew and checked his papers. The Ataka leader proceeded to insult the police officers as well.

The police filed a complaint against the Bulgarian politician promoting the prosecutor's probe and pre-trail proceedings for violating the German in-flight laws.

Siderov initially denied the incident report, but it was confirmed by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry. He threatened to sue “Lufthansa” only to extend apologies some days later.

The German Prosecution points out that the apology will be considered and the lack of diplomatic immunity does not mean automatic charges and a trial, adding they will conclude the pre-trail proceedings in a month from now.

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Bulgaria has offered Macedonia a draft treaty for good neighborliness and friendship, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Vesela Cherneva has announced.

The Macedonian government in Skopje is still mulling over the proposal, she explained.

The draft document provides for cooperation in a number of spheres including economy, infrastructure, energy projects, and fighting organized crime. A key item is focusing on eliminating hate language with respect to one another.

She has pointed out that the dragging case for the custody of the child of Spaska Mitrova, a Macedonian with Bulgarian passport who spent some two months in a Macedonian prison in 2009 over a sentence for allegedly failing to meet her divorce commitments, will not be politicized, and will be considered strictly legally.

Cherneva also said Tuesday that the Bulgarian government is going to reconsider its policies with regard to the Western Balkans.

During their recent visit to Brussels, Bulgaria’s President and Foreign Minister suggested to the EU Council President Van Rompuy and EC President Barroso that Bulgaria should become an EU coordination center for the integration of the Western Balkans.

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Bulgaria is insisting that a country official representative attends the trial of Spaska Mitrova in Macedonia.

The official request has been logged by Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry, the Ministry's spokesperson, Vesela Cherneva, informed Tuesday, cited by the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR.

The Ministry says they want justice for Mitrova and all Bulgarians, but strongly appeal to not politicize the case.

The case will be tried on March 11.

The woman, who lives in Macedonia holds a Bulgarian passport and perceives herself as Bulgarian, was sentenced and served time in a Macedonian prison over charges she did not allow her husband to see Suzanna. She was released on parole, but the parental rights case is ongoing. She has been the cause of diplomatic scandal between the two countries in 2009.

In mid-February Mitrova was allowed to see her 3-year-old daughter Suzanna for the first time in the last year and a half. She says she spent 5 hours with her and had to take her almost by force from the social home where the girl is placed.

On February 23, Bulgaria’s nationalist VMRO party reported that about 10 policemen in uniform broke in Mitrova's parents house and threatened her that if even one Bulgarian reporter is present at the Wednesday trial, she would have to live through horror much exceeding everything that has happened to her so far.

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The European Commission has confirmed that it would consider the proposal to set up an European Monetary Fund (EMF), the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, reports, citing the BBC.

The EMF will be an EU version of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aiming at guaranteeing the Eurozone's financial stability.

The measure has been proposed by Germany and France as part of a series of initiatives to help avoid a repeat of the Greek financial crisis. Both countries are against the IMF interference in solving Greece's problems.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is quoted as saying over the weekend that "for the internal stability of the Eurozone, we need an institution that has the experience and power of the IMF".

Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn is informing the EC Tuesday about the talks on the EMF plan. Active consultations are being held with all 16 members of the Eurozone. Details about the plan, including the EMF mechanism and ways of financing might be ready by early June.

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Bulgarian farmers will be clearly and systematically informed, for the first time, of their legitimate eligibility for subsidies for agricultural land they own.

A new scheme has been adopted by the Bulgarian Agriculture State Fund, which should remove previous confusion over which areas of agricultural land are liable for state and EU subsidies.

Kalina Ilieva, Executive Director of the Agriculture Fund, announced the new procedure on Tuesday, in a forum held for representatives of farming organizations.

The meeting was convened in order to clarify procedures and to identify new measures to overcome current problems concerning fragmentation and illegal use of agricultural land, which has already led to the imposition of European sanctions against Bulgaria.

The problem of overlapping claims has also been addressed by the new registration scheme. "Overlapping" has occurred in the past, when either two owners have declared their property and it has been double-claimed in error, or where the same land has been deliberately declared twice - a fraudulent act.

The EU imposed a fine of EUR 20 M on the country for infringements of registration of farmland in February, dating back to 2007 declarations of farmland. While this was less than the possible maximum statutory sanction, the Bulgarian government has decided to positively tackle this problem of double registration of land, whether inadvertent or fraudulent.

Accordingly, farmers and agricultural producers will be able, from March 1 to June 9, 2010, to confirm the size and area of the land they cultivate, so that they can receive direct payments from the European Agricultural Fund and from the national budget.

Farmers who suspect that their land has not been cleared will be able to ask the administration for the correct area of land cultivated by them to be marked up and confirmed by GPS survey.

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The European Union has extended the minimum period of leave for parents to four months each - a benefit separate from maternity leave.

At least one month of the four cannot be transferred to the other parent. The idea is to enable more equal take-up of leave by both parents, the BBC reported.

A previous EU directive set the minimum leave period at three months.

The 27 EU nations now have two years to amend their laws. The leave will apply to all workers, regardless of contract.

Parental leave is aimed at assisting childcare for children up to the age of eight, though each EU member state is free to decide the time scale, through negotiation with employers and trade unions.

The member states can also decide whether the leave is paid or unpaid, as well as other details of implementation.

The directive says workers will retain the right to return to the same job or an equivalent without suffering discrimination for having taken parental leave.

The agreement reached by EU ministers on Monday also says workers may request changes to their working hours for a limited period after returning from parental leave.

A European Parliament committee has adopted draft legislation to extend maternity leave across Europe to 20 weeks on full pay, but the proposals still have a long way to go and may be substantially revised.

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Bulgaria Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, has stated that Geneticaaly Modified foods will not be allowed “to reach Bulgarians’ tables”.

Naydenov stated Tuesday that all the European requirements will be introduced into the Bulgarian legislation, but added that the amendments to the GMO Act will also ban GM crops from being grown in the country.

"We will give sufficient guarantees to the Bulgarian society, that we will not allow the cultivation of genetically modified crops, as this is the great concern,” Naydenov said.

He confirmed that if anyone in Bulgaria wants to apply to grow GM crops the Agriculture Ministry would have to give permission, something that he added has not and will not be done.

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Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry has arrested a sizable portion of the top criminals which, in its words, “torture” the country’s society.

According to Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, 40-50 of the top 300 gangsters in Bulgaria have been detained, and the police hope to bust all of the rest by the end of 2010.

Speaking at a news conference Tuesday at which the Sofia Directorate of the Police presented the results of its activities in 2009, Tsvetanov also said that a total of 52 police officers were dismissed and currently faced charges of corruption and abuse of power.

The Minister pointed out that a number of acting Interior officers were currently being investigated by the internal security directorate for corruption and links with organized crime.

He announced that a border policeman has been arrested at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing for human trafficking, which is the third case of a police officer busted under the same investigation targeting the traffic of people through Bulgaria’s Turkish border.

The Interior Ministry is also investigating policemen in the town of Samokov who are connected with town councilor from the nationalist Ataka party, Yuri Galev. In January, Galev and his friends beat two guards of a ski lift in the Borovetz resort.

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Bulgaria's President, Georgi Parvanov, is not going to set a new party, Socialist MEP, Ivaylo Kalfin, declared Tuesday.

Kalfin, who is also a former advisor to Parvanov, and former Foreign Affairs Minister, spoke Tuesday for the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) addressing statements of Kolio Paramov, the ex economic advisor to Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov that Kalfin will be the leader of a new party set up by his fellow party member - President Parvanov.

“There is no such thing. I have not heart anything about the President planning a new party and I am not at all involved in such plans,” Kalfin said in the radio interview.

The reports about Parvanov's plan to remain active in politics upon the expiration of his second term by creating a new political project, began circulating after the President published the transcript from his Friday talk with Deputy PM, and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov. The unprecedented move triggered calls for impeachment from the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party and the rightist Blue Coalition.

Kalfin said Tuesday that each official meeting of the President, such as the one with Djankov, is recorded and transcribed.

“Even people who just recently entered Bulgaria's political life, must learn that a public figure is just that – public and cannot afford to say one thing during his or her work hours, if they even have those, and then blubber whatever comes to their mind,” the ex top diplomat pointed out.

Kalfin's opinion is that the problem was triggered by the difference in the positions of Parvanov and Djankov.

The conflict between Djankov and Parvanov flared up after the appearance of the Finance Minister in the talk show of the TV channel Nova Televizia Monday night, where he was asked to confirm claims that the President is a “young billionaire” and has “dozens of luxury properties in the United States, Europe and Dubai.” Djankov immediately denied saying such things, but when the host reiterated the question: “Is the President a young billionaire?” the Minister replied: “He is definitely not young.” The very next day, Parvanov made an official call for Djankov’s resignation. In an instant reply, the Minister denied any wrongdoing, but nevertheless and on the insistence of PM Borisov, who arranged a meeting between him and the President, agreed to try to iron out the “misunderstanding.” On Friday, following the talks between the two, Parvanov published the transcript on his website triggering a wave of comments and criticism.

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The 2010 budget of Bulgaria's National Health Insurance Fund (NZOK) will be increased by BGN 300 M, the Fund's Monitoring Board informs.

The decision was made late Monday night while the additional resources will be provided by the increased health insurance contributions – from 8% to 10%.

The amendments will be included in the Act for the NZOK Budget which, as expected, will be passed by the end of March and will become effective April 1.

Also on Monday, Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, ordered to increase the said budget by BGN 350 M from the Central Bank's (BNB) reserve of BGN 800 M. The reserve is, however, part of the State's consolidated budget, and in order to avoid deficit the mandatory insurance contribution are going up by 2% now instead of 2011 as the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party previously planned.

Another earlier idea was to use the additional amount from the increased insurance contributions to include private health funds in the insurance system. The Health Ministry informs this reform is not delayed despite the different allocation of the insurance funds, and promises to make clear by mid-year how exactly the new health insurance model, to become effective in 2011, will function.

Meanwhile, Borisov announced the BGN 25 M have been transferred to the Bulgarian general practitioners and the dentists, adding it is outrageous they are continuing their strike despite the transfer. GPs across Bulgaria went on strike Monday.

The PM says the current probes in the quality of medical services are going to continue.

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Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party broke the silence Tuesday and declared they oppose eventual impeachment of President Georgi Parvanov.

The DPS Deputy Chair, Lyutvi Mestan, said his party does not see any constitutional or legal basis for such move, with the motive the issue is purely moral and for this reason the ethnic Turks do not want to act as moral police.

The topic of Parvanov's impeachment was put on the table after the President published the transcript from his Friday talk with Deputy PM, and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov. The unprecedented move triggered calls for impeachment from the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party and the rightist Blue Coalition.

Until now DPS failed to comment on the issue, but Mestan said Tuesday that GERB's position would hold water only if Djankov and Parvanov had a conversation as private individuals and previously agreed to not make it public. According to DPS, the meeting was one between institutions thus it is subject to becoming public.

“We offer this opinion with great displeasure, because this issue is not Bulgaria's priority today,” Mestan is quoted as saying.

Regarding earlier warnings coming from Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, that he is ready to resign, the DPS Deputy Chair pointed out that Borisov had received very strong support during the summer general elections and instead of carrying his resignation in his pocket, must carry the overall responsibility for the country.

The conflict between Djankov and Parvanov flared up after the appearance of the Finance Minister in the talk show of the TV channel Nova Televizia Monday night, where he was asked to confirm claims that the President is a “young billionaire” and has “dozens of luxury properties in the United States, Europe and Dubai.” Djankov immediately denied saying such things, but when the host reiterated the question: “Is the President a young billionaire?” the Minister replied: “He is definitely not young.” The very next day, Parvanov made an official call for Djankov’s resignation. In an instant reply, the Minister denied any wrongdoing, but nevertheless and on the insistence of PM Borisov, who arranged a meeting between him and the President, agreed to try to iron out the “misunderstanding.” On Friday, following the talks between the two, Parvanov published the transcript on his website triggering a wave of comments and criticism.

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Bulgaria's Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) party, which is part of the rightist Blue Coalition, put on the table Tuesday their own package of 13 anti-crisis measures.

UDF warned the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party and its leader, Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov that the number 13 would become a fatality only if those measures are not implemented.

UDF leader, Martin Dimitrov, says real steps to improve the economic situation include the establishment of National Crisis Headquarters, reducing mandatory insurance contribution for businesses that manage to keep jobs, immediate halt of the project to build a second Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in the Danube town of Belene, and a quick launch of an administrative reform.

UDF also reiterate their request for reducing the dividend tax from 5% to 1% and the revenue tax for sole traders from 10% to 5%.

Dimitrov pointed out this program would be of service to both the public and the cabinet because GERB lacks the vision and the strategy to combat the crisis.

“Chaos is reigning in the country, and the cabinet has given up on their election promises. In times of crisis even leftist governments reduce the insurance threshold. You cannot say yesterday you would reduce insurance contributions and propose the opposite today,” Dimitrov stated in connection with the GERB proposal to increase the mandatory health insurance contributions.

The UDF leader further explained that the 13% January export increase is a positive sign, but nevertheless the budget deficit is deepening and it would become clear it has reached BGN 1 B when the February data is published

UDF want the Bulgarian Development Bank to become more active by attracting BGN 800 M to grant as low-interest loans to businesses in order to avoid 1 400 bankruptcies of small and medium companies.

The party supports their political partner Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) in the request to appoint a Minister without Portfolio in charge of the EU funds – something Borisov, after an initial “no,” already agreed on.

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General practitioners from across the country are joining the strike, launched on Monday, over non-payment of fees by the federal health ministry and lack of reform plans.

Doctors from the capital Sofia, Pazardhik, Haskovo, Targovishte, Yambol, Shumen Razgrad, Dobrich went on strike on Tuesday and there are reports that Varna GPs may also leave their doctor’s cabinets for the day.

Bulgaria's National Association of General Practitioners said anyone requiring medical care should visit a hospital emergency department, but they would have to pay cash for treatment,

The Association addressed an open letter to all Bulgarian institutions and citizens with health insurance, in which they state that "the cup of patience is down to the last dregs".

They firmly stated that they do not want to constantly appeal to someone to receive the necessary treatment for patients and remuneration for their work as doctors.

The GPs further claim that, for the fourth month in a row, their association has been waiting for answers to questions they have raised about delayed payments from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and revisions to the Ordinance on Prophylactics.

The consequence of these delays is that Bulgarians over 18 will be denied comprehensive and operating screening for socially significant diseases, the medics claim.

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Bulgarian bomb disposal experts are still working in a bid to defuse 7 powerful anti-tank mines found near a river in South Bulgaria.

The mines were discovered by a vacationing police officer near a dump close to Momchilgrad. They were reported to be large, Russian-made mines.

Military inventory records suggest they came from the arsenal of a military base in Momchilgrad, although there was no record of them being dumped.

Investigators reported that the mines had most likely been thrown from the back of a truck.

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A bus, carrying Romanian nationals, crashed Monday night near the western town of Pernik, after sliding on a slippery road and falling into a by-road gutter. No casualties have been reported.

All forty five Bulgarian citizens were transported and accommodated at a nearby village free of charge.

The incident was triggered by a chain crash, which involved two more cars, and hit the bus.

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Bulgaria's electricity distribution company CEZ has installed over 500 safety platforms for stork nests on its power poles during the past three years.

The company is also monitoring a further 800 nests on its pylons, ready to take safety action should that prove necessary.

Rosen Yardanov, the Director of Maintenance and Operations at CEZ, announced on Tuesday that the birds cause frequent power outages when they settled on electrical cables.

By providing metal platforms and fitting insulated connectors, both the electrical components and the storks are protected. The cost of a single installation comes to less than BGN 100.

Yordanov commented that the protective program, although cheap and cost-effective, was often operationally complicated. Some nests proved difficult to move. In these cases, the solution was to erect a new pole and transfer the power cables, leaving the stork undistrubed in its nest on the old pole.

The stork is considered in Bulgaria as a welcome harbinger of spring, and is associated with good luck and fertility. The birds migrate in huge numbers along the Via Pontica, which crosses Bulgarian territory, as they spread throughout Europe on their journey from their winter nesting spots in Africa and the Indian sub-continent.

A Bulgarian tradition still observed is that, when one sees their first stork in spring, one may remove one's Martenitsa, worn since March 1, and tie it to a tree, or place it under a stone, for good luck.

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As a reminder that the winter is still very much in full swing, Bulgaria awoke Tuesday morning buried in snow with the mercury far below zero and numerous reports of electricity blackouts or telephone cuts.

The traffic in the Bulgarian capital Sofia is currently impeded, even though the major arteries have been cleaned up. Drivers have been advised to be extra careful because they remain slippery.

Pedestrians will not be so lucky - walking through the capital early morning is quite like traversing an untrodden mountain path, for sidewalks still haven't been cleaned.

Enormous traffic jams are expected to form in the capital Sofia as well at a number of key roads around the country due to the heavy snowfall.

The regions near the northern towns of Razgrad, Shumen and Montana are one of the hardest-hit with cars, trucks and buses stranded in the snow.

It is snowing all over the country. The Hemus and Trakia highways are wet and snowy, with some icy patches in exposed areas such as viaducts.

The mountain pass from Troyan - Karnare – Elena is closed, with a diversion in operation through Vratnik pass, as is the road between Etropole - Zlatica and Varbitsa - Sungurlare.

Trucks with trailers or over 10 tons are banned on the Shipka pass. Similar prohibitions have been applied to the Petrohan pass, the road between Sliven and Ichera, and in the areas of Dospat and Ardino. All vehicles travelling in these areas should be fitted with snow chains.

The Bulgarian Mountain Rescue Service has announced there is a high risk of avalanches in all mountain areas, and that skiing or snowboarding outside designated areas is dangerous.

Average temperatures for the country will fluctuate between -5C and 3C while for Sofia they will be at about -2C.

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Bulgarian PR experts have labeled the blogging debut of Manchester United and Bulgaria star Dimitar Berbatov as a “mistake”.

Berbatov opened his new blog on Monday with an entry titled ‘Haters’, which targets his many critics at home in Bulgaria, who criticize his play and especially his performances for the national team.

He ended his blog with the words “I am very high to be able to see you. Even when I start to fall, I will never fall as low as you.”

Maxim Behar, the CEO of Bulgaria’s largest PR company M3 Communications Group, Inc, stated Tuesday that “Clinton came out of a very big scandal in a precise way, without causing a conflict with anyone. Berbatov should stay higher and we should admire him.”

“The haters will become bigger haters...they can be beaten with a positive attitude,” Behar continued.

Radi Georgiev, from the PR agency ‘Ot-Do Consult’ added “after his reaction nothing will change – when he plays well he will be praised, and when he doesn’t he will be criticized.”

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The Sofia Appellate Court left behind bars Stoyan Yanakiev aka Dalgiya (The Tall), who is the alleged ringleader of the car-thief gang codenamed “The Fakirs.”

Three other individuals, who were detained during the special police operation – Alexander Shtiliyanov aka Bezzabiya (The Toothless), Bogdan Kyutukchiev aka Mladezha (The Youth) and Tsvetomir Ivanov aka Sinigera (The Titmouse), were released on bail.

Friends and relatives of the alleged gangsters gathered in front of the Court to create obstacles to media coverage.

The police operation was conducted on February 23 along with another operation codenamed “The Strong Arm” when 22 people total were arrested. The authorities also confiscated a gas pistol, fake documents for automobile registration, and car theft devices.

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A man facing attempted sexual assault charges in La Crosse County has been arrested in his native Bulgaria and returned to the United States, local media reported.

For eight months, La Crosse County District Attorney’s investigator Bob Muth had worked with federal and international agencies to recapture and return the 62-year-old to the U.S. after he fled to Bulgaria in July, days before the start of his sexual assault trial.

Nikolay Prodanov appeared in La Crosse County Court Monday on a warrant issued in July 2009 for attempted sexual assault of a mentally handicapped person.

According to court documents, the alleged incident happened at Red Cloud Park on La Crosse's northside in September 2006.

Witnesses say Prodanov tried to sexually assault the woman on a trail near the park. Prodanov denied the allegation, and said the woman tried to kiss him and pull him to the ground. Prodanov told investigators he noticed something was wrong with the woman and left the park.

Prodanov was scheduled to stand trial for the charges in 2009, but left the United States and traveled to Bulgaria. Investigators were able to find Prodanov through his daughter in Massachusetts.

Prodanov was arrested in Bulgaria, and extradited back to the United States. La Crosse County DA Tim Gruenke told NewsChannel 8 Prodanov was captured with the help of Interpol, the international crime prevention organization.

Prodanov is being held on a USD 500,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear in court again later this week.

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Bulgarian doctors are currently on strike over problems with late government payments and issues with the ongoing health reforms. Bulgaria PM Boyko Borisov reacted quickly as always - increasing health insurance contributions and paying a large amount of the overdue funding – BGN 25 M was handed over Tuesday to doctors and dentists across the country in an attempt to placate the men/women in white coats.

By slamming the health professionals for not calling off their strike immediately Borisov, however, seems to have missed the main point – the health reforms his government is currently pursuing will only be successful if enough of the nurses and doctors currently planning to join the massive brain drain to other EU countries decide to change their minds!

After personally visiting Pavlikeni Hospital last year I can not imagine how any health professionals can cope with the working conditions they are provided with – to call them 'Third World' does not do them justice: The 19th century equipment, the crumbling buildings, the lack of heating, to name just a few of the problems, led to me wishing I had never entered the doors.

The current center-right GERB government’s plan for health reforms sadly only touches the surface of a dilapidated health service that is leaking more than 1800 nurses each year to foreign hospitals. In the rest of the EU the average number of nurses per 100 000 people is 745, while in Bulgaria the number is as low as 421. Moreover, the average age of nurses in Bulgaria is over 47, with nearly 11% of them being working pensioners.

The Bulgarian brain drain has long been talked about and it is a serious problem in all sectors of the economy – the health sector, however, seems to have been affected even more than most. The question is what can the new hopeful government do about it?

There are some things which Bulgaria should not do: Attempt to 'buy' professionals back through incentive schemes or try to increase pay to induce professionals to stay in the country. These strategies will result in an escalating cost spiral which Bulgaria will and can not win, with respect to its older EU partners.

There are, also, things that must be done to reduce the 'push' factors: Provide better working conditions: Ensure better clinical support to all health professionals, especially to those who are not in central hospitals. Ensure that there are sufficient funded posts to cover the workload without overwhelming individual professional staff. Make use of teleconferencing to link rural health facilities to central ones to provide clinical support to reduce the sense of isolation and ensure a leaming environment. The most important of all has to be to improve facilities: A hospital revitalisation program should be implemented as rapidly as possible.

Another fact that scared me while researching the Bulgarian health system was that about 7 000 patients die annually as the result of medical errors committed in Bulgaria, according to World Bank data. This can of course only be expected with such over-worked doctors and nurses.

If Bulgaria fails to invest in solving these problems, the professionals, not the problems, will go away.

I don’t think that Borisov and his merry men/women have yet realized that the short-term solutions they have suggested will not solve anything and that this problem will continue to bite at their heels throughout their term in office. Borisov himself called the doctors “the most intelligent people in the country” recently - it is about time that he treated them not only as the most intelligent but also as the most important!

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A Bulgarian factory worker came back from a vacation on the Black Sea coast. His collegues immediately asked him what the vacation was like.

"Well, it was pretty much the same as work. You nap, lie around, and hang out until it is time to have dinner..."

Turkey has announced that it is not ready to return its Ambassador to Washington, until the recent US Congress Committee resolution to recognize Armenian genocide is clarified.

"As long as the situation is not clarified, we will not return our Ambassador to Washington. The US must not let go of a strategic partner like Turkey because of such an issue," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan told the press on a visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Erdogan described the decision of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Congress as "a comedy".

"The US vote is the result of a wrong-headed policy," the Turkish PM commented.

"Such a comedy, such a parody and a fait accompli that will not affect Turkey. I will say quite clearly that this resolution will not affect us. But it will harm the bilateral relations between the countries, their interests and their vision for the future. We are not going to be the losers," he stated.

Turkey had recalled its Ambassador to the US, Tamil Nan, last Thursday, in protest at the congress Committee's narrowly-won decision to label the killings of Armenians by Turks in 1915 as "genocide".

The decision is non-binding, but could pave the way to a full vote of Congress, a move strongly opposed by the Obama administration.

PM Erdogan has officially requested Washington to block the resolution, warning that the text would seriously harm the efforts of his country to be reconciled with Armenia, a process that began only months ago.

He also commented on Iran and the ongoing nuclear sanctions issue.

"Further sanctions against Tehran in connection with Iran's controversial program to enrich uranium, will not lead to positive results," Erdogan commented, adding that earlier sanctions "have not yet led to any results".

Turkey, which maintains good relations with neighboring Iran, has offered to exchange their low-enriched uranium against uranium enriched to 20%, which will be provided to Tehran by world powers as part of the agreement, drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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The United States says Greece is not looking for financial assistance, but to work within the G-20 to press for additional regulatory changes in the financial markets.

"Neither the prime minister nor Greece has asked the United States for anything," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at a press conference on Monday after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.

Clinton pointed out that the United States supports Greece's efforts to deal with its financial crisis

"Among our most pressing, shared challenges today is the global economic crisis that has thrown people out of work, shuttered businesses, and drained government coffers in both the United States and Greece.  I know these are difficult days in Greece.  But I want to commend the prime minister for his leadership in tackling the challenge that he confronted upon taking office," she said.

The Greek government has promised to slash its budget deficit from nearly 13% of gross domestic product, more than four times the EU limit, to less than three percent by 2012.

Papandreou said the Greek government has made very difficult decisions to ensure the economy is viable . . ."to make sure that we have put in place the necessary steps so that we can then restructure our economy, make our economy a green economy, one which is also important for attracting investment, developing our tourist industry, developing our agriculture, our services, but also making our society more just and more transparent and more open."

Papandreou called on the United States and the European Union should crack down on financial market speculators, saying they are pushing the world towards a new global financial crisis.

Prime Minister Papandreou recently met with other European leaders.  French President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised that eurozone nations, the 16 countries using the euro as their currency, will not let the Greek economy fail.

The Greek prime minister is scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

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Seven people have been arrested in the Irish Republic over an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist for depicting the Prophet Mohammed, police say.

The four men and three women are all Muslim, according to media reports, though a police statement did not confirm this.

Cartoonist Lars Vilks had depicted the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog in the Nerikes Allehanda newspaper.

Islamic militants then put a USD 100 000 bounty on his head.

Irish police said the seven suspects were arrested after an investigation that also involved police in the US and other European countries.

The suspects ranged in age from their mid-20s to late-40s.

Ireland's RTE news network reported that five were detained in Waterford and two others in Cork.

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A plan to create an internet domain specifically for "adult" web sites is again being considered by regulators.

The planned domain, .xxx , had originally been approved in 2005, but was later withdrawn after US conservative groups had objected on “moral grounds”.

An independent review had recently concluded that the withdrawal was unfair, and should be reconsidered. Their ruling stated it was "not consistent with the application of neutral, objective and fair documented policy".

The international regulator, ICANN*, will shortly discuss the plan at its next meeting on March 12 and, according to experts, is likely to back the proposal to reintroduce the adult domain, probably after further consultation with the internet community.

"If the contract is signed, we could be selling names by the end of the year," said Stuart Lawley, chairman of ICM Registry, which had put forward the plans for .xxx and would sell the domain names, as cited by the BBC.

The scheme is intended to isolate and easily identify adult sites, so that computer users can quickly filter out such material, if they wish.

Meanwhile, the "sex.com" domain, described as one of the most valuable internet domain names, is to come up for auction.

The web address is due to be sold in New York on March 18 with a starting price of USD 1 M.

*ICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

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An earthquake, measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale, has struck near the Greek southern city of Patras, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute says Monday's quake occurred at 3:13 p.m. (1313 GMT), 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of Athens.

The tremor occurred after a strong earthquake in eastern Turkey killed 51 people. Earthquakes are common in both neighboring countries.

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