Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), 97-02-10

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From: Embassy of Bulgaria <bulgaria@access1.digex.net>

EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

10 February, 1997

CONTENTS

[01] PRESIDENT STOYANOV RECEIVES CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR

[02] WILL IMF DISBURSE?

[03] NO QUORUM IN PARLIAMENT

[04] EU REMAINS COMMITTED TO ASSISTING BULGARIA

[05] COUNCIL OF EUROPE WELCOMES BULGARIAN ELECTION DEAL

[06] STATEMENT OF BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY ON BULGARIA

[07] GAS PIPELINES CONCESSION AUCTION

[08] FOREIGN TOURISTS SAFE, TOURIST OFFICIALS SAY

[09] TV, RADIO STRIKES

[10] SEMINAR ON CORRUPTION

[11] JEFFREY SACHS TO VISIT SOFIA

[12] SOCIALISTS STILL DANGEROUS, OPPOSITION SAYS

[13] SOCIALISTS LOSE FIVE PROMINENT MPS

[14] BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFS

[15] EX-PRESIDENT ZHELEV ON REASONS OF CRISIS

[16] "VINARIA-97" ANNUAL AWARDS

[01] PRESIDENT STOYANOV RECEIVES CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR

[02] WILL IMF DISBURSE?

"After the forthcoming appointment by President Peter Stoyanov of a caretaker cabinet, the IMF is ready to send to Bulgaria a new mission of negotiators on a very short notice, as early as the end of next week," Mr Botousharov assured his audience. The second tranche of the previous stand- by arrangement of July 1996 (on which Bulgaria managed to receive just 80 million US dollars), however, cannot be released, the Bulgarian Representative added. The only opportunity for further financial assistance is to sign a new agreement, he said.

A deposit freeze is out of the question for the time being, Mr Botousharov said, asked about the restrictions which the IMF may impose. A currency board, if and when introduced (as proposed by the IMF last autumn), which will take a couple of months now, and structural adjustment will require tight fiscal discipline, he indicated. It is very unlikely that Bulgaria would get any assistance from the IMF before signing an agreement with it, Mr Botousharov also said.

[03] NO QUORUM IN PARLIAMENT

A dozen Socialist MPs were seen in the parliament building but did not register for the sitting. The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) once again proved it is an anti-national party, UDF deputy leader Nadezhda Mihailova commented. Left MP M. Plougchieva said the Socialists will be back in the plenary hall when the parliamentary commissions are ready with amendments to the electoral and the income tax laws.

[04] EU REMAINS COMMITTED TO ASSISTING BULGARIA

"It was a pleasure to meet you in Brussels last week. I welcome your firm commitment to a rapid resolution of the political and economic crisis in Bulgaria and to accelerating the process of reform.

"May I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your success in convincing all political forces in Bulgaria to agree on holding parliamentary elections in April. I believe that this agreement demonstrates Bulgaria's commitment to democracy and will facilitate the early implementation of much-needed reforms.

" The European Union remains committed to assisting Bulgaria in carrying our reform and has launched a special social assistance programme to alleviate the plight of those Bulgarians who are most affected by the present crisis. As I mentioned to you in Brussels, the Commission is ready to consider an initiative to mobilise international support, provided the necessary stabilisation and economic reform measures are put into place by the Bulgarian authorities. This should improve living conditions for the Bulgarian people and create a new basis for moving ahead with the pre- accession strategy."

[05] COUNCIL OF EUROPE WELCOMES BULGARIAN ELECTION DEAL

[06] STATEMENT OF BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY ON BULGARIA

"I hope that the coming months will see the establishment of a government ready and able to implement the fundamental reforms needed to re-establish confidence in the Bulgarian economy. The process of reform will be painful. Britain, bilaterally and through the European Union and the international financial institutions, will play its full part," the Foreign Office spokesman said.

[07] GAS PIPELINES CONCESSION AUCTION

The Minister of Energy and Energy Resources announced that an open auction for granting concessions on already constructed trunk transit pipelines and for their usage for transfer of Russian gas will be held under a decision of the Council of Ministers of December 29, 1996. The auction will be held on May 19, 1997 in the Ministry of Energy and Energy Resources (MEER). Tender documents will be provided to the bidders between March 14 and 21 for a fee - a document showing that 25,000 US dollars have been credited to an account of the Energy Ministry (credit MEER, code 6619661, account No 3100116509 at the National Bank of Bulgaria) and a confidentiality agreement signed between the Energy Minister and the bidder on filing in the papers. Bidders should apply in writing for participation in the auction before April 4 at the Energy Ministry. They should provide a document that a deposit of 5,000,000 US dollars have been credited to the account of the Energy Ministry (code 6619661, account No 5100116502 at the central bank) and an application for inspecting the sites in the period April 14 - May 2. The bids, worked out on the basis of the tender documents should be filed with the Energy Ministry by May 9.

The Minister of Energy announced that a similar auction for concessions on trunk transit pipelines to be built by the concessionaire will be held on May 21, 1997 under the above decision of the Council of Ministers. Tender documents will be provided to the bidders between March 14 and 21 against a document showing that 25,000 US dollars have been credited to an account of the Energy Ministry (code 6619661, account No 3100116509 at the central bank) and a confidentiality agreement between the Energy Minister and the bidder, signed on filing in the papers. Applications in writing for participation in the auction should be filed until April 4 with the Energy Ministry together with a document showing that a deposit of 5,000,000 US dollars have been credited to the account of the Energy Ministry (code 6619661, account No 5100116502 at the central bank) and an application for inspecting the sites between April 14 - May 2.

Bidders should present their proposals, worked out on the basis of the tender documents until May 9 at the Energy Ministry.

The decision for holding these auctions was taken under a resolution of the Council of Ministers of December 29, 1996 for granting concessions on the available in the country trunk transit pipelines. In Bulgaria there are currently trunk transit pipelines towards Turkey and Greece.

Among other conditions, there is a requirement that each bidder proves his potentials to transit certain gas quantities across the territory of Bulgaria by means of direct contracts with partnerships under Gazprom, Head of Concessions Department with the Cabinet Nikola Baltov said on December 29. A serious bidder is the Bulgarian- Russian Topenergy joint venture, outgoing Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov said on December 29, 1996.

[08] FOREIGN TOURISTS SAFE, TOURIST OFFICIALS SAY

[09] TV, RADIO STRIKES

The National TV acting chief undertook to draw up within 7 days regulations for the programming, newscast topics and TV guests. The dominant criteria will be professionalism and the aim to provide comprehensive coverage of events. The events in, and order of newscasts will be selected by the newscast makers.

The management pledged to start drafting a more effective structure of the National TV as of February 10.

Under the agreement, the viewers' opinion on TV programmes will be studied on a regular basis and the findings will be the sole criteria in making the programming arrangements. An approved programming scheme will be changed only in case of events of exceptional interest and under written order of the TV chief or a person authorized by him.

The situation in this country should not be associated with what is happening at National Radio, our demands are purely economic and we believe it is high time they are granted," said National Radio Strike Committee Chairman Dimiter Dimitrov. He added that the management is refusing to negotiate on the concrete demands of the strike committee included in the agreement coordinated by the four trade union organizations at National Radio.

Agreement was reached only on the issue of weekly payment of salaries.

The strike at National Radio will continue. The trade unions are drafting an agreement with the management demanding the dismissal of the management team appointed by Director General Vyacheslav Tounev.

Radio journalists demand that all instructions concerning the order of the news, choice of topics and interviewees be given in written form so as to restrict censorship.

[10] SEMINAR ON CORRUPTION

In his report to the forum, eminent criminologist Prof. Baicho Panev said that between 1990 and 1994 a number of companies were set up to run businesses in parallel with those of state-owned companies, draining public resources. In the denationalization process in 1995-1996 certain buyers were treated preferentially. Only 24 pepole have been convicted for corruption over the past 7 years after the collapse of the totalitarian regime. Participants in the seminar said that the worst cases of corruption were registered among representatives of tax and police authorities. The key reason for corruption in Bulgaria is poor public control, rapporteurs at the forum said.

[11] JEFFREY SACHS TO VISIT SOFIA

[12] SOCIALISTS STILL DANGEROUS, OPPOSITION SAYS

The UDF is getting ready for its national conference to be held next weekend. The delegates are expected to approve the political programme and the statute of the UDF. The UDF will present to the caretaker cabinet its economic and social policy programmes. Ivan Kostov described the Socialists' failre to take a stand on the principles of pulling Bulgaria out of the crisis as irresponsible. The agreement the political forces reached through the mediation of the President on Tuesday envisages the exchange of ideas about the principles the anti- crisis policy will be based on. "In my oppinion, the BSP's refusal to honour its commitments is a provocation against the country and the President," Kostov stated.

[13] SOCIALISTS LOSE FIVE PROMINENT MPS

This brings to ten the number of BSP defectors since the beginning of 1997. The first to go, in mid-January, were Dimiter Yonchev, Rossen Karadimov, Andrei Raichev and Andrei Boundjoulov. A week later, they were followed by Alexander Marinov, former leader of the BSP Sofia Branch.

The idea to institutionalize a new Left came at a meeting of representatives of about a dozen Left parties and organizations on January 23. The organizing committee is chaired by Alexander Tomov, leader of the extraparliamentary Civic Alliance for the Republic.

"I don't think I have abandoned my convictions, BSP has drifted away from the values which it declared in its document, and that is why I am leaving it," Mr Kamov said. Mr Bokov does not believe the decision to leave the BSP will cause its split, but "a shedding process" is possible. "Bulgaria needs a new modern left pro-European Social Democratic formation," he asserted.

[14] BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFS

Bankers are developing a new procedure to trace money taken out from Bulgaria by parcel post, said Konstantin Trenchev, leader of the influential Podkrepa Labour Confederation. He referred to information which Podkrepa received from the World Bank that funds are being exported from Bulgaria daily, adding up to 70 million US dollars a week. The Government, as representative of the State, may formally request information from Western financial institutions on the parcels dispatched by Bulgarian banks, Dr Trenchev said. He believes that it would be quite difficult to recover the money drained from Bulgaria, but it is at least possible to know who is involved.

[15] EX-PRESIDENT ZHELEV ON REASONS OF CRISIS

"The wave of civil discontent, which engulfed this country in January, showed the need of a change of state government," Dr Zhelev added. He fears that the mere replacement of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) by the opposition Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) through early parliamentary elections will lift the country from the crisis is a "very dangerous illusion."

"What is needed is replacement of the current political system of government on account of its futility," the former head of state observed. "In their present form, both the BSP and the UDF are political fossils held over from the dawn of the velvet revolutions," he added. "Unless the model is changed, every time the political crisis will escalate into a constitutional one and street pressure will have to make up for the flaws in the basic law," Dr Zhelev said.

A presidential republic is the most appropriate form of government in a transition period, Dr Zhelev argued. This type of state government is objectively motivated by the Right Liberal nature of reforms. Liberals are in a position to introduce strong presidential power without it degenerating into an authoritarian regime, he observed.

[16] "VINARIA-97" ANNUAL AWARDS

The 55 foreign participants in Vinaria-97 mostly exhibit technologies and equipment for the production of wines and alcoholic beverages. The exposition is divided into four major branches: wines and other alcoholic beverages, viticulture, wine making and research and development.

The Vinprom winery of Rousse has won the greatest number of exposition awards over the past few years. 85% of the 50 million bottles of wine produced in the winery in 1996 were exported to Russia, Britain, Poland, Germany, Benelux, and elsewhere. Company figures show that the winery has increased its sales in the United States by 180% and by 140% in Britain.

The Vinal company of Lovech is another Bulgarian participant in Vinaria-97. The company exports 98% of its wines. In 1996 it sold 4 million bottles of wine to CIS countries, the United States and the Republic of South Africa.

Vinprom-Damyanitsa presents 22 types of the famous red wines of the southwestern region of Melnik. The company exports about 90% of its products to Britain, France, Scandinavia, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Russia, the company's Chief Technologist Stoicho Stoev told BTA.

More than 100 Bulgarian wines with controlled appellation of origin are sold on West European markets. Britain is a major importer of red wines produced in the southern region of Sliven. The private winery of Stara Zagora exports wines to Western Europe, the United States and Canada. 95% of the Merlot and Cabernet wines produced in the winery of Haskovo are exported to Western Europe and North America.

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