Simona Peycheva [who ranked 10th in the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around at the 2008 Beijing Olympics] was not prepared well for the Olympics," rhythmic gymnastic coach Neshka Robeva told Bulgarian National Television (BNT). So many mistakes are inadmissible at Olympics, Robeva said. Another mistake was that twice Peycheva played longer that the time allowed. It was a coachs mistake, according to Robeva.
Asked whether Bulgarian gymnasts were being unfairly given fewer points than deserved, Robeva said: Yes it is true that there are arrangements between the judges and they will continue cutting out points down, despite the new rules that are constantly being introduced.
Bulgaria held one of the top places in the number of pedestrians killed on the road, Alexi Kesyakov, secretary of the State-Public Consultative Commission on the Problems of Road Safety, told BNT. Amendments in the Traffic Act were being discussed, paying special attention to the young drivers, infrastructure and safety measures usage.
There will be protest in some fields like energy, railway transport, Kremikovtzi, despite the situation in these fields, Plamen Dimitrov, vice president of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, told BNT. After the privatisation of the electricity distributing companies, the service had not improved, although the ruling parties tried to convince the population that the privatisation was in favour of better service, he said.
A strike could not be decided overnight, but there was a sign-up list in the electricity distributing companies EVN and E.ON, because of the planned cutting off the staff and other serious problems.
Without doubt, the Cabinet is trying to be active in its communication with the European [Union] administration, Tihomir Bezlov from the Centre for the Study of Democracy told private broadcaster bTV, but added that he was sceptical about summer visits like the one made by European Anti-Fraud Office head Franz-Hermann Brner. It was obvious that the visit was demonstrative and there were no tangible discussions. It was a typical meeting, organised by PR experts, the point of which was not clear, Bezlov said.
There was not a single case of EU fund embezzlement in Bulgaria that ended with sentences and punishment. There were more cases of EU funds malfeasances, but only fragments of them appeared in media, while the state institutions neglected the rest silently. "The big problem [] is that usually many of the projects and the means that were utilised were received legally, but an analysis of what stands behind the companies and the projects shows that they are related to certain circles, close to the authorities, Bezlov said.
