These are some of the top headlines in Bulgarian newspapers on August 25 2008. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.
Politics
- Interior Minister Mihail Mikov said that media reports of employees resigning from the ministry on mass scale were exaggerated. There were employees willing to change their job, but at the same time there are enough people willing to work for the ministry, Mikov said, as quoted by Dnenvik daily.
- Outside experts would advise Bulgarian ministries and institutions involved in the spending of European Union funds, Dnevnik quoted Deputy Minister for EU Funds Meglena Plougchieva as saying. The experts would work with the National Road Infrastructure Agency (former National Road Infrastructure Fund), Agriculture and Food Ministry’s payments agency, prosecution and Justice Ministry, as well as with Plougchieva’s own team.
- Sofia mayor and Citizen for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) leader Boiko Borissov has called on the National Movement for Stability and Progress to leave the ruling coalition and on Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev to call snap parliamentary elections.
Social
- Environmentalists demanded the resignation of the Cabinet, Dnevnik said. If no measures against illegal construction in Rila Mountains were taken by September 15, entire Cabinet should resign, environmental organisations said.
Economy
- The slowdown of the Spanish economy in recent months has forced local contractors to cut expenses and staff, which led to a decrease in the hiring of Bulgarian employees, Dnevnik said. Spain registered a record-breaking inflation and transport and food price increase.
- The 160-km-long Strouma Highway, which had to be finished by 2004, would not be ready in the next 10 years, Sega daily said. The Cabinet had silently approved the decision to postpone part of the construction for the period 2014/20.
- Swedish media company Modern Times Group, which recently bought Bulgarian private broadcaster Nova Television, was getting ready to buy bTV, Nova's main competitor on the market, Monitor daily said. The newspaper quoted sources from bTV as saying that the price of the broadcaster was one billion euro.
