These are some of the top headlines in Bulgarian newspapers on May 19 2008. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Politics

- New Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Union finds utilisation Meglena Plougchieva would start a series of meetings with institutions controlling the use of the EU funds, Dnevnik daily said. Plougchieva was to meet the team overseeing the spending of agriculture, the head of the State Agency for National Security Petko Sertov, Interior Minister Mihail Mikov and Parliament Speaker Georgi Pirinski.

- The European Commission wanted Bulgaria to present reports more frequently, including weekly round-ups on what was done by the institutions in charge of justice and internal affairs, European Integration Minister Gergana Grancharova said, as quoted by Sega daily. Given that there were so many instances of malfeasance discovered, the number of sentences issued by courts were a testimony of the failings of the judiciary system, she said.

- The latest political rows put an unofficial start to the electoral campaign ahead of the next parliamentary elections, especially because they changed the public opinion towards the institutions and political parties, Dnevnik said. The three parties with the highest approval ratings were Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), quoting an opinion poll carried out by Alfa Research.

Society

- Property deals at the Defence Ministry were becoming more impudent, Sega said. The ministry changed nearly 77 000 sq m near the Black Sea coast for 19 apartments in Plovdiv. The executive agency for the ministry's state-owned property estimated the land at around five times less than its market value, the daily claimed.

Economy

- The World Bank would research the labour market deficit in Bulgaria, Dnevnik said. The report was ordered by the Labour and Social Policy Ministry and the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria and should be ready by June 2008.

- The state-owned Bulgarian Posts would become a holding company with six subsidiaries, stakes in which would be available to investors as part of public-private partnerships, Dnevnik said.

- Bulgaria’s property market peaked in 2007 and this year the market would calm down to more sustainable levels of prices and the number of property deals, a report by Unicredit Group said, as quoted by Dnevnik. Nearly 15 per cent of Bulgarians planed to buy real estate in the next 10 years, the report also said.