Balgarianovinite.com POLITICS
bTV reported that MPs returned early from their summer recess, with integrity tests for positions at high corruption risk, the election of a new Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the State budget among their priorities. The broadcaster also covered the debate over judicial reform and the need to restore the regular functioning of the judiciary.
24 Chasa writes that Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee has approved a list of positions considered to carry a high risk of corruption as part of amendments to the Civil Servants Act. The list covers senior and administrative secretaries in executive bodies, permanent secretaries at the Interior and Defence Ministries, municipal secretaries, and positions involving public procurement, concessions, EU funds and documents for foreigners. Candidates for these posts will have to pass an integrity test. Those who pass will not have to retake it when applying for another position on the list for three years, while those who fail will be barred from applying for a high-risk post for one year.
The daily adds that the tests will be prepared by the Institute of Public Administration and are expected to begin in December because there is no technical capacity to introduce them earlier. GERB-UDF and Democratic Bulgaria objected that the delay could allow the government to make appointments without testing candidates for another three months, while Progressive Bulgaria said the December start had been accepted by the European Commission. The amendments are among the final measures required for Bulgaria to receive funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The media outlet also reports that the Legal Affairs Committee approved the integrity-test requirement at second reading, with Parliament due to vote on the amendments at an extraordinary sitting. Committee Chair Yanka Tyankova of Progressive Bulgaria said the law must be adopted by August 31, together with the implementing regulation, to avoid losing Recovery and Resilience Plan funds. She described integrity tests as new to Bulgaria’s legal system but common in EU countries.
GERB’s Raya Nazaryan criticised exemptions for appointments made before December and questioned the treatment of candidates who fail the test. Nadejda Iordanova of Democratic Bulgaria supported the high-risk positions framework but raised concerns about the testing mechanism and proposed keeping the identities of officials conducting the tests anonymous.
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bTV reports that the so-called Coalition of the Willing meeting in Kyiv has exposed divisions among Bulgarian political forces over the country’s absence from the format. Prime Minister Rumen Radev defended Bulgaria’s absence, saying he had already made the country’s position clear and that the issue of whether Bulgaria had received an invitation was irrelevant. “I think there is no need to speculate here. You saw how many leaders are in Ukraine – I think they can be counted on the fingers of both hands. This is not the whole European Union,” Radev said. Criticising the government’s decision to stay away from the talks, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said: “The empty chair is the worst thing in diplomacy”.
Democratic Bulgaria also criticised the government, with Nadejda Iordanova saying Bulgaria’s absence was a risk because the country was being pushed away from where decisions affecting it were made. Radev also dismissed concerns over Bulgaria’s absence from the Freya European-Ukrainian missile defence project, saying decisions on such initiatives should be taken within the EU and NATO.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FORECASTS
Interviewed by Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), political scientist Milen Lyubenov said foreign policy and security would be the main issues in the presidential election campaign that would match President Iliana Iotova against opposition candidates. Lyubenov said he expected every parliamentary party to field a candidate, with Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) supporting Andrey Gurov, while GERB and Vazrazhdane were also likely to nominate candidates. He added that Ivan Hristanov could take votes from CC-DB and affect which candidate reaches the run-off.
Lyubenov said the key question would be whether opposition parties could cooperate in the run-off, particularly CC-DB and GERB. “There is no strategy, but a lack of candidates,” Lyubenov said, describing the late nominations as a sign of confusion among political parties. He also predicted voter turnout would remain below 50%, citing a widespread perception that the election was already decided. Commenting on the first 100 days of Radev’s government, Lyubenov said its rapid replacement of senior officials suggested “one party clientele will replace another party clientele”.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
24 Chasa, Mediapool and BNR report that at least 14 tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet sailed in Bulgarian and Romanian waters between the beginning of 2026 and August 1, citing an analysis by Greenpeace Bulgaria based on data from Lloyd’s List. Greenpeace classifies the vessels as high-risk because of practices including manipulating or switching off automatic identification systems, frequent changes of flags or ownership, inadequate insurance and voyages to ports in Russia and Iran.
BNR adds that 53% of Russian oil was transported on sanctioned tankers in July 2026, citing the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). “The Black Sea is becoming an increasingly important place for transporting oil products linked to Russia’s shadow fleet. In fact, according to the Kyiv School of Economics, 41% of the petroleum products transported by Russia’s shadow fleet worldwide were loaded at Black Sea ports,” Martin Tomov, coordinator of the Living Black Sea campaign, explained. Tomov also said that the KNK tanker, which is not sanctioned by the EU, is included on Lloyd’s List because it loaded products in Novorossiysk in 2025 and manipulated its tracking system. It is the only tanker from the list to have called at Bulgarian ports, he added.
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BNR reports that the hybrid media and diplomatic dimension is playing an active role in the war between Iran and the US. Arabist and international security expert Prof. Vladimir Chukov said Tehran has undergone significant changes in both personnel and its military tactics.
Chukov said that, given evidence of Moscow assisting Iran in the war against the US, the Bulgarian authorities should explain the Russian aircraft’s flight over Bulgaria en route to Serbia. He added that Bulgaria and Cyprus were strongly targeted in media and diplomatic attacks. “The institutions must respond as to why, by reviewing relations between Bulgaria and Iran,” Chukov said. He also noted that Iranian media described the withdrawal of US tanker aircraft from Bezmer Air Base as a “logistical victory”.
Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and Mediapool.bg report a dispute between GERB leader Borissov and PM Radev over the presence of US aircraft at Sofia Airport amid heightened tensions with Iran. Borissov said the government should have continued the decisions of previous governments on the aircraft, arguing that the issue would not have become controversial had the planes remained at Bezmer Air Base. “They should have continued the decisions of the previous governments. But in their desire to be aggressive every time, they tried to say that the previous governments had lied. And they actually created their own problem,” Borissov said.
Radev responded that simply keeping the aircraft at Sofia Airport would have amounted to “typical Zhivkov-style lowering of oneself” and would not address the national security issue. “You cannot pretend that we do not have 15 aircraft here and that they are not flying south of Bulgaria,” Radev said. He added that responsibility for allowing the aircraft to remain should instead be sought from the governments of Rosen Zhelyazkov and the previous caretaker administration.
SECURITY
Dnevnik, 24 Chasa and BNR covered the discovery of a powerful signal jammer in Sofia’s Dragalevtsi neighbourhood. Cybersecurity expert Assoc. Prof. Zlatogor Minchev said the device appeared to have been acquired as a local anti-drone defence system but was powerful enough to interfere with GPS traffic from aircraft at Vasil Levski Sofia Airport.
Minchev added that such equipment is subject to a special ownership regime and its use in urban areas should be regulated to prevent interference with GPS navigation. He said the private and criminal sectors are better prepared than the State in this area and argued that Bulgaria needs regulations allowing lower-powered devices to be used for anti-drone protection at critical infrastructure sites. He also said the Dragalevtsi case was unlikely to be isolated, as such devices can disrupt several types of communication to create an isolated zone.
ECONOMY, ENERGY, TRANSPORT
BNR covers concerns over the impact of low water levels in the Danube on the operation of Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant. Energy expert Anton Ivanov said the 250-metre dam being built near the plant could be useful in the long term, but rainfall in Northern and Western Europe will determine whether the plant needs to reduce its output further. He said the plant follows a technical protocol monitoring pollutants at the intake, the water level above the pumps and the reliability of their operation.
Ivanov added that renewable energy capacity and electricity storage batteries are important to the system, while pumped-storage hydropower and coal-fired plants remain essential for supplying electricity at night. He said Bulgaria has sufficient generating capacity if the low Danube levels persist but warned that further reductions in Kozloduy’s output would push up regional electricity exchange prices, while additional restrictions would require sufficient resources to secure national electricity supply.
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Mediapool and BNR report that a total of 12 Alstom trains have been delivered under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, at a total cost of nearly EUR 155 million, while the contract provides for another 23 trains to arrive in stages. 24 Chasa also covered the topic and adds that the Alstom trains will join the new Skoda trains already being introduced into service.
24 Chasa adds that the Skoda trains are delivered under a EUR 261.4 million contract excluding VAT, also financed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The paper notes that the introduction of the new trains is part of the wider renewal of Bulgaria’s railway rolling stock, with around 60 new trains expected to be in operation by the beginning of September.
SOCIETY
In an interview with BNR, Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva talked about preparations for a new Juvenile Justice Act, which she said should introduce a comprehensive approach based on prevention, early intervention, individual support and the best interests of children. She said the initiative gains urgency after the fatal attack in Plovdiv involving a group of teenagers. “We should not have to wait for something to happen every time before we change things,” Delcheva said. She added that tougher punishments alone would not solve the problem and called for stronger cooperation between institutions, schools and parents.
Delcheva said the reform should also increase the capacity of social workers and psychologists, provide specialized investigators, prosecutors and courts for cases involving children, and introduce individual assessments to determine appropriate measures. BNR also interviewed psychologist Marieta Gecheva, who said the violence committed by children and teenagers has a history that often goes unnoticed. She said young people can gradually develop attitudes and confidence that they can act with impunity, while family, school and peers alone cannot explain their behaviour.
Dnevnik also examines youth violence, with one analysis tracing the development of a neo-Nazi subculture and another featuring psychologist Maria Brestnichka discussing the need to address the causes of aggressive behaviour and the environment in which children grow up.
Media Review: August 25 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-08-25 10:37:26
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БЪЛГАРИЯ НОВИНИТЕ – ИНФОРМАЦИОННА АГЕНЦИЯ 2009-2026 2026-08-25 10:37:26