In 1878 the Supreme Court was established having three departments - administrative, penal and civil.

In 1982 employee of the Balkan Airlines Sergei Antonov was detained on charges of attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II. He was released for "want of proofs" on March 29, 1986.

 

In a gesture meant to signify an end to border disputes, senior Macedonian, Yugoslav and Bulgarian officials on Sunday placed the corner stone of the boundary separating the three Balkan neighbors. Participating were Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic, Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Petkov, and Macedonia's foreign minister, Ilinka Mitreva. They walked from the border post near Gradiste, 90 kilometers northeast of Macedonia's capital, Skopje, to a spot two kilometers away, in the Mt Osogovski range, to put down the pyramid-shaped stone at the junction of their frontiers. Afterward, joined by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, they withdrew to the nearby Macedonian Christian Orthodox monastery of St. Joachim Osogovski to discuss regional cooperation and efforts to establish stability and democracy. "The Balkans now becomes a place of cooperation," Mitreva said after the talks. Border and language disputes with Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, and Greece's challenge to Macedonia's name - Athens maintains that is the exclusive name of a northern Greek province - burdened foreign relations of the newly independent country. Last year, Macedonia and Yugoslavia signed a border agreement. The Yugoslav-Macedonian border agreement - which paved way for Sunday's ceremony - was recognized by the United Nations and this, stressed Mitreva, leaves "that border question closed."

 

 

Coalition For Bulgaria Moves for No Confidence in Government.

Sofia, November 25 (BTA) - The parliamentary group of Coalition For Bulgaria (CFB) on November 25 submitted to the National Assembly's Secretarial Office a motion for a no-confidence vote against the Government.

A similar motion was submitted at the end of last week by the United Democratic Forces (UtdDF).

The new motion, signed by 48 MPs, was submitted by Bulgarian Socialist Party Deputy Leader and CFB Deputy Floor Leader Roumen Ovcharov, and CFB Deputy Floor Leader Lyuben Kornezov.

In its reasoning, the left-wing coalition wrote that on November 18, during Bulgaria's membership negotiations with the European Commission on the Energy chapter, the Government assumed a commitment to have Units 3 and 4 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant closed in 2006, which contravenes a National Assembly resolution of October 2.

By closing the talks on the Energy chapter, the Government acted against the country's national interests and violated the Constitution and legal regulations, CFB argued.

CFB also noted that the socioeconomic effect of the early closure of the two reactors will be rather grave, as the closure will inevitably entail a price rise for electricity for both household and industrial use.

The Government has acquiesced in unequal treatment of Bulgaria in comparison to the other EU candidate countries, CFB said. Slovakia and Lithuania have arranged for continued operation of their nuclear reactors until 2008-2009 while the target date for their full EU membership is set at 2004. In the case of Bulgaria, the reactors have to be closed in 2006, although no membership date has been set, CFB said.

Similarly, the UDF moved for no confidence in the Government over what they described as "gross and unprecedented violation of the Constitution" and violation of the parliamentary resolution on Kozloduy's Units 3 and 4.

According to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure, a debate on a no-confidence motion may be held within one week after submission, and the vote should take place within 24 hours thereafter. According to Kornezov, this means that the debate may be held by the end of this week and the vote will take place next week.

"We do not see any valid reason to ignore the motion submitted by the Left," Ovcharov said. "There is no reason to postpone the vote or to reject the motion. The Constitution clearly prescribes that if a no-confidence motion is defeated by voting, it cannot be considered again until six months later. In the present case, however, the UtdDF motion has not been defeated. We believe that the two motions should be considered together. The question is how to vote on the decisions."

Consultations on a joint decision are possible with the UDF, Ovcharov said, adding that unofficial talks have already been held to this end.

Kornezov said CFB will demand a secret vote, because in this case there is a good chance for success. "CFB hopes to be backed by all MPs who believe that personal and partisan interests should be subordinated to national interests," Kornezov said.

Over the weekend, before the CFB motion was submitted, members of the ruling coalition of the Simeon II National Movement (SNM) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) made it clear that they are not concerned over the plans of the opposition.

According to SNM First Deputy Leader and Floor Leader Plamen Panayotov, the incumbent majority can certainly cope with the two motions because they are groundless. National Assembly Chairman Ognyan Gerdjikov has said the two motions are based on hasty decisions, because no final decision has been made which would justify an attack against the Government's policy on Kozloduy.

MRF Deputy Leader Emel Etem does not think that the motions could jeopardize the incumbents. "Rather, the opposition wants to show that it is still alive," she said.

Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha noted that a no-confidence motion "does not lend positive publicity to Bulgaria."

 

 

Defence Minister Svinarov: By the End of the Week It Will Become Known Whether There Will Be Political Resignations Over Terem Case.

Sofia, November 25 (BTA) - By the end of the week it will become known whether there will be political resignations over the Terem case and at what level, Defence Minister Nikolay Svinarov said in response to a question. In violation of foreign trade regulations, the Terem ordnance plant in Turgovishte concluded a contract for exporting potential dual use goods disguising them as civilian. The export of a large part of the shipment was prevented and the management of the plant replaced. An investigation was launched to establish whether the case constitutes a criminal offence.

Svinarov said that this week he will meet Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on the Terem case. He said he will not demand resignations but will discuss the need for political resignations and their possible level. Asked about press reports according to which Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF in the ruling coalition) leader Ahmed Dogan "did not allow Deputy Defence Minister Mehmed Djafer to resign", Svinarov said he had not talked to either Dogan or Djafer.

Svinarov said that on Saturday he met part of the US inspectors who arrived here in connection with the Terem case. According to him, the US experts were satisfied as they had access to all levels of enquiry. The Defence Minister is expecting a copy of their official report.

Asked about unpaid wages to workers in Terem, Svinarov said the Defence Ministry has the necessary funds and will provide them.

Asked about news agency reports that the US would be interested in the Sarafovo air port near Bourgas (on the Black Sea) and on air corridors should Bulgaria decide to provide assistance in a possible operation against Iraq, the Defence Minister said: "I suppose such a conclusion is only logical proceeding from the fact that Bulgaria already provided such assistance in the anti-terror coalition against Afghanistan." He said he could neither confirm or deny the reported interest.

Svinarov said that it has already been established what kind of assistance Bulgaria can render in a possible operation against Iraq but added this would not be announced in the absence of concrete requests which will be discussed by the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly. The US is not organizing a contingent against Iraq but a political initiative for support by more countries of the observation of the resolutions of the UN Security Council, Svinarov said, adding that a possible military intervention is not imminent. The upcoming visit here by NATO SACEUR General Joseph Ralston is not related to possible Bulgarian participation in an operation against Iraq.

Asked about the US enquiry about the possible form of cooperation in military operation against Iraq, Foreign Minister Solomon Passy said he had not seen the letter. Consultations have been going on at different levels for months, Passy said. According to him, the efforts of the Foreign Ministry are entirely concentrated at the UN Security Council.

According to Svinarov, a decision on Bulgarian assistance in a possible operation against Iraq would be a political one and would be made on the basis on concrete requests. "We have units we can prepare within a certain period of time in compliance with the general Partnership for Peace requirements," Defence Minister Svinarov said.

 

 

Merger of HVB Bulgaria and Biochim Bank to Be Finalized Legally by Year's End.

Sofia, November 25 (BTA) - Legally, the merger of Biochim Bank with the subsidiary of Bank Austria Creditanstalt here, HVB Bulgaria, is expected to be finalized by the end of December this year, representatives of the three banks told the participants in a joint news conference on Monday.

The new bank will continue to use the name "Biochim", said Anton Knett, Chairman of the Supervisory name of Biochim and of HVB Bulgaria.

On July 26, 2002, Bank Austria Creditanstalt signed an agreement with the Bulgarian Bank Consolidation Company (BCC) purchasing 99.6 per cent of the Biochim assets. The deal was finalized on October 7, when the BCC transferred the package of shares to Bank Austria creditanstalt. The price of the deal was 82.5 million euros.

The new bank Biochim will seek to increase its market share from 5.3 per cent to 7-10 per cent. After the merger is legally completed, the bank's share capital will rise from 63.8 million leva to 94.2 million leva, and its total assets will increase from about 590 million leva to 810 million leva.

"The two banks [Biochim and HVB BUlgaria], are highly complementary to each other," Knett said.

Commercial Bank Biochim is the fourth largest Bulgarian bank, with a network of 156 branches and offices in the whole country.

The HVB Bulgaria total assets amount to 300 million leva. The bank provides services mainly for big corporate clients - multinational corporations and export-oriented Bulgarian companies, said Lyudmil Gachev, Managing Director of HVB Bulgaria.

The new owners of Biochim plan to double the number of the bank's customers from currently 200,000 to 400,000. It is envisaged to mount additional ATMs and POS-terminals.

According to the officials representing the three banks, Biochim has a huge potential to develop retail banking.

According to its experts, demand for loans in Bulgaria, which now amounts to 4,000 million leva, will grow to 9,000 million leva in 2005. An increase is expected in the demand for loans by members of the public - from 800 million leva at the moment to about 1,900 million leva in 2005, said Roumen Beremski, Chairman of the Biochim Managing Board.

The HVB Group, of which Bank Austria Creditanstalt is a member, is the fifth biggest banking group in Europe and the tenth biggest one in the world. It has 2,300 branches and offices in over 40 countries with some 70,000 employee servicing more than 8.5 million clients.

Bank Austria Creditanstalt pursues a strategy of becoming "the bank of regions", which means proximity to the respective region where the banking group operates, Knett said. Over the last decades, it has merged four of its operations in Austria and more than ten in Central and Eastern Europe with local financial institutions.

 

Border Police Gets Two New Patrol Ships from German Shipyard under Phare Programme.

Sofia, November 25 (BTA) - German shipyard Luerssen will build two new patrol ships for the Border Police National Service, BPNS chief Col. Valeri Grigorov told a news conference after signing a contract with the shipyard's owner, Friedrich Luerssen.

The contract was signed under a project of the Phare programme for enhanced control along the Bulgarian Black Sea border. The project is being implemented in the context of the Strategy for building the EU's future external frontiers by 2006.

Under the contract, Luerssen must build and supply the ships in eleven months. The project is worth a total of 8 million euros, of which 7 million euros for the two cutters. Bulgaria will provide a quarter of the funding, or 2 million euros.

The two 50-tonne ships will be capable of reaching a maximum speed of 30 knots. They will be equipped with state-of-the-art navigation equipment.

Currently, the Border Police has eleven ships, two of which are out of order.

"We are very well equipped on shore, and now we should focus our efforts to the supply of new generations of ships that would ensure our mobility," said Col. Grigorov.

The BPNS will become fully professional before the end of the year, Col. Grigorov promised.

 

 

Sofia, November 25 (BTA) - Chief of the Land Forces Staff, Lieutenant General Tsvetkov, is on an official visit to Turkey since Sunday at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, General Tahir Yalman, the Defence Ministry press centre reported Monday. The visit will end November 28.

In Turkey Lieutenant General Tsvetkov will discuss the promotion of bilateral cooperation and other issues of common interest.

 

 

Pollsters Do Not Expect Destabilizing Effect of No Confidence Vote, Parliament Will Defeat Motion.

Sofia, November 25 (BTA) - The motions of no confidence, tabled by the right- and left-wing opposition over the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, will not have a destabilizing effect, pollsters of MBMD, Alpha Research and Mediana commented to BTA. They expect the motion to be defeated in Parliament.

"The no confidence motion will not destabilize this country," said Peter Zhivkov of MBMD. "The parliamentary groups of the Simeon II National Movement (SNM) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) will support the Government, and I therefore do not expect the motion to be carried," he said. He sees the presentation of the motion by the right-wing United Democratic Forces and the left-wing Coalition For Bulgaria as a probe by the opposition for a split in the SNM Parliamentary Group. "This time has been chosen because reports have appeared that the SNM Parliamentary Group will fragmentate," the sociologists reasoned.

Stanislav Stoyanov of Alpha Research commented that the parliamentary majority is stable and the parliamentary groups of the SNM/MRF ruling majority will support the Government. Therefore, the motions of no confidence will lead neither to a shake of the Cabinet or to destabilization of the country. He sees unanimity among the political forces about the steps that Bulgaria must take towards the EU, including the closure of Kozloduy Units 3 and 4. "The Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), however, are rather looking for shades so as to try to present themselves as an opposition," the sociologist said. Stoyanov regards as "coincidence" the fact that both opposition forces decided simultaneously to table a motion of no confidence in the Cabinet.

According to Kolyo Kolev of Mediana, the chances of the motion being carried are slim and this would be a major surprise. "In such a case, however, the opposition would be the greatest loser because neither of the two opposition parties is ready to win parliamentary elections," he commented. According to Kolev, the BSP and the UDF are playing opposition and they target dividends for the next parliamentary elections. "If the motion is carried, the parliamentary configuration will be unchanged and the SNM will again be the ruling party, in coalition with another party," the sociologist said.

 

The growing threat posed by organised criminals from the Balkan countries of south-eastern Europe is to be discussed at a high-level conference in London. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, are hosting the event. Fifty-seven countries and organisations will try to come up with a strategy to crack down on the problem. British Government officials describe the Balkans as a warehouse and transit route for contraband goods and people.

Turf wars.

Two years ago, the United Nations estimated that Bosnia alone served as a gateway to Western Europe for up to 50,000 illegal migrants a year. Money and technical support from western governments has cut that number - the flow of illegal migrants through Sarajevo airport has fallen by 90%. However, Mr Blunkett has warned that governments still need to build on this success.

'Misery'

"That's why we are taking action in Britain against organised crime and the misery it spreads," he said. There is also concern about the threat from ethnic Albanian organised crime, although intelligence experts warn many are claiming to be from Albania in the hope of winning more sympathetic treatment for immigration claims. Outside London, police have identified ethnic Albanian criminals are operating in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Cardiff, Telford and Lancaster.

Rivalries.

Police also fear rivalries between upcoming ethnic Albanian crime lords and established Turkish criminals will lead to turf wars in the capital. The conference, to be held at Lancaster House, is believed to be the largest of its kind ever staged. UK delegates will include Foreign Office minister Denis McShane and Home Office minister Bob Ainsworth. European commissioner for external relations and former Tory minister Chris Patten will also attend.