euro|topics - Ivan Michalev

05/09/2008

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Michalev, Ivan

3 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

Kapital - Bulgaria | 16/07/2008

Irregularities in subsidy payments

In Bulgaria there is growing concern that the preconditions for receiving farming subsidies were widely misunderstood and incorrectly fulfilled. It turns out that those applicants who received subsidies for several companies were breaking the rules. "In up to 30 percent of cases persons with shares in several different firms received multiple subsidies. If sanctions are imposed in such cases, all the major companies in the meat, fish and dairy processing industries would be affected. In the worst scenario the subsidies would have to be refunded. ... Brussels has good reason to take a critical view of the developments in Bulgaria. In the course of 14 audits Sofia was given recommendations that no one bothered to follow. If it had followed these recommendations subsidies to the tune of 125 million euros under the [EU special access] SAPARD programme would not have been frozen some time ago."

Kapital - Bulgaria | 19/11/2007

Sofia on the verge of traffic collapse

According to calculations by economists, the traffic jams in Bulgaria's capital Sofia cost the country 280 million euros per year. Ivan Michalev explains: "When the English want to make small talk they talk about the weather; the Sofians on the other hand talk about the traffic jams. The popularity of this topic is no mere coincidence. Sofia looks like a seriously ill patient with blocked arteries and a weight problem. But instead of prescribing a diet and exercise, the doctors are trying to solve the problem by putting more notches in the patient's belt. The city is choked up with traffic and noxious exhaust fumes, and the city council is trying to counter the problem by constructing new car parks and extending the roadways. However these methods are obviously not working. It's time to resort to more radical measures."

Kapital - Bulgaria | 02/01/2007

Bulgarias contribution to the EU

With a heavy dose of self-irony Ivan Michalev describes some of the peculiarities of the Bulgarians, now members of the EU: their well-known hospitality, their predilection for DIY (home-made liquor, homemade vegetable preserves and DIY car repairs) and their sense of solidarity which, in an overcrowded bus, manifests itself in tickets being passed from one person to the next for stamping. The journalist concludes that "Bulgaria is more than just dreary pre-fab apartment buildings, folk-pop music and reusable tops for preserve jars. One should bear in mind that the country also offers a plentiful supply of roses, wines and pretty women. And last but not least are the mathematicians, computer specialists, and a very unique sense of order that can be helpful in all kinds of situations."

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