Boyko in London

Not quite Nixon in China but....

Well readers as promised news of the Prime Minsiters meeting with the er..Prime Minister.

Fresh from watching Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge (Boyko is a Chelsea fan, someone has to follow West Londons Prima Donna's I suppose) our hero attended a 400 strong dinner at the Bulgarian Embassy during which the abolition of dual nationality for Bulgarians was ruled out (that went down well with the audience), the ex Tsars son apparently praised GERB's economic policies, and Borissov alluded to the fact that Western European/Nato intelligence agencies are now semi-willing to talk to their Bulgarian counterparts, after a long period when the Bulgarian security services gave a whole new meaning to 'dodgy'.

In his tete a tete with our beloved one eyed Scottish person, Boyko apparently raised tourism and trade as major areas for cooperation.He appeared to secure some commitment that immigration would not become an issue in the UK general election (dont know how that is achievable !). Support was also apparently forthcoming for Bulgaria's below 3% budget deficit (so thats why there are buggar all public works projects and the EU money has not been spent because it might get stolen).Since Prudence has become imprudent, rightly, to stop the banking system collapsing, its difficult to justify such fiscal rectitude in the Balkans, though contrasted with the insane 12% Greek deficit it looks good.

So all in all great PR opportunity for Boiko in the Bulgarian media, coverage in the UK media virtually zero.Actual relevance to prevailing problem solving lower than a snakes belly.

Thats politics folks !.

Bulgaria and GM Food

Or 'Confused you will be...'.The passed few weeks have seen protests in Sofia against the introduction of pilot GM crop trials in Bulgaria.At first the government stood its ground despite the overwhelming body of evidence against this pernicious bio-project.

GM foods are environmentally dangerous as, when grown, they cross polinate with 'normal' crops to creat hybrids and so on.What you get in the end is GM food by the back door.There is no evidence that such food is safe in the food chain, and indeed the mysterious collapse in the bee population may have something to do with GM crops spread across the world.If the bees die off then the effect on mankind is potentially catastrophic ie no bees no polination, no polination no food, no food no people.

The Bulgarian government has actually listened to this and a 5 year ban is proposed.This is a great victory for environmental campaigners.Let us hope that Monsanto does not open its big fat cheque book...

When Gordon met Boyko

Today the Bulgarian PM Boiko Borissov is paying a state visit to the UK and will be meeting Gordon Brown.A full report on this will be posted later.

Euro 2012 gets added spice

Breaking News today is that England and Wales have been drawn in the same qualifying groups as Bulgaria (the other members being Montenegro and Switzerland).The prospect of England playing in Sofia is quite exciting and I eagerly anticipate the date.I will post as soon as I find out.Apart from the Bulgarian angle the group is a pretty straightforward one.

Bulgarian Far Right Leader in Airplane Bother !

According to a media statement from the Frankfurt am Main police, "an apparently drunk 53-year-old Bulgarian" had prompted the captain of a Lufthansa flight flying from Sofia to Frankfurt to summon police assistance.

The Bulgarian was said to have refused instructions from the crew and rioted, according to the police media statement, released on February 4 2010.

The incident happened a day earlier, on February 3 at around 4pm local time.

Almost immediately after the incident happened, Bulgarian media reported that Volen Siderov, leader of the ultra-nationalist Ataka party, had briefly been arrested at Frankfurt airport.

The incident and Siderov's involvement were initially confirmed by a spokesperson of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA.

The Ataka party denied Siderov had been arrested, calling media reports "disinformation" and threatening any publication that carried the story with legal action.

The deputy-chair of the party's parliamentary group, Desislav Choukolov, said the spokesperson for the ministry would "suffer the legal consequences".

Later on February 3 Siderov released a statement, admitting he had had an "exchange of words" with crew during the flight, but he denied he had been arrested, calling such accusations "a conspiracy" against his party.

Siderov said someone on the flight had overheard his conversation with the crew and had decided to "create some sensation".

Yet according to the media statement released by German police, the 53-year-old Bulgarian had refused to buckle his seat-belt at take-off and landing. Allegedly, he had also entered - and then refused to leave - the on-board kitchen and had failed to retake his seat. The Bulgarian was said to have thrown food he was given onto the floor. He also allegedly hindered the crew's work and uttered racial insults.

During the police investigation, the man was said to have insulted a police officer.

Bulgarian-language daily Dnevnik quoted police spokesperson André Sturmeit as saying that the man had not taken an alcohol test because he had shown a diplomatic passport and left the plane.

German police said complaints had been filed for insults and breaches of the Aviation Security Act. Dnevnik quoted Choukolov as saying that Siderov was in Germany for medical reasons.

Attempts to reach Siderov for comment had failed because he did not answer his mobile, Dnevnik said.

Well it's a funny old world !

Well this heap of junk, the plane not the laptop, has just been sold for £460 by a friend of mine in the UK.When he told me that he had sold a plane to a dealer I instantly thought model aeroplane !.
Which only goes to show 'where there's muck there's brass' !.

Glug Glug ?? Not Not !

Bulgaria’s beer sales watered down by 11% in 2009

Bulgaria’s domestic beer consumption shrank by 11% to 4.87 million hectolitres in 2009 from the eyar before, shows data of the Union of Bulgarian Brewers.
Beer served in bars and restaurants have suffered the steepest drop while home drinkers have trimmed beer budgets the least.
The industry group unites five of the six breweries operating on the Bulgarian market including Boliarka BT, Zagorka, Kamenitza, Carlsberg Bulgaria and Lomsko Pivo. Counting volumes sold by Ledenika MM takes the total to slightly over 5 million hectolitres.
“The downturn has hit most severely immediate beer consumption in the highest price ranges”, said Kamen Aleksov, marketing director of Carlsberg Bulgaria, the local unit of the Danish brewery group.
“This means consumption of glass-bottled beer is increasingly dwindling as these are sold mostly in bars and restaurants, which have borne the brunt”, added Dragan Radivoevic, Kamenitza’s general manager for Bulgaria.
Breweries are bracing themselves for an extension of the downtrend into 2010, when the slump is seen in the 3-5% range.
In 2009, most consumers opted for plastic-bottle beer, which sliced 48% off the market. Glass-bottled beer grabbed a 42.5%share, while draft had only 5.5%. Canned beer accounted for an even slimmer 4%.