On Tuesday the saga of the arrest and interrogations of former ruling GERB party members continued:
Prosecution summon PM Petkov, ministers Vassilev and Rashkov over Borissov arrest
The State Prosecutor's Office announced it would summon Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vassilev and Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov for questioning. The three will be probed over the arrest of Boyko Borissov, Vladislav Goranov and Sevdalina Arnaudova and the searches of their homes last week, according to a statement published by the prosecutor's office on Tuesday. There is no information yet on when the interrogations will be held. According to the Prosecution, these procedures are needed as the first ones were carried out by an "incompetent institution" - a police investigator. More on the Borissov arrest read here.
President Radev offers helmets, kevlar vests to Ukrainian civilians
After meeting his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda in Sofia, President Rumen Radev said that Bulgaria needs to consider sending protective gear, including helmets and kevlar vests, to Ukraine, but with several caveats: they should only be distributed to civilians and priority should be given to Ukrainians with Bulgarian consciousness.
Mr Radev added he has also agreed with Mr Duda for Polish experts to come to Bulgaria and check whether Warsaw could maintain Bulgaria's fleet of aging Soviet MiG-29 fighters, which were until now repaired in the three belligerent countries (Ukraine, Belarus and Russia). The Bulgarian President announced another new initiative - Bulgaria and Poland will propose at the NATO summit this week the construction of fuel pipelines that cross the entire Eastern flank of NATO.
Labor costs in Bulgaria continued to rise at the end of last year
Despite a notable slowdown in growth compared to the summer, labor costs for employers for the last quarter of 2021 continued to rise according to preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI). In the fourth quarter of 2021, employers' total expenditure per hour worked by their employees increased by 12.1 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. The most significant labor cost increase was marked within the manufacturing, services and construction industries.
On Tuesday the saga of the arrest and interrogations of former ruling GERB party members continued:
