Page 44 - bnemagazine bne_December 2021_20211203.pdf

44 I Southeast Europe bne December 2021
Local media have suggested that Rashkov was referring to Tsvetelina Borislavova, owner and chairman of the board of the Bulgarian-American Credit Bank. Borislavova was allegedly in a relationship with Borissov in the past. However, there has been no confirmation of these suggestions so far. Borissov has denied Rashkov’s claims, threatening to sue him.
Years of accusations
The Hemus motorway's construction – one of the top priorities of Borissov's three governments – has been marred by controversy and accusations of corruption for years.
When completed, the motorway will connect the capital Sofia to the Black Sea city of Varna, a distance of 420
km. Construction of the first section started back in 1974, but work stalled in the final years of the communist era, only to resume in the late 1990s. By the time Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, just 170 km of the motorway had been built. After that, progress continued to
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be patchy as several tenders for various stretches were cancelled either by the government or by the courts following objections from failed bidders.
Rumours of corruption in the construction process have also been circulating for some years. Back in January, Hristo Ivanov, one of the leaders of Democratic Bulgaria,
said his formation would inform the European Commission about large-scale corruption related to the construction of Hemus, estimated at €2.6bn.
However, it was only when the first caretaker government under Prime Minister Stefan Yanev took office that action was taken; his government launched in-depth investigations into numerous cases of suspected corruption, including the construction of Hemus.
In June, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Violeta Komitova revealed that in-house procedures for granting contracts worth millions were used for the strengthening
of 84 landslide defences and for the construction of the Hemus motorway.
Her ministry said at the time that Avtomagistrali had paid more than BGN180mn to subcontractors in advance for works that had not progressed, or did not begin at all six months after
their deadlines.
According to Komitova, the previous government led by Borissov secured BGN3.71bn for the construction of
the Hemus motorway. Avtomagistrali granted BGN976mn to 45-50 companies in advance for future construction works.
Some of the sections, for which advance payments were made, need to be re-designed as currently they go through landslides, protected areas and areas with construction risks.
Komitova added in September that illegal construction works were carried out on three sections of Hemus motorway as no construction permits had been issued.
The Croatian town selling houses for 13 eurocents
Clare Nuttall in Zagreb
Asmall town close to Croatia’s border with Hungary made the headlines this summer when it offered houses and building plots for just HRK1 (€0.13). The municipality of Legrad launched the measure to try to persuade young families to settle there; people can take advantage of the offer provided they are aged under 40 and commit to staying for at least 15 years.
Legrad’s population has approximately halved over the last century to around 2,250. It wasn’t always a border town in decline. Before the Austro-Hungarian Empire was defeated in the First World War and carved up, Legrad was a thriving market town, benefitting from its location at the confluence of the Mura and Drava rivers.
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"After the Austro-Hungaran Empire
fell in 1918 we became a border town. The border was closed, there was no merchandising and nobody was happy in our village,” the town’s mayor, Ivan Sabolic, told bne IntelliNews in a Zoom interview. Even the railway station built in the 19th century was lost, as when the borders came down it was on the other side of the Drava in what is now Hungary.
Worse came with the Second World War, when many of Legrad’s Jews were taken to concentration camps, and afterwards the Iron Curtain separated non-aligned Yugoslavia from Hungary. Even now, while Croatia, is an EU member, it is not yet part of Schengen. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic says Croatia hopes to join the borderless area in 2022. This
would open up access to Schengen members Austria, Hungary and Slovenia, all within 80 km of Legrad.
“We believe that when we get into Schengen the situation will change, because only the river divides us
from Hungary and we have a lot of connections with Hungarian people, Slovenian people, Austrian people ... after that I believe the communication with other people in our region all be better and easier, and I hope we will get new inhabitants,” says Sabolic.
Two problems to solve
Meanwhile, the municipality is doing everything it can to persuade young people to stay and start their families and encourage others to move to Legrad.