Headline news for Trud newspaper is the Constitutional Court decision, ruling that incumbent President Rosen Plevneliev cannot schedule the next parliamentary elections within the last three months of his term of office and that it is the President-elect Rumen Radev who is empowered to do so. Radev takes office on 22 January. Hence elections for a new parliament can take place no earlier than 19 March, the newspaper writes.

Sega newspaper carries an editorial on the intention of the health authorities to ignore the Supreme Administrative Court ruling for scrapping the mandatory fingerprint scan hospital admission system. Standart on its part writes that on Tuesday hospitals were at a complete loss as to whether the system should still be used or not. 24 Chassa notes that the public contract for the fingerprint scanner system cost 220,000 euro (400,000 Leva), excluding VAT.

Capital focuses on the programme for energy efficiency of multi-family residential buildings in the country in view of the injunction by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works to discontinue the signing of new refurbishment contracts, as whether the national programme will be continued depends on the adoption of next year’s budget which is yet to take place. Monitor on its part writes that almost 2,000 buildings are up for refurbishment in 2017.

Quoting the Institute for Market Economics, Sega newspaper writes “Next year every Bulgarian will have to pay 5,140 Leva (2,631 euro) out of his own pocket to cover the state expenses set down in the draft budget.” Standart adds, citing a Credit Suisse report, that over one year Bulgarians have grown 2 billion USD poorer and while their indebtedness in 2016 has gone up, the total wealth of the nation is down to 87 billion USD. Capital comments that the well-being of Bulgarians is down to 2010 levels.

Dnevnik writes that a network of PriroDA (Nature) classrooms will be put in place in 56 Bulgarian schools. There, 5^th to 7^th grade students and their teachers will be able to play and learn all about nature, using modern means of communication as well as training aids dedicated to the Natura 2000 programme. One of the aims of the project is to raise awareness of environmental issues and popularize the most valuable species and their habitats in Bulgaria and Europe.

Compiled by Stoimen Pavlov
English version: Milena Daynova