Media regulator gives 7 days to Bulgarian National Radio’s chief to resign

The Council for Electronic Media (CEM) on September 27 gave a deadline to the end of next week for the BNR Director General Svetoslav Kostov to resign. If that does not happen, there will be a new meeting of the media regulator in the week of October 7-11, which will initiate a procedure for early termination of his term of office.

The chairperson of the media regulator, Sofia Vladimirova, said that the crisis was unprecedented and that doubts about pressure are unacceptable. The confidence of CEM in his leadership is lost, the worse is that the confidence of the workers in him is lost, she said and added that resigning is a way of taking responsibility.

Speaking to BNT later today, BNR Director General Svetoslav Kostov said he would not resign within the deadline set by CEM and added that he would continue to work. He rejected CEM's claim that there was a crisis in the radio. As for the suspension of the broadcast of Horizont programme for 5 hours on September 13, he reminded that a check by the Prosecutor's office was underway.

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Horizont programme of the BNR was off air for 5 hours on the morning of September 13. The suspension of broadcasting was investigated by several Bulgarian state institutions, including the Prosecutor’s office and the State Agency for National Security. The investigation was ordered by Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov, as the BNR as public broadcaster is meant to always remain on air.