PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - June 17

SOFIA, June 17 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

GENERAL AND POLITICS

- Plamen Galev and his business partner Angel Hristov, both charged with racketeering, were released from custody on bail after they registered to run in the July 5 parliamentary election and got temporary immunity (Dnevnik, Novinar, Trud, Sega, 24 Chasa, Standart, Duma).

24 CHASA - Right-wing opposition party GERB of Sofia mayor Boiko Borisov, tipped to win the July 5 national elections, will not form a coalition with the Socialists or the ethnic Turkish MRF no matter what the results of the vote will be, GERB's formal leader Tsvetan Tsvetanov said in an interview.

ECONOMY

- Wholesale natural gas prices will most likely drop by 33.14 percent as of July 1 in line with the proposal of the state gas monopoly Bulgargaz, the state energy regulator said (Dnevnik, Novinar, Sega, Duma).

BUSINESS

DNEVNIK - Bulgarian companies expect a 2.5 percent hike in sales for 2009 as optimism for economic recovery grows, a report by Economist Intelligence Unit says.

- Austria's power utility EVN (EVNV.VI) says it will invest 95 million euros ($132 million) in a 50 MW wind park at the Black Sea coast it took over which is currently under construction and should become operational by the middle of 2010 (Dnevnik, Trud, Pari).