The changes follow the sale of the Bulgarian RFI operation to Vuzrazhdane Varna 2009 Ltd, announced in early December.

"RFI-Sofia will remain unchanged until the end of the year," then spokesperson for RFI, Manuela Manliherova, was quoted by Dnevnik daily as saying. "After the finalisation of the transaction, the new owners will sign an agreement with RFI-Paris to ensure the continuation of the partnership between the radio station and French national radio," she said.

The Sofia-based RFI operation had been sold because the company had failed to obtain terrestrial frequencies for any of the four major university towns in the country.

According to Bgnes, Vuzrazhdane Varna 2009 operated under the direct auspices and with the blessing of Metropolitan Kiril of Varna and it intended to develop the radio station with an Orthodox religious orientation.

According to Dnevnik daily, Danail Dobrev, manager of Vuzrazhdane Varna 2009, said he could "not confirm or deny" any connection with Metropolitan Kiril.

The name of Metropolitan Kiril has been connected to several disputes over land exchanges alleged to have taken place with his direct involvement. Kiril is also frequently mentioned as the most probable successor to Patriarch Maxim.

The decision of CEM on December 15 was taken with five votes in favour, two abstentions and one against.

Dnevnik daily quoted CEM member Raina Nikolova as saying that "RFI is a commercial radio and the new owner has the right to request changes to the licence. I personally voted in favour, because Sofia has too many music radio stations and it will be good for competition in the market to have another information station".

As of December 16, the radio programme of Focus Radio would be broadcast using the RFI-Sofia frequency, Krasimir Uzunov, manager and owner of Focus news agency confirmed to Dnevnik.

"We have a contract with the company in Varna to broadcast our programme on the frequency they acquired, because it is close to the type of radio programme they want to make. We have agreed to satisfy their condition that we would make a religiously oriented programme," Uzunov was quoted by Dnevnik as saying.