The Mayor of Varna Blagomir Kotsev stated in the studio of "The Day Begins" on BNT that he does not support the possibility of a joint candidacy with GERB in the upcoming presidential elections in the fall and stressed that his focus remains on the development of Varna.
"We are eagerly awaiting the right-wing candidacy of the PP–DB. You know that various names are being commented on. It is important for me to see a candidate from the right-wing space as soon as possible, because the candidacy of Mrs. Yotova was expected. I do not think there is any surprise in it. In my opinion, this will be the main clash in this year's presidential elections."
When asked if he would support the idea of a broad coalition with GERB around a common candidate, Kotsev was categorical:
"I cannot speak on behalf of PP–DB, but my personal opinion is that I would not take such a hand. I believe that PP–DB has enough reasons not to collaborate with GERB. You know what happened at the end of last year. I believe that this would be a toxic relationship. There will be no Sglobka 2 for the presidential elections. I am categorically against it."
Regarding the names linked for the presidential race, the mayor stated that he would support the candidacy of Andrey Gyurov:
"I am looking at it positively. Right now, I am far from the topics related to the presidential elections and national politics, because the problems of Varna require all my attention. But if I had to talk about this candidacy, I would support it. I think it is a worthy candidacy."
Kotsev emphasized that his main goal remains the work for Varna:
"My cause is Varna. I have focused all my attention on ensuring that next year people can see the fruits of the work we have done so far. An extraordinary amount of work has been done, but it can hardly become visible until the projects begin to be implemented."
The mayor also commented on the final court decision, according to which his family's company must pay nearly 380 thousand leva for the use of municipal land. According to him, the case was used during the election campaign:
"This sounds to me like a title coming from the creator of this case. This is the former mayor of Varna, who launched a lawsuit against my family's business back in 2023 with the aim of harming my candidacy. It is not about the illegality of the sites, but about the use of a public meadow, which is part of the same plot."
Kotsev emphasized that the court did not question the legality of the sites:
"It is very important to say that these sites are legal. The court confirms their legality. It only talks about the use of green areas that were maintained by the complex. The court assumes, based on witness testimony, that they were used for commercial activities, which in my opinion is not true."
When asked whether the awarded amount will be paid, he specified:
"Court decisions must be implemented. I am not the party that pays – I am the party receiving the payment, as I am the mayor of Varna. The municipality has already requested a writ of execution and the company will have to decide how to enforce the court decision."
The mayor also commented on the criminal proceedings against him:
"At first instance, the court returned the case back to the prosecutor's office for review, clearly stating that there was not enough evidence of a crime committed, it was not clear what it was, how it happened and who the participants were. The prosecutor's office is currently appealing and we are awaiting the ruling of the Court of Appeal."
According to Kotsev, the municipality continues to actively remove illegal buildings:
"We are working hard to issue orders for illegal construction. After the first 12 orders, there are already four more for demolition, as well as seven more findings, which will soon also be converted into removal orders."
He admitted that the municipality is having difficulty finding specialists:
"Many people were dismissed from the illegal construction unit. We are currently holding competitions and looking for new specialists. They are difficult to find because this is a specific job. However, in addition to expertise, something else is also needed - employees must be able to withstand pressure. This is one of the main characteristics by which we select them."
According to him, the problem with illegal construction in "Baba Alino" is far from being unique to Varna:
"We have opened a Pandora's box. I believe that this is a problem throughout the country. The violations are very large-scale, and therefore legal changes are necessary. There is already talk of criminalizing illegal construction."
The mayor admitted that Varna is still not a clean enough city:
"I have a lot of criticism of the company that carries out the cleaning. One of my main tasks is to improve the quality of this service and optimize the entire process."
According to him, the municipality is discussing the creation of its own company based on the Sofia model:
"„We are discussing the creation of a municipal company that would take over a large part of the cleaning activities and part of the infrastructure projects. If we have our own capacity, we will be more independent and will be able to control the process much better."
Kotsev explained that the new public procurement for garbage collection is being delayed due to appeals. Asked whether Varna is ready for the active summer season, the mayor admitted that the city continues to face old infrastructure problems. Kotsev also announced that the new pipeline under Lake Varna has already been built.