The idea of a state-owned chain of stores is “absolutely pointless“ and will only lead to the spending of some money. This was stated on “Denyat na Zivu“ by the former Acting Minister of Economy Nikola Stoyanov. However, he described as “a very good” the idea of building a gunpowder and ammunition factory in Sopot together with the German company „Rheinmetall“.
⇒„Absolutely pointless idea“: Stoyanov on state-owned stores
According to former acting Minister of Economy Nikola Stoyanov, the creation of state-owned stores for cheap food is not the right way to combat high prices.
„This is definitely not the way. This is an absolutely pointless idea that will only lead, following the pattern of the time with state-owned gas stations, to spending some money“, he said.
Stoyanov questioned the scale of the initiative: “The real question is not whether the first store will open in September or not, but how with one store, when will the second one open, when will the hundredth one open, when will the two hundredth one open, so that you are someone in the market and can influence?“, he asked. According to his prediction, a hundredth store “never“ will not open, as this requires huge investments.
According to him, the topic of prices was pressing 3-4 months ago, and the press conferences of the NRA, CPC and CPC have “added fuel to the fire“.
⇒Gunpowder production in Sopot: “A very good“ idea
Nikola Stoyanov described as “a very good“ the idea of building a gunpowder and projectile production plant in Sopot together with the German company “Rheinmetall“. He revealed that while he was a minister, he personally held talks with the company for joint production of 155-millimeter shells, but then they refrained.
According to him, a turning point occurred after a meeting between President Rumen Radev and the management of “Rheinmetall“ at the Munich Security Conference, after which he managed to convince them to come to Bulgaria.
⇒Aid for Ukraine: Exaggerated by dozens of times
In connection with Ursula von der Leyen's statement that 1/3 of the ammunition for Ukraine at the beginning of the war came from Bulgaria, Stoyanov stated that this was “exaggerated by dozens of times“ and “very, very far from reality“. He admitted that it could be about 1/3 of a certain type of Soviet-standard shells, but not all of the aid.
“Another thing is the aid that Bulgaria has given. During our caretaker governments, we have given aid to Ukraine, which the Bulgarian army could afford, with the sanction of the parliament, of the Council of Ministers, as it should be“, specified Nikola Stoyanov.