Bulgaria and Poland are facing the same problems related to the financing and modernization of state postal operators. This became clear during a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs of Poland Krzysztof Gawkowski.
“We want to preserve the developed postal network, and at the same time we do not have the right to pay the real costs and this leads the company into serious difficulties“, explained Grozdan Karadzhov. He emphasized that Bulgarian Post has over 3,000 branches that provide the universal postal service, and according to European rules, the annual subsidy for this activity cannot exceed 15 million euros. “We are caught in a trap where, in order to fulfill the task assigned to it by the state, the company has to accumulate debts“, Karadjov also said.
Deputy Prime Minister Gawkovski explained that Poland has the same problem with post offices. They have 30,000 sites, which employ 50,000 people. In total, the sector employs about 100,000 people and in 2024 the Polish side has also requested permission from the European Commission for state aid.
The two deputy prime ministers also discussed strengthening transport and digital connections in the North-South direction. “A natural barrier, such as the Danube River, must be overcome with more bridges between Bulgaria and Romania. We need bridges every 70 km. Currently, there are only two, i.e. extremely insufficient“, the Bulgarian deputy prime minister added. His Polish counterpart expressed readiness for cooperation, full support for the North-South corridors, as well as for the development of digital infrastructure in these areas.
Grozdan Karadjov pointed out that broadband connectivity between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea is to be built with funding won under the Connecting Europe Facility. The digital infrastructure is planned to pass through Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. It is also planned to build an underwater cable across the Black Sea between Bulgaria and Georgia. Deputy Prime Minister Gavkovski expressed his desire for Poland to also join the above two projects for optical cable systems.