Bulgaria will lose between one and two billion euros under the PVE. Former Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov made this prediction to the Bulgarian National Radio.
The parliament managed to adopt two bills at its last regular session before the elections, which are set as a condition for receiving hundreds of millions of euros under the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Plan. In the meantime, however, the parliamentary energy committee proposed a ban on Acting Minister of Energy Traycho Traykov from taking action to reform the Bulgarian Energy Holding. The ban was adopted in the plenary hall. The withdrawal of the state-owned "Mini Maritsa Iztok" and TPP "Maritsa Iztok" 2 of the holding's structure was agreed with the European Commission as a condition for the payment of 437 million euros under the PVP. According to Traykov, "not a single euro will be received" if the deputies stop the restructuring of BEH.
The majority in parliament has continued to be pro-corruption, not anti-corruption, and anti-reformist, not pro-reformist, for a long time, said Pekanov: "We are encountering difficulties under the PVP because Europe gives the money only in exchange for reforms. The reforms in terms of anti-corruption have not happened. Very soon we will lose a large amount of money because of this. And this week it was forbidden to do one of the key things in the "Energy" sector - the reform of BEH. Throughout the past year, there was praise for how well the government is doing, that the plan has been renegotiated. At the beginning of this year, Borisov said that there are no more dangers, no problems. We have renegotiated the Green Deal, it has been dropped, etc. In fact, there is nothing like that. The most difficult reforms - such as that of BEH - continue to be in the plan."
Atanas Pekanov explained that the EC's view is that all state-owned companies should be separated from each other so that those that are profitable cannot feed the losers.
"But in the "Energy" sector there are some specific features. There is price volatility. We are exposed to all kinds of geopolitical crises. In addition to reducing harmful emissions, we must also think about the strategic autonomy of Europe. The reform of BEH in these times really seems difficult," he noted.
"The big question is whether the state-owned "Mini Maritsa Iztok" and TPP "Maritsa Iztok" can turn a profit 2, if they are removed from the BEH system. We need to preserve the jobs we can and start building new ones that will be sustainable for the future. This is a key region for our country. The situation is quite difficult and stressful for the markets," Pekanov stressed.
"There are still risks ahead if things are not resolved more quickly. The actions of the US administration do not give us certainty in which direction they will take at the moment. Europe must fight to be more sovereign," he added.