"We have witnessed dynamic events in recent days, but for me the most important thing is the successes of our young people. A little while ago I had the pleasure of receiving Nikola Veselinov, a student from SMG, who took first place in the most prestigious world competition in the field of science and engineering. This is a huge success for Bulgaria and gives hope for the future of our country." This was stated by Prime Minister Rumen Radev at the opening of the meeting of the Council of Ministers.
„Here I also look to the Minister of Education and Finance. It is our duty to create conditions for these wonderful young Bulgarians to develop and realize their talent here - in Bulgaria,“ said Rumen Radev.
"At the last meeting of the Council of Ministers, I announced that during a conversation with the US President I requested the abolition of visas for Bulgarian citizens. So far, I have not received a positive response, I fully understand the complexity of the regulatory procedures and the need for time. But we also have our priorities and procedures, and we cannot respond positively to the request for a long stay of planes and tankers at Sofia Airport. That is why today we will adopt a decision extending this stay until the end of June, to give our allies the opportunity to re-plan their actions and find good locations," explained the Prime Minister.
Money in advance for the Recovery and Resilience Plan
“From our meetings yesterday with the President of the European Commission and the European Council, there is some good news and one bad news. Let's start with the good. We were left with the most complex part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, where for many years there was no determination and the necessary actions, and now we have to carry them out in three months. However, we are returning with 370 million unblocked, and given in advance, because of the trust in the new government and the expeditious actions in considering these laws,” pointed out Rumen Radev.
„We are talking mostly about the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Prosecutor General, as well as the quick actions in the Bulgarian Parliament, for which I thank the members of parliament“, he pointed out.
The „Maritsa-East“ Mine and TPP-2 remain operational until 2038
"Secondly, not only does the „Maritsa-East“ and TPP-2 remain operational until 2038, but we managed to convince the commission of the appropriateness of our proposed energy reforms, so as to protect the interests of our miners and ensure a smooth process of reclamation and transformation.
We also managed to negotiate the reform in the water sector, so as to protect the interests of Bulgarian municipalities.
I expect that with hard work we will receive a huge part of the funds due to us under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, but this means very intensive work until the end of August and no vacation for the Council of Ministers," commented the Prime Minister.
"Yadenitsa Dam"
"We have achieved something else important. After many years of blockage, the European Commission will give the green light to the environmental assessment for the “Yadenitsa“ dam. This paves the way for construction with 50% and, perhaps, more European participation, as well as for a greater energy capacity of this important power plant for all of us. Know that in recent years, there has been no talk and work on the plan for a just transition, which could attract huge funds for the three coal regions,” he pointed out.
"We also talked about this part. The European Commission is ready to allocate funds if we work at a much faster pace. In this regard, at the next meeting, I invite the mayors of Stara Zagora, Pernik and Kyustendil to hear their ideas and readiness, and we will make sure that the money reaches the people – to open up new opportunities, industrial zones, innovative projects and new jobs", the Prime Minister noted.
"We personally agreed with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen that if together with Greece and Romania we present larger and bolder projects on cross-border cooperation and connectivity, especially in infrastructure, funds will be found. So next week we expect the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to arrive here, with whom we will discuss such issues. We also expect our colleagues from Romania to send a Prime Minister with whom we can continue these talks", Radev said.
Excessive deficit and possible sanctions from Brussels
"And now the bad news - on June 3 next week, the European Commission will issue a report that will initiate an excessive deficit procedure for Bulgaria. What does this mean? It means that our deficit is over 3% and we will be subject to regular monitoring, restrictive measures and possible sanctions," he pointed out.
"According to calculations and real data from the European Commission, the deficit for last year was over 3%, which was concealed in order to achieve the set goal of entering the eurozone. And this year the deficit will be even greater," Radev noted.
"This is the heavy legacy we are receiving - the result of negligence, incompetence, voluntarism, populism and robbery. Because some were studying to be financiers on our backs, others were doing all sorts of manipulations, decapitalizing state-owned companies, sucking liquidity out of business, taking advance taxes for a year ahead in order to adjust the Excel spreadsheets at their discretion. And others were accumulating expenses through inappropriate public procurement at significantly inflated prices and draining the budget," the Prime Minister pointed out.
"And others were accumulating expenses through inappropriate public procurement at significantly inflated prices and draining the budget. Now is the time for the hard questions and the European Commission will ask why some people lied, and we, no matter how difficult it is for us, will seek responsibility for the thefts and robbery. We will do everything possible in the coming years to bring the budget within normal limits, but from now on I want to be clear – next week there will be a detailed briefing by the Ministry of Finance," noted Rumen Radev.