In a few weeks, Bulgaria will receive nearly 1 billion euros under the fourth payment under the PVE. This is the result of efforts by many governments, but also of great efforts in recent weeks. Bulgaria had received about 50% of the money until yesterday, with this amount it will reach 68%, the European average currently is 75%. My goal is to be above the European average at the end. This was said on the air of “Wake up” Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov.
He indicated that work continues on the fifth payment. “It was key for the budget to receive these funds as quickly as possible”, he said and added: “My goal is to reach 100%. It is questionable how realistic this is, because a lot of time has been lost and many important reforms still need to happen.”
Regarding the closure of coal-fired power plants, he pointed out that there has been frequent speculation on this topic over the years. “Bulgaria reduced its emissions by 40% compared to 2019 and nothing fatal has happened. Similarly, a roadmap for climate neutrality was adopted. It states that between 2030 and 2038, Bulgaria will retain between 1.2 and 1.6 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants. They are needed for our energy system in view of all the instability we see around the world. This is our sovereign resource, which is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, this resource must be preserved. Most likely, it will have to be preserved at some point as a cold reserve. This means that there will have to be optimization, it will have to work for profit.
With certainty, some of the currently employed can find work that has a longer-term perspective. This is precisely why these funds are being allocated, which we want to use under the Just Transition Fund. Whether it will be for industrial zones where new enterprises will be built, or for reclamation - these are the activities that will take place. This should happen in the next two to three years,” Pekanov pointed out.