The "Maritsa East" is of fundamental importance for Bulgarian energy sovereignty. This was said by Vanya Grigorova, leader of the "Solidary Bulgaria" Coalition. and leader of the lists in 25 MIR and for the European Parliament, in front of citizens in Stara Zagora. "We will do the impossible to preserve the complex, but not as a museum, but as a key energy enterprise for Bulgaria, she was categorical. - Even if there is a 5% chance for that, we will use it.
According to her, "The Green Deal" and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan definitely need to be renegotiated. "The Green Deal" it sounds great on paper, but in practice it deprives our country of energy sovereignty and deepens inequalities both within the societies themselves and between individual countries," she said.
The leader of the Coalition "Solidary Bulgaria" gave as an example the fact that electric cars can currently be bought only by people who have greater financial capabilities. Vanya Grigorova explained that after purchasing an electric car, the owner immediately receives first tax benefits and then the opportunity to park for free. "There are even subsidies for the purchase of such cars, and in places there is the possibility of free charging, she said. "With such a policy, the rich get richer and inequalities deepen".
Vanya Grigorova noted that currently all political forces are competing to demand a renegotiation of the "Green Deal", although some of them supported it. "PP-DB participated in the signature to save "Maritsa Iztok", but when they came to power, they made a commitment to reduce harmful emissions by 40%. GERB also signed the "green deal", she recalled. - Radan Kanev is now trumpeting everywhere that the "green deal" must be reformed, he boasts that he was constantly arguing with Timmermans. But we remember how in 2020 he said that all of us who warned about the dangers were retrograde manipulators. This chameleoning of politicians leaves a bad taste in the mouths of citizens and makes people hesitate to vote.
The leader of the Coalition "Solidary Bulgaria" is adamant that emissions quotas must be renegotiated. "They are not a given of nature, but a political decision, explained Vanya Grigorova. - It can be changed. Germany is proof. When it needed to stock up on coal, the price of quotas was suddenly reduced. Sanctions against Russia were even temporarily suspended. When Germany stocked up with enough Russian coal, the price of emissions was raised.
The leader of the list of Coalition "Solidary Bulgaria" in Stara Zagora, Shteryu Shterev, who is the former director of "Mini Maritsa-East", pointed out the three biggest problems in Bulgaria - migration, deteriorating education and the weak economy. "By closing our coal plants, will we solve these problems or, on the contrary, will we deepen them. Let's not forget that with the complex "Maritsa East" the fates of about 120,000 people are directly or indirectly linked, he said. - Currently, the thermal power plants from "Maritsa East" operate at 9% capacity. German work with 37%, Polish with 67%, Czech with over 50%. We have another paradox - the more renewable energy sources are switched on, the more the electricity price rises. Why? Why doesn't it decrease?".
Shteryu Shterev expressed concern that at some point life in Bulgaria will depend entirely on sunshine. "Are we going to wait for the sun to come up to iron, wash and cook," he joked.
On the morning of the festive May 24, Vanya Grigorova laid flowers in front of the bust of Peyo Yavorov in his native house-museum in Chirpan, and then met with sympathizers from the city. On Wednesday evening she was in Dimitrovgrad, and today she also visited Radnevo. The meetings with the citizens passed with great interest, and some of them showed a serious interest in the war in Ukraine. Vanya Grigorova was also asked about who will impose sanctions for harmful emissions on those who currently have an interest in continuing the war and are arming one of the countries.