New Bulgarian Minister to Focus on Economy Not Reshuffles

Delyan Dobrev, 33, is Bulgaria's new Energy, Economy and Tourism Minister. Photo by BGNES

Senior officials at the Ministry of Economy and Energy fear large-scale reshuffles in the aftermath of the resignation of Minister, Traicho Traikov.

The information was reported Saturday by the Bulgarian "Standard" daily, citing their own sources within the leadership of the ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB.

The sources say Traikov's successor had been given a carte-blanche by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, to sack and replace all deputy ministers, and the bosses of energy companies managed by the institution i.e. the companies in the Bulgarian Energy Holding, BEH.

Borisov had told Delyan Dobrev, the new Energy and Economy Minister, a former deputy of Traikov in charge of the energy sector, that he had not made any commitments to any sides in any energy project, and had advised him to work without feeling pressured, the sources further say.

In his first statement as Minister, however, Dobrev, speaking for the State TV BNT, was adamant he would not make any structural changes.

"To divide ministries and create agencies takes time. We must, since day one, concentrate on solving the issues in the sector and support the business," said Dobrev during the weekly political talk show "Panorama."

The new Minister pointed out that his predecessor had focused too much on energy and somewhat neglected the economy, a mistake he vowed to fix.

He explained that he had been surprised by both Traikov's dismissal and his own appointment, since he had expected that Borisov might have objections for his work as well.

The PM, however, had dissipated these worries.

Regarding the project to build with Russian financing a second Nuclear Power Plant, NPP, in the Danube town of Belene, Dobrev stated that his position was no different than Borisov's and/or Traikov, adding there are many problems in the energy sector, and the NPP is just one of them.

According to the new Minister, an end of March deadline would not be enough to make a decision on Belene – either to halt the project and or to go ahead with construction.

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