PM Denkov: I hope there will be a Rotation, Gabriel is Under Pressure from GERB

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov stated that he hopes the cabinet will rotate and he is personally working for this. This is how Denkov responded to GERB leader Boyko Borissov, who some time ago stated that there would hardly be a rotation.

Denkov also said that he works well with Mariya Gabriel, but added that she is under pressure from GERB. And he pointed out that it is not clear when the prime minister changes whether she will be as patient as he is.

"Two problems stand in our way - the lack of rule of law and sentiments towards our eastern neighbors". This was commented by Denkov during the opening of the Sofia Economic Forum.

According to him, Bulgaria should work for the development of its economy, even though it is a small country.

"Our country is too small to be competitive with the big regions. Unfortunately, what we see is that there are two main obstacles - first is the existing problems with the rule of law. The second is an insufficient position for integration towards NATO and the West and some sentiments of our eastern neighbors. These problems must be considered together," Denkov said.

He added that two new reactors will be built at the Kozloduy NPP, as well as the mines and plants in Maritsa East will be closed.

"Just 4 years ago, business leaders around the world were competing in how to optimize their processes using the organization of the economy. European and American companies were exporting production to China, Chinese companies were buying European and American companies, everyone was trying to optimize production, logistics, the services in a way that was pre-designed.

Those four years seem so far from the current perspective - first with the pandemic, then with the artificial increase in energy prices, the beginning of the war in Ukraine, which showed that the world is not a safe place to trade. All this led to a complete rethinking of the way the process should be organized," Denkov said.

According to the prime minister, for regions like ours, the economic crisis can be an opportunity to find our place on the map of both Europe and the border between the European and Asian continents, so that we have our own place and weight with which to engage in these world processes.

Later, Prime Minister Denkov commented to journalists that a leadership meeting between WCC-DB and GERB-SDS will be held in the coming days to iron out the contradictions. He repeated that he will participate in the talks and recalled that all appointments of ministers, their deputies and regional governors are agreed with GERB-SDS, which slows down the process.

Denkov pointed out that negotiating a coalition agreement would take months.

"I hope we get to a rotation and I'm working very hard on this thing. Let's see if when the prime minister changes and the pen is in the other prime minister, whether she will have the opportunity to be patient, as I am at the moment, to seek a consensus. We work very well with Mrs. Mariya Gabriel, calmly, we discuss everything, but she is also under very serious pressure from people from GERB circles," Denkov said.

Regarding the new package of military aid for Ukraine, the prime minister confirmed that what the country will give is similar to that of the first tranche and will be provided in stages. Denkov was categorical that 10-15 months ago, our country missed some of the opportunities for Bulgaria to get replacement armaments for the army.

"I would say that this reflects the policy of the caretaker government - it was not interested in how to use these opportunities. An even brighter example is the possibility of including our military-industrial complex in the production of projectiles with appropriate investments according to NATO standards," explained Denkov.

The government is developing a concept for renegotiating the Recovery and Resilience Plan in the part about the closure of coal plants and mines from the Maritsa basin, in order to receive a second tranche of the plan this year, but this also depended on the adoption of the necessary laws by the parliament. A request for payment by the EC must be made by the end of September.

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov reassured that jobs in the Stara Zagora region will not be lost

"There is no threat to the positions of the people who work at TPP Maritsa-Iztok 2, so from now on I want to tell them that we are discussing options that are favorable to them, so at the moment we are trying for a few weeks to literally catch up with this, which was not done many months ago," Denkov also said.

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