Bulgarian PM: We are in Solidarity with Possible EU Sanctions against Russia
“Bulgaria believes in the integrity of Ukraine, we believe that every country, including Russia if it enters with tanks, it is a violation of international law. It is absurd to think that these provinces are acting on their own.”
This was stated by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov on the sidelines of parliament.
“Bulgaria is a very clear partner in the EU and NATO, we are in solidarity with the EU's position on Ukraine and possible sanctions,” Petkov said.
If gas supplies from Russia stop, Bulgaria will stop exporting electricity to meet its own needs.
“If we enter a scenario in which gas is cut off to Bulgaria at 100%, this will be our measure so that households have energy. The good news, however, is that this pipeline supplies both Serbia and Hungary, and these are still Russia's strategic partners, so the chances of getting there are slim,” he said.
The Prime Minister expects us to enter the dynamics of price wars for energy and gas. Options are being prepared so that Bulgaria is not left without energy sources.
“This is how we look at the Bulgarian interest, but we work together with the EU partners,” Petkov said.
He expressed hope that the gas connection with Greece will be ready by the summer and then we will be able to import liquefied gas. There is a weekly communication on this issue between Petkov and his Greek counterpart Mitsotakis.
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Regarding sectors that are protesting for higher wages and more funding from the budget, such as police, firefighters and museum workers, Petkov reiterated his thesis that higher wages will only come after reforms.
According to him, Budget 2022 is a very good budget that does not leave people below the poverty line and is the best that could have been done in the current situation.
“Wage increases in the public sector are expected in the middle of the year after the budget update and after the necessary reforms. The idea is for employees who really work hard to get higher incomes at the expense of units that are not efficient and will be optimized.
The idea is not to reduce the budget after the reforms but to go to more people who do more work. We want to give more money to people who fight fires, to the police. The efficiency of spending is raised. If there are inefficient units, the spending is changed and the money from them goes to others. This on the notion 'an gro' - we give to these or those, it will not happen again,” said Kiril Petkov.
Regarding the demands of the museum workers, the Prime Minister said that he was aware that there are museums in dire need of additional funds, but there are others in which 12 specialists are responsible for a rather small room. That is why there will be more money in this sector after reforms.
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“We have requests for additional funds from all sectors. We said, 'Yes, the funds for efficient workers will increase,'” he added.
Regarding the relations with North Macedonia, Kiril Petkov pointed out that the European membership of our neighboring country is the best for everyone and this is our long-term strategy.
“The rights of Macedonian Bulgarians remain a huge priority for the Bulgarian government. That is why we must work in such a way that their rights are protected, that we remove the language of hatred, and that we are sure that North Macedonia will not fall out of the European Union.”
Regarding the photo of Kiril Petkov with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, from which the North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski was cut, Petkov pointed out that in many of the photos in which he participated in the Munich Conference, several leaders of different countries were photographed together.
With his post on Facebook, he wanted to convey the message of his talks with representatives of the United States, France and Britain that the problem of corruption in our country is also of foreign policy importance.
“Everyone is trying - both in Sofia and Skopje, with some nonsense to get us out of the dialogic and constructive tone. I will not allow these provocations. Therefore, I stated very clearly in my next Facebook post that who is in what in which photo doesn't matter to our overall strategy. You know, I probably have a PR team, too,” Petkov said.
/BNT