site.bta Prime Minister Says Indemnities for Suspended Public Procurements Not Going to be Paid Because Halting of Orders is Lawful

Prime Minister Says Indemnities for Suspended Public Procurements Not Going to be Paid Because Halting of Orders is Lawful

Sofia, March 1 (BTA) - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Tuesday that indemnities for the recently suspended public procurements are not going to be paid because the awarded orders were halted lawfully. Borissov made the remark while visiting the future new building of the Sofia Regional Court whose completion is expected by the end of the month.

In late February Borissov ordered that all major public procurements be stopped and be contracted under a recently adopted new law, to dispel suspicions about lack of transparency. The suspension of some of the procurements has been challenged by the winning contractors.

On Tuesday Borissov remarked that a company is appealing against the suspension of works on the Strouma Motorway which has never been engaged in construction activity. "I suspect that this is an act of revenge," Borissov said, adding that the procurements were put on hold because the facilities can be build with less money. "The administrator who prepared the proposals will probably be dismissed," Borissov said.

The Prime Minister also commented the lifting of the blockades at Bulgarian-Greek border checkpoints after the protesting Greek farmers withdrew the heavy farming machinery from their side of the border. The border to Greece had been blocked on and off in the course of a month. Borissov said that he and Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov had made it understood in Brussels that if the Greek farmers had not withdrawn from the border to Bulgaria, an upcoming meeting between Turkey and the EU would have been foiled as Bulgaria was not going to be represented.

"I thank the Greek farmers that they understood me correctly and withdrew. I hope this has been the last time when the border between the two countries gets blocked," Borissov said, warning that as soon as the border is closed again, he is sending a letter to Brussels that Bulgaria is not attending the EU Council Meeting.