site.btaParliament Debates on Socialists' Motion of No Confidence in Government

January 24 (BTA) - At its regular sitting on Friday, the
National Assembly held a debate on the Socialists' motion of no
confidence in the Government over its environment and water
policy. The motion will be put to the vote on January 29.

Presenting the reasons for her parliamentary group's motion, BSP
 for Bulgaria Floor Leader Kornelia Ninova said that it is not
nature and the water transmission system that pose a risk to
Bulgaria but the Government of Boyko Borissov. The incumbent's
failure in the area of environmental protection and water
threatens directly the Bulgarian citizens' life and health, she
argued. In her words, the water crisis in the western town of
Pernik and other settlements, the unregulated import of tonnes
of waste, as well as the dangerous levels of air pollution are a
 direct consequence of the Borissov Government's carelessness,
incompetence and corruption.

Ninova also said that after an increase of the water price three
 times within ten years, the result is water rationing for
500,000 people and polluted and undrinkable water. In her words,
 the prosecuting magistracy has found mountains of waste at the
thermal power plants of Republika-Pernik, Bobov Dol, Sliven, and
 Brikel. "You collect more taxes from Bulgarian citizens than
the residents of, for example, Belgium and England pay," Ninova
commented.
 
Presenting alternative solutions to the issues listed, she said
that a technical project for the rehabilitation of the Beli
Iskar Dam should be elaborated immediately, a hydraulic model of
 the entire water transmission route to Pernik should be
elaborated, the two main derivations of the Studena Dam should
be put into operation immediately, and Pernik's water
transmission network should be replaced.

GERB

Georgi Markov MP of GERB accused the Left wing of acting
irresponsibly. "GERB make mistakes but you are not acting like
their alternative," he argued, adding that the real reason for
the no-confidence motion is linked to the Socialists'
inner-party problems. The BSP's ultimate goal is the appointment
 of a caretaker government, he said. "This is a feast in the
time of plague, you want to leave Bulgaria without a parliament,
 without anyone to amend the budget if urgently necessary,"
Markov noted.

United Patriots

The Deputy Floor Leader of the power-sharing United Patriots
coalition, Boris Yachev, said that behind the reasons for the
motion of no confidence lies the Socialists' intention to gain
political dividends and a timid attempt at destabilizing the
public situation in Bulgaria.
 
"It is undisputed that the main problem in the water and
sewerage sector is the old water transmission network across the
 whole country. This is also the main problem that led to the
water crisis in Pernik," he commented. He recalled that when the
 BSP were in power, Pernik was the only regional city which did
not defend a water cycle project, thus losing funding of nearly
80 million leva. "Had the project been implemented back then,
maybe there would not have been a [water] crisis today," Yachev
said.

Projects are being implemented for recultivation of the waste
depots in 42 municipalities, and 53 regional waste management
systems have been put into operation, he went on to say. In the
last years Bulgaria's results in waste recycling have been
comparable to those of over half of the EU Member States, he
added.

A large part of imported waste is a valuable raw material for
Bulgarian recycling companies, Yachev said. He called misleading
 the BSP's claims about medical waste imports.
 
Movement for Rights and Freedoms

Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) Floor Leader Mustafa
Karadayi said that his parliamentary group firmly support the
motion of no confidence not only because they are an opposition
in Parliament but also because they are convinced of the damage
today's ruling majority is causing to democracy, statehood and
Bulgarian citizens. In his words, things are worsening instead
of improving, the State is in collapse, and the palliative
measures proposed by the ruling majority are not a solution.

Ataka

Ataka Deputy Chairman Pavel Shopov said that the MPs of Ataka
will determine their attitude towards the motion of no
confidence after they get answers to the questions they asked
the Left in the parliamentary chamber. The questions are related
 to the increase of pensions and salaries, the termination of
the concessions on gold extraction, the construction of the
Belene N-plant project, the closure of foreign military bases in
 Bulgaria, the lift of the sanctions against Russia, and the
recognition of the genocide against the Bulgarian people during
the Ottoman rule.

According to Shopov, the BSP for Bulgaria submitted the motion
of no confidence over the existing problems with water in Pernik
 and waste imports, but bringing down the Government would
postpone their solution. In his words, the actual reasons for
the motion are inner party ones, namely the forthcoming
elections for BSP Chairperson.

Ministers

The rest of Friday's debate consisted mainly of an exchange of
assessments and accusations between BSP for Bulgaria and GERB. 
The BSP are striving to cause panic, GERB commented, while the
Left responded that the power holders have turned Bulgaria into
a hub for Italian waste.

Economy Minister Emil Karanikolov replied to the Left's
accusations of lack of consultations with experts and scientists
 on the measures for solving the water crisis in Pernik, by
recalling the State's actions for managing dams in the previous
years.
   
Regional Development and Public Works Minister Petya Avramova
commented that during the parliamentary debate she did not hear
either a single working short-term solution for solving the
water crisis in Pernik or a working visionary proposal for the
development of the entire water and sewerage sector.

In reaction, Socialist MP Georgi Svilenski said that the only
good thing in Avramova's statement in the plenary chamber was
that people saw the person responsible for the crisis in Pernik.
 
 
Environment and Water Minister Emil Karanikolov said that when
it comes to waste, Bulgaria has "super-European legislation and
a super-Bulgarianized way of circumventing it ".

RY/DS


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