site.btaExpert Talks on Cabinet Formation Open Nov. 23, Energy to Be Discussed First

November 19 (BTA) - Expert consultations on the formation of a cabinet will start on November 23, BTA learned on Friday from participants in the discussions.

According to the preliminary schedule, there will be two meetings every day - at 10 a.m. and at 15 p.m.

Following a Friday meeting with the leader of Continue the Change, Kiril Petkov, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader, Kornelia Ninova, said on Facebook that each expert group will be made up of three members of each party.

GERB-UDF and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, which placed second and third, respectively, in the November 14 elections, have not been invited to the negotiations.

There will be 18 expert groups discussing the following sectors: Energy, Economy, Transport, Justice, Healthcare, Education, Electronic Government, Agriculture, Internal Security, Environment, Regional Development, Culture, Labour and Social Affairs, Tourism, National Security, Sport, Finances and International Relations.

A few days ago, Continue the Change, which won the November 14 parliamentary elections, stated that it wants to nominate its two co-leaders, Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev, as prime minister and finance minister. No ministerial nominations have been discussed so far, the priorities will be first on the agenda, BTA learned on Friday from Continue the Change representatives.

Members of the Democratic Bulgaria coalition also said that no specific ministerial nominations had been discussed yet.

Following Tuesday's talks with There Is Such a People, BSP and Democratic Bulgaria, Petkov said that each party will participate in the joint meetings with its best policy experts. The aim is to come up with a single governance programme, said Petkov, adding that the meetings will be livestreamed. ZH/KK/DD