BSP for Bulgaria: Government Staying rather than Leaving Is Far Worse for Bulgaria

UPDATED BSP for Bulgaria: Government Staying rather than Leaving Is Far Worse for Bulgaria

Dimitrina Solakova

Kristian Vigenin of BSP for Bulgaria (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

15.11.2023 10:24 | UPDATED 15.11.2023 10:56

(BTA)

It is far worse for Bulgaria if the Government stays than if it leaves, Kristian Vigenin of BSP for Bulgaria said in Parliament on Wednesday. He was speaking during a debate on a motion of no confidence in the Government of Nikolay Denkov over its defence policy. "There is no policy on which a no-confidence motion cannot be tabled," Vigenin added and called on the political forces backing the Cabinet to vote in favour of the motion to "put an end to the agony".

The motion was tabled on November 8 by BSP for Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane, There is Such a People, and an independent MP. The motive for the requested resignation of the cabinet is its alleged inability to ensure the national security and defence of this country. This is the second no-confidence motion against the Denkov cabinet. The previous one, rejected by Parliament on October 13, was tabled by Vazrazhdane over the territorial just transition plans for Bulgaria's coal-producing areas, which the parliamentary opposition sees as devastating for the coal-mining industry and the coal-fired power plants.

Vigenin read out the reasons for the second no-confidence motion, according to which the decisions in the field of security and defence are taken not on the basis of actual needs but in service of foreign economic and political interests. These decisions put the country and its citizens at increasing security risks.

The motion’s sponsors criticize the Government’s commitment to the provision to Ukraine of significant quantities of ammunition, a huge number of armored vehicles, and an unspecified number of C-300 missiles, thus reducing the Bulgarian Army’s combat capability and the capabilities to defend Sofia and critical infrastructure sites. Bulgaria is still waiting for the delivery of eight F-16 fighter jets it has paid for, and is already paying for another eight. The process for the purchase of nearly 200 combat and service vehicles from the US worth billions has been sped up without taking into consideration today’s biggest risks that require investment in Land Forces and air defence simultaneously. The purchase of Stryker vehicles that are no longer being produced in the US is linked to future logistics problems, the motion reads.

/DS/