site.btaPresident Meets Economic and Social Council, Slams "Incompetent Politically-Motivated Decisions on Strategic Matters"

President Rumen Radev Wednesday met with representatives of the Bulgarian Economic and Social Council, the head of state's press secretariat said. He pointed out that very often politics supersedes professional expertise and said that strategically important decisions should be taken after comprehensive analysis and in-depth debate, "because aggressive incompetent politics is dangerous for the future of the country."

Vice President Iliana Iotova also participated in the meeting. 

As examples of politically motivated decisions, he pointed to parliamentary resolutions related to the future of nuclear energy in the country and the purchase of new reactors for the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. According to him, the decision was taken by the MPs without expert justification, without comparison between different alternative options and without clarity what will be the final price that our country will have to pay for the nuclear reactors. 

The President also talked about solving the demographic problems of Bulgaria. According to him, it is not only related to indicators such as birth and death rates, but also to the emigration of young educated Bulgarians, and therefore requires the creation of appropriate conditions for young people to stay in Bulgaria. He stressed that efforts are needed to overcome social inequalities in the country and to develop vocational education.

The two sides shared the position that the ideas of importing workers from other countries for the needs of Bulgarian business will not solve the long-term and sustainable problems related to the low demographic indicators.  

They also agreed that the the executive and legislative authorities in Bulgaria need to be more perceptive to the opinions of the Economic and Social Council.

The challenges facing the Bulgarian energy sector related to the Green Transition and digitalization were also discussed.