site.btaAgriculture Minister: This Cabinet Has Done a Great Deal of Important Work

Speaking on the Bulgarian National Television morning programme on Saturday, Agriculture Minister Kiril Vatev said that the Government has done "a great deal of important work in the most respectable manner".

The Minister noted that he had sent a written report to Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel on what he had accomplished, what he had failed to do, and what would be impossible to do by the end of the year. Vatev said that he would remain in the Cabinet if he were invited to, but his primary concern is whether there will be snap elections.

Commenting on the State Pesticide Testing Laboratory, which opened at the Kapitan Andreevo Checkpoint on Bulgaria's border with Turkiye a couple of days ago, Vatev said that it will become operational on March 4. "The facility has been certified, and the documents showing that the laboratory is accredited in accordance with all rules are dated February 28," Vatev noted.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the lab took place on February 29 and was attended by Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov.

As to the high food prices in Bulgaria, Vatev said that the problem is down to the lack of rules regulating supply in the agri-food supply. "This is one of the problems that sparked farmer protests in Europe, along with the overly ambitious Green Deal," the Minister noted. He added that a bill addressing this issue is being drawn up in Bulgaria and is currently at the stage of public consultation. Vatev noted that there is such a law in France and cited EU Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski as saying that he would favour an EU-wide implementation of a similar law after weeks of angry protests by farmers across Europe.

Vatev said that the aim of the Bulgarian bill is to ensure that everyone along the chain gets a fair distribution of the added value.