site.btaMP Candidates in Haskovo Must Fight to Preserve Maritsa Iztok Energy Complex, Says BSP - United Left

"The topic of the Maritsa Iztok Energy Complex should be on the agenda of every single MP candidate in Haskovo, and the decision all candidates should fight for is to to preserve the coal-fired power plants", said BSP - United Left top-of-the-list candidate in Haskovo Vladimir Marinov on Thursday.

He noted that CC-DB set a goal in the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan of 40% emissions reduction not by 1990, but by 2019. "This is a huge blow to the coal industry. Bulgaria is losing its production, people are out of work," said Marinov.

He emphasised that not only the energy and security sectors of the country depend on it, but also tens of thousands of jobs, adding that more than 3,000 people from the Haskovo region alone are directly employed in the complex and that the country runs the risk of depopulating entire municipalities in the region. 

Marinov said that as result of the government's policy, Bulgaria now exports its coal to the Republic of North Macedonia and Serbia, where energy is produced and sold back to Bulgaria without limits in pollution, as they are not EU members.