site.btaPM Denkov Comments on Topical Issues

“The most important thing for the government is to implement the programme we announced and to pass the necessary laws in the National Assembly, among which is the budget,” Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said on bTV. According to him, there are already results after the adopted amendments to the Protection against Domestic Violence Act and the Criminal Code.

The relations between the leaders of the parties that support the government are also important for it to work peacefully, Denkov said, adding that the upcoming local elections are among the reasons for the tension between the ruling parties, and previously regular constructive meetings are no longer taking place.

Every personnel change is linked to certain expectations, but it is not implemented under pressure from outside, the Prime Minister explained. He was adamant that he did not want people who were outside the Council of Ministers to interfere in his work, nor did he want party leaders calling ministers in an attempt to put pressure on them.

Regarding the case with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, Denkov said that the reasons for asking for his resignation were entirely professional and added that so far there had been no political appointments in the Interior Ministry.

According to the Prime Minister, there is a problem with the powers of caretaker governments. He said that in eleven months of work of these cabinets, seven thousand people in the administration have been replaced, some of them in high positions. This is the job of a regular cabinet, Denkov was adamant.

On relations with the head of State, the Prime Minister said the attacks from the Presidency had started even before the government was formed.

On the topic of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which will decide the future of coal-fired power plants in the country, Denkov said that due to the lack of any action by the caretaker government, the country has already lost BGN 200 million. Another BGN 1.4 billion are at risk if the necessary laws are not submitted and adopted by the end of the month. Trade unions are also involved in the decision-making process to decide the future of the people currently working in these power plants, Denkov added.