Interviewed by BTA, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said here on Thursday that the discussion with the European Commission on the territorial just transition plans for Bulgaria's coal-producing areas must proceed in the coming weeks in parallel with the talks with Bulgarian coal miners and power-industry workers. "If the plans are withdrawn, we cannot possibly negotiate," the head of government explained.
"That is why it is important that they should not stay on the motorway but come and join us for an in-depth conversation. I am convinced that a large part of them apparently do not understand the essence of the plans and how they would actually help them," he pointed out.
Protesting coal miners and energy-sector workers have been blocking several key road junctions for almost a week now to press demands for the withdrawal of the territorial just transition plans that the Bulgarian Cabinet submitted to the European Commission by the September 30 deadline.
"Contrary to what they figure, the plans are not the ones that close down the [coal-fired power] plants. The plans are the ones that help when the market closes down the plants when they can no longer operate because other sources produce cheaper electricity," the PM pointed out. In his words, the plans will help the affected areas build a modern business that would create better jobs than the existing ones.
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