site.btaPM Denkov: Attracting More Investors Is Another Major Reform We Can Do

Apart from the judicial reform, another major reform would be to attract more investors to Bulgaria, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov told bTV on Saturday. In his words, the wages of the working people in Bulgaria will increase if more investors put money into the country's economy.

"[In 2023], compared to the past 15 years, we have had a record number of investments - more than 50% higher than last year," Denkov said. By the end of 2023, investments in Bulgaria will exceed BGN 7 billion, he stressed. "That is what will raise people's incomes," Denkov noted.

According to him, the state budget should first of all target those who are currently in the greatest difficulty, and that is why the government decided to raise the minimum wage "in an unprecedented way", as well as to raise the pensions in 2024.

Denkov also said that the state should ensure better conditions for young people. In his words, young people are interested in two things - to have clear prospects for development and to have a good salary to provide good living conditions. Young people can use the opportunities abroad in order to succeed later in their homeland.

Commenting on the abolition of the derogation from the EU embargo on oil imports from Russia that the European Commission granted Bulgaria in 2022 due to the country's specific geographic exposure, Denkov said that he fought for no abrupt abolition of the derogation because in such a case it would have appeared that Lukoil could not produce the fuels needed for Bulgaria’s domestic market. If Bulgaria depended only on imports, which had to be secured in a matter of days, as some proposed, then fuel prices would surely have soared, he warned. "If transition happens smoothly, as it is happening now, I do not expect there to be a serious problem," Denkov added.

Asked about the upcoming rotation between him and Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel in March 2024, Denkov said that he has no problem with it. " Mariya Gabriel and I work quite well together, so if she becomes prime minister, I hope we will continue to work fruitfully as before. PM Denkov reminded that part of the agreement between Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and GERB-UDF is that he will be Deputy Prime Minister as of March 1, 2024. "And I will probably go back to the Education Ministry," he said.

In June 2023, CC-DB and GERB-UDF formed a regular government on a rotating basis. When the cabinet was formed, CC-DB and GERB-UDF agreed that Nikolay Denkov (CC-DB) and Mariya Gabriel (GERB-UDF) would rotate as prime minister and deputy prime minister over a nine-month period, starting with Denkov.