site.btaUPDATED PM Denkov Says "Some Ministers Tired of Unceasing Attacks"

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said certain ministers were tired of unceasing attacks, a vast number of which were not entirely fair and were often even malicious. Speaking of the forthcoming rotation with Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel in March, Denkov said names for ministerial portfolios had not been discussed yet.

When the cabinet was formed in June 2023, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and GERB-UDF agreed that Nikolay Denkov of CC-DB and Mariya Gabriel of GERB-UDF would rotate as prime minister and deputy prime minister over a nine-month period, starting with Denkov. 

He said this was the seventh cabinet of which he was part and he was aware that a minister always needed time to come to grips with his or her responsibilities and learn how to work with the administration. There is a risk at each reshuffle, especially for shorter periods, that no one will want to take on the tasks.

The new ministers will be announced once the whole line-up has been thought through, Denkov said. The plan is to be ready with a cabinet line-up when the present government resigns on March 6 and the President hands a mandate for government formation.

The Prime Minister said the two Constitutional Court judges were elected with a delay and the vacancies in the regulators should be filled post haste, which requires planning by Parliament. "There is obviously a very serious problem at the Commission for Consumer Protection; the Commission for Protection of Competition is a key institution for investments and is also in need of urgent action," he said.

Work is currently underway to provide the maximum for the integration programmes for Ukrainian refugees, said Denkov. He believes that the education system is coping with the education of Ukrainian children.

Asked about the Bulgarian sailors on ships hijacked in the Red Sea, Denkov said the Bulgarian institutions were acting in unison. Clearly, a concerted effort is needed in that critical area for global shipping, the point is whether Bulgaria should send one or two officers to participate in the coordination of activities. No decision has been made either way yet, the Prime Minister said. It would be good to avoid an escalation of tension in that region but this depends on the other side, not just on the EU or Bulgaria.