Reporting on its performance, the caretaker government of Dimitar Glavchev concludes that it has successfully completed its main task of organizing fair and transparent general and European Parliament elections. The preparation of the election process received the high mark of the observation missions of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, reads the report published by the Government Information Service on Tuesday.
The Interior Ministry made serious efforts to curb vote buying practices as much as possible. The election day [June 9] passed peacefully, without serious incidents or breaches of public order. A total of 16,000 Ministry of Interior staff were engaged in guarding polling stations and dealing with signals of violations received in real time.
The caretaker cabinet was able to speed up the construction processes of the National Children's Hospital. The clearing of the land where the hospital complex will be built has commenced, shortening the timeline for this stage of the project to the end of September 2024. The Ministry of Health has also made contact with the European Investment Bank in search of opportunities to shorten the timeframe in which the bank must submit an analysis of the structure, wards and capacity of the National Children's Hospital. The Bank's analysis will be ready by the end of July. The aim is to ensure that all conditions are in place for the actual construction of the hospital to start as early as in 2025.
The first HEMS missions to provide emergency medical assistance by air were successfully carried out. In addition, the caretaker government allocated nearly BGN 1 million to retrofit the medical helicopter so that it can be adapted for mountain rescue without the need for landing.
The caretaker cabinet provided nearly BGN 80 million for higher education institutions, with the majority of the funds going to increase teachers' salaries by BGN 290. The pay of administrative staff and research staff at universities has also been increased by 12%, and the salaries of these professionals have not been increased for years. PhD scholarships were also significantly increased. At the same time, the State supports the talent of Bulgarian students with nearly BGN 5 million through the Student Olympiads and Competitions National Programme of the Ministry of Education and Science. In June, nearly BGN 330,000 were allocated for scholarships for gifted children.
From July 1, all pensions granted until the end of 2023 increased by 11%, which will raise the income of nearly 2 million pensioners. Thanks to this update, the average amount of retirement pensions in 2024 is expected to reach BGN 971, which is over BGN 110 more than last year. After the update, nearly 200,000 pensioners will be above the poverty line.
Over a period of two months, more than BGN 915 million were paid to producers in the agricultural sector. Of these funds, nearly BGN 300 million is the so-called Ukrainian aid, the payment of which in full and as soon as possible was among the first commitments of the caretaker government to the sector. In order to effectively combat hailstorms and protect the agricultural production of the country's farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food launched a procedure for the construction of 24 new launching sites for hail suppression operations (in regions of Sliven, Pleven, Vidin, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, and Haskovo).
In the energy sector, for the first time in its fifty-year history, the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) started operating with alternative fuel. The first 43 cartridges of alternative fuel produced by the US company Westinghouse were loaded into the nuclear power plant. At the same time, with the planned construction of Units 7 and 8 of Kozloduy NPP, the State will continue to pursue its goals of developing nuclear energy that is emission-free, fully compliant with the EU's Green Deal criteria and affordable.
Another step that confirms Bulgaria's place on the energy map of Europe are the two main contracts signed in June for the construction of the Vertical Gas Corridor (for the Kulata-Kresna and Rupcha-Vetrino loops). This marks the start of the actual capacity enhancement activities between Greece and Bulgaria, and between Bulgaria and Romania, after the completion of which the Bulgarian gas transmission infrastructure will be able to supply additional quantities of LNG from reliable sources, including the US, Azerbaijan, Egypt and other countries. Following the planned cessation of Russian natural gas transit through Ukraine from early 2025, the Vertical Gas Corridor, of which Bulgaria is an initiator, will establish itself as an infrastructure of leading importance for the entire region.
The Cabinet also allocated BGN 250 million for Maritsa East Mines to ensure all the necessary activities and measures to restore the disturbed areas and bring the East Maritsa Coal Basin to a sustainable state. This allowed this base power plant to continue its operation without social tension and in compliance with environmental requirements.
The caretaker government has also adopted the End Customer Electricity Cost Compensation Programme for the first six months of 2024. The programme was secured with BGN 30 million to help nurseries and kindergartens, schools, community centres, temples and monasteries, and sports schools to cover the difference between the exchange and regulated electricity price.
The preparation of the legal framework for the introduction of the euro as Bulgaria's national official currency is in its final phase, and in June the draft law on the introduction of the euro in the Republic of Bulgaria was approved by the Council of Ministers and submitted to the National Assembly. In April, a Partnership Agreement was signed between the European Commission and the Republic of Bulgaria to organise information and communication campaigns on the introduction of the euro in the country.
Since the appointment of the caretaker government, procedures for granting financial assistance from the Cohesion Policy funds have been opened for a total amount of BGN 1.143 billion, which has provided access to funding for Bulgarian municipalities, citizens, and businesses. During the period, 22 reports for nearly BGN 850 million have been received and some of them have already been certified and sent to the European Commission for reimbursement of the claimed costs, while the rest are to be sent in early July.
The joint efforts of the Ministry of the Interior, Customs Agency and the National Revenue Agency to crack down on smuggling channels continue. In the framework of successful joint operations against smuggling at the border crossings in our country, nearly 8,000,000 smuggled cigarettes, 1,500,000 counterfeit tobacco and heroin bands, undeclared currency, yacht equipment goods, etc. have been seized.
In early June, the Ministry of Defence provided Ukraine with military and technical assistance amounting to EUR 2,075,233. Preparations continued for a substantial new military assistance package addressing the real needs of the Ukrainian armed forces.
In order to ensure the safety of maritime traffic in the Black Sea, the caretaker government adopted a decision to send forces and assets from the Navy to participate in the Black Sea Mine Countermeasure Task Group (MCM Black Sea), in which Bulgaria participates together with Romania and Turkiye.
Prime Minister Glavchev also joined the initiative of Switzerland and Ukraine to convene the first Peace Summit in Ukraine. At an international conference in Berlin at the highest level, the Prime Minister also stated Bulgaria's readiness to make a concrete contribution to the reconstruction of Ukraine. In addition to speeding up the process for the purchase and sale of the equipment available for the Belene NPP, which will allow the Ukrainian side to build new capacity, companies from the Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD group will donate equipment worth more than BGN 1 million to the Ukrainian side to help rebuild the production facilities. A corridor will also be created for the export to Ukraine of electricity produced in Bulgaria to ensure the continuity of electricity for Ukrainian citizens during the winter. In addition, Bulgarian companies are ready to engage in projects for the rehabilitation of power plants, electricity transmission networks and gas infrastructure. Our businesses also have the capacity to take part in the construction of transport and water supply infrastructure, construction of residential and public buildings.
In July, the major repair of Danube Bridge 1 at Ruse will start at a cost of BGN 45 million, and the repair works will be carried out without traffic stoppage. Steps have been taken to implement the project for a tunnel under Shipka Peak. The deadline for the design is eight months. The construction will last about three and a half years. It is planned to build five tunnels with a total length of 4 km, 6 bridges, 1 underpass, etc. In order to facilitate travel on the Struma Motorway at Simitli, a 600 m section will be built by the end of July to the Bansko junction, from where it now ends and becomes a two-lane road. The renovation of the Hemus motorway tunnels is also being actively worked on and will be ready in July so that travellers can travel without difficulties during the active season .
With a decision of June 11, the Ministry of Environment and Water gave the green light for the construction of one lane of Struma Motorway outside the Kresna Gorge, which provides one-way traffic from Kulata to Sofia. The modification of the investment proposal is unlikely to have a significant negative impact on the environment, as well as on the protected areas of the Natura 2000 ecological network. This will enable work to start on the final section of the motorway between Krupnik and Kresna.
The first 38 out of 76 modernised carriages, which BDZ purchased from Deutsche Bahn, were delivered. A contract for the delivery of 7 double-decker trains has been signed with the Polish company Stadler Polska Sp. z o.o., which will be purchased with funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Negotiations for the delivery of 35 electric trains under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan have been finalised and a contractor has been selected.
At the initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, the bill to amend the Foreigners in Bulgaria Act was moved within six days, so that at the end of its term, the 49th National Assembly voted on the bill in one day on first and second reading. Under the revisions, third-country workers can extend their stay in the country in order to ensure service for the entire tourist season.
In July, the implementation of the platform for the production and issuance of work permits for foreigners will begin, which will facilitate Bulgarian businesses in hiring staff from third countries. This will fully digitise the process and reduce the administrative burden.
The Council of Ministers secured the disbursement of funds worth BGN 9,275,665.80 under the Programme for Humanitarian Assistance to Displaced Persons from Ukraine with Temporary Protection for the period from November 2023 to February 2024. The documents for the months of March and April 2024 have also been prepared.
After a meeting of Prime Minister Glavchev with the OECD Secretary General Matthias Korman, Bulgaria for the first time received a specific deadline for its accession to the OECD: by the end of 2025. The caretaker cabinet continued to work on other foreign policy priorities - Bulgaria's membership in Schengen by land as well.
The Ministry of Economy and Industry was a co-organiser of the HEMUS 2024 International Defence Products and Services Exhibition. More than 150 exhibitors from 25 countries took part in this year's edition.
The Ministry of Innovation and Growth has ranked 11 industrial zones and parks in the country to receive support amounting to BGN 207 million under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. Priority will be given to projects in Northern Bulgaria to reduce regional imbalances.
The National Company Industrial Zones (NCIZ) at the Ministry of Economy and Industry attracted four new investors with projects with a total value of nearly BGN 40 million, which will create more than 65 jobs. At the moment, the NCIZ is in negotiations with several investors, the largest of them are companies from Germany, Abu Dhabi, Turkiye, as well as Bulgaria. The investments of only two of these companies have a total value of over 155 million BGN and will create more than 500 new jobs.
A number of bills have been drafted under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, including the Personal Insolvency Bill. The so-called "Perpetual Debtor Act" proposes a legal framework for personal insolvency proceedings that includes a repayment plan, liquidation of assets, and insolvency proceedings in the absence of income and assets of individuals.
The Ministry of Justice publicly presented the first prison without bars in the country, built near the village of Samoranovo in Dupnik on a Norwegian model. The project, funded by Norway to the amount of BGN 42 million, includes the construction of a new pilot prison for 400 inmates and a training centre for 100 officers of the General Directorate Execution of Sentences. This is also the first new prison in the country for over 60 years. Two new detention facilities were also unveiled (in Petrich and the village of Samoranovo).
With the assistance of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, nearly USD 40,000 dollars were provided, owed by the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation to the international headquarters. The sum owed was an obstacle to the participation of Bulgarian weightlifters at the Olympic Games in Paris. Bulgarian athletes have won 16 quotas for the 2024 Games and 6 more are expected.
The caretaker cabinet has also started active work on the modernisation of border crossings. The first focus is Bulgaria's border with Turkiye, which has the prospect of becoming the busiest in the world in just a few years. Discussions have been launched with the Turkish side on the Kapitan Andreevo-Kapikule and Malko Tarnovo-Derekoy border control checkpoints.
