site.btaUPDATED CC's Kiril Petkov Urges GERB to Have Current Parliament Adopt Anti-corruption Bills Linked to Money Under Recovery and Resilience Plan

Continue the Change (CC) Co-chair Kiril Petkov announced that he is sending a gentleman's letter to GERB for this Parliament to adopt anti-corruption legislation related to the money under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). Petkov spoke to journalists here on Saturday after the establishment of Youth for Change, which is his party's youth chapter.  

"Instead of a gentleman's agreement, we will write them a gentleman's letter today [Saturday]. In this gentleman's letter we will say - there are three laws that separate Bulgaria from ten billion leva, Petkov said. If GERB reply to this letter, saying that they cannot adopt these three bill, then it would be obvious that GERB leader Boyko Borissov does not want corruption to be investigated, Petkov added.

Kiril Petkov insisted that the three bills, approved by the European Commission (EC), be adopted by this National Assembly in a clear and precise manner. "If they are not going to be adopted, let us all go out before the Bulgarian public and tell them "Don't expect these ten billion [leva] because Mr Borissov is afraid of the anti-corruption laws that the EC requires"," he added.

"We said clearly that we have a model for after the elections - to propose a non-partisan prime minister, who neither belongs to GERB or another political force, but enjoys the public's trust," Petkov explained. In his words, reforms related to anti-corruption legislation should be part of this prime minister's agenda.  

"We have a plan and we expect all political forces, not only GERB, to support unselflishly, a public figure who will be trusted by the State," Petkov said. According to him, their natural partners in this Parliament will become clear by their deeds and will be evident as early as next week when MPs will vote the resignation of the head of the anti-corruption commission, which Kiril Petkov compared to "Peevski's tool". "That's why this time we decided to send this letter", Petkov added.

CC Co-chair Assen Vassilev commented that there is no way to talk about governance with GERB, since GERB is ready, for the sake of a certain individual's comfort, to deprive the State of ten billion leva, provided under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. "What kind of programme are we going to write - are we going to lie on paper or are we going to work for real, let's start working for real before we start talking about any governance," Vassilev insisted.

"I heard Mr [Boyko] Borissov say how good it was four years ago - and I can talk about four years ago. Four years ago, you know what happened - the mafia clans quarreled before we were even a political force, before we were ministers," said Vassilev, recalling the series of scandals and leaked photos from the recent past.

"Let's not talk about four years ago, because we and these young people do not care at all what it was - what they care about is what we will do today so that life is better for all of us tomorrow," said Assen Vassilev.

"There must be a balance between investment in infrastructure and investment in people. My appeal is to all the people in GERB, talk to Mr Borissov, we have a head of Parliament who is not Mr Borissov, we have heads of committees who are not Mr Borissov, get working on moving these three laws and releasing the country to move forward. When it becomes evident that we can work to move the country forward , then we will be able to talk about whether it will be possible to fprm a [regular] government at all. As long as basic things are not done in the country, as long as everyone looks back and explains how good it was four years ago, we cannot move forward," Vassilev further commented.

On Friday, Vassilev called on GERB to adopt the laws on the Recovery and Resilience Plan in the remaining days of the 50th National Assembly.