If Bulgaria understands the Green Deal as an opportunity, instead of a problem, it can reap many benefits

If Bulgaria has a purposeful and lasting policy to understand the Green Deal as an opportunity and not as a problem, it could be one of the countries that will get a lot out of it. This was said by MEP Radan Kanev during training for young journalists in partnership with the European Parliament, organized by BTA in Sofia, a reporter reported “Focus”.

“Bulgaria is almost the only larger country in Europe that does not have its own automobile industry. We do not produce cars with internal combustion engines and there is no prospect of producing. Accordingly, the transition to new mobility solutions can be of great interest to Bulgaria. We have a very serious national tradition in the production of various types of batteries, in their recycling, as well as in the production of electric motors. This is one of the branches of mechanical engineering that did not die in Bulgaria and has a very great potential to develop. Naturally, this it requires, in addition to investing part of the famous European money from the Green Deal, to include large-scale international investors. This prospect is very realistic if it is worked for,” the MEP believes.

Radan Kanev emphasized that Bulgaria also has a satisfactory steel industry. According to him, it is one of the niches in which, if it wants, our country can become a boutique.

“We also have a chemical industry, which has many opportunities to be included in this whole process. What we obviously lack is political stability, trust in the justice system and strategic management capacity, because in order to attract serious investors, legal and political certainty is necessary.” he is categorical.

When asked where Bulgaria is in the context of energy efficiency, Kanev stated that our country does not have a clear strategy both for it and for the renovation of buildings.

“I think that people in Bulgaria understood that it makes sense to renovate the buildings, but they have their objections to the quality of the workmanship. There is no doubt that this automatically affects the heating bills in the winter. Accordingly, the desire to enter these programs is greatly increased. What we have to take at the political level is that there is no chance that all buildings in Bulgaria will be renovated with public money. This is impossible,” the MEP stressed.

Radan Kanev commented on another current topic, namely the closing of the coal plants in our country and people’s concern that they will remain unemployed:

“The moment the transformation of any coal region in Europe starts, it carries with it a huge risk and the conversation with people has to be frank. To say that there is no problem because there is a just transition fund and €1 billion is not serious. Bulgaria’s approach to the coal regions is unique on a European scale – there is no other country in which, from the moment of entry into the EU, the political power stubbornly refuses to accept that such a conflict exists,” Kanev quips.

According to the MEP, by entering the EU, Bulgaria also enters the emissions trading directive:

“Many people attribute it to the Green Deal, which is from 2019. The truth is that this directive was already in full force in the summer of 2005. That is, the phase-out of coal power through economic mechanisms was set before our entry into the EU Radan Kanev is emphatic.