GERB requested the budget to pour BGN 200 million into “Mini Maritsa Iztok”

In the last days of the 49th National Assembly, the deputies from GERB noted an enviable activity in bringing in new bills and decisions on extraordinary spending.

Today, in the energy committee, on the proposal of Boyko Borisov’s party, a huge extraordinary expenditure was voted for the state budget, with which to finance land reclamations in Mini “Maritsa Iztok”.

The decision, which will also be voted on in the plenary hall tomorrow, envisages directing BGN 1.2 billion to the Mariska coal basin, with BGN 200 million allocated for each year – from 2024 to 2029.

All deputies in the committee voted for this expenditure, with only 6 of the PP-DB abstaining.

The decision obliges the Council of Ministers, through the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Energy, to take all necessary actions in compliance with Bulgarian and European legislation to secure funds from the state budget in order to ensure reclamation activities in the disturbed areas of the Marishka coal basin.

In the same way, the parliament obliged a month ago the Minister of Finance Asen Vassilev to provide BGN 1 billion to plug the hole in the Electricity System Security Fund. It was from GERB that they most strongly criticized that Vassilev inflated the expenses and the deficit in the budget, although now they do not comment on where 200 million BGN will be found for the mines with this year’s budget.

It is written in the reasons that the drastic reduction of electricity production from coal-fired power plants in 2023 and at the beginning of 2024 has an extremely unfavorable effect on the activity of “Mini Maritsa Iztok”. The reduced revenues of the company lead to the impossibility of financing all activities and events for the restoration of the disturbed terrains and bringing the deposit to a sustainable state. It is also recorded that 15 years are needed for large-scale reclamation activities.

“Vazrazhdane” insisted that it be strictly written in the project that the reclamation must be carried out by the enterprise itself, and not by external companies.

“The purpose of this decision is entirely pre-election. According to estimates, much more money is needed for the reclamation”, pointed out Radoslav Ribarski from PP-DB.

It is not clear how this funding will be guaranteed in budgets until 2029 and exactly how it will complement the funding available under the Just Transition Fund. According to it, Bulgaria received 1.2 billion euros for the three coal regions – Stara Zagora, Kyustendil and Pernik, and the activities included in the territorial plan of Stara Zagora also include land reclamation. Bulgaria had ideas to create a special enterprise for the conversion of coal areas, but there were many disputes about the creation of such a structure and in the end it was dropped. However, the reclamation of areas disturbed by mining activities and their preparation for alternative activities is only one of the measures that will be financed under the territorial plan for Stara Zagora. Thus, it can be expected that a small part of the necessary funds for reclamation will come under this pen.

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