Bulgaria is about to miss billions of BGN funding under the national plan for recovery and sustainability in the field of energy, adopting decisions that will make it impossible to get the money.
Against the backdrop of protests by miners and energy workers, the National Assembly today refused to consider and vote on an updated Climate Neutrality Roadmap. This is a key document under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RSP), through which Bulgaria expects huge funds from Brussels, as well as Bulgaria’s commitments in the field of the Green Deal. Later in the day, a final vote will also be held on the postponement of the liberalization of the electricity market for domestic consumers – also a key reform under PVA.
Bulgaria presented a road map in Brussels, but it was not sufficiently aligned with other strategic documents and it was updated. Acceptance of the card is one of the conditions for receiving the second payment under the recovery plan, and the document sets out a chronological framework of the reforms and commitments to be accepted. Yesterday, it became clear to the parliamentary energy committee that even in the updated road map there are still controversial commitments, such as the construction of powerful offshore wind power plants. Liberalization of the electricity market is also a condition for the second payment, as part of changes to the Energy Act that Brussels expects to have come into effect. Currently, the National Assembly is debating a decision to finance the reclamation of land in the Mariska basin with money from the national budget – it is planned that 200 million BGN will be allocated annually until 2029.
WHAT HAPPENED
The proposal not to consider the road map was made by Dragomir Stoynev from BSP. He declared that it would “destroy our coal regions”. “Nothing requires the acceptance of this road map,” announced the Socialist deputy and demonstratively tore a copy of the map as he spoke from the rostrum. BSP leader Kornelia Ninova enthusiastically applauded him from his seat. “It (the map – ed.) does not solve a single problem. It only talks about RES. Until the Green Deal is revised, the road map should not be looked at by the Bulgarian parliament,” Stoynev shouted and pounded on the rostrum – probably to make it look more convincing.
In the subsequent vote, his proposal was supported by 158 deputies from GERB-SDS, DPS, “Vazrazhdane”, BSP, ITN and independent. One deputy from the PP-DB was against, and 42 of his colleagues abstained. No one else weighed in on the important topic – not even the right wing, whose government produced the updated map.
Only Iskra Mihailova from Vazrazhdane took to the podium to accuse the BSP of having participated in the adoption of the original map while in coalition with the PP-DB in the Petkov cabinet, and attacked the Gerbers for influencing the trade unions to quit the miners’ and energy workers’ protests in defense of coal power last year. According to Mihailova, the deadlines according to the previous map continue to run and the European Commission is working on the closure of the coal mines. However, Stoynev calmly assured her: “There is no road map. The government has nothing to send. Until it is revised and approved by the National Assembly, nothing is working at the moment. Until there is a government that is really concerned about the fate of our coal energy, nothing to send.”
PROTEST
The decision to reject the updated road map came amid protests by miners and energy workers from the Marishka coal basin who took out a national protest rally today. The protesters came before the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers demanding the postponement of the liberalization of the electricity market for domestic consumers. The item is scheduled for a final vote in plenary today. Workers at “Bobov dol” TPP, “Brickel” TPP, and “Toplofikatsia-Pernik” joined the protest.
Those working in mines and coal plants are worried that they will lose their jobs this year, as the reform foresees that from July 1st, electricity from coal plants will drop out of the energy mix at the expense of RES.
GERB, DPS, BSP and ITN have already voted in the first reading to postpone the first phase of the reform – the release of wholesale electricity prices for households – by one year.
Trade union organizations in the energy sector submitted a declaration to the National Assembly demanding the construction of a carbon dioxide capture plant. Thus, the plant will become competitive on the electricity market and it will be possible to prevent its closure, Stanimir Georgiev, chairman of the Association “Miners and Energetics Together”, explained to BNR.
Because of the protest, changes are being made to the movement and parking of cars on “Todor Alexandrov”, “Tsar Osvoboditel” and “Knyaz Alexander Dondukov” boulevards, as well as on the parking lot of “Knyaz Alexander I” square.
