Radan Kanev: Due to the delay in the liberalization of the electricity market in Bulgaria, it may be necessary to return money under PVU

“In Bulgaria, in the last few days, it is beginning to resemble a voluntary refusal of a serious sum from Europe,” said Bulgarian MEP Radan Kanev. He is organizing today a discussion “High-tech and circular economy – a path to low-carbon industry and growth”, which is taking place in Sofia. According to Kanev, this is happening because of the postponement of the liberalization of the energy market, the parliament’s vote on unapproved financial aid for the mining sector, as well as the postponement of the national decarbonization plan.

The MEP explained to BTA that the liberalization of the energy market is a measure related to money already received under the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability, and therefore there is a risk that our country will have to return funds, and not just not receive new ones. “Unfortunately, at the present moment, Bulgaria is in a situation where even a little is at risk and what was used for a general recovery of the economy, not only has not happened, but we are facing a risk that it will not happen,” he commented.

According to him, the most important thing is for Bulgaria to have a very clear concept of how the state, municipalities and industry will cooperate so that our country can compensate for the abandonments and develop quickly. Kanev noted that this includes energy policy, urban planning and urban policy, which in our country move at a “nightmarishly slow pace”. In addition, our country must be provided with suitable cheap and reliable energy sources in the new industrial territories, which are provided for by a series of European legislations that have entered into force. Kanev gave as an example the Directive on renewable energy, which provides for zones for the development of renewable energy sources, as well as the Regulation for industries with a zero carbon footprint, which provides for zones for the development of similar industries. The MEP pointed out that the connection between the two pieces of legislation is obvious.

The Chairman of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce (BCC), Dobri Mitrev, pointed out that there are two leading priorities in Europe – digital and green transformation, which are happening regardless of whether our country wants them to, and therefore it is better to do them with Bulgarian participation.

He noted that Bulgaria missed a lot of opportunities and lost time to modernize. The topics of decarbonization and the circular economy are extremely important for the industry, Mitrev added. He recalled that BSK has had a clean industry center for more than 20 years.

“We must all together put solutions before the Bulgarian authorities, not just put problems, but also solutions”, said Mitrev and added that the attitude of the state towards these processes is extremely important.