BNT exclusive: Prime Minister Kiril Petkov says political resonance is not a priority when solving problems

bnt exclusive prime minister kiril petkov says political resonance not priority solving problems

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от БНТ

22:04, 03.02.2022

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov, was a special guest in the programme "More from the Day" on BNT on February 3.

The management of the pandemic, the model for overcoming the crisis, as well as the dissatisfaction with the green certificates were the first topics discussed in the conversation.

COVID CRISIS AND MEASURES

If we reach 60% vaccination rate of the population, or if the occupancy of intensive care beds falls below 5%, the green certificate will be lifted, Prime Minister Petkov said.

When we came into power, we found a model based on the number of infections per 100,000 people.

We said - no, let's make a model that is a function of the most critical aspect in the Covid crisis and this is the intensive care beds. We are now managing the Covid crisis without any real tightening of measures and this has affected the possibility of ill people to have access to intensive care beds, the PM explained.

If the old model was in place, now the whole of Bulgaria would have been in lockdown, the PM stressed.

He added that this does not happen by itself - we convened doctors, epidemiologists, physicists, ministers and worked on this model.

Petkov explained that the anti-vaxxers in the country are not just one group, they are at least 15 groups with different motivations. We invited them to the Council of Ministers to hear their arguments, because if they are not heard, they become aggressive, he added.

BUDGET 2022

Reforms should take place step by step - this cannot be done without a clear plan, Petkov said.

This budget has very strong social priorities, he stressed.

The first basic idea is to be a budget of growth. We are investing 5.8% of GDP, almost doubling the investments, which will provide many jobs and opportunities for many businesses.

We need investment in human resources, not just capital investment. That is why we set a very clear priority - we invest in teachers' salaries, in kindergartens and nurseries.

The deficit is 4.1% with the Covid measures, without them it is 2.5%, which gives us the opportunity to say that we are entirely within the EU criteria, the PM explained.

There are two aspects to inflation - one is prices across Europe, we have no control there. The second one, which is the Bulgarian component, is the increase of pensions, he added.

NATURAL GAS-ELECTRICITY-PRICES

We do not have a ministry where we can open a folder without finding a huge problem, admitted Kiril Petkov.

We do not make our actions political - we see a problem, we try to solve it. The political resonance is not our priority, said the Prime Minister.

He explained the crisis with high electricity prices as follows:

We have an expensive supplier and we have a cheap one. Suddenly we give up the cheap one because we have some excuse. Now the new government is asking the cheap supplier - can you get us extra gas and they tell us - yes, but since you have given up these quantities for a while, we will give them to you at market price and what happens on January 1 - every Bulgarian pays 30% more.

The idea is to take the cheapest gas without any intermediaries, the PM was adamant.

Asked if he saw a yellow card in President Radev's warning for ”Bulgargaz”, Petkov said:

When there is a separation of powers, it is good for one to warn the other about risks. That's how I saw it - as a warning, not as a yellow card.

In the first moment, when we are sure that the system cannot reduce prices more, then we can talk about lifting the moratorium, said Petkov.

(Ed. note: After the tension in the energy sector and the change of the management of Bulgaria’s public gas supplier “Bulgargaz”, President Rumen Radev expressed concern about rising inflation and the future of energy. Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was confident that the right steps have been taken for Bulgargaz.

"When the cabinet undertakes changes in the management of the companies, it should ensure that there will be no private intermediaries before the gas supply and that better conditions for Bulgaria and better prices will be achieved," the President said.)

JUDICIAL REFORM

The resignation of the Head of the Anti-corruption Commission, Sotir Tsatsarov, is a big step forward, the Prime Minister commented on the topic of judicial reform in the country.

Asked about the initiated changes in the Constitution, Petkov said:

We would be very happy for the opposition to support, for the first time, to have an independent judicial system, but this cannot be a function of some kind of trade.

Sooner or later, I believe that this change will happen, he added.

We cannot separate the institutions from the people, they go together. We cannot separate the Prosecutor’s Office from Mr. Geshev, the PM explained.

This man, who was nominated for chairman of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, declined the first time, the Prime Minister admitted. According to him, the responsibility for the change is shared, so he congratulated the nominated person for putting aside his private life.

When we have a big risk for public companies, the caretaker cabinet decided to limit it. So, we had to protect the public interest and the actions were legitimate. This was explained by Petkov in relation to the court's decision for the "Magnitsky" list today.

I believe that the team in which we and the Presidency are, is the team of Bulgaria, said the Prime Minister.

If we have any discrepancies - this is the role of the separation of powers. Our common interest in the good of Bulgaria is the same, Petkov added.

THE DIALOGUE SOFIA-SKOPJE

The Prime Minister also commented on the complicated relations between Sofia and Skopje.

If we finally start working together, our region will become much richer and this is a matter of leadership. It depends on us and we will do everything possible to achieve good neighbourliness. We confirmed the stated position during the talks. But expanding relations, introducing a road, a plane, a railway link to Skopje, suddenly everyone is more ready to discuss the whole framework of good neighbourliness, Petkov explained.

He is adamant that he believes that the new approach has been taken into account by the Republic of North Macedonia.

Asked whether there were any doubts about the position of our neighbouring country, Petkov explained:

There are very clear forces in both the RNM and Bulgaria that do not want us to have this good neighbourly relations and stability, and they will use every opportunity in the coming weeks to block our process. Prime Minister Kovachevski and I are responsible for the foreign policy of our relations. We have known each other for two weeks, every single thing that has been agreed upon has been fulfilled, Kiril Petkov was categorical.

He confirmed that there will be a joint celebration of Gotse Delchev's anniversary.

NATO-RUSSIA TENSION

On the topic of NATO-Russia tensions, Petkov commented on last night's conversation with Alliance Secretary General Jens Stolteberg.

He welcomed our position for a Bulgarian battalion under Bulgarian command. He said that for the first time there is a very clear and constructive position, Petkov explained.

The Bulgarian army is part of NATO, we should not divide them - first, we have leadership and second, a clear idea of what the deficits are that we need to supplement with investment.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister said that the prospect of governance of the ruling coalition is a full term of 4 years and he believes in that.