2024-08-06 01:01:18
Maybe the bragging that this is a success in the struggle with the hidden one privatization of the exposition, are rushed
Is the decision of the Sofia City Court a success for the state, after last week the magistrates rejected the claim of the Ministry of Economy against the Municipality of Varna for the rights to the shares from the Plovdiv Fair?
According to the PP-DB parliamentary group, it is a success, because for the first time after more than 12 years of struggle, the goal of restoring ownership and stopping the hidden privatization of the Plovdiv fair was achieved, but in fact
the court declared null and void only the transfer of the shares from the municipality of Varna
in the exhibition center at “Paldin Turinvest”. But he did not return the shares in question to the state, which was the main purpose of the filed case.
On the other hand, the previous Minister of Economy has already spent over BGN 1.5 million from the budget only for the first court instance. And in total, for the case in question, on July 13, 2023, the “Denkov” government allocated BGN 2,698,670, and only a day later – on July 14, a contract was signed with a private law firm, to which the millions in question go. The money was given for a fee of BGN 229,539 and payment of state fees.
The contract with the law firm also stipulates an additional fee in case of success in the first instance. However, this is not tied to the acquisition of the shares by the state and the entry into force of the court act. But there is a clause for the state to pay the law firm an additional fee of BGN 153,000, even though the case was not won.
Probably then, the question is rhetorical whether it is a question of success or of money spent from the budget, without the state having returned the shares from the fair.
Another thing is also impressive – the previous management of the Ministry of Economy worked only with the law firm in question, with which they agreed on various cases a huge amount for fees – over BGN 1.7 million. In order to file the claims, from the budget
more than BGN 5.6 million were also spent on state fees
Immediately after the release of the decision of the SGS for the Plovdiv Fair last week, the Ministry of Economy and Industry stated that they will continue to protect the public interest and the property of the state. Therefore, they will again insist that the shares of the municipality of Varna in the fair be returned to the state, so that it can support the development of the exhibition center.
Obviously, for this to be possible, it will be necessary to appeal the court’s decision.
There is also an option that can save legal disputes – for the municipal councilors in Varna to decide to return the shares from the fair to the state. A few days ago, Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev said that the municipality will not appeal the court’s decision. He specified that the decision to transfer the shares in “Paldin Turinvest” and the subsequent cancellation of this by the court cost the people of Varna 750,000 BGN.
“If we appeal and lose again, which is very likely, we will lose even more”, pointed out Kotsev. But the mayor did not comment on whether he would submit a decision to the municipal council to return the shares to the state.
It is also noteworthy that the previous economic minister called for an appeal against the above-mentioned decision, but
did not call on the mayor, who is also from PP-DB, to take action on the return of the shares
This will save new costs of millions of BGN for attorney’s fees and state fees. Because after the court’s decision, residents of Varna will have to pay BGN 750,000 through the municipal budget, and in addition, all taxpayers will have to pay the bill of nearly over BGN 1.5 million, accumulated so far.
Given the fact that Gergov has already announced that he will appeal the decision by which the shares were returned to the municipality of Varna, the saga will certainly continue. And the bill will increase.