2024-07-08 13:26:05
Bulgaria may lose millions under the PVU and have to give up the implementation of certain projects, said the economist Atanas Pekanov.
He recalled that the Recovery and Resilience Plan is a management program that records reforms and investments that should happen with or without government. According to him, one of the few good things about the constitutional changes is that the parliament can continue to work even when elections are coming up. “Unfortunately, this does not work in practice. Although we have not received money for a year now, the parties cannot unite and accept the measures that are left. They are not easy because they involve legal changes in the judicial and energy systems. They’ve been delayed for a year, so we’re not getting any money. Most likely, this will lead to a real loss of millions, not just a delay,” warned Pekanov.
He thinks that this is a problem for our country, because important investment projects will not happen, we will have to give up something we promised. Pekanov recommended that the parties take a more responsible look at this issue and take appropriate actions.
Touching on the necessary changes in the energy sector, the economist stated that coal mining is experiencing problems and we must be aware that it will be difficult to sustain something that is economically unsustainable. However, this does not mean that we should not take care of the livelihood of the people in these regions, he pointed out, adding that the dialogue on what to do in the last year has been absent. “All of Europe is talking about a new industrial policy, about investments in sectors that will have a future in the coming decades – electric cars, batteries, solar panels, etc. We are not doing that, we are talking about how to convince the EC that the Green Deal should be rejected. It will be slightly revised down, the ambitions will be smaller, but it will not be rejected. That’s how it seems to me from all the statements made after the European elections,” Pekanov believes.
According to him, Bulgaria is also lagging behind in re-industrialization – a process that should bring exported production back to Europe. “This means opening new plants with good jobs in Europe. We can wait for other countries to re-industrialize and we can catch up with them, but it is much better for us to take the initiative,” said the economist.
He emphasized the advantages of Bulgaria – a close legal framework with the rich EU countries, but still lower wages than them: “When production returns from Asia, it must come to Eastern Europe. We don’t talk about it enough either.”
Regarding the adoption of the euro, Pekanov stated that he has always advocated for Bulgaria to be part of the euro zone not only for economic reasons, but because it also gives us political weight. “We will sit at the table with the strongest countries that make decisions about the second most important currency in the world,” he emphasized. Pekanov believes that it is completely realistic that this will happen on January 1, 2026.
The economist also called for a little more sense in the parliament. “Regardless of whether the parties will be able to unite around a cabinet, there are reforms that need to happen. It is not by chance that they are laid down in the PVA and managed to obtain a full consensus. The EC expects them from us, they are correct and must happen,” Pekanov told NOVA.