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Photo: Yordan Simeonov
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The Council of Ministers adopted a decision to convene a sitting of the National Assembly on the grounds of Art. 78, item 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The Government will ask the Speaker of the Parliament to convene the National Assembly at an extraordinary sitting on March 1, 2022 to adopt a Decision on personnel changes in the Council of Ministers.
Earlier, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said he would demand the resignation of Defense Minister Stefan Yanev, which should be voted on in a day.
Here are the other decisions of today’s extraordinary cabinet meeting:
The government approved expenditures amounting to nearly BGN 4 million for prevention, control and overcoming of consequences of disasters
The Council of Ministers adopted a Decision approving the financing of activities for unforeseen and / or urgent expenses for prevention, control and overcoming of the consequences of disasters.
The Decision approves the financing of activities for unforeseen and / or urgent expenses for prevention, control and overcoming of the consequences of disasters by the order of art. 56 of the Disaster Protection Act, amounting to BGN 4,100,000, for financial support of the renewal of stocks of potassium iodide tablets with expired expiration date as of 31.12.2021 and for purchase of modules and parts for repair of the National early warning and notification system.
The funds are distributed in accordance with the Decision of Protocol № 2 of the meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission for Reconstruction and Assistance to the Council of Ministers, held on February 25, 2022.
Bulgaria’s position on participation in an extraordinary meeting of EU energy ministers was approved
At today’s meeting, the Council of Ministers approved Bulgaria’s position to participate in the extraordinary meeting of the EU Council “Transport, Telecommunications, Energy”, part “Energy”, to be held in Brussels, Belgium, on 28 February and 1 March 2022. During the meeting, the EC is expected to present its analysis of the current situation with security of oil and natural gas supplies, as well as energy prices in the context of military action between Russia and Ukraine. The Commission will also present simulations of various hypothetical scenarios related to the development of hostilities.
Bulgaria is very concerned about what is happening in Ukraine. The aggravation and unpredictability of the situation has a tangible impact on the energy sector, posing an increasing danger of disrupting the security and reliability of energy supplies in the EU, said in the position of our country for the extraordinary meeting. This, combined with the tendency to maintain high levels of energy prices, poses serious challenges to the Bulgarian economy and energy. Overcoming them will require immediate, decisive and coordinated action in the EU, with a focus on measures to ensure the sustainability of the energy system and the availability of energy to citizens and businesses.
Bulgaria appreciates the efforts of the European Commission to deepen negotiations with key producers and suppliers of liquefied natural gas and streamline the possibilities for the operation of natural gas storage facilities.
At the moment, the Bulgarian energy system is working normally, without disruptions in the physical flows of energy supplied to households and industry, says Bulgaria’s position on the extraordinary meeting.
In the field of gas supplies, the country is actively working to complete the interconnection with neighboring countries – Greece and Serbia. Construction work on the key Bulgaria-Greece interconnector is expected to be completed in the middle of this year. Its effective commissioning will lead to real diversification of sources and supply routes and allow full transportation of the agreed quantities of Azerbaijani gas. At the same time, talks are being held with Azerbaijan to increase the amount of natural gas provided. We are also looking for contacts with other key partners, incl. for the supply of liquefied natural gas, using the terminal in Revitusa, Greece. Expanding the capacity of the national gas storage facility in Chiren is key to improving the flexibility of the gas system, supporting regional security and balancing prices.
Infrastructure and interconnectors are key to security of gas supply – thanks to the efforts made in this regard, every region in the EU now has direct or indirect access to LNG and natural gas from at least two suppliers. At the same time, another key element in the long run for strengthening energy security is the gradual transition to energy from “clean” gases such as biogas and hydrogen.
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