One sector is coal mining and the energy sector, which is currently the main ‎victim on the way to establishing a green economy, but stability in the country ‎largely depends on the fair restructuring of the mines. The second sector that ‎came out for a national protest in front of the government buildings in Sofia is ‎that of the farmers affected mostly by the import of cheaper wheat, sunflower ‎and other raw materials and products from Ukraine. ‎

Farmers' dissatisfaction united producers from all branches (with the sole ‎exception of those engaged in greenhouse production). As early as Monday – ‎September 18, they started piling heavy agricultural machinery on the main ‎road arteries of the country, such as the roundabout junction near the town of ‎Sliven, where the major traffic between Northern and Southern Bulgaria ‎passes. On the morning of September 19, nearly 600 tractors and combine ‎harvesters were waiting at the entrance to the capital to switch on their engines ‎and block the traffic of the big city. ‎

However, there was no escalation of tension. The representatives of the branch ‎organizations in agriculture and the union representatives of the miners held ‎constructive talks in the Council of Ministers, as there Prime Minister Nikolay ‎Denkov personally promised specific steps and deadlines that the ‎government is committed to in response to the protest declarations. ‎

For the sunflower producers, the good news came that in the near future there ‎will be no import of the raw material from Ukraine, but a certain quota for the ‎import of sunflower for Bulgaria will be negotiated, which will be in line with ‎the capabilities of the Bulgarian processors. Regarding the other agricultural ‎products also affected by imports from Ukraine, Denkov хас assured that ‎negotiations are also underway for them and it is possible to seek a bilateral ‎agreement between Bulgaria and Ukraine. 

In response to the request for the ‎payment in short terms of the compensations for production costs that have ‎increased due to the war, the Prime Minister assured that the state is ready to do ‎this by September 30. BGN 150 million of this aid has already been allocated, ‎and the remaining 63 million are prepared to be allocated literally within days, ‎explained Finance Minister Aсsen Vassilev. With this help, farmers will be ‎supported after the ban on grain imports from Ukraine has been lifted, and this ‎now makes it possible to guarantee revenues in the budget to help the affected ‎producers. ‎

Also - reserves will be sought in the budget for targeted aid in agriculture and, ‎at the same time, to lower the final price of the production that reaches the ‎consumer - assured the finance minister. Assen Vassilev emphasized that, apart ‎from the problems of imports, there are many unresolved issues, such as the ‎wrong structuring of subsidies and ways of support, as well as a lot of ‎unfinished work along the entire value chain of agricultural production.‎

The representatives of branch organizations in agriculture are in no hurry to ‎withdraw the protest blockade from Sofia, they are still waiting for details on ‎the financial support in agriculture. However, they left with hope after the ‎meeting in the Council of Ministers, since, according to them, for the first time ‎they felt concern and a desire to quickly solve the problems on the part of the ‎state.‎

The miners also managed to reach important agreements on the demands of ‎their protest statement. There will be a National Agreement for a just transition, ‎in which the state commits in detail to financially secure all social and ‎environmental problems that will arise from the closure of the mines and coal-‎fired power plants and it will cover the period until 2038. ‎

A key point is the establishment of a State Enterprise for the Conversion of ‎Coal Regions, similar to the State Enterprise created upon the closure of four ‎units of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. The goal is to give work to all ‎miners, energy workers, engineers, constructors who will lose their jobs due to ‎the changes in the industry. In the opinion of specialists from CITUB, this ‎enterprise will be needed even after 2038, because the reclamation and ‎transformation of coal mines will continue even after that. Funds for this ‎activity, however, cannot come from European funds, therefore Prime Minister ‎Nikolay Denkov made a commitment on behalf of the state to the miners and ‎energy workers, and by October 15, the state enterprise requested by them will ‎be a fact for the regions of Pernik, Kyustendil and Stara Zagora.‎

Photos: BGNES

Translated and published by Rositsa Petkova