My appeal to Borisov and Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov is to make a commitment that Bulgaria will spend more on defense from the state budget. For Bulgaria, 0.6% of the EU's GDP is 4 billion euros and in the coming years our country must give 8 billion leva for defense. This is also reindustrialization of the economy. This was recommended by former Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov in an interview from Vienna with the Bulgarian National Radio.
As an example, he pointed out that the crisis of the automotive industry in Germany has affected Bulgaria and now Germany's decision to spend more on defense will also affect Bulgaria.
"I believe that the package should be balanced for defense and infrastructure. 500 billion Germany will give 500 billion euros for defense and 500 billion euros for infrastructure, because Germany has been neglecting its infrastructure for many years. Bulgaria benefited from European funds, but if they reduce infrastructure, we give money from the budget, that is right", said Pekanov.
And he believes that just as Germany is already "running away" from a balanced budget, and deciding to spend more - prioritized for security, with loans, it is right. Bulgaria should do the same in the current situation.
He commented that Friedrich Merz, the likely next Chancellor of Germany, is giving a signal for a 2-speed Europe and this, combined with Macron's call from years ago, shows that the powerful economies, "consider that the EU is not a satisfactory format and that decisions will not be made by the EU 27":
"For me, it is a frightening scenario, but it is realistic. There is already fragmentation, we have decided in the EU that it is not a problem, the members have the final say. But it is clear that they need quick solutions, and the process is slow."
When asked whether the old EU members are tired of the whims of the Eastern European countries, Pekanov said:
"I don't know, even if they are tired, it would be unfair, because in 2007 the EU provided the Western countries with a huge market. The EU is the largest common market in the world, it is bigger than the USA and if the USA loses this market, it will be a huge loss for them. Our market is a huge positive and any opinions that they are not happy that we are stopping integration are unfair to us. But they look at it rationally, "we want to sit down tomorrow and decide". The process for current events is very slow. The big economies - France and Germany say, "let's sit down and figure it out"."
According to Atanas Pekanov, Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev's warning about the loss of money under the PVU is correct, "because for a year and a half I have been sounding the alarm that the money will be lost".
"There are many reasons, because they have been accumulated over years of reforms. There is a year left to do all the work and in my opinion we will get almost nothing from the second payment. I see the potential of completing the anti-corruption commission with the election of a chairman, conceived as an American model. A strong institution with a lot of powers, I see that there will be a dispute over who will govern so that it does not become a bat. It is true that the passage of these 3 laws alone will not guarantee us these 3 billion euros and the second payment. The energy sector will probably have things that we have not done – A roadmap for decarbonization", explained the former Deputy Prime Minister for Management of European Funds.
And he recalled that the Bulgarian Socialist Party is against the liberalization of the electricity market, "it seems difficult to me that this will happen. This is a lot of money for Bulgaria".