PM Denkov said that the confiscation of cars from drunk and drugged drivers should remain in effect

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Nikolay Denkov, on September 4, spoke in favour of keeping the measure of confiscation of cars from drunk and drugged drivers.

"I think the measure should remain in place, but it is within the powers of the National Assembly to decide."

A task force is reviewing regulations and documents to see what can be done at sub-legislation level. Separately, arrangements have been made to purchase equipment to speed up the testing of blood samples and drug tests.

"Let me point out that for alcohol concentration, it is being done relatively quickly, in a few days the results come out as the method is one. And for drugs, the method is different and hence more time is required at the moment. So we have to equip 3 laboratories, at the moment we are working on state-of-the-art level. It will take time because of the procedures. With regard to the discussions on whether the law should be changed, we see that after the recent tragic incidents, there is actually more and more public support for these changes. I also think that we should remain as strict as possible so that the Bulgarians understand that there is no point in killing ourselves on the roads'.

As regards the ongoing tension between the government and the President, the Prime Minister reiterated his call to respect the constitutional separation of powers.

Each institution must work according to what is set out as their powers and duties. Our government is fulfilling its programme of governance. Once again, I will repeat, I am not looking for a war with anyone. We need calm, the government needs calm. I mean calm in the political sense of the word, so that we can deliver our agenda and people can start living better. You see how many problems there are in the country. The ones that prevent us from discussing them is essence - what can we do on the roads, how can we reduce drink and drug driving on the roads, these are problems that the government needs to deal with."

Regarding the request of prominent figures close to the President to initiate a referendum on whether to change the national holiday, Denkov replied thus.

"Let this be a political discussion to be held in the National Assembly. That is the place for this discussion. I have repeatedly said that I support May 24 being a national holiday because it is the symbol that leads us to the future. If Bulgaria had a chance for success in the future, it would not be to look continuously at the past, but by standing firmly on the foundation that the past has laid, to look to the future and see what will make us a successful nation. Here, we open the Book Alley today. This is the scholarly event here, what will make this country successful."

Denkov commented on the information that the US State Department had approved the provision of Stryker combat vehicles to Bulgaria for over 1 billion BGN. Negotiations cannot start without a decision of the Bulgarian Parliament and the US Congress, he said.

"We are all convinced that there is an urgent need to modernise the army and to look again to the future. These are serious financial investments that should benefit the country for decades to come. So there are negotiations to be held to clarify both the technical and financial parameters, but they could not begin without a decision on the one hand by Parliament and on the other hand by the US Congress. These negotiations can now take place. The important thing is that we have political agreement. We have financial resources allocated to all the main elements of Bulgarian defence."