Trade unions and ministers discussed the future of Maritsa East mines

To review Bulgaria's position before the European Commission on the commitments under the Green Deal, as well as the plants from the Maritza-East complex to be included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan through the introduction of new technologies for working with coal. The trade unions from the energy company insisted on this on September 13 at a meeting with the caretaker ministers of economy and finance. The meeting was at the request of caretaker ministers Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev.

Coal-fired power plants in Bulgaria must be shut down by 2030 due to European Union requirements for the so-called "green deal". Then they have to move gradually, through the use of natural gas as fuel, to renewable sources. This will lead to job losses. That is why the unions demanded that coal mining be preserved.

"The Maritsa coal basin produces about 40% of the country's electricity without the use of imported raw materials. It is very important that these 40% remain ours," Assen Vassilev, caretaker finance minister said.

The unions also asked Assen Vassilev and Kiril Petkov to reconsider Bulgaria's position before the European Commission on the commitments under the Green Deal, as well as the power plants of the Maritsa East complex to be included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan by introducing new technologies for work with coal.

"People are very important to us. We are talking about over 10,000 people working or 20,000 including their families. One of our overall ideas is that we cannot make plans based on strategies alone. That is why we are here and we are discussing," explained Kiril Petkov, caretaker Minister of Economy.

Petkov and Vassilev pledged to the unions to continue talks on the future of the complex.

"They made commitments, what we defend as positions, what we really want. Innovative technologies related to the operation of coal-fired power plants, I underline, coal, to be included in the Recovery Plan," Chairman of CITUB trade union, Nasko Mitev, said.

The unionists said they would defend the jobs by all legal means. More than 100,000 signatures have been collected in the "Let's Save Maritsa East" petition. Both ministers signed it.