Tomislav Donchev: The national plan for recovery and sustainability doesn’t belong to one government, but to Bulgaria

The national plan for reconstruction and sustainability cannot be a plan of the government, it must be a plan of Bulgaria, Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev was quoted as saying by BTA during an event at the Conferderation of independent trade unions in Bulgaria (CITUB).

According to Donchev, the national plan will be fully implemented by the next government, and the commitments of this cabinet are to prepare it and make additions within current year. The Deputy Prime Minister stressed openness to good proposals and adequate criticism. I cannot say that the list of projects prepared by the institutions is exhaustive and the best, Donchev added.

He announced that two documents will be made public next week - the text of the partnership agreement for the new programming period 2021-2027 and the undisputed one of the developed National Plan for Reconstruction and Sustainability.

In response to a journalist question, Deputy Prime Minister Donchev reminded that European funding could be limited and suspended for a number of specific reasons, which are related to deficits and gaps in the management and control systems, especially in the case of control gaps. According to him, at the moment the control system of Bulgaria works perfectly. Funding cannot be limited, it cannot be stopped due to a political scandal, this is not written in any normative act, the Deputy Prime Minister added after his participation in a forum organized by CITUB.

On the topic of the EP resolution on the state of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Bulgaria, and in particular on the Istanbul Convention, the Deputy Prime Minister also reminded that the resolution is not a normative document, but said he welcomed any call to have the rule of law , more effective fight against corruption, upholding civil rights. However, Donchev pointed out that in his opinion there are "strange things" in the draft resolution and added that if this is a signal from the EP, it is a bit confusing for him.

Regarding the fact that the mechanism for cooperation and verification does not disappear at this stage for the country, the Deputy Prime Minister commented that when we have a social and political crisis, when the main topic on the agenda is justice, rule of law, from a political point of view it would be difficult to talk for dropping off of one or another mechanism. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the pulse of political life and public sentiment is different at the moment.

Regarding the connection of the rule of law with EU funding, Donchev reminded that the Bulgarian position is analogous, but pointed out the need for a system of objective criteria for where there is or is not, we do not have such rule.