As parts of efforts to save Bulgaria’s coal-fired power plants from closure, would need to renegotiate the energy part of an EU-funded post-pandemic recovery plan, Parliament said on Thursday.
Lawmakers voted unanimously to approve a revision of the plan as it is key to receiving 6.3 billion euros in EU funding from the bloc’s post-COVID recovery stimulus package.
A peaceful protest was staged by the country’s two largest trade unions when the lawmakers were in session and several hundred miners and energy workers gathered outside the building to demand guarantees for their jobs.
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The vote by the lawmakers is to ensure the government renege on its commitment to make 40% cuts in its 2019 level of carbon emission by the end of 2025 and seek guarantees that coal plants can continue operating without restrictions at least until 2038.
The government has until the end of March to file a formal request for renegotiating the national recovery plan with the European Commission.
In Bulgaria, about half of the electricity is produced by coal-fired power plants, while a further 35% comes from nuclear energy and the rest is covered by hydroelectric, solar and wind generation.
The financial burden of reducing carbon emissions poses a huge challenge to Bulgaria, which has one of the lowest gross domestic products per capita in the EU.
Story was adapted from AP.
