Commenting on the proposed 2040 coal phase-out deadline, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said that Bulgaria will do its best to defend its coal- fired power plants, adding that he has made this his personal cause.
President Radev said that Bulgaria needs a Green Deal, it needs a green transition, but it must unfold very carefully so that countries like Bulgaria do not lose their competitiveness and do not pay too high a price. He recalled that at the May 2021 European Council meeting, in which he participated, Bulgaria, Poland, Greece and Hungary achieved the removal of an entire item of the declaration which was to be adopted and to greatly accelerate this transition.
He said that Bulgaria has to defend its coal-fired power plants because at the moment they ensure its autonomy and independence, they are the balancing facilities in its energy system, they provide the mix that Bulgaria needs and has nothing to replace with.
