05.12.2011

\"There are two options for BDZ - either difficult rehabilitation or declaration of bankruptcy\", the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov said yesterday on Nova TV. He said that losses for BDZ as from the start of the strike amounted to BGN 1.3 billion \"BDZ is following the example of Kremikovtsi, i.e. declaration of bankruptcy in days, not in months\". The Deputy Prime Minister clarified that the procedure for declaring BDZ bankrupt would be launched even in the middle of next week, if the strike went on until then. Djankov explained that a new company succeeding the Passenger Transport would be set up without the old liabilities, while the Freight Transport Company would be sold. The Finance Minister commented that the debt of BDZ equaled BGN 800 million old debts, but the present government \"has not been repaid anything from this debt at all\". According to him, each Bulgarian tax payer was supposed to pay between BGN 300 and 350 every year to cover the losses of the company.

Simeon Djankov offered an apology to the farmers once again but he was firm that he did not intend to hand in his resignation. \"They want me to resign because they have become aware that they will not receive any money\", the minister said. \"Agriculture is yet another unreformed sector of the Bulgarian economy\", Djankov highlighted.

\"No one is interested in pre-term parliamentary elections\", said Minister Djankov in reply to accusations of the opposition that his actions were aimed at pre-term elections. Asked about the pension reform, the Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed that this long-term action was taken in the perspective of 20-30 years ahead. \"The things we thought had to be done at a slower pace, now have to be made altogether for this is imposed by the global situation\", he explained. According to him, there were many examples of increasing the retirement age in the EU and \"our pension reform is not an exception\".