Bulgaria PM Pledges Eventual Support to Tobacco Workers

Source from:  Novinite.com 12/22/2009

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has stated his support for tobacco workers, who have mounted protests on Monday, demanding payment of agricultural subsidies. Speaking in the north western Bulgarian town of Vratsa, Borisov suggested the tobacco workers had been forced into their present protest by opposition political parties.

The Prime Minister accused the ethnic Turkish party DPS and the Socialist BPS of having supported the workers in the Bulgarian Parliament a few weeks ago, and of instigating the current protest. He announced that his Agriculture and Finance Ministers were ready to explain to the workers why there were no new funds available for them in the current financial year. He explained that his administration had already paid out whatever had been budgeted by the previous government, and promised that for 2010 they would be looking for money, that money would be found, and people would not be left without government aid. Meantime, in a direct meeting with tobacco protesters in Plovdiv, Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov explained that EUR 80 M has been allocated in payments in the 2010 budget. That money would be paid to tobacco producers in the middle of the year, he pledged. He explained that the cash came from deductions from excise duty on tobacco sales, and that they had always been paid in the year following actual production. The Minister was repeatedly interrupted during the meeting by protesters shouting "Resignation" and "We want our money at the end of the year". Following his talks with protesters, Naydenov announced that his ministry would continue to look for funding of an additional premium for the tobacco growers. He plans to continue discussions on Tuesday about the future of the sector over the next year and about payment of the final tranche of EUR 8 M authorized by the EU for the 2009 tobacco crop. Nina Lambova, the tobacco association's lawyer, said that protesters will decide on Tuesday whether to blockade the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing-point with Turkey. Enditem