How many Times were Diplomatic Relations between Russia and Bulgaria Severed
If we look at history, there are not many cases in which relations between Bulgaria and Russia at the state level were as bad as they are at the moment.
Enduring Communist Mentalities
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Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
Just as trade unions promised earlier this week, hundreds of miners blocked one of Bulgaria's major motorways on Thursday in protest over the planned sale of a power plant to Greek investors.
The miners' trade union and the company have been locked in talks for months now, trying to reach an agreement on the minimum amount of coal the power plant will have to buy from the nearby mines.
Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency refuses to sell the power plant before the company reaches an agreement with the miners, even though it has been close to a year since it picked the Public Power Corporation to buy the plant in Bobov Dol.
The miners claim that the Greek investors have no plans to install certain expensive environmental equipment, a government requirement, and that the sale is against Bulgaria's energy strategy.
The truth, of course, is a lot simpler - they are afraid that PPC will no longer buy their coal and will switch to cheaper alternatives.
Bulgaria's coal reserves are almost exclusively lignite, also known as brown coal, which has high sulfur content, hence the government's requirement for equipment that would cut sulfur oxide emissions.
The livelihood of thousands of miners and their families depends on someone buying the coal they mine.
Guess what, I couldn't care less.
Yes, their plight is unenviable, but why should I pay because they have become obsolete. Because I, as well as everyone else, will have to pay the higher prices charged by PPC for having to use their coal.
They've been made redundant and are unwilling to adapt to the new reality, so instead of finding another job, they are asking someone else to shoulder the costs.
The government, of course, is no better. Instead of coming up with tangible strategies that would aggressively tackle unemployment, they are asking someone else to shoulder the costs.
It's as if communism, in which it was all too easy to have someone else do the work while you picked up your guaranteed paycheck, never went away.
Can you blame then all the young Bulgarians fleeing the country to places where they can achieve something through their own work?
I know I am not.
The miners' trade union and the company have been locked in talks for months now, trying to reach an agreement on the minimum amount of coal the power plant will have to buy from the nearby mines.
Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency refuses to sell the power plant before the company reaches an agreement with the miners, even though it has been close to a year since it picked the Public Power Corporation to buy the plant in Bobov Dol.
The miners claim that the Greek investors have no plans to install certain expensive environmental equipment, a government requirement, and that the sale is against Bulgaria's energy strategy.
The truth, of course, is a lot simpler - they are afraid that PPC will no longer buy their coal and will switch to cheaper alternatives.
Bulgaria's coal reserves are almost exclusively lignite, also known as brown coal, which has high sulfur content, hence the government's requirement for equipment that would cut sulfur oxide emissions.
The livelihood of thousands of miners and their families depends on someone buying the coal they mine.
Guess what, I couldn't care less.
Yes, their plight is unenviable, but why should I pay because they have become obsolete. Because I, as well as everyone else, will have to pay the higher prices charged by PPC for having to use their coal.
They've been made redundant and are unwilling to adapt to the new reality, so instead of finding another job, they are asking someone else to shoulder the costs.
The government, of course, is no better. Instead of coming up with tangible strategies that would aggressively tackle unemployment, they are asking someone else to shoulder the costs.
It's as if communism, in which it was all too easy to have someone else do the work while you picked up your guaranteed paycheck, never went away.
Can you blame then all the young Bulgarians fleeing the country to places where they can achieve something through their own work?
I know I am not.
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