Sofia City Hall's press center distributed Thursday a copy of a letter about the city's waste problems, sent by the Cabinet three years ago.

In the letter, dated January 2006, the Cabinet officially rejects the request of the City Hall to establish National Waste Crisis Headquarters by stating that such move would be a violation and would exceed the rights of the Ministries' Council. The letter cites the Crisis Management Act, which mandates the Cabinet to provide general crisis management for crises in two or more regions of the country, in border areas, in other countries where Bulgarian citizens are endangered, or in Bulgarian diplomatic missions abroad.

The release of the letter comes in the heels of the Cabinet's plans, announced earlier Thursday, to declare emergency in the capital over lack of adequate waste removal.

According to a report prepared by the Health, Regional and Environmental Ministries, the Sofia City Hall had triggered serious threat for public health and growing ecological harm, making the issue a matter of national security.

Following the announcement of the Cabinet's plans, the Mayor of Sofia, Boyko Borisov, surprisingly cut short his visit to Moscow and boarded an Aeroflot flight at 8 am Bulgarian time.

Upon arrival in Sofia, Borisov stated that the announcement about the crisis was well planned to coincide with his trip abroad and hinted this was a premeditated move, just months ahead of the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

The Mayor further said he did not know what would follow if the Cabinet indeed declared a waste emergency situation in Sofia, adding Bulgaria had more important and real crises such as the freezing of European funds and the lack of adequate road infrastructure.

Just a day earlier, the trash disposal issue triggered yet another round in the war of words between the Mayor and Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!