Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with heads of major trade unions in Bulgaria, Plamen Dimitrov and Dimitar Manolov and representatives of coal mining trade unions that a clear commitment from the state for the development of coal mining and the Bulgarian TPPs was necessary.

President Radev said that he would represent the state at the upcoming climate change forum in the Polish city of Katowice. He pointed out that the Austrian President had sent declarations to all EU heads of state with a call to stop the extraction of coal. The call will also be made at the UN meeting in December in Katowice. President Radev responded to the Austrian President's statement that he could not support it, expressing his motives.

The Bulgarian President defined coal mining as an important sector in which thousands of Bulgarian miners invest their honest work, in extremely difficult conditions, providing their livelihood and a large part of the country's energy. At present coal-fired power plants in Bulgaria provide about 45% of the country's basic electricity, reported the Bulgarian National Radio.