Dr. Konstantin Trenchev, President of Confederation of Labour 'Podkrepa': There would be fire, if the shady deals within the energy sector are uncovered

Maria Mateeva

  Dr. Trenchev, you required from the Government to set specific deadlines for the implementation of the anti-crisis programme. Do you actually fear that it will not be observed or think that the application of certain elements from it should be accelerated? 
- Even the best ideas could be ruined, having in mind that their implementation is carried out by people. These people should not work chaotically, but should follow a definite plan with a specified deadline. These are exactly our concerns. The measures discussed in the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) can be divided into two groups. The first one is connected to the question of how to increase revenues and the second one - of how to reduce expenditures. I will give you an example regarding the first group - revenues could be increased by selling carbon emissions. In order for this to happen, the necessary legislative amendments should be introduced and implemented in the relevant administrative organization. This issue is beyond the powers of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation. Even if the Government fulfills its obligations in the shortest possible term, in Parliament, for instance, things could reach an impasse. 

How would you comment on the decision of the Constitutional Court to declare as anti-constitutional one of the measures from the anti-crisis plan, which envisaged a change of the individual ministries' budgets without voting in Parliament? 
- The problem is very complicated. This Government indeed received a very onerous legacy. And there is also another issue to be considered – in order to pass certain decisions, the Cabinet must comply with a bunch of other things present at that time. Even if the government has a huge desire to do something, but the current rules and regulations prohibit it, they must take this into account. If they decide to act, this will be a violation of the law, no matter how right they are in general. 

Has our Government turned out to be unprepared?
- Some lack of preparedness cannot be denied, but the Government also inherited an incredibly heavy legacy. Issues regarding the energy sector are the most urgent at present. I can tell you something that remained hidden from the public - this scandal began at the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation, when we, the syndicates, very sharply brought up the problem of electricity prices and an ugly scandal burst forth between us and the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC). Then, I made public some facts, namely that the price of electricity purchased from the Maritsa Iztok 3 thermoelectric power plant (TPP) was BGN 160/megawatt, while from other TPPs and from the nuclear power station it was being purchased at BGN 66-70/megawatt. Thus, Maritsa Iztok 2 sells electricity at one price, while Maritsa Iztok 3 sells it at a double or even higher price. Where is the logic? The second big scandal was that the contracts for gas deliveries turned out to be so secret that even the Prime Minister did not have access to them. Can you imagine a contract that is being implemented and hefty bills are being paid under it, but it cannot be brought to the knowledge even of the Prime Minister, since it includes such a provision. This is one of the reasons for Deputy PM, Simeon Djankov, to order an inspection at Bulgargaz. The fact that we are buying more expensive gas now than when the price of oil was $150 per barrel is illogical, knowing that the price of gas depends on that of crude. Especially, considering that oil currently is being sold at some $70-80 per barrel. The third argument is that we purchase gas from three intermediaries and their prices differ by more than BGN 100. Why? Gas is not better or worse, its quality is one and the same. But we pay three different prices for it to three different companies which are intermediaries between our country and Gazprom. If everything unusual in the energy sector is revealed, I do not rule out the possibility of shootings to occur in our country. A lot of different people from various groups and schemes have made dozens of millions a year. And they will not be happy if the status quo is changed. 

Is there a will for "changing the status quo" at the moment? 
- I sincerely hope that there is such a will and that the questionable affairs will be made public because it is the society that actually pays the price. The words of the PM are true in a way. NEK (The National Electricity Company) buys at one price but sells at a lower one. This is ridiculous and inapplicable even in socialist regimes, not to speak about a market economy. Apparently someone makes huge profit from this deal, but it is neither the state, nor its citizens, because they are paying the final price. I hope that from now on, some order will be imposed in the country. Another issue is whether the people involved in these schemes will gave them up without a fight and how easily the truth about the affairs in this sector will be revealed. I think this would be very difficult. You can see how the fact, that the new Government could not replace some high officials in the public administration even after assuming office, is being used. Some people take advantage of this period and have intentionally signed labour contracts with penalties. There is a preliminary agreement on how to split these penalties between the person signing the contract, who will be fired, and the respective company. 

Do you have a concrete example of such a case?
- I have, but let me report it first to Minister Tsvetanov. In fact, that is no single case and the authorities are aware of other stories, as well. A lot of time was lost and I do not know even if we could start earlier to make things right. Most of the things were up in the air: one knew one part of the puzzle, another - a different one. Now the details start to make out one single picture and it becomes obvious that this country has lived a parallel life in which money turnovers has reached, I guess, the state budget figures. This country has lived two lives - a hidden and a real one.