Vigenin: In the areas run by BSP ministers there is not even a suspicion of corruption

“This is the only government of recent years that has not got mixed up in a serious corruption scandal. BSP ministers work in very sensitive areas where there is a lot of money, but there is not even a suspicion of corruption, neither in environment and water, nor in regional development, nor in social policy. If a process is under way to stop money leaking through unclear channels, that should be welcomed. We will not shield corruption. One of our main goals in entering this government is transparency and the use of state resources in the interest of citizens.” This was stated by Bulgarian MEP from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament and member of the BSP Executive Bureau Kristian Vigenin on BNT.

He is confident that the majority will find a way to handle the absorption of the funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, because it has already managed to catch up and Bulgaria is now on track to win every euro it is entitled to. “There is always a solution to these problems, 200 million euros is a lot of money. But it is not only a question of money, perhaps a quick solution should be sought, a clear arrangement of laws and institutions for fighting corruption. This is an old weakness. In the name of Bulgarian citizens a serious and workable approach is needed, not a confrontational approach but a search for a strategic solution, with the governing parties and the opposition sitting down together and solving the problem,” Kristian Vigenin proposed.

On the topic of the waste collection crisis in Sofia, the member of the BSP Executive Bureau recalled that the socialists have always been consistent on the cleaning of Sofia. In his view, the only way to dispel suspicions of corruption schemes is for the municipality to take control of the utility services, one of which is cleaning. Vigenin described his impressions of European cities run by socialists, where the main functions of maintaining the cities are carried out by municipal companies, without concessions and without intermediaries.

The MEP emphasised that he will take part in the work of the PES congress next week and expects the European socialists to outline the policies, the real solutions that benefit people, because there is an enormous need for this across Europe. In his view, the shift of part of the public towards the far right has to be stopped.

“I continue to believe that it was a mistake for Ursula von der Leyen to head the European Commission again, we have a lot of criticism of her policy. Given the instability in some member states and especially in France, however, removing the European Commission at this moment could push us into a severe institutional crisis and block the whole Union for months ahead,” Vigenin commented on another topic of the week.

On the occasion of the conference on mental health he organised together with the St Ivan Rilski state psychiatric hospital, the MEP pointed out that the topic is a priority in European Union policies and that his goal is to see this policy continued in Bulgaria. He described his impressions of the interesting discussion during the forum and the shared intention to encourage the adoption of a special law on mental health. He will continue to work for better cooperation between all the institutions involved, so that people affected by mental disorders have better access and higher quality care.