We must do everything possible so that Bulgaria does not end up in a situation of new elections. This was stated by the candidate for Prime Minister of Bulgaria from GERB-UDF Maria Gabriel.
I remain open to negotiations. Talks are ongoing, Gabriel added.
For me, it is very important that the decision that we do everything possible for Bulgaria not to go to elections is filled with content. I made my move when I returned the mandate fulfilled. With this move, I gave a chance for the negotiations to continue until the last moment. The rotation was supposed to be a technicality, Gabriel added. On Tuesday, giving a list of names in which there is not a single unspoken name, I wanted to take responsibility and say, we have no right not to respond to those 40% of Bulgarians who do not want elections. I had no right to push the country towards new elections, I'm sorry if anyone felt affected by the way it happened, Gabriel emphasized.
There wasn't a single name that hadn't been discussed, Gabriel clarified. We had several days of constructive negotiations. We had an almost final text of agreement. There was still a date for the reform of the services and, in relation to the judicial reform, the question of investigative secrecy, two more names remained to be discussed. That's why I even had a proposal to keep the current composition of the government, to give ourselves a few more days for the agreement, and there were several mechanisms for equality, responsibility, an opportunity for the two groups to jointly take responsibility for this government, said Gabriel.
There was no moment when we suddenly stopped the negotiations, she emphasized. For the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy were the two names that remained to be discussed. I have nothing personally against Minister Tagarev, explained Gabriel.
When you stand in front of Bulgaria, you make your own decision, explained Gabriel. returning an empty folder announces a process in which you do not give hope. So I gave another chance to negotiations.
Since day one 9 months ago, I appreciate the high level of trust I have from Boyko Borisov and this trust makes me feel responsible for the decisions I make. The two negotiating teams must learn to talk about successes and failures as common, Gabriel said.
Asked if she received an apology, Gabrielle replied: "I don't want a personal apology, I want an apology for 2 things - all those women who are also professionals who hold high positions responsibly and an apology for having the respect between a team and a government women and men is a principle from which I will not deviate, Gabriel is categorical.
Asked if Vassilev could remain a minister, Gabriel said that this was part of the negotiations. "When you realize that the attitude is not only towards one person, but also towards the people, the party, the electorate behind him, then it is good to measure his words and not find ourselves in situations from which we can hardly go back, noted Gabriel.
I am staying for talks, it was important for me not to send Bulgaria to elections and to give the negotiations a last chance, Gabriele is categorical.
There is no commitment that Delyan Peevski will participate in the agreement. 25 regulator positions are elected by a 2/3 majority. The text that was agreed upon was a text that met our agreement, but it was presented to us as pre-approved between Petkov and Peevski. We cannot exclude candidates because of their party affiliation, but we want candidates to be qualified. We cannot close our eyes to the fact that there are times when the role of the DPS was extremely important. I say this from experience. We should not close the door to a person who has qualities and stick some label, comments Gabriel.
We should have had clarity on March 6. It was proper and proper to have a conversation to discuss the procedure. It will depend on us that Bulgaria and the citizens win, it will depend on us that the people who count on Bulgaria not having a government do not win. It's time to finalize the negotiations. We want a clear guarantee that in this governance that we want to share together, there will not be any doubt about priorities, to know that we have a decision-making mechanism that allows both parliamentary groups to feel that they are equal partners. Otherwise, one group will continue to work together and with dialogue, and another group will not have a logical explanation of how it is, noted Gabriel.
It will be up to each of us not to keep the Bulgarian citizens in the dark. I remain open to negotiations. Talks are being held at the moment, she also announced. /BGNES
