„We are ready to convene an economic committee at any time, if you wish, because the Eurozone is vital for us, we must protect Bulgaria’s interests!“
This is what Martin Dimitrov, MP from Democratic Bulgaria and chairman of the parliamentary economic committee, said in a statement from the parliamentary rostrum. Once again, the meeting of the committee was cancelled due to lack of quorum, after the deputies from GERB, DPS, BSP, „Vazrazhdane“ and „Bulgarian Vozhod“ did not appear. In a part of the meeting, where no decisions could be taken due to lack of quorum, GERB MP Alexander Ivanov participated, who constantly spoke at the same time as the chairman without being given the floor, trying to silence him.
The draft law of the Council of Ministers on an addition to the Insurance Code concerning civil liability insurance abroad – the so-called „Green Card“ – was to be discussed and adopted at the meeting, Dimitrov recalled, adding that smoothing out the problems with payments in case of road accidents within the EU was one of Brussels’ requirements for joining the eurozone.
Dimitrov reminded MEPs that in the search for consensus, between the two readings, 80% of the bill became the texts proposed by insurers. And that the failed meeting yesterday was attended by representatives of the four largest employers’ organisations, who expressed support for the amendments and puzzlement as to why MPs were not in committee.
“To find an excuse, you invented the appreciation of civil liability”, Dimitrov addressed the five parties that had stopped the additions to the Code, adding:
“But if we apply the same logic with Schengen, it can also raise the price of insurance, because then there will be more cars, more traffic. The price of insurance depends on hundreds of factors and nobody can predict it, just as nobody can predict the exchange rate of the dollar.”
The chairman of the parliament’s economic committee warned that Bulgaria’s failure to join the eurozone would mean a loss of investment, jobs and welfare. And that membership in the euro area means participating in all important EU decisions, not being a second or third class European country.
“If we miss the train now, it is your fault, because especially the Euro-Atlanticists from GERB are seriously to blame, we do not know when the next train will come. The cost for Bulgaria will be deliberately high, we will lose years”, the politician is adamant.
