Currently, there are 58,000 people who are literally like beggars, said Simeon Karakolev, Co-Chairman of the National Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders (NASGB), regarding the announced second tranche of aid related to Ukraine. It should be noted that the caretaker cabinet allocated BGN 200 million from the agreed funds for the second tranche of the so-called „Ukrainian aid“, but there are still BGN 125 million remaining, for which there is currently only a promise from Minister of Agriculture and Food, Georgi Tahov that they will be paid by the end of November.
According to Karakolev, at this stage, these are just words thrown around in different formats and there is nothing official. This is why they requested an official meeting with the Finance Minister, and if necessary, with the Prime Minister as well. He described the situation as improper and unpleasant.
Farmers expect two things from the meeting with the Finance Minister, namely, „Clear guarantees – what we are doing, how we are doing it and when we are doing it. /…/ We want to hear this not from the minister who is dealing with already transferred funds, but from the one who is transferring the money, because at some point, the Minister of Agriculture himself could become a hostage.“
Karakolev described the current aid as „handouts“ and said the industry would insist that „Ukrainian aid“ be firmly enshrined in the 2025 budget.
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