The issue is not whether people would keep their jobs, because they will find work, but whether they would remain in the region with coal plants so it continues to develop. If they leave the region, there will be a great shortage of people needed for the upcoming industrial development, said Minister of Environment Julian Popov of BNT. He said claims that the EU was giving money to closing the plants were not true, and that claims that the EU was giving money for closing the plants were false. The funds are aimed at dealing with the consequences of stopping the plants. This is an irreversible process that has been much slower in Bulgaria, he said.
Alexander Zagorov, the secretary of the trade union, said BNR, commenting on the demands of protesting miners and energy workers. Zagorov added: 'I have the confidence that we will get to do the right thing,' he said.