Prime Minister Rumen Radev had a telephone conversation with American President Donald Trump. Radev raised the issue of eliminating visas for Bulgarian citizens to the US. The Prime Minister announced this before the meeting of the Council of Ministers and indicated that he expects this issue to be considered urgently. Radev also announced that he had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of War Pete Hegsett.
„At the „Vasil Levski” Sofia airport, tanker aircraft of the US Air Force - our strategic partner and ally - are stationed. They are arriving there by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the „Zhelyazkov” cabinet with a stay period until the end of May. I expect the American side to request an extension of their stay at the airport in Sofia. In this regard, yesterday I had a telephone conversation with the US Secretary of War, and then with President Trump”, the Prime Minister said.
Radev also announced that a Council for Administrative Reform will be formed with Deputy Prime Minister Galab Donev as chairman. “As we announced, we are starting an administrative reform with two clear goals - increasing efficiency and reducing costs. There will be no mass layoffs that lead to a loss of administrative capacity. There will be no layoffs and restructuring before a preliminary review of the structures and functions has been carried out and without a thorough analysis to establish which functions are duplicated between bodies, which are outdated and which can and when be automated and digitalized”, Radev said.
According to him, the approaches by which the government will be guided in this reform are clear. He pointed out that this is a merger of agencies and directorates with overlapping responsibilities, transforming agencies into directorates under line ministries, eliminating and eliminating unnecessary intermediate units, and reducing vacant positions. “We have clear criteria for success and they are reducing the bureaucratic burden for citizens and businesses, reducing the time for administrative services, greater transparency and accountability, and optimizing public spending while maintaining the quality of services provided by the administration”, he said.
The Prime Minister also announced that the Cabinet is creating an interdepartmental organizing committee for the holding of “Eurovision” under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Ivo Hristov. The relevant line ministries will also be included in it.
“The whole week has already passed under the sign of the grandiose Bulgarian success of “Eurovision” and it is up to us to make the most of it. For us in the government, there is no time for emotions, because the preparation in terms of volume and organization is enormous. It requires not only financial resources, but also a lot of coordination. This week we will invite DARA, the team and the management of BNT for coordination on all these issues,” said Radev.