The Belene nuclear power plant project will be implemented and will be considerably cheaper than planned by the previous government, National Assembly Chair Tsetska Tsacheva said in the village of Gorni Dubnik, Pleven Region.

Government-level negotiations on the project between Bulgaria and Russia are advancing, the last parameters are being agreed, Tsacheva said. It was of paramount importance for the Bulgarian government to have an European strategic investor in the project and such investor was almost certainly been found, she said referring to the talks Prime Minister Boyko Borissov had with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and his recent visit to the State of Bavaria.

"I have also raised repeatedly the question at my meetings with the president of the Bundestag," Tsacheva said. Commenting on another project, the Hemus motorway, she said it would kick off whithin the tenure of the 41st National Assembly, adding that it is impossible this to happen on funds from the national budget at the moment that is why investments are sought from Bulgaria's European partners.

The parliamentary Chair promised a "hot political winter." "We should implement a balanced budget so that next year be calmer for this country's finances and we could provide money for all those sectors that have been underfinanced in the past 20 years - health care, pensions, education," Tsacheva said. In her words, the priority of the incumbent government is Bulgaria's entry in Schengen and the the euro zone.

Source: BTA