"I spoke with Trump - I persistently asked about visas, I expect the issue to be addressed on an urgent basis," stated Prime Minister Rumen Radev before the start of today's government meeting.
The Prime Minister also announced that he had a telephone conversation with the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
"US military tanker planes are stationed at Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia - our strategic partner and ally. They are there with a decision by the Ministry of Defense to stay 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 phone call with the US Secretary of Defense, and later with President Trump," Radev pointed out.
He emphasized that an administrative reform is beginning. "We are starting an administrative reform with two clear goals - increasing efficiency and reducing costs. There will be no mass layoffs, which lead to loss of administrative capacity and legal risks. There will be no layoffs and restructuring before a preliminary review of structures and functions is carried out and without a detailed analysis of which functions are duplicated among authorities, which are outdated and inadequate, and which can be automated," said the Prime Minister.
In this regard, a council for administrative reform is being formed with Deputy Prime Minister Galab Donev as its chairman.
"The approaches that we will follow in this reform are clear. said Donev. "This is a merging of agencies and directorates with overlapping responsibilities, transforming agencies into directorates within the respective ministries, abolishing and eliminating unnecessary intermediary levels, reducing vacant positions, retirement without replacement, as well as voluntary exit programs.
We have clear success criteria, including reducing bureaucratic burden for citizens and businesses, decreasing administrative service time, increasing transparency and accountability, and optimizing public expenditures while maintaining the quality of services provided by the administration," emphasizes Rumen Radev.
The Prime Minister did not fail to note the magnificent success of DARA at "Eurovision":
"The whole week has already passed under the sign of the grand Bulgarian success at "Eurovision" - a success that surpasses the dimensions of musical art. And it's up to us to make the most of it. For us in the government, there is no time for emotions, because the preparation, both in terms of scale and organization, is huge, requiring not only financial resources, but also a lot of coordination. That is why we are creating an interdepartmental organizational committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Ivo Hristov, in which the relevant ministries will participate."
We will invite DARA, her team, and the management of BNT this week for coordination on all these issues, added Radev.