Bulgaria and Poland face the same problems related to the financing and modernization of their state postal operators. This became clear during a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzov and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs of Poland Krzysztof Gawkowski.
“We want to preserve the developed postal network, but at the same time we don't have the right to cover the actual costs and this causes the company serious difficulties,” Grozdan Karadzhov explained. He emphasized that Bulgarian Posts has over 3,000 branches that provide the universal postal service, and according to European rules, the annual subsidy for this activity can not exceed EUR 15 million. “We are trapped in a situation where in order to perform the task assigned to it by the state, the company has to accumulate debt,” Karadzhov added.
Deputy Prime Minister Gawkowski explained that Poland is facing the same problem with post offices. They have 30,000 sites that employ 50,000 people. In total, about 100,000 people are employed in the sector, and in 2024, the Polish side has also requested approval from the European Commission for state aid.
The two deputy prime ministers also discussed strengthening transport and digital links in the North-South corridor. “A natural barrier such as the Danube River must be overcome with more bridges between Bulgaria and Romania. We need bridges every 70 km. Currently, there are only two, i.e. that is extremely insufficient,” the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister added. His Polish counterpart expressed readiness for cooperation, full support for the North-South corridors, as well as for the development of digital infrastructure along these corridors.
Grozdan Karadzhov pointed out that broadband connectivity between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea is set to be built with funding from the Connecting Europe Facility. The digital infrastructure is planned to pass through Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. The construction of an underwater cable along the Black Sea between Bulgaria and Georgia is also planned. Deputy Prime Minister Gawkowski expressed his desire for Poland to also join the above two projects for optical cable systems.
