In a central Bulgarian mining region, anger is growing over the EU's Green Deal and its obligation to phase out fossil fuels. Miners there face an uncertain future with millions of EU funds in jeopardy - leaving coal workers in limbo.

Beli Breag

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In the central region of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, a community known for its coal-mining operations is confronting the realities of the European Union's Green Deal. This ambitious EU policy, aimed at reducing fossil fuel usage and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, has sparked significant concern among coal miners and associated workers. The Maritsa East mining complex, a major employer in the area with over 11,000 direct jobs and an estimated 70,000 indirect jobs, is at the heart of these worries as the community faces the possibility of widespread job losses.

The EU's initiative to phase out fossil fuels as part of its Green Deal has been met with resistance and frustration from the workers in the Stara Zagora region. Many in the community express a desire to exit the EU and reject the euro, reflecting the depth of their concerns over the future of their livelihoods. The region, which heavily depends on coal for employment and economic stability, fears being left behind with no clear plan for transition or retraining for those displaced by the shift away from coal.

Legal and political challenges add to the community's anxiety. A plan to expand the Trajanova 3 open cast mine, which would result in the destruction of the nearby village of Beli Bryag, has faced legal delays and contributed to depopulation in the area due to uncertainty. The slow scaling down of operations in coal-fired power stations and mines in response to the EU's Green Deal is leading to an anticipated closure of these facilities, raising alarms about future unemployment and the lack of alternative employment opportunities in a region that has relied on coal for generations.

As Bulgaria grapples with political instability, the EU's targets for reducing fossil fuel use—aimed at an 80 percent reduction between 2021 and 2040—place additional pressure on the Stara Zagora region. This situation highlights the challenges faced by communities that have historically depended on fossil fuels as the EU moves towards its goals of carbon neutrality.



Coal miners grow increasingly worried over EU's Green Deal

The mining community in the Stara Zagora region, Bulgaria, known for its coal production, is growing increasingly angry. The European Union's Green Deal and its commitment to phasing out fossil fuel have sparked outrage among the workers. People joke about what great Europeans we have become. Everyone I've heard is against the EU's Green Pact. They all want Bulgaria to leave the EU. They don't even want the euro. The Maritsa East mining complex in the Stara Zagora region employs more than 11,000 people directly, and supports an estimated 70,000 jobs indirectly. But the threat of job losses has left the community feeling abandoned. For years, it was known that these things would happen. The state itself did nothing for the retraining of the workers who will lose their jobs. And there will come a moment, the time is coming, when many of these people who work here will lose their jobs, they will be back on the job market, and nobody from parliament or from a particular party will care about them. In 2009, a plan was adopted to expand the Trajanova 3 open cast mine, which would require the destruction of Beli Bryag. Legal proceedings have slowed down the implementation of this plan, but the village has already suffered depopulation due to the uncertainty. Coal-fired power stations and mines in the region are gradually scaling down their operations in response to the EU's Green Deal. The eventual closure of these facilities is expected. The Maritsa East complex, with its open-pit coal mines and thermal power plants, has been the region's main source of income for decades. It provides approximately one-third of Bulgaria's electricity during the winter months. As the country grapples with political instability, the EU's Green Pact sets ambitious targets for carbon neutrality by 2050. The plans include an 80 percent reduction in fossil fuel use between 2021 and 2040. The mining community of Sarazagora is facing unemployment, with little hope of alternative employment in an area that has relied on coal for generations.

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