site.btaDeputy PM Konstantinova Says She Will Not Resign over Tensions about Ukrainians' Resettlement

Deputy Prime Minister for Good Governance Kalina Konstantinova told bTV on Sunday that she sees no reason to resign "because you only resign when you fail to do your job".

The suggestion about Konstantinova's resignation had to do with tensions concerning the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees.

She said that after a revision of the plan and after some strain, the task was accomplished. "All those who needed shelter and food found them," she argued. "Our government managed even better than many of our European partners."

Asked whether the accommodation of refugees at hotels was a mistake, Konstantinova noted that it was said at the very beginning that the hotel accommodation allowance of BGN 40 per day was being financed with EU money. The flow of refugees has been much bigger than at the time of the conflict in Syria. "We managed to avert a humanitarian crisis in Bulgaria," she said.

According to the Deputy PM, 270 hotels in Bulgaria still provide shelter to Ukrainians under a new humanitarian programme. They will be supported with daily allowances of BGN 15. These hotels are of lower category than those at the seaside; they are located in mountain resorts and other parts of the country's interior.

About 24,000 people are staying at hotels which continue their participation in the programme, Konstantinova said. Ten thousand Ukrainians had to leave the hotels after May 31. Many of them were moved to other accommodation establishments across the country, others left Bulgaria, and still others found accommodation on their own, she said.