This budget could be a threat to us - the Bulgarian citizens in the next year, because in it there is not a single word about the future of Bulgaria, about development, about the economy, but only tables and transferring some money from one pocket to another. But it could also become a threat to the eurozone itself, Vice President Iliyana Yotova commented to journalists in the town of Levski on proposals from those managing the budget for 2026.
In her words, despite her personal expectations, it turned out that this is a budget that no one wants. The government doesn't want it, the finance minister doesn't want it, the prime minister doesn't want it, because otherwise how are we going to explain the fact that so far we haven't heard a single argument in defense of this budget from either of them, Yotova added.
She called on the institutions in Bulgaria to work together in the coming months.
The executive branch, despite the spells, vows, denials, exceptions, rules, cannot fight the price hikes, she added.
Bulgaria is one of the most expensive countries in the European Union (EU), in second place in terms of the number of working poor and the income of the population, which cannot reach far the EU average, the vice president added.
We will think about elections when the time comes, Yotova said in response to a question about whether she is considering running in the upcoming presidential elections.
I am not one of those people who look at the presidential elections elections for the sake of power, for the sake of power itself. I gave up on this type of thinking a long time ago, because the politicians who brought us to this situation - for them, power was a cult. I am not one of those people for whom power is a cult, said Iliana Yotova.
I am not surprised that the president's veto related to the sale of assets to "Lukoil" was rejected, because even on such a delicate, serious and worrying topic there were no arguments, no discussion, said Vice President Iliana Yotova to journalists in the town of Levski.
This is an attitude towards the presidential institution, but it is also an attitude towards statehood and it has been demonstrated categorically by this government for almost a year now, said the Vice President.
Earlier today, the parliament rejected the veto of President Rumen Radev and re-adopted the Law on Supplementing the Investment Promotion Law with 125 votes "for", 74 "against" and no abstentions. The newly adopted changes provide for the sale of assets of the Russian oil company “Lukoil“ in Bulgaria to take place only after a decision of the Council of Ministers and a positive opinion of the State Agency “National Security“ (SANS).
According to Iliana Yotova, so far neither the Minister of Energy, nor the Prime Minister, nor anyone from the ruling majority has reassured Bulgarian citizens that there will be no problem with fuel. We do not know what will happen to the refinery, we do not know where and how the new supplies will come from, how we will ensure that the prices of petroleum products do not rise, she added.
We do not know another important thing – what will be the fate of the thousands of people who work there, for the entire region and all of Bulgaria, Yotova noted.
Yotova described the process as opaque, in which the aim is to sell the refinery to people who are close to the government, but have a problem with the ownership.
How will they overcome it in a way that guarantees the further life of the refinery – this is the most deeply guarded secret of the Bulgarian people, said Iliyana Yotova.
The Vice President is in Levski for the opening of the sculptural composition “The Compatriots“, which presents the actors Georgi Partsalev and Grigor Vachkov and the writer Doncho Tsonchev.