To attribute blame for the fact that the company under our leadership is losing almost 49 million euros is absolutely incorrect, said the executive director of the National Palace of Culture Andriyana Petkova Tatarova to the media. Earlier today, the Minister of Culture Evtim Miloshev announced financial abuses at the National Palace of Culture and that the salary of the director of the National Palace of Culture is many times greater than that of the head of state.
„We want the truth to come out and to acquaint the public with it. For the first time, the Minister of Culture allows himself to publicly make serious accusations against the management of the largest cultural and congress center in Bulgaria, without having previously held even a single meeting with the executive director, without talking to the board of directors and without having made a basic attempt at any institutional dialogue. Not a single phone call, not a single working meeting, not a single professional conversation has been held so far", added Tatarova. She specified that the management of the National Palace of Culture learned from the media about the information presented by Minister Miloshev.
The data presented by the Minister of Culture is correct, but the interpretation regarding the current management is not accurate, added Sasho Ganov, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Palace of Culture, quoted by BTA. According to the management, the figures announced by the Ministry of Culture are misleading.
The accumulated loss by the end of 2023 is 96,657,000 leva or 48,564,000 euros, said the executive director of the National Palace of Culture. For 2024 and 2025 - the two years in which the current management of the National Palace of Culture manages the company, the operating loss is 2,343,000 euros, specified Sasho Ganov.
The loss for 2024 is 293,000 euros, announced Andriyana Petkova Tatarova. In 2024, the company's revenues increased by 56 percent, and the operating loss was reduced by 88 percent, she added. For 2025, we are already reporting a loss of 2,050,000 euros, said the executive director of the National Palace of Culture. At the same time, for 2024, the depreciation loss alone is 2,696,000 euros, and for 2025 it is 2,602,000 euros.
In 2011, over 1,000 people worked to service the huge building stock of the National Palace of Culture, and currently there are 300, Sasho Ganov specified, adding that the maintenance in 2011 and now is the same.
„For me, this was very shameful. In my opinion, this is not how it is done. I promised myself not to use emotional terms, but to speak only with facts. We are a management that is oriented towards achieving results and the facts speak best for these results", said Andriyana Petkova Tatarova on the occasion of today's press conference of the Minister of Culture Evtim Miloshev.
She explained that the National Palace of Culture was established in 2011 as a commercial company by a decision of the Council of Ministers. Initially, the principal was the Minister of Finance, and then the Minister of Culture. At that time, they contributed a huge building asset of nearly 135,000 sq. m. together with the festival complex in Varna and this asset was contributed to the contribution to the company's capital. “This does not mean that it is real money. At the time of contributing this huge capital, the company is experiencing huge depreciation costs. Since the building stock is very old and very large, it accumulates very serious depreciation costs over the years. It is important to know where the losses come from", commented the executive director of the National Palace of Culture.
"We cannot become just renters and rent out premises, since 2/3 of our building stock cannot be rented out year-round in order to generate income from them. We rely on renting out the halls for cultural events and to companies that have hired tenants from us," said Sasho Ganov.
As a commercial company, we pay taxes to the municipality and you can imagine what taxes we pay for this huge building stock, said the executive director of the National Palace of Culture. "This building stock is old and depreciated. Maintenance and breakdowns that occur are almost on a daily basis. God forbid it rains outside", she commented.
„We brought culture back to the National Palace of Culture, where it belongs, and with a lot of effort. We are a commercial company and no one is forcing us to do this. Colleagues before us have almost reduced this activity to zero. A large part of the events we organize here are financially secured solely by us“, commented Andriyana Petkova Tatarova.
„When we took over the management of the NDK on February 6, 2024, the accounts of the National Palace of Culture had 7,500,000 leva. As of today, there are about 16,000,000 leva. This is a 120 percent increase in revenue in two and a half years," she said, adding that the management of the National Palace of Culture cannot cope with "this huge depreciation expense in order to make the company profitable."
According to the management of the National Palace of Culture, investments in the National Palace of Culture are vital if "we want it to be brought into a competitive environment." Currently, we are competing with the other halls in Sofia, the NDK said.
At the same time, cultural institutions receive delegated budgets and receive an additional subsidy for each ticket sold, Ganov added. The National Palace of Culture does not receive a penny for tickets sold for its own events when it organizes them. As a commercial company, we can neither apply nor receive this subsidy, he commented.
According to the management of the National Palace of Culture, it has submitted a large report to the Minister of Culture, which describes everything that has been achieved so far in the company.
Salaries were increased by 20 percent in 2024, because they were very low, Tatarova added. In 2025, salaries were increased by 15 percent, and at the beginning of 2026 by 15 percent.
The remuneration of the executive director Andriyana Petkova Tatarova in 2025 is 200,681 euros, that is, the monthly remuneration is 13,680 euros, announced Evtim Miloshev, who presented all amounts in euros. The executive director of the National Palace of Culture did not say the exact amount of her salary, but added that the amount is below the amount announced by the Minister of Culture.
According to her, the salaries of executive directors and boards of commercial companies are determined by the Law on Public Enterprises and the regulations for its implementation. She explained that the remunerations are different every quarter and are determined on a scale.
When asked about the salaries they receive, Ganov said that changing the salaries of the management is the right of the Minister of Culture. “The Board of Directors cannot initiate a change in salaries, this is the right of the principal. Even if there have been talks, a change in salaries cannot be initiated by them alone. We told the former Minister of Culture Marian Bashev the specifics of our company. We cannot support ourselves at the moment, we cannot make a profit without investments. And with this maintenance of the building stock, it is difficult“, he explained.
NDK is not afraid of inspections, because we have complied with the letter of the law, said the executive director. I have no concerns, she added and called on the Ministry of Culture to conduct an audit. According to her, it is not appropriate to present incorrect facts.
The Board of Directors of the National Palace of Culture stated at the end of the meeting with the media that it hopes for a dialogue with the Ministry of Culture.