The reaction of our European partners is still pending. It cannot be denied that there are doubts. This was said in the program "From the Day" on BNT by former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Interior Ivaylo Kalfin in connection with Prime Minister Rumen Radev's request to veto the new package of sanctions of the European Union against Russia, if the Russian Patriarch Kirill and one of the shareholders in "Lukoil" - Vagit Alekperov - are not removed from it.
In fact, Bulgaria does not impose a veto - what the Prime Minister is doing is for internal use - we want him to remove one or another name from the list. But it is very dangerous to talk about Orthodox families and crusades. In the modern world, there is a division of religious and political power. In this case, the crusades are hardly an argument. The arguments for Mr. Alekperov are also very strange. With this behavior, we are not blocking sanctions, there will be sanctions. However, we are showing uncertainty and not creating trust in our partners, Kalfin said.
He also commented on the situation with the budget deficit and the drawing down of new external debt.
We are all categorical that we must return to a budget without a deficit and the government must take responsibility for this. The budget for this year has been omitted. I do not expect the government to perform miracles. I am more curious about what budgets the government will prepare for the coming years. The problem is not with the debt of nearly 4 billion, which will be taken, but what direction it will take in the coming years, the former deputy prime minister pointed out.
The deficit is a balance between revenues and expenditures, which means that in order to reduce the deficit, one must either increase revenues or reduce expenditures. The quick solution is to repay the expenditures with new debt, part of which is used to repay old debt. Every government did the same thing in the past, he added.
The intention to reduce the administration has many exceptions. Administration can hardly be reduced without an analysis department by department. I do not expect any major savings to come from this, Ivaylo Kalfin pointed out.
Expenses can be reduced in many ways, it is important who will bear the burden - investments can be reduced, salaries can be reduced. It is a matter of political responsibility for the government to choose which option it will choose. There are no options that are pleasing to everyone, Kalfin added.