This is an official warning, this is a yellow card. In January, a red card will follow, i.e. a reduction in Bulgaria's credit rating, said in the program "Osche ot dnia" on BNT, the Chairman of the Fiscal Council Simeon Dyankov, in connection with a report in which the international rating agency "Fitch" worsens its forecast for Bulgaria's budget deficit, but at this stage maintains the country's credit rating at the BBB+ level (stable outlook). The rating was improved in the summer, when the decision for Bulgaria to enter the eurozone was announced.
In both the first and second budgets, and in the extension budget, the process itself in the Public Finance Act was violated so many times that the credit agencies began to give us negative results, said Dyankov.
And we at the Fiscal Council are unable to keep up with all the changes in the budget. The positive thing is that the extension budget is better than the first and second draft budgets. I hope that there will be some relief at least during the holidays. We hope that this is the right step. After that, we have three months to reach a regular budget. But yesterday the law was violated by increasing administrative salaries. So not only the opposition was wrong with the previous budgets, but also the opposition in the person of Assen Vassilev, which does not give reasons for optimism for the future, pointed out the Chairman of the Fiscal Council.
It is better to have an extended budget, because the first and second draft budgets had a hidden deficit of about 7%. With this, we would enter a procedure of excessive deficit immediately after entering the eurozone. I am convinced that we will reach a regular budget. In the history of Bulgaria, there has never been a case of no budget after debates. We should not be particularly worried, we have done something similar in the last few years, commented Simeon Dyankov.
The problem with both the first and second budgets was that they simply did not tell the truth. It was said that there would be an increase in spending, which, if it was the government's policy, can be explained. The problem was that it was said that the deficit would be 3%, which is not true, as can be seen in the "Fitch" report. I hope that there can be a budget that is honest. They simply should not try to blind the eyes of the citizens, the citizens see it, emphasized Dyankov.
It is possible to do without raising taxes, but there must be a tightening of some feathers, because in recent years we have become very extravagant, the chairman of the Fiscal Council also said.