The excessive deficit procedure is not much. Initially, they will be fined without major consequences. At the same time, it is clear that Bulgaria has been in very bad financial shape for five years and there is no need for the European Commission to tell us. This must be fixed for ourselves, not for anyone else. This was the opinion expressed by former Minister of Economy Nikolay Vassilev on the air of "Your Day" on NOVA NEWS.
According to him, sanctions may be imposed due to the excessive deficit, but this will not happen immediately. “We should be worse off than we are now, for quite a long time. But unfortunately, that is where we are headed. It is a matter of time, if we are so irresponsible, to get to this point”, he explained further.
Vasilev answered the question of how a 1% surplus is achieved. This happens with large cuts and optimization in the state administration and the entire public sector. According to the latest data, there are 12,000 vacant positions, he commented. Another measure is to stop the electricity subsidies, which have been going on for five years now. Third - the entire public infrastructure - highways, water supply, railways and others - should be given to concession. Vasilev said that it is not good for the state to manage state-owned companies, since huge losses are observed everywhere in all sectors. In his words, if these sectors are given to concession, the care and responsibility will be much greater. Fourth measure - stopping unnecessary spending. "The state has generously squandered 20 billion euros in recent years," he added. According to Vassilev, these measures should be taken immediately.
Vassilev also commented on the topic of whether maternity should be reduced. He said that what needs to be done is to build more nurseries and kindergartens. Another proposal is to give 13 thousand euros for the birth of a child. This should apply to people with higher education, higher social contributions, and who pay taxes.
Vassilev believes that Bulgaria met all the criteria to be accepted into the eurozone. According to him, there is no fraud in the inflation data. He said that the situation became alarming after that with the budgets for 2026.