GERB kept us on lean pizza, Radev put us on drip irrigation. This was stated to the Bulgarian National Radio by the leader of "We continue the change" (PP) Assen Vassilev, who is also a former finance minister.
"What I see is that "Progressive Bulgaria" showed with its first actions that their political priorities are wrong. These are the same political priorities that once brought us lean pizza. In the midst of the crisis, let's freeze pensions for three years. The same way of thinking", he pointed out.
An excessive deficit procedure is opened by the EC when there is a specific reason, explained Vassilev. "Why is it opened only for Bulgaria? It says that their forecast for 2026 is that we will have a 4.1% deficit, because they do not see a trajectory that would limit it at the moment and there is no proposed budget that says anything else".
If we manage to fit into the three percent deficit, there will be no sanctions for us, he explained. "The question is how much the deficit will be on December 31, 2026. And it will be as much as the Ministry of Finance decides to be based on the budget that it will present. This depends on the revenues that will be collected. And because of the high inflation at the moment, revenue collection is going extremely well. VAT revenues as of May are up by 20%. Most likely, we will end 2026 with seven billion more revenue than last year. The question is what expenses will be included in the budget against these revenues.
Assen Vassilev advised the Finance Minister to first make a real forecast for revenues. "Then where does the growth in expenses come from. The growth in expenses from the data that was submitted for the first quarter comes mainly from administration salaries and administration maintenance".
There remain two large gray sectors in the economy that need to be very seriously reviewed, the former Finance Minister also said. "One is construction. The second is the trade in fruits and vegetables".
The PP leader also commented on the detention of Stoyan Mavrodiev in Serbia.
The former head of the state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank is being investigated for granting a loan of 150 million leva to companies related to businessman Rumen Gaitanski-Vulka. Mavrodiev, who has been missing since August 22, 2024, is accused of embezzlement.
"In 2021, when we entered the office, the Bulgarian Development Bank was under the Ministry of Economy. After an inspection, it became clear that one billion leva was distributed to eight companies without real collateral. The loans stopped being serviced. This is direct damage to Bulgarian citizens, money that was given to the bank in the form of capital from our taxes. Even then, this was sent to the prosecutor's office. Five years later, there is apparently already some action on the issue. It is high time for someone to bear the consequences of their actions, which have harmed the interest of the Bulgarian state," said Vassilev.
The Bulgarian Development Bank makes no sense in the way it is managed, the PP leader believes.
"Maybe it is best to close it. In recent years, it has generated nothing but scandals," he suggested.
I do not think that Blagomir Kotsev should resign because of the illegal city in "Baba Alino", said Asen Vassilev.