Parliament debates pensions, electricity and the budget

Disputes over electricity prices, the state of the budget and the second pension pillar marked the plenary session of the National Assembly. The opposition criticized the government, while the majority denied preparing to transfer funds from private pension funds to the National Social Security Institute.

Opposition attacks government over electricity prices

GERB MP Zhecho Stankov said from the parliamentary rostrum that the average exchange price of electricity in October had reached 232 euros per megawatt-hour. According to him, this was a significant increase compared with the previous months.

“The fact that a file is not being assigned will not cause electricity prices to fall. For the month of October, the average exchange price of electricity was 232 euros per megawatt-hour, which is a significant increase compared with the previous months. The perfect storm is coming,” Zhecho Stankov said.

National Assembly Speaker Mihaela Dotsova assured him that the order on the matter had already been prepared.

Radoslav Ribarski of “We Continue the Change” said that the problems in the energy sector could not be explained solely by the international situation. According to him, the reasons were a lack of consistent policy, delayed decisions and insufficient protection for businesses and citizens.

“The government is talking about stability, but businesses and the economy are receiving increasingly unpredictable bills,” Radoslav Ribarski said.

Conflicting claims about the second pension pillar

The second main topic concerned claims about the possible redirection of part of the funds from the second pension pillar to the National Social Security Institute. Ivaylo Mirchev of “Democratic Bulgaria” said that the Ministry of Finance had proposed to the European Commission that 3% of the second pillar be transferred to the National Social Security Institute.

BNT reported that the opposition was accusing the government of intending to transfer 2.5% of the second pension pillar to the National Social Security Institute. The difference between the two figures cited was not clarified in the published statements. The opposition announced that it had submitted an official inquiry to the European Commission.

“While Prime Minister Radev claimed that in Brussels he was waging a tough battle for the social rights of Bulgarians, for social payments and pensions, in fact he was trying to wage a battle over how to lay his hands on pensions so that the budget deficit could be covered,” Ivaylo Mirchev said.

The majority rejected the claims of interference in pension funds and described them as ongoing disinformation. Petar Vitanov of “Progressive Bulgaria” said that other options for private pension funds had also been discussed, including reducing fees, but stressed that discussing them did not mean a decision had been made.

Kostadin Kostadinov of “Revival” said that such a change should be made through a reform of the Social Security Code, rather than through the budget.

Support for the Bulgarian language bill

During the session, MPs supported at first reading the Bulgarian language bill submitted by “Revival”. MPs from “Progressive Bulgaria” also voted in favor of it.

The leader of “Revival”, Kostadin Kostadinov, said that he had been surprised by the support.

“I was quite surprised. Perhaps it was because during the campaign their vice president spoke a lot about the need for a Bulgarian language law,” Kostadinov said.

Sources: nova.bg, bntnews.bg