“Every year, Bulgarian citizens pay BGN 5 million for the salaries of civil servants and the upkeep of the Files Commission. This is absurd, and ITS CLOSURE IS long overdue. It is time to close this chapter.” This was stated by Revival MP Tsoncho Ganev, commenting on the need to terminate the activities of the Files Commission – an idea that the political organization has been advocating since the 47th National Assembly.
It is unacceptable for millions of leva from the budget to be spent every year on investigating and disclosing the files of people, many of whom are now advanced in age or have passed away.
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament also raised the moral issue of equating people who worked for Bulgarian intelligence with informers.
“It is insulting to the honor, dignity and even the memory of these intelligence officers to be lumped together with informers. It is one thing to have risked your life abroad to defend Bulgaria’s national interests; it is quite another to have acted as an informer,” he stressed. As an example, he cited Velizar Enchev, whom he said had been an intelligence officer who HAD REPEATEDLY RISKED HIS LIFE WHILE carrying out missions in the interests of national security.
Ganev also commented on the delay in the state budget, describing as disrespectful to Parliament the possibility of it being discussed outside the National Assembly before being submitted there. “We are a parliamentary republic. We are neither a presidential republic, nor a monarchy, nor a dictatorship. Everything must be decided in Parliament – it must be commented on and discussed here,” he said.
On the issue of the second pension pillar, he recalled that Revival had for years been calling for a change to the model under which mandatory social security contributions are paid into private pension funds. According to him, after more than two decades, the result for many pensioners is disappointing – an additional pension of just EUR 20–30.
Revival proposes that future contributions be paid into the state social security system, while the individual savings of those insured are preserved.
“This is not about nationalization. It is about ensuring that the money from FUTURE mandatory social security contributions goes where the state social security system is,” Tsoncho Ganev said.
He stressed that Revival has consistently raised these issues and insists that public funds be used in the interests of Bulgarian citizens, rather than to maintain ineffective structures and models.