Following the scandal over the Personal Assistants Act, the ruling parties remain adamant that the proposal will be withdrawn. The only change they plan to introduce is that pensioners working as personal assistants will not be employed under employment contracts. Anton Kutev of “Progressive Bulgaria” announced this on the “Wake Up” studio programme. According to him, the main objective of the budget being prepared is to contain the excessive deficit and the increase in debt, but not at the expense of social spending. Kutev strongly criticised the Ministry of Finance, including on the issue of the second pillar of pensions.
“When we adopted this law, there were 7,000–8,000 assistants. At present, there are 85,000, and the automatic increase in their number means that the Treasury is unable to cover the rising expenditure,” he commented.
Regarding incomes, he said that it was very important for this budget to contain excessive deficits and the increase in debt, but not at the expense of social spending. “I categorically maintain that this budget does not cut social spending,” Kutev said.