The budget for the upcoming elections is ready, and the bill amounts to BGN 100 million. This was announced by the new acting minister Lyudmila Petkova, who was welcomed to the Finance Ministry by her colleague Asen Vasilev, BNT reports.
Petkova added that for her, in addition to organizing the elections, her priorities remain the entry into the Eurozone, the OECD, as well as the Schengen area by land.
"I have been deputy finance minister several times, responsible for revenues and the budget. That's why I agreed to Dimitar Glavchev's proposal to take up the post of finance minister, these are the main priorities at the moment," explained Petkova.
She added that two main bills in the financial sphere are to be adopted - the law on the euro, which has been published for public discussion, as well as the law on the creation of a single revenue agency.
"The Task Force has advanced its work on the Single Revenue Agency Act. I want to assure that no cuts are foreseen in the National Revenue Service and Customs after their merger. Other positions will be found for all employees whose duties will be canceled due to our entry into Schengen,", Petkova also said.
For his part, the former finance minister Asen Vassilev announced that he was leaving the finance ministry in the hands of a proven professional. He added that there are currently nearly BGN 10 billion in the fiscal reserve, which are sufficient for the normal work of the department.
"The revenues collected by the National Revenue Agency are 50% more than expected for this period. However, the collected revenue from customs is less, because since the beginning of the year "Lukoil" it works half-way", Vassilev explained.
When asked how he would comment on what is happening in customs, the former finance minister replied that "what is seen from public information is not serious". The new minister, who was previously the director of the department, also said that he could not give more information, as an investigation is ongoing.