On the occasion of the position of the National Statistical Institute that was circulated to the media a while ago, in which NSI management tries to answer the alarming information received by “Revival” regarding the danger of another planned manipulation of inflation data, we ask the following specific questions:
Do NSI really consider that the numerous international inspections of their work are a certificate of problem-free work and a sign of trust, on the part of external institutions such as Eurostat, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and others?
How long will the NSI's practice of conducting all external inspections in complete non-transparency and ending without public information on the results continue? In comparison, for example, the visits of missions from the International Monetary Fund always end with public press conferences open to any specific questions of the media.
If so far, as the NSI management claims, there have been no attempts and pressure to manipulate inflation data – why didn't NSI publish a detailed report sooner, describing all the suspicious actions in recent months, related to administrative intervention in prices? Some of these actions are publicly known – a short list includes the issue of drug reimbursement, dropping fees at state universities, reducing the price of firewood for the next heating season.
Why does NSI management never publish a calendar of management meetings? For example, it is a public secret that over the last year NSI had a series of meetings with representatives of large retail chains (where options for “suppressing” prices) were discussed, as well as with banks (when the idea of former finance minister Assen was launched Vasilev banks to publish lower fees and commissions) – all with the ultimate goal of “performance” of the Maastricht criterion for inflation.
Last but not least – what can be the real practical independence of the NSI as an institution, since according to the Law on Statistics the NSI is budget-supported (i.e. it does not have financial independence) and the chairman and vice-chairmen of the NSI are appointed by the Prime Minister (i.e. .e. personal political independence is not guaranteed)?
We sincerely hope that the Bulgarian institutions really defend political independence, maintain the highest professional standards and do not succumb to political, financial, media or personal pressure, fulfilling opportunistic orders contrary to the long-term economic and financial interests of Bulgaria.
„Revival” follows a consistent policy to preserve national sovereignty and financial stability in Bulgaria. We will not stop reacting to all attempts to distort the objective criteria and indicators of the state of the Bulgarian economy.
We remain available for constructive dialogue on the subject with other political parties and institutions in the country. Such a dialogue must be based on strict economic and financial expertise, non-interference in the work of the institutions and trust in the professionalism of the thousands of conscientious employees in the national statistical system.