The warnings of “Vazrazhdane” for information received from reliable sources that the National Statistical Institute is preparing manipulation of inflation data, they find confirmation in the data published today by NSI for the month of September.
Instead of answering the questions posed by “Revival” specific questions in this regard, today NSI decided to publish scandalous data.
According to NSI, the monthly inflation, measured by the consumer price index (CPI), is -1.0% compared to the previous month, and the monthly inflation, measured according to the pan-European methodology using the so-called harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP), is -1.1%.
It turns out that, according to NSI, in September in Bulgaria, prices on average decreased and became about 1% cheaper than a month earlier.
The NSI's attempts to present a comfortable picture of inflation fall flat upon a deeper review and analysis of the astonishing data released today.
For example, according to the NSI harmonized index, in September, prices decreased in the following groups:
• “Passenger Air Transport” - reduction by 25.7%;
• “Package services for holidays and tourist trips” - reduction by 22.6%;
• “Short Term Accommodation Services” - reduction by 15.3%;
• “Books” - 13% reduction;
• “Restaurants and hotels” - decrease by 6.6%;
• “Entertainment and culture“ - decrease by 4.6%;
• “Transport“ - reduction by 3.0%;
• “Fuels and lubricants for personal technical equipment” - 3% reduction;
• “Maintenance and operation of personal technical means” - decrease by 1.7%;
• “Furnishings, goods and services for the household and for usual maintenance of the home“ - decrease by 0.4%;
• “Messages“ - decrease by 0.2%.
The NSI data on the annual price reduction (ie in September of this year compared to September of 2023) are also striking. Again, according to the NSI harmonized index, prices have decreased in the following groups over the last year:
• Messages“ - a decrease of 4.4% (although earlier this year the mobile operators in Bulgaria massively indexed prices upwards);
• “Transport“ - a decrease of 3.3% (although many transport costs and services in Bulgaria were also indexed upwards this year).
Bulgarian citizens see their bills every day and feel the prices in their pockets, but NSI convinces us that inflation was decreasing and even becoming negative.
The same scandalous data was also sent to Eurostat with one clear goal – to convince the European Central Bank and the European Commission that Bulgaria is starting to implement one of the so-called Maastricht criteria for the introduction of the euro in our country. After that, the other steps to abolish the currency board and destroy the Bulgarian lev are planned to follow.
We remind you that NSI published its new data a few days after they had a special check by Eurostat precisely on the question of the reliability of the Bulgarian inflation data. In the meetings with Eurostat, in addition to NSI, representatives from the Bulgarian National Bank and the Ministry of Finance were called to give explanations. The NSIs still refuse to publish full information about the results of the inspection and the recommendations they received from Eurostat. This is how the practice of non-transparency and non-accountability on the part of the NSI continues, which is why we addressed questions to this institution yesterday.
On this occasion “Revival” promises to inform our European partners again about the reliability of the macroeconomic indicators they receive from the Bulgarian institutions, and in particular – about the attempts of political pressure to distort these indicators.
The goal of the Eurozone cannot justify political pressure on Bulgarian institutions and attempts to manipulate official statistical data.
It is high time that the path to the euro ceases to be an opaque process, full of behind-the-scenes decisions and attempts to manipulate the Bulgarian public and the European institutions. Bulgaria should not become a second Greece, entering the Eurozone with manipulated data.
The adoption of the euro (if it ever happens at all) should only happen when our economy is prepared and when the Bulgarian citizens are convinced that we should abolish the currency board and destroy the Bulgarian lev.